How NewsBreak Threw My Writing Off Track and How I’m Regaining Control of My Writing Life

I’ve been writing for NB for 9 months and while the money was good, it really messed with my writing life.

Freelance writers are always looking for stable income to add to their portfolio of earnings. When I heard about NewsBreak (NB), I was mildly interested. When they approached me to apply, they offered a decent amount of income as an incentive which applied to the first three months of your contract, so I signed on.

The criteria to keep receiving this amount after the three months were up wasn’t something many of us, myself included, felt like we could meet, so I thought of my time with NB as limited to three months. I began cutting back on Medium where I could write as creatively as I chose in order to write straight local news stories.

I also altered my schedule to write more on a news timeline. I don’t sleep a lot, and am often up to watch the sun rise. When the weather is nice, I love taking a walk to slowly greet the day before I launch into writing. I need time to wake up before trying to think too much about anything. Trying to force new ideas to surface, at least good ones, before I have that coffee saturated hour or so in the morning isn’t going to result in anything enthusiastic.

When writing for Medium, I had learned that pieces published in the morning tended to perform better than if they were published late in the day. To make this happen, I wrote through the day then scheduled the piece to be released early the next morning.

The three months for NB turned into six then nine until they changed their contract again a few days before August began, leading to me and many others leaving the platform. For the past 9 months the stress to produce a story as early in the day as possible was high since the amount of time that had gone by since it took place affected whether it was read and in part how readers responded to it.

NB didn’t want regurgitated news summaries from articles that were out there already in 100 different places. This meant that I needed to review the breaking news as early as possible. This gave me a feel for what stories I could synthesize into something new, what timely issue I could provide a historical, social or psychological perspective for, what controversial stories I could apply research findings to and what was happening specifically in East Rogers Park, my neighborhood. The need to start with all of this as soon as I opened my eyes precluded my waking up time and affected my mood all day.

My decision to mostly move on from NB left me at odds with my writing. The rush to produce a story that was still considered news kept my day filled, if not with writing, then with constantly keeping up with the local news. Having that disappear with only a few days’ notice and without a clear plan for what now? has led to my anxiety spiking again.

Post-NewsBreak

I gave myself a couple of days to not pressure myself, then decided to come up with a direction for my writing life to head in. It consists of getting myself in a different head space and setting down schedule, organization and updated knowledge items, to make my writing get back on track.

If things go according to plan, I can create a blueprint for getting back in touch with my inner writer who has been hibernating due to my nine-month hiatus to focus on factual local news.

Writing Plan to Enhance A Writing Life

I’m sure this will change as I start writing a greater variety of pieces again but for now the things I plan to focus on are as follows.

1) Structure mornings so that they’re stress free to better transition into the day.

The relaxation, that comes from looking out over the lake as the sun rises, with a cup of coffee in my hand, the small waves lapping at my feet sets my mood for the rest of the day. No matter what else happens later, taking the time to ease into my day with beauty, calm, and unrushed moments helps keep everything under control. Often, the lack of pressure to think of something to write about, is exactly what it takes for ideas to come.

2) Take time in late afternoon when anxiety over not writing enough is likely to spike and do something enjoyable and relaxing.

Spend time outside, with a friend, exercising or doing something that gives my mind a break from writing for a while. This will help me gain a second wind.

3) Spend time getting back up to speed with Medium.

Medium has made a number of changes in the last nine months. I’ve come to realize that I missed a lot of them and need to learn how one is successful on Medium currently. For example, publishing in a personal publication or a personal wall, topics and types of writing that generate the most interest, new features such as “lists,” new directions, if any for the platform, and new opportunities. This will help me make a longer-term plan for my writing.

4) Create a content calendar.

People extol the virtues of content calendars for staying on track with their writing. While I need some flexibility built into my production calendar with several possible topics to choose from, if I’m going to produce my best copy, having a schedule to follow where I don’t have to think up new ideas every day is important.

5) Create a social media promotion section for my calendar.

This will make promoting my work easier, by making sure I cover the different social media channels regularly, and I don’t repeat articles on different sites possible.

6) Reconnect with the community.

One of the things I missed the most about not being as involved with Medium recently is the community here. While NB had a couple of FB groups, I find the friendships that form and the large community presence that Medium has to be much more supportive with more communication among us.

7) Start writing fiction and poetry again.

One of the things that is an indication of how off I am in terms of creativity is how much I write in other genres. If I’m able to produce material in other genres and feel the drive to do so, I know my creativity is awake and can be utilized for all kinds of projects. Since starting with NB that part of me was largely dead.

Take Away

Different things are important to different writers in creating a happy and satisfying writing life and for achieving success in this field. For me, it’s largely about maintaining a positive mood state, planning so I have a schedule to follow to create new work and promote it, being part of a supportive community that I interact with regularly and variety. And I get that all at Medium. I’m glad to be home.

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You can find links to my other work on Medium and follow me here. Thanks for reading!