Zen Koan Writing Series #4: The Voice of Happiness

The Voice of Happiness

After Bankei had passed away, a blind man who lived near the master’s temple told a friend: “Since I am blind, I cannot watch a person’s face, so I must judge his character by the sound of his voice. Ordinarily when I hear someone congratulate another upon his happiness or success, I also hear a secret tone of envy. When condolence is expressed for the misfortune of another, I hear pleasure and satisfaction, as if the one condoling was really glad there was something left to gain in his own world.

“In all my experience, however, Bankei’s voice was always sincere. Whenever he expressed happiness, I heard nothing but happiness, and whenever he expressed sorrow, sorrow was all I heard.”

My Musings

We put on masks to hide our true feelings. These masks are nearly transparent to the keen observer, however. It’s all too easy to harbor negative feelings towards our friends and colleagues. We spend our lives reacting to the successes and failures of others. We take so little time to create our own lives.

Part of this is from the way we were raised. Polite society dictates, “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.” We spend a lot of time making up nice things to say, while we’re seething within. Spend that time making your own success, and you won’t have time to keep up with your mask.

Writing Applications

When you hear that your friend landed a great writing project, don’t automatically let the green-eyed monster of jealousy rear its head. Pause, and ask a neutral question about the project. Often, you’ll find that the project is far more suited to her talents and abilities than yours. Then you’ll have nothing to be jealous about, and will be able to genuinely congratulate her.

In your writing, stay true to your voice. Just because another author writes in a great voice, does not mean that voice will work for you. Don’t fret over whether you will be the next Hemingway or Shakespeare. Write in your own voice, and let the real you shine through your words.

Zen Koan Writing Series #3: A Parable

A Parable

Buddha told a parable in a sutra:

A man traveling across a field encountered a tiger. He fled, the tiger after him. Coming to a precipice, he caught hold of the root of a wild vine and swung himself down over the edge. The tiger sniffed at him from above. Trembling, the man looked down to where, far below, another tiger was waiting to eat him. Only the vine sustained him.

Two mice, one white and one black, little by little started to gnaw away the vine. The man saw a luscious strawberry near him. Grasping the vine with one hand, he plucked the strawberry with the other. How sweet it tasted!

My Musings

Life comes at us from all directions. On any given day, work, friends, family, bills, and stress can pile up, driving us to the edge. Some days are so full of distractions and responsibilities, that we don’t take the time to take care of ourselves. We feel burnt out, lost, impatient, and irritable. On days like this, we must take advantage of any moment we have, to indulge in the sweetness of life.

Writing Applications

As writers, we face this doubly. On top of typical daily worries, we have deadlines, editors, and clients, that can leave us frazzled and ready to give up. Daily tasks can leave us overwhelmed, and we avoid doing the one thing we love: writing. We get caught up in the race, and lose the objectiveness we need to write clearly.

When life is trying to suck you into its whirlwind, just stop. Take a moment, however long you can spare, to do something you enjoy. Grab a cup of coffee, meditate, go for a walk. Once you have paused long enough to clear your mind and renew your spirit, grab your notebook or keyboard and start writing. Dive into your words, and remember why you decided to be a writer in the first place. Writing is your first love, your passion, your obsession. Never lose that joy, no matter what is going on around you.

Zen Koan Writing Series #2: If You Love, Love Openly

If You Love, Love Openly

Twenty monks and one nun, who was named Eshun, were practicing meditation with a certain Zen master.

Eshun was very pretty even though her head was shaved and her dress plain. Several monks secretly fell in love with her. One of them wrote her a love letter, insisting upon a private meeting.

Eshun did not reply. The following day the master gave a lecture to the group, and when it was over, Eshun arose. Addressing the one who had written her, she said: “If you really love me so much, come and embrace me now.”

My Musings

Writers are much like the monks in this story. We love our writing dearly, and often hoard it, like a miser hoards his treasures. We keep it to ourselves, afraid to put it out into the world. If we are to succeed, we have to let our writing go out into the world, and love it openly. This is scary, because while we may love our words, others may not. Others may condemn our love of our writing, criticizing its every flaw. They may even speculate as to why we chose to love that writing in the first place, and not throw it away. These fears keep our writing in the closet of our hearts, and we choose not to share it with anyone.

Writing Applications

We need to become champions of our words. When we have a piece of writing that we love dearly, we must share it with everyone. This should not come from pride or boastfulness, but from a celebration of our love of our writing. Write what you love, edit it as best you can, then send it out into the world. Let those who will criticize it do what they will. There will be many more people out there who will love your writing as much as you do. If you don’t love your writing openly, then your words won’t reach the people who will benefit from it the most.

Promote your writing. Most writers have a tendency to shy away from promoting their writing and their writing services. Be bold, and tell everyone who will listen about your short story, your new articles, or your novel. Unashamedly send your writing to every editor and agent who might like to read your words. Do not let your treasured words remain hidden in your desk drawer or your hard drive. Love your writing openly, and others will too.

Zen Koan Writing Series #1: A Cup of Tea

A Cup of Tea

Nan-in, a Japanese master during the Meiji era (1868-1912), received a university professor who came to inquire about Zen.

Nan-in served tea. He poured his visitor’s cup full, and then kept on pouring.

The professor watched the overflow until he no longer could restrain himself. “It is overfull. No more will go in!”

“Like this cup,” Nan-in said, “you are full of your own opinions and speculations. How can I show you Zen unless you first empty your cup?”

My Musings

This Zen Koan is a classic example of Zen thought. Your mind is cluttered, constantly filtering everything you encounter during the day. You have worries about the past and the future. There is no more room for anything else. Your brain is full. To make room for what you want, you have to empty your mind of everything that is unnecessary.

Writing Applications

When you sit down to write, your mind is full of worries, expectations, and doubts. You have your topic, and all the information you want to include, fighting for space in your head. You think about whether or not your writing will be published. You worry that no one wants to read your words, that you have nothing valuable to say. You want your writing to be liquid gold, and have readers climbing over each other to read your latest book. You fear that all that will come of your writing is a scrapbook of form rejection letters, or worse, detailed rejections pointing out how your writing is in fact worthless drivel.

No wonder it is so hard to begin writing. With so much running through your mind, there is little room for your words to escape your mind and flow to the page. When this happens to me, I do a “garbage write.” I write out everything I am thinking of, whether it is related to my writing or to the rest of my life. I get it all out, until my mind is clear. Then I can focus clearly on my writing, without fighting with my thoughts.

The next time you cannot sit down to write, let your inner editor have the reigns. Write anything that pops into mind. Let your thoughts run free. Then set it aside and work on your current project. Often, you will find that writing through the mind clutter is exactly what was needed. Empty your mind to make room for your writing.

Zen Koan Writing Series: Introduction

Zen Koans are Zen Buddhist parables over one thousand years old attributed to Zen teachers. They are designed to break your mind out of traditional thought patterns, and bring awareness to your everyday life. These stories have been used by many students of Zen tradition, to illuminate their path to enlightenment.

How are these stories beneficial to writers? They are part of a rich cultural heritage and religion. They are entertaining and thought provoking reading in their own right. Koans can also provide jumpstarts to our writing, either as a story prompt, or by applying the lesson directly to our writing habits.

Each Zen Koan is a short narrative, which could be fleshed out into a short story or a scene in a novel. You could also read the stories, contemplate the lessons from the koan, and discover writing habits and perspectives you can develop from them.

In this series, I will post a Zen Koan, found at 101 Zen Stories. I will then describe what lessons I’ve learned from it, and how that applies to my writing. There are no right or wrong answers, however. You may have completely different or contradictory insights. That’s great, and I’d love it if you share those insights and applications here.

The series will consist of ten Zen Koan posts. As an added bonus, I will compile these posts into an E-book, along with ten more unpublished Zen Koan posts. If you enjoy reading this series, then please consider purchasing the E-book when it becomes available. You’ll be able to enjoy this series offline, and discover even more writing lessons. If you don’t, that’s perfectly fine too. You can still benefit from the ten posts featured here at Freedom Writing. Stay tuned for a new perspective on the writing life!

Clickbank Experiment

For my regular readers, you will notice a slight change in the format of my blog posts. At the bottom of each is a new section, called “You may also be interested in…” This section will list some of my affiliate links through Clickbank. These links are not auto-generated; in fact, I hand pick them to match the topic of each post. If you are interested, feel free to check any of them out. If not, simply ignore them.

Why would I tell you to just ignore them? Well, I write this blog out of love for writing, not to make a quick buck. I treasure each reader of my blog, and would not want to alienate any of you. I am not going to haphazardly promote each and every one of them. The only time I would ever feature an affiliate is if I have had the time to thoroughly check them out, and I believe they would be too good to ignore.

In that case, why would I use them at all? I believe that affiliate marketing does have its place. Some people learn by doing, while others need an E-book to spell out all the details for them. Others benefit from a new, streamlined program to organize their efforts. I’m personally a learn by doing kind of woman. However, since I’ve discovered all that Clickbank has to offer, I’m more than happy to include links to products that others may use effectively.

I’m also trying this as a little social experiment. Everything I’ve read about affiliate marketing (which is not much, I admit) says that you want to prime your audience, and get them ready to purchase. Then they’ll click your affiliate link, and purchase from the seller. My technique is going to be completely opposite. I’m not going to try to lure you into purchasing from any of these affiliates. I respect your intelligence as discerning internet readers, who have learned to ignore blatant adverising. Instead, I will simply give you the option to browse these links, as it suits you. It is up to you if you decide to purchase anything. It won’t break my heart one bit if I don’t make a dime from this affiliate program. I value readers above money, every time.

So if you’re interested in watching this little experiment, stay tuned. I will occasionally post updates and see if my “no pressure” technique gives any results. If not, I’ll let you know too. What do you think of this idea? Do you have any strong opinions on affiliates, or advertisements on your favorite websites? Let me know.

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Working While Freelancing

I work outside my home in addition to writing freelance. Add to that my full-time job of raising two kids, and you realize I am a very busy woman. Finding balance amidst all of the tasks I have to do is difficult. However, I am committed to doing each of them to the best of my ability.

Why I’m a Mother

I’ve always wanted children, and my two daughters are the greatest blessings from above. Without their love and innocent outlook on life, I could not be the great writer I am today.

Freelancing with children isn’t easy, of course. Being interrupted one hundred times a day often leads to very little work being done. On those days, I catch up on blog reading and making connections. Often, I’m only able to make a list of writing gigs I’d like to apply to, saving the cover letters for the next day or so.

There are other days when I am able to write through the noise, and actually be quite productive. A funny quip from my three year old will inspire my blog post of the day. Or perhaps they both take their naps at the same time. Other days I decide to take a break from my writing, and simply enjoy my children. That’s why I’m trying to freelance, remember? So I can treasure my little ones.

Why I Work Outside the Home

Bills have to get paid and food must be put on the table. I have just begun my freelance career, and am not making a full time income. Therefore, I still hold onto my job in the “real world.”

This does not come without a price. I have to juggle time with my children and my writing against my work schedule. I have to dictate that my inspiration comes outside of work hours. I also sacrifice a large chunk of time that could be used more productively by writing and landing new writing gigs.

Yet with dependability comes a certain amount of security. A steady paycheck means my electricity won’t be shut off, and I’ll be able to continue my writing career and give my children a safe place to live. Having work friends adds a little brightness and conversation to my day. Also, I have an unending supply of writing topics, from my day to day exploits at work.

Why I Freelance

Writing has been my first love. I was writing poetry at age three. To this day, I feel most fulfilled with a pen in hand, and my keyboard by my side.

I intend to freelance full time. While it has not happened yet, I am ready to give it everything I’ve got. Each day I scour the job boards, applying to everything I’d be a good fit for. I write articles on spec, and for my Helium.com account. I blog multiple times a week. I’m even working on a fantasy novel. My tools are written words, and I am most happy when using them.

I am building the groundwork for my full time freelance career now. I study writing blogs, commenting when I have something valuable to contribute. Each day I am one step closer to writing without a net. And each day is a success.

I am a woman of many hats. It is a hard life of my own design. Yet it is all possible. If I can do it, anyone can certainly give it a try. Each facet of my life clashes with the other, making each day unique, nearly destroying the idea of a “daily routine.” I wouldn’t want it any other way.

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A Quick Bit of Self-Promotion

First, I wanted to share the banner I made to promote this blog. It was requested by my friend, Jo the Great, so she could share this blog with all her readers. Thank you Jo! Here it is.

If you’re more graphically inclined, this image would be great to use to promote Freedom Writing. Of course, text links work just as well. If you do like it, let me know.

It takes a delicate hand to promote your freelance business effectively. Personally, I don’t visit a lot of social network sites. The more I subscribe to, the more I tend to goof off. I do use stumbleupon, as well as plurk. Beyond that, I comment on relevant blogs, to perhaps interest them in checking out my blog. I’m also working on an About the Author page here, to promote my writing services. I plan on adding more promotional activities to my arsenal, as time allows.

Have any of you used creative ways to promote your blog and/or your freelance business? I’d love to hear your suggestions. This seems to be a pretty popular topic right now, as two of my favorite freelance blogs have something to say about it. Problogger.com has 13 Ways to Promote Your Next Blog Post, and Freelancefolder.com has 6 Simple Ways to Promote Your Online Business Offline. Check these posts out, and come back to tell me what works for you, and what doesn’t. Or maybe you have some new ideas that aren’t listed there. Share them with us, and we’ll all benefit.

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Money Matters When You Don’t Have Any

I’ve read a lot of financial help articles, and their advice seems sound. Put 10% of your income into savings, don’t dip into your 401k, invest in a variety of stocks. This is all great advice, but it stems from one premise: that you in fact have money, and just need to know how to use it properly. While there are thousands of people in that situation, there are thousands more who simply don’t have enough money. These finance articles seem to ignore these people’s plights. After all, cutting out your daily Starbucks won’t work if you don’t have the money to spare on five dollar coffee monthly, let alone daily.

Here are some tips I have for those of us who don’t have a penny to spare on frivolity.

1.) Don’t be afraid of getting help. Many of us, due to pride or fear of being looked down upon, refuse help when we need it. Many people who would qualify are not on public assistance. While I would agree that this is only a short-term solution, sometimes signing up for welfare is the boost many people need to get back on track. Other programs that people shy away from are WIC, food banks, and the Salvation Army. Assess your current situation, and see which areas of your budget could use a boost.

There are other overlooked avenues of help besides the federal government. When friends and family offer to help, it is all too easy to refuse. If a fellow parent offers to babysit weekly while you get your shopping done, take them up on it. It can relieve the stress of shopping with children, and can reduce the number of extras that end up in your shopping cart. If your parents offer to give you a ride to work, accept. The amount of gas you save will more than make up the shot to your pride.

2.) Learn to make the most of what you have. Sometimes the tools we need to stretch our money are right under our noses. Reduce, reuse, recycle is not just the green thing to do. It also keeps us from spending money on things we can already do at home. For example, while cleaning out your bathroom, you discover you already have enough shampoo to last you for many months. Then you can eliminate it from your weekly shopping. Or, instead of buying new plastic totes to store the trappings of your scrapbook project, you can use the ones that were holding all the excess linens you don’t really need.

Another creative method of stretching your money is making your own supplies out of common household items. Using vinegar to clean your coffee pots is a common example. (Though it tends to have a strong smell!) Making your own baby food is another way to save a lot of money. A place with a lot of these kinds of tips is The Dollar Stretcher. Sign up for their newsletter to have these tips delivered straight to your inbox. The only drawback to DIY savings is that some of them can be time consuming.

3.) Increase your income. Yes, this one may seem obvious, yet incredibly difficult. Many of us in the low income bracket have limited avenues of income. If possible, a second job may bring in enough money to be worthwhile. The trade-off, of course, is less downtime, which makes getting a second job not an option for many people. Searching for a better paying job can also be worth it, increasing your income without adding a lot of extra work hours. Or you can join the ranks of thousands of people and begin freelancing or starting a small business. Often, you can start working in your own home while keeping your real job until you become self-sufficient.

Speaking from experience, increasing your income can be difficult, especially if you have had a low income for most of your life. Many employers (subconsciously, I’m sure) typecast minimum wage workers, and are less inclined to hire them for more lucrative jobs with more responsibility. Also, many workers are in low paying jobs because they don’t have the education and/or experience that better jobs require. Taking an online college course (with scholarships) can be the career booster you need. In addition, after becoming accustomed to living with a limited income, many people do not have the mindset to welcome additional money. Subconsciously, they sabotage their own efforts, and become stuck in a rut of their own design. If you suspect that you have done so, study what opportunities you have passed up, and why. Come up with an action plan to make more money, and stick with it, no matter how scary it seems. The worst that can happen is that you get no further ahead. The best is that you come out ahead, with a few more dollars in your pocket.

Do you have any tips or suggestions for those of us who are struggling on the bottom rung of the financial ladder? Leave a comment; we could all benefit from your knowledge!

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Untapped Writing Opportunities

I was surfing through the recommended blogfeeds on Google Reader today, when I came across an interesting site: Freelance Parenting. These ladies have explored the freelance writing life as parents, who have no free time and little ones hanging off our keyboards. They have a great voice, and are unafraid of tackling hard freelance issues, such as the dreaded “money talk” (commonly known as “How much should I charge my clients?”

Digging through their RSS feed, I came across this post from July, “67 Freelance Niche Writing Markets You May Never Have Considered”. They list some awesome ideas, most of which are relatively untouched by the freelance community at large. I intend to check out what I could do with these markets myself. Yes, I know that niche writing is not something I am a huge proponent of, however these are too good to pass up. Anyone interested in exploring new avenues for their writing should take a glance. In my spirit of freedom writing, I will explore these, but I won’t exclusively focus in on just one. That would take all the fun away.

What do you think of niche markets? Do you like to focus on one area of expertise, or are you a Renaissance writer? I’d love to hear your opinions!

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