Piecing together a new bucket list is one of my biggest goals for the month of November. As I may have mentioned if you've seen me or my social media since September, I wrote a book. It's a cocktail book (surprising, I know), but it's not the book I've wanted to write. I'm still trying to figure out what else I want to do with my life, but that's still to come. Here's what I've got so far:
- Write a helpful book. Hello, vagueblogging! Recipe books are awesome, but I want my work to have a positive impact.
- Write a fun cocktail recipe book. This one will be a collaboration with a dear friend and extremely talented artist. Again, details to come.
- Successfully pitch The Atlantic, Marie Claire, and Fast Company. I've written for The Atlantic's CityLab, but I'd like to write for the publication itself. As for the others, I've got the byline bug, and want to see my name in other publications I admire.
Every time I think about quitting writing, my brain immediately starts the "But what would I do instead?" Literally every time this happens, the first 1,283 thoughts that come to my brain are ALL writing-related. As in, "Oh, I could go back to school for anthropology. Discover would LOVE me!" or "Bama has a great MLS program. Library work is so conducive for writing and reading."
Seriously, brain?
The farther into this internal debate I get, the more I think that writing is not the issue. In fact, writing has become a non-negotiable part of my life. Perhaps the lesson here is that the life of a freelancer isn't for me. For someone who values her independence and mornings, the lack of structure, benefits, and regular work also makes me anxious. But changing careers costs money, and the money has to come from somewhere. Unless something drastic happens, that, for now, is my way forward.
This month, I'm attempting to blog my way forward by writing every day as part of Blog Like Crazy.