“Follow your passion,” they say
I have decided to approach writing not as a profession, but as a tool.
No better story than a timely story!
I was given a magazine assignment today to write a feature about the work of Muslims around the issue of gun control. It is sad and unfortunate that it’s a timely issue, but it is going to be such a great experience writing about it. Here is a compelling documentary about gun violence in the cities and how one group […]
Why do I talk so much?
I interviewed six people yesterday – such a long day! In the morning I met with the LDS missionaries I’m writing about and I recorded that interview. Then I went to Sugar Land and interviewed the Houston South LDS mission president and recorded that interview. Came home and interviewed a source for the “family Toastmasters” article, but since that was […]
Home…run?
The new issue of Islamic Horizons magazine is out. My article on Houston Muslims is on page 38. I’m happy it’s published but I’m having perhaps even more anxiety than I did while I was writing it; I’m sure I will hear from more than a few people that I should have included this or mentioned that…why didn’t you write […]
I am a journalist and I have lots of work
A month or so after I finished my masters degree in journalism and moved to Houston, Azizah magazine’s editor accepted a pitch for my second professional article ever. I was thrilled. After that I wrote one or two more, and then things dried up. I got a job as an at-home medical transcriptionist (a skill that I’m glad I acquired 20 years ago, as it pays pretty well and is usually available), which paid my bills and my daughter’s rent, and then proceeded to apply for job after job with no success. In 2008 I opened an educational center/bookstore and for three years did something I never imagined I would, the demise of which I won’t analyze here. As soon as I closed the bookstore I pitched an article to Azizah and it was accepted. I made a pitch to Toastmaster magazine. It was accepted. I made a pitch to Islamic Horizons magazine and it was accepted. In less than a year I’ve been assigned four articles by Toastmaster, three by Islamic Horizons and two for Azizah (with possibly a third in the wings). These are feature articles, most of them 1800-2000 words, and one was a cover story. My point: I am a success. I’m not writing for nationally prestigious magazines, but editors have consistently shown confidence in me and my skills, and that counts for more than anything. One day God willing my byline will appear above 5000-word […]
Dancin’ like a yankee in the south
I love this post from the A Yankee’s Southern Exposure blog, and I would assert that freelancers working from home can get up and do an imperfect dance just to celebrate the day and shake things up for yourself alone. Of course, the real challenge to dance like Christopher Walken in the video might come during an interview, but…I’d advise against it. I enjoy this blog also because the author is, like me, a transplanted Yankee living in the south. Being a Yankee in Texas doesn’t necessarily make me dance, though, but perhaps that’s a post for another day.
A chalk story
During my evening walk yesterday I came across a series of “Christian graffiti” chalk drawings on the sidewalk (I’m not sure what else to call them). They are super interesting – and the artist left a contact number, which I will be calling in the next day or two to see if there’s a story behind the chalk.
