Cherie Burbach
On Being a Working Writer
Guest Writer: Cherie Burbach
When people think of writers, they picture wealthy novelists living in a big house. (They also picture someone in their jammies.) I can assure you that though I am a working writer, I am not rich. I also do get dressed every day, even though the only people that see me are my family and my dog.
The great part is that today, being a writer can mean a lot of different things. Some writers pen books, other articles, some get paid to blog. Some, like me, do a combination. The writing life is filled with options, and writing careers today have a lot of different paths, certainly much more than they used to. That’s a good thing.
I write poetry, nonfiction articles (that vary in subject area from dating to lifestyle to freelance writing) nonfiction books, and now, fiction works. I started writing early on, from the time I could hold a pencil. Writing was my “safe place” in a crazy household as a child, and it helped me learn about the world and myself. As years went on, I wrote freelance articles here and there while working a corporate job. Then a few years ago, I made the leap into full-time writing.
For me, the various parts of my writing world each nurture a different part of my life. Poetry, for example, is my first love. I write poetry to celebrate my happy events, to understand the confusing parts of life, to rejoice in my faith, and to reinforce that an unhappy childhood does not mean an unhappy adult life. I tend to write poems in clusters, always in a notebook and always by hand. I meditate and pray, and let the words come from me. I do some editing, and viola! – I have my poem. While I have published my poetry, I’d say that much of what I write is simply for my own enjoyment.
Being a writer is a great creative outlet, but it also means that you have to be practical. That’s where my nonfiction work comes in. I write articles and books about areas I want to share my expertise in. Generally, these have been the dating and diabetes world. It’s always my hope that at least one person finds inspiration or knowledge in the words I’ve put out there. When you hear of someone who has been touched by something you’ve written, that means everything. If you can be paid for it? Even better.
Finally, the world of fiction is my latest frontier. I’ve written novels in the past that I immediately destroyed. I didn’t have the self-confidence to put the work “out there” to be read and ultimately judged. Now, I do. If my past writing adventures are any indication, this new step in my writing life should be a fun-filled, crazy ride! (And I wouldn’t have it any other way.)
About Cherie Burbach:
Cherie Burbach is Feature Writer of Freelance Writing at Suite101.Com. She is an author, blogger, poet, crocheter, and geek. She loves football and is obsessed with anything having to do with the Green Bay Packers or Tudor history. A passionate diabetes advocate, Cherie has written the book, 21 Simple Things You Can Do To Help Someone With Diabetes.
Cherie used her experience with meeting her husband online to pen At the Coffee Shop, a humorous look at the world of Internet dating. Cherie went on over 60 coffee dates in just six months. She met lots of great people and one of those turned out to be the guy she would marry just one year later. Cherie’s new dating book, Internet Dating is Not Like Ordering a Pizza is available now.
She has penned her first novel, For Those Who Knew Zach, told in connected short stories about of a philandering charmer’s collision with fate. Readers have resonated with Cherie’s honest and inspirational “This I Believe” essay, which is the second-most popular out of over 40,000 entries on the NPR website. For more information, please visit Cherie’s website, www.cherieburbach.com, her personal blogs, or follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/brrbach.
Tags: a working writer, a writer's life, Cherie Burbach, on freelance writing, writing diabetes
