Summertime Update: Northern Europe edition

Hi friends! I’m sorry that every time I post on here, I start with an apology. Since I last posted about our trip to Mexico, I’ve been hanging out in Miami (mostly eating and drinking coconuts that we pillage from the neighborhood) and enjoying the low-key lifestyle of Norbert’s native Germany. When we arrived to Schleswig-Holstein in late May, the region had been enjoying nearly a month of freakishly warm and sunny days. While I won’t complain about the weather, I will specify that this is “warm” by German standards, so my fleece has certainly come in handy.

Solar panels and windmills pepper the rural German landscape

The best thing about our visit have been the glorious display of flowers everywhere—after the horror of winter, plants bloom with a fierceness that is breathtaking. I can’t get over the many different varieties and colors, and I can’t take a walk around the neighborhood without snapping a dozen or more pictures. We’re staying in a small town not too far from Kiel that has lots of great walking trails and a small forest nearby. Up here in the arctic North, where the sun stays up until late, I accompany Norbert in the evening on his runs through the forest—while riding a bicycle, of course.

At the Tiergarten, Berlin

post-run

My other favorite part of Germany are the saunas—ubiquitous, elegant, and relaxing. Unfortunately, I don’t have any photos of our many sauna experiences as cameras are frowned upon in the mostly nude environment. But believe me when I say, an afternoon in the sauna will change your life. Reset your soul. Recharge your battery. Etc, etc. You gotta experience it to believe it! And since we’ve been dealing with our fair share of overly-complicated German bureaucracy, I believe we’ve earned the right to relax!

Here are some pictures of a quick trip we took to the Netherlands!

A horse-zebra!

Cheesing with racing pigeons

The crepe master at work

Bucolic wedding location

I also had the joyful opportunity to visit my family in Belgium. It was a laughter-filled, waistline-expanding weekend. I did my best to see as my relatives as possible, all the while eating as many delicious Belgian dishes as possible. It’d say I was successful on both fronts. Belgian beer, cheese, chocolate, waffles, freshly-made summer fruit tarts—what else can a girl ask for??

And I’m happy to report that, all the while, I’ve been writing. Still not finished with my novel that’s been sitting on the backburner for the past year, but I’ve been writing a lot about my social media sabbatical experience and a little about dealing with my father’s dementia diagnosis. I’ll be sure to keep you updated about these upcoming publications! The freelancer grind can be tedious and frustrating, but I’m excited to be writing and get my work out into the world.

I am also proud to announce that I am working as a writer at Story Terrace, a company that helps people write the memoir of their life. A few months ago, I had the good fortune of spending a few days interviewing my beloved photography teacher from high school who I wrote about a while back in this blog post. Then, I went home with my notes and recordings and wrote the story of her spectacular life. It was a fantastic experience and an opportunity that I’m grateful for.

Thanks all for now, folks! In the meantime, please check out my spanking new website, designed by yours truly! Happy summer, everyone!

Exclusive Interview with A Bonafide Restless Writer

Some of you may have heard about Couchsurfing, a social network created to connect travelers with locals in the areas where they are traveling. It's a beautiful concept and I encourage you all to check it out! I have been participating in CS since 2007, mainly as a traveler, and I recently decided to open my home to couchsurfers coming through Tampa. My first surfer, Eagle Gamma, is an adventurer extraordinaire. He's spent the last 3 years of his life on his bike saddle, traveling all over Canada, the United States, and Mexico.  Not only is he a rider, but he's a great WRITER too! You can check out his blog here and this really cool interactive map of all the places he's biked!

How long have you been restless?

I have been restless my whole life. When I was a child, I liked to wander, a habit that I’ve carried with me to this very moment.

How long have you been writing?

I’ve been writing since I learned to write at a young age which I forget the number. I have been writing consistently since I was a young child.

What sorts of things do you like to write about?

I like to write about the universe, imaginary universes, selves, and also anything and everything in between.

Eagle's Travels

What projects have you completed on the road?

I’ve completed an account of the astrophysical research happening at top locations around the world intermixed with my own outlandish adventures (Astrotripping: A Cosmic Journey, forthcoming). I’ve also completed an interactive work of science fiction which readers can play with and edit themselves, PhaseQ . And most recently I wrote a children’s adventure originally in Spanish and recently translated into English called El Burrito que Queria Volar. As well as several articles on the subject of astronomy.

How does being in motion factor into your writing process?                  

That’s a great question. The most immediate way is that I actually consider writing to be fundamentally a kind of motion so when I'm moving I am writing and the act of later putting those words to paper is almost an afterthought. So I consider the movement itself is actually the original source of stories and ideas and characters and I then translate that motion into a more conventional written word format. More specifically, while physically moving, I often consciously and subconsciously conceive of story elements and much of the inspiration comes from the environments thru which I move. Sometimes I daydream about a story while in motion and sometimes I think through the mechanics of the story. And sometimes I think about something else or nothing at all and let the story develop on its own.

So are you always working while riding your bike?

No, I think its important to take time off for a lot of reasons that can include safety, enjoyment, efficiency and other activities.

Why is the bicycle your preferred method of moving through the world?

A lot of reasons. I love bicycles. Bicycles are fun, efficient, good exercise, good for the environment, good for cultural travel and they help to form community.  Also they’re really cool and they can go anywhere. Being exposed to the world, you’re forced to experience it directly. You're thrust into the same space, forced to breath the same air. You basically have to interact immediately with the places and people instead of a car or plane where you’re shooting through obliviously to the location.

What are the challenges of being a restless writer?

There are many. The first challenge is to be a restless writer in the first place. It takes immense courage, effort and logistic prowess to be able to move around constantly and write. Psychologically, its extremely difficult because so much of life is rapidly changing all the time. lacking any type of solid or stable foundation, it becomes an extreme challenge to write consistently while living life on the road.

Given these challenges, why do you choose to live in this way?

Because, first and foremost, I love the freedom and joy and novel experiences and interactions with so many different people of so many different cultures. A lot of the things I get to do in the course of this life fulfill my lifelong dreams of exploring the world and writing about it and living an adventure.

The Riding Writer at Work!

What projects do you have coming up next?

My big project extends my existing Worlds O Wisdom project, adding a new world development concept that involves life itself. It’s educational and fun and revolutionary. Stay posted on these developments!

Anything else you want to add?

Really to me it’s a kind of liberation to go through these processes that constitute living as a restless writer. While I realize its much of a personal quest, I also believe that more generally its extremely valuable for people to each pursue their own quest and that whatever yours is, you give it a shot. 

To Freelance or Not To Freelance

Photo Credit

Last week, I announced that I want my writing to reach a larger audience. Since then, I’ve been digging deep into the world of freelancing, finding out how to actually make this work.

I’m learning that freelancing takes a lot of time, between researching, reading, pitching, and writing. And so I’ve had to ask myself – why freelance? It’s one more thing taking me away from my “creative” writing, so it better be worth it.

Here are a few reasons why I think it’s worth it –

• Visibility: writing for different publications allows you to get your name out there. Also, it’s a good way to make contacts and network with editors and other writers. You never know how these connections might play out in the future.
• Money: even if it’s not a lot, it feels good to get paid for your writing. Writing is a skill, and I’d like to compensated for my ability the same way as engineer or massage therapist would be. That being said, it still might be worthwhile to write for a place that doesn’t pay, but only under special circumstances.
• Practice: my teacher tells us that everything we write is part of our “writing life,” even if it’s a thank you note. Freelance writing is another opportunity to hone your skills as a writer. We can always use more opportunities to practice writing clear, concise, and interesting prose.
• Portfolio: it’s important to have an arsenal of writing samples, specifically published pieces. Having a varied portfolio will beget more writing assignments, which will help your freelancing machine running.

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Here are some ways to be smart and efficient about freelancing –

• Do your homework: Take the time to read lots of different magazines to see what sort of content they are interested in. I find that it is better to do this upfront, but you can also commit to researching one or two magazines per week.
• Spreadsheets are your friend: Staying organized is super important when you're your own boss, so make sure to take notes on different magazines – what they are looking for, who is the contact, what is the word count, etc.
• Make a schedule: I get great satisfaction in checking items off a list, so I like to make a master to-do list at the beginning of the week to get organized. Some things to consider: Which articles will you work on this week? How many pitches will you send out? Keep track of where you’ve sent your work so that you can check back in with the editor if you haven’t heard from them in a week or two.
• Think outside the box: lots of places need writers, not just the sexy mags like Salon and Bustle. Think about something you're interested in, say knitting or kayaking, and get in touch with magazines about that topic. Also, you'd be surprised how little you need to know about something to write about it well. 
• Set aside time for unpaid work: This is SUPER important. It can be tempting to devote all of my time to paid work, but I don’t want to lose sight of the reason WHY I’m doing this. My freelance writing is in direct connection to my greater goal which is to have my writing reach a larger audience. Always keep sight of the bigger picture!

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