Jennie S. Bev

Writing for peace

Interesting writing fellowships:

Notre Dame's Kroc Institute
Radcliffe
Stanford Knight
Guggenheim

Room for writing

(Image source: NY Society Library)

We all need a room to work. And by "room" it refers to a four-walled room, a place to stay, and some cash to pay for basic necessities.

A writer needs her room badly because she needs to sit, focus, and bleed words from her forehead. For this, many writers need to moonlight as anything they can get.

I "moonlight" as an entrepreneur and a small business investor, just to keep up with the skyrocketing prices and to take care of my family.

In this early retirement, I'd like to focus on my craft and my craft only. Perhaps a little bit of investing doesn't hurt, just do it conservatively this time. A girl has got to eat, doesn't she?

Interesting links:

AgentQuery.com
Fundsforwriters.com
A Room of Her Own
Guggenheim
Lannan

Gift of time

I admire David Shields' works. I even mentioned him in one of my articles. His writings are clear and simple. A good role model for an aspiring writer like me.

I've been considering to write with full concentration without any family, household, and business interruptions. Yeah, people say retirement is the busiest phase of one's life and I can't agree more. And the only difference between "retired" and "unretired" is a very thin line. In retirement, we don't work for a living anymore. We work on our living, to make it better and more meaningful without having to worry about survival.

I'll give a try applying for Millay Colony residency, as David has inspired me. The greatest gift is time, solitude, and tranquility, many writers believe. Being in a place where nothing else matters is key to give birth to a great work.

I have never applied for a residency, so I'll be approaching this application with a lot of care and attention. The book proposal is the key. It is a great opportunity for me to learn conquering a part of myself that I have never explored before.

If I don't get it, well, it's just one failure among thousands I have encountered previously. No biggie. Just another learning experience.