Working Online Is Still Working

It happens every holiday.  I'm sitting around drinking, chatting with family members whom I only see a few times a year (that's not an accident, by the way), when someone asks me what I'm writing these days.  "Another book?" they ask, their eyes lighting up.  "No, I'm taking a break from books," I reply, "I'm just focusing on my online writing jobs."

Blank stare.  Crickets.  Tumbleweeds.

It's true, there's very little about writing for websites that is glamorous, especially since "working from home" implies a general disdain for taking showers and wearing pants.  For some of us, however, those things are the job's two biggest selling points!  I enjoy keeping up with internet trends and humor, and spending a day researching and writing about funny Someecards or Bad Lip Readings is not just entertaining, it's work, which is pretty... pretty... pretty cool.  (Hat tip: Larry David)

But it's still work.  There are still days when I have no new ideas for articles, when I sit and stare at the blinking cursor until my eyes cross, and when I have to crank out a boring article about something like West Nile Virus (true story) to make a deadline, whether I feel like writing or not.  On days like those, I'm reminded that making a living is difficult no matter what you do, but if you truly enjoy what you do, you're still ahead of the game.  And if you can do it without wearing pants, you're more than just ahead of the game, you're winning it.

I hope your own work week is going well.  :)