Date: June 1st 2003

HANDY JOB HUNTER FOR WRITERS
ISSUE #3 (6/2003)
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Compiled by Michael A. Arnzen
http://www.gorelets.com
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RANDOM THOUGHTS ABOUT BLOCK
by Michael Arnzen

I taught a seminar on writer's block once, and in my research I picked up a nifty little book called THE WRITER'S BLOCK by Jason Rekulak. It's a novelty item, in that the book is cut in the shape of a 786 page cube. It's a >block<, literally. And it's fun to play with; using the book is a way of psychologically mastering the block. You pick it up, flip randomly to a page, and write based on the "jump start" that's on the page: a quote, a photo, or a direct writing prompt (like, "Write about a near death experience"). I like to play with it, but I hardly ever use the given images or text to launch my imagination -- they're too generic and tame for me.

But what I learned from this book is that it's the random encounter, not the content, that triggers the idea.

If you're stuck, pick up a catalogue, a magazine, or a comic book -- something you actually enjoy pawing through to look at the pretty pictures. Or, alternatively, grab your book of famous quotations. In either case, flip to a random page with your eyes closed. Open them. Shop for an item to write about on the page. If you can't find anything, try again.

+++

In her book, ON WRITER'S BLOCK, Victoria Nelson suggests that "art lives in the modest effort, not the grandiose one" and suggests that just a little bit of writing itself can cancel out the resistance to writing we feel when we're blocked. We have to get over the belief that one has to be "in the mood" for creative writing. "One must be pitiless about this matter of mood," Joyce Carol Oates writes. "In a sense, the writing will >create< the mood."

When I'm blocked, it's not that I'm "not in the mood." It's that I'm not in the >right< one. But when I sit down in the chair to write, I remember: creating the mood is my whole reason >for< writing in the first place. There's a private, humble, but powerful joy that comes from writing. I write to feel that.

+++

Some people say writer's block doesn't exist at all. They say they "don't believe in writer's block" as if it were a scary ghost or something. That might be one way of solving the problem -- to disavow it -- to say that the obstacles in the way of writing are only a figment of our imagination. That way you can brush it aside like the crud in your eyes in the morning and just get down to work. After all, working journalists don't have the liberty to have writer's block; they have to keep things flowing.

But sometimes, we all still need to prime the creative pump. Reading is often the best cure for this. Whether it stimulates the imagination or juices up a little competitive fervor, I think you have to immerse yourself in the world of writing to get that pump primed. Some say taking a vacation from overwork is the ticket, but I find myself reading when I travel and coming up with more ideas based on what I read than on what I actually experience. Read voraciously -- everything -- no matter what the genre. From self-help books for writers to really, really bad books -- inspiration can strike out of the blue. Chances are something will click if you keep reading. If not, you've done some "unconscious research" that will pay off eventually. With writers, it always does.

+++

You wouldn't think to go butterfly hunting without a butterfly net in hand. Same concept. Writing is work, and we all need vacations occasionally (even if just emotional ones). Force yourself to take breathers, but always be ready to strike. I found that carrying a handheld computer or a notepad around with me encourages me to go idea hunting. When I return to sit at my computer, I always bring something to write about.

+++

Trying to coach someone out of block is one of the most difficult things in the world. The fact is, it is always up to the writer to change the writer. Although few writers I teach respond well to having to write "on demand" in the classroom, many have found the "prompts" I distribute for journal writing very helpful for sparking ideas. (And I even write prompts in a column for writers I have in Hellnotes Newsletter (http://www.hellnotes.com)). Maybe keeping a journal would help you. Or if you are just feeling block, force yourself to respond to any given prompt you might easily find online. Here's a starting challenge, one that -- as a flash fiction writer -- I enjoy very much: http://oneword.invisibleland.tv/ (I recommend you don't post your work on that site, however, if you hope to sell the e-rights).

+++

I was feeling a little blocked when I saw that I had to write this essay. So I wrote >about< block itself. I think the best ideas are sometimes the ones that are staring us right in the face, but for some unconscious reason we keep looking around them, hunting for something else. What's staring you in the face right now? What objects are in your line of sight, surrounding you, >right there< in your everyday life, calling out to you on a daily basis?

Answer the call.

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THE HANDY JOB HUNTER LIST

New entries are marked with the "±" symbol.
(Hint: copy the character and run a search
for it to quickly scan for just the new stuff).

SF/F/H = "Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror"


>>GOOD OVERVIEW TO GET STARTED<<

Writer's Guide to Finding Jobs Online
http://www.sunoasis.com/tutorial.html

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>>JOURNALIST-ORIENTED<<

Power Reporting
http://powerreporting.com/category/Journalism_shoptalk/Jobs

Journalism Jobs
http://www.journalismjobs.com/

Job Link for Journalists (Newslink.org)
http://newslink.org/joblink/

Detroit Free Press Job Portal
http://www.freep.com/jobspage/links/jobboard.htm

J-Net
http://www.journalism.berkeley.edu/jobs/

Journalism Net
http://www.journalismnet.com/jobs/

Media Bistro
http://www.mediabistro.com/joblistings/

New York Times Media Jobs
http://www.nytimes.com/pages/jobs/jobs_media/index.html

Society for Technical Communication
http://www.stc.org/

Sun-Oasis Job Bank
http://www.sunoasis.com/

Nat'l Diversity Newspaper Job Bank
http://www.newsjobs.com/

JournalismNext for Persons of Color
http://www.journalismnext.com

TV Jobs
http://www.tvjobs.com

NewsJobs
http://www.newsjobs.net/usa/default.asp

Copyeditor Jobs
http://www.copyeditorjobs.com/default.asp?id=5

Nat'l Assoc of Broadcasting Career Center
http://www.nab.org/bcc/

± Writer Classifieds
http://www.writerclassifieds.com/

± Publishing News (UK)
http://www.publishingnews.co.uk/pn/pnc/index.asp

± American Copyeditors Society Job Bank
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ACESjobs/

± Non Profit Times Jobs Bank
http://nptjobs.nptimes.com/search.cfm

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>>CREATIVE WRITING-ORIENTED<<

Publisher's Weekly Job List
http://publishersweekly.reviewsnews.com/index.asp?layout=classifiedsJobsPub&category=Publishing+Jobs&publication=publishersweekly

The Write Jobs
http://www.writerswrite.com/jobs/

Writer's Weekly
http://www.writersweekly.com/

WriterFind Jobs
http://www.writerfind.com/freelance_jobs/

About.com's Job Listings
http://freelancewrite.about.com/cs/assignmentboards/index.htm

Writer's Retreat
http://www.angelfire.com/va/dmsforever/main.html#jobs

FreelanceWriting.com Full Time Jobs
http://www.freelancewriting.com/fjb.html

Inscriptions Magazine Job Listing
http://www.inscriptionsmagazine.com/Jobs.html

Preditors & Editors
http://www.anotherealm.com/prededitors/pubjob.htm

Craig's List - New York editing/writing gigs
http://newyork.craigslist.org/wri/

WritingContests.net's Joblinks
http://www.writingcontests.net/job_websites.htm

Telecommuting Jobs for Writers
http://www.tjobs.com/new/writers.shtml

Writer's Resource Center
http://www.poewar.com/jobs/

Society for Scholarly Publishing
http://sspnet.org/classifieds/

Creative Hotlist
http://www.creativehotlist.com/index.asp

Sharp Writer
http://www.sharpwriter.com/jobmarket.htm

± Burryman's Freelance Opportunities
http://www.burryman.com/freelance.html

± Work for Writers Yahoo Group
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WorkForWriters/


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>>GENERIC JOB-HUNTING<<

Monster.com (aka Jobs.com)
http://www.monster.com

Headhunter.net
http://www.headhunter.net/

HotJobs
http://www.hotjobs.com/

Alta Vista Worklife
http://altavista.worklife.com/

Career Builder
http://www.careerpath.com/

JobHunt.org
http://www.job-hunt.org/general.shtml

Search Classified Ads from Many Local Newspapers!
http://www.realfind.com

Google.com's good, but use Copernic.com to Metasearch
(This is a handy tool for journalists, anyway! I recommend the pay version)
http://www.copernic.com

Job Hunt Resources by Academic Major
http://www.uww.edu/stdrsces/career/jobsearc/d12.htm

± Job Star
http://www.jobstar.org/


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>>GUIDELINES & MARKET LISTINGS<<

Writer's Write Paying Markets
http://www.writerswrite.com/paying/

Poets & Writers Classifieds
http://www.pw.org/mag/classifieds.htm

Writer's Weekly Updates
http://www.writersweekly.com/markets/markets.html

Writer's Digest Guidelines
http://www.writersdigest.com/guidelines.asp

Gila Queen
http://www.gilaqueen.com

Worldwide Freelance Writers
http://www.worldwidefreelance.com/

Writing for Dollars
http://writingfordollars.com/Guidelines.cfm

Art Deadlines List
http://artdeadlineslist.com/subscribe

Mary Wolf's Guide to E-Book Publishers
http://my.coredcs.com/~mermaid/epub.html

Piers Anthony's Survey of Electronic Publishers
http://www.hipiers.com/publishing.html

Ralan's Extravaganza (SF/F/H & Humor)
http://www.ralan.com

Spicy Green Iguana (SF/F/H)
http://www.spicygreeniguana.com/index2.html

Write Market (SF/F/H)
http://www.writemarket.com/

The Market List (SF/F/H)
http://www.marketlist.com

Flemming's List of Markets (SF/F/H)
http://home.att.net/~p.fleming/Sfmarket.html

Speculations Rumor Mill (SF/F/H)
http://www.speculations.com/rumormill/

Jobs in Hell (H)
query jobsinhell@hotmail.com

Hellnotes (H)
http://www.hellnotes.com

Horror Scripts (H)
http://www.tcnj.edu/%7Eberes/horror.htm

Little Behemoth (genres)
http://www.littlebehemoth.com/

FlashFictionFlash (very short stories)
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FlashFictionFlash

± SpecFicWorld's Market Listings (SF/F/H)
http://www.specficworld.com/markets.html

± Funds for Writers
http://www.fundsforwriters.com

± Places for Writers
http://www.placesforwriters.com/archives/cat_calls.html

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>>WRITING TEACHER ORIENTED<<

Chronicle of Higher Education
http://chronicle.com/jobs/

Academic Position Network
http://www.apnjobs.com/

Education Week
http://www.edweek.org/jobs/

Association of Writing Programs
http://www.awpwriter.org/careers/careerlinks.htm

Adjunct Nation
http://www.adjunctnation.com/jobs/

Internat'l Teacher Recruitment
http://www.teachers.eu.com/

Academic360
http://www.academic360.com/

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>>FREELANCING FOR HIRE<<

Elance -- Auction Your Services
http://www.elance.com

Free Agent -- Sell Yourself
http://www.freeagent.com/Myhome.asp

Guru -- Post Your Portfolio
http://www.guru.com/

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>>ACADEMIC PUBLISHING CALLS<<

UPenn's Calls for Papers
http://www.english.upenn.edu/CFP/

E-Server's Calls for Papers
http://eserver.org/calls/

Tech Comm Calls for Papers
http://tc.eserver.org/dir/Academic/Calls-For-Papers

Custom Conference Alerts
http://conferencealerts.com/

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>>INTERNSHIPS<<

Internships.com
http://www.internships.com

College Central
http://www.collegecentral.com

Internship Programs
http://www.internshipprograms.com

Get That Gig
http://www.getthatgig.com/media/index.html

Envision
http://www.emagnify.com/envision

BackDoor Jobs -- Adventuring
http://www.backdoorjobs.com/

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Compiled by Michael Arnzen, Ph.D.
http://www.gorelets.com

Look into the low residency Master's Degree program
in Writing Popular Fiction @ Seton Hill University:
http://www.setonhill.edu/~grad

SUBSCRIBE FOR REGULAR UPDATES:
http://gorelets.com/cgi-bin/mojo/mojo.cgi

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>>MICHAEL ARNZEN'S LATEST<<

Freakcidents: A Surrealist Sideshow
http://www.darkvesperpublishing.com/

"Manically energized, transgressively funny,
and perpetually haunted." -- Lance Olsen

Fluid Mosaic: Stories
http://www.wildsidepress.com/

...and many E-books at http://fictionwise.com

Find out more about Arnzen at http://gorelets.com

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>>YOUR COUPON FOR SUBSCRIBING<<

WRITEAGAIN is a very useful product for freelancers
to track submissions, reprint rights, project
schedules, market listings and income.

Try WRITE AGAIN manuscript organizing software
and get a 10% rebate when you register if you tell
them that Arnzen's newsletter sent you!
http://www.asmoday.com/WA.htm

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"You might enjoy Writer's Block the way some
people enjoy their illnesses, removing them from
the responsibilities of running their lives. If you do
love Writer's Block, and I think we all do sometimes,
just like we like being laid up with a virus (under our
covers where no one can touch us), remember this:
The world feels sorry for you only for three days.
After that, no one listens." -- Leonard S. Bernstein