Love the life you live. Live the life you love (or why I decided to become a freelance writer)

A good friend recently gave me this mug, and I thought the sentiment on it was very apt:

Yes, that is a dinosaur on my desk and I do have a shark tea strainer...

‘Love the life you live. Live the life you love’ seems a pretty good rule to follow, and it’s this ambition (not fuelled by the mug, that was a happy coincidence) that helped me take my first steps as a freelancer.

Let’s roll the clock back a bit. I accepted a good few years ago that retirement as a concept means something very different for me to what it means to my grandparents’ or parents’ generations. Whether I’ll even get a retirement is debatable at this point in time.

And that’s when I really started looking at my life. I count myself very lucky that I travelled a lot in my 20s and that I lived overseas for a good number of years. I’ve seen a lot, experienced a lot and, I think, am a better person for it.

But there comes a point when, no matter how good you’re getting at keeping that work-life balance mostly in your favour, you need a change. And for me, going freelance was the change I needed.

Nearly two years ago I had something of a realisation. I was kayaking in Portland Harbour - it was sunny, peaceful and I felt incredibly happy. I remember thinking to myself ‘I wish I could do this more’, and then quickly realised I could, if I was prepared to make some changes.

So I did some research, put in some hard work and a little over a year ago qualified as a stand up paddleboard (SUP) instructor. I spent most of my weekends last summer teaching at a watersports centre in Weymouth, loving every minute of it - it didn’t feel like work, it was fun and I was getting paid to be there, a magical combination. With summer on the way this year, I could definitely hear the beach calling me.

And that’s when I had my ‘put your money where your mouth is’ moment. I wanted to spend more time outdoors, I wanted to teach SUP more than just a couple of hours on a weekend and I wanted the freedom to enjoy the summer.

All that was holding me back were my fears. I did my sums, I rationalised, I talked to a lot of people about it, and the more I thought about it, the more the idea of spending my time working as a SUP instructor seemed to make sense.

But I enjoy writing. I didn’t want to give that up. Not to mention that, in the UK at least, SUP instructing is definitely a seasonal profession. So going freelance as a writer was the logical choice.

I could balance my love of the ocean and the beach with my love of language and (hopefully) be happier for it. So far I’m definitely happier and despite the stresses that come from working as a freelancer, I feel less stressed generally in daily life.

I’m still only one month into this journey and it may yet fail. But if it does, at least I’ll know I tried.

If any other freelancers or business owners want to share their rationale for choosing that path, please feel free!

Freelancing: the fear and the freedom

I’m reinventing my blog to talk about my experiences as a freelance writer. There may well be other bits and pieces that sneak in every now and then, but that’s all part of the fun.

So, I’m in my first month as a fully freelance copywriter. At the end of June I walked away from a full-time job to go it alone. I’ve been freelancing around that job for a good few years now, so I wasn’t entirely unprepared, but even so, going from the stability of a regular pay cheque to the uncertainty of freelancing is a bit nerve wracking.

The fear

I had my first taste of the fear a couple of weeks before I left my job. I suddenly had an “oh my goodness what the f**k are you doing??” thought racing round my head. Money (or the lack thereof) is, sadly, the thing that terrifies me most. It’s the worry of not making the mortgage payment, or falling behind on other bills.

There’s also a niggling sense of ‘what if I fail?’ in the mix, but that bothers me less. If this doesn’t work out and I have to go back to being gainfully employed then so be it.

But what do you do about the fear when it strikes? My approach was to go through my finances in detail, make sure I hadn’t miscalculated - and realising I’d be alright, at least for the next couple of months was a big relief.

I also can’t thank my friends and family enough for their constant reassurance that I wasn’t making a huge mistake, and that actually I’m not bad at stringing words together. They’ve helped probably more than they know.

The freedom

One of my major reasons for going freelance was to have more flexibility and freedom in my life. I’ve reconciled myself to the fact that my retirement age (which is already over 70) is only going to rise, so I need to enjoy every day now rather than wait for that magical time when I can afford to give up work - frankly I’ll be surprised if that ever happens.

I love the fact that I can choose to take my dog for a longer walk than usual if the mood takes me. Or that I can take a sunny afternoon off to chill out at the beach. Or that if I’m really not in the mood for writing (assuming I have no pressing deadlines) I can just leave it for a few hours and do something else. It’s incredibly invigorating to have that level of control over how I spend my days.

My first month has definitely had its ups and downs, but overall I’m feeling happier, more relaxed and very positive about the future.

How can I resist the chance to spend more time here??

Why Iain Banks is one of my favourite authors

I've been incredibly bad at keeping this updated, but having heard the news today about Iain Banks' cancer diagnosis, I felt compelled to write something about him. First up, I'll start by saying he's probably my favourite author. I've read all of his fiction and almost all of his sci-fi books (with the exception of the newest two Culture novels I think) and I just can't get enough of his work.

Totally coincidentally, I've just finished rereading Complicity, which is one of my personal favourites.

There were lots of news stories about this today, but I thought that Tom Chivers at the Telegraph summed it up perfectly when he said that Banks is "two of our finest authors". Iain Banks - and Iain M Banks - is just a superlative writer.

I first read The Wasp Factory when I was 17 I think and although it made me feel sick in places, I loved the writing style, the dark feeling of the novel and I was hungry for more. After raiding the bookshelves in our house, I found Espedair Street and Walking on Glass and after reading these, realised what I diverse author Banks really was. Over the following couple of years I read every non sci-fi book of his there was and then eagerly awaited the next release (which I think was Dead Air if my memory serves correctly).

It was during this waiting period that a friend suggested I try one of his Culture novels. I was a bit sceptical, as I'd never pegged myself as a sci-fi fan, but as it was Banks decided I'd give it a go. I picked up Use of Weapons and was, again, hooked - despite the fact that there was one part of the book that made me physically wretch as I read it. But that's one of the things I love most about Banks (not that he makes me wretch) but that his words have the power to induce such a strong physical reaction in the reader - or possibly just me. When I read one of his books, sci-fi or not, I feel immersed in the world he creates. I can see what he's describing with vivid clarity, I can hear, smell with the characters, such is the power of his description. I've yet to find another author who has this power over me.

I decided about a year ago that I needed to reread most of his work, having rushed through it all when I was younger. I'm planning to savour the books this time around and I have no doubt that I'll return to reread them many more times in the future. I often think the true test of a good book is whether you'd happily pick it up and read it again; I'm not claiming that everything Iain Banks has written is exceptional, but he's certainly produced more than his fair share of outstanding novels.

If you've never read any of his books, I urge you to do so - and preferably more than one, otherwise I think you'll miss out on his skill for tackling such a diverse array of subjects. His Culture novels are particularly impressive, due to the level of thought that's gone into every aspect of them and the universe he's so deftly created.

There's not much more for me to say, except that I'm incredibly saddened by the news and wish Iain the best for the coming months.