Friday Speak Out!: Feeling Fulfilled through Fiction, Guest Post by Brooke Williams

Feeling Fulfilled through Fiction

by Brooke Williams

I spent 12 years of my professional career in radio. I have to admit, I enjoyed aspects of it. But it was never my true passion. When my daughter was born in 2009, I left the industry to become a full time mom. Though I love my daughter with all my heart, after a year of the daily ins and outs of being a stay at home mom, I was ready to place a claim on my own life. I wanted something of my own. That’s where writing came in. I always wanted to create an at home business, but I had no idea what to do. Writing became the obvious choice because it was something I truly loved, and could actually do.

I began searching websites and was amazed to find that there are tons of writing opportunities out. Honestly, had I known about these jobs before, I would have made the transition years before my daughter even came onto the scene. For the most part, I write web content. That is not always very exciting. For example, I recently got a job assignment for 27 articles on various aspects of kitchen counters. I have written about deer hunting (a topic I do not particularly enjoy), time shares (a topic I would love to enjoy in person), and plenty of other things. I found that as my fingers flew over the keyboard each day during my daughter’s naptime, I was finally fulfilled as a professional.

Writing strange articles on topics I did not often know much about was weirdly fun. The real fun began, however, when I discovered a website that was just about to launch. This website, called chainbook.com, was asking writers to create the first chapter of books. After the website launched, another writer would write chapter 2, a third person chapter 3 and so on until the book was complete at 24 chapters. I had always wanted to write in a creative manner so off I went. I wrote 67 first chapters. The ideas kept me up at night.

Once the website launched, I was sure I would leave my work behind and move on to the paying jobs. Articles about internet services were waiting to be written, after all. But I found the fiction world still calling out to me. I cannot add on to any of the 67 books that I started, but I can look for other writers to help. There isn’t any pay involved, but once the books are published, each writer can say they are a published author. Their name and words will be in print. In an actual book! Plus, it’s just plain fun to see where my ideas go.

I feel like I’m a better mom because I have a creative outlet. If you want a little extra creativity in your life, feel free to contact me about writing in one of the books I’ve started. I’d love to see where you take it!

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Brooke Williams is mom to a 2 1/2 year old and a freelance writer who has articles all over the internet. She wrote chapter 8 in the recently published "ShadowLake" novel, a publication of chainbooks.com. You can view some of her fiction work at http://chainbooks.com/AuthorDetails.aspx?Authid=43 or contact her for the change to write a chapter in one of her books at djforjesus@hotmail.com.


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Would you like to participate in Friday "Speak Out!"? Email your short posts (under 500 words) about women and writing to: marcia[at]wow-womenonwriting[dot]com for consideration. We look forward to hearing from you!

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