The mantra I heard over and over when I first started pursuing a writing career was “write what you know.” For the first year, I did just that. I limited my subjects to the things I had personal experience or knowledge in dealing with.
As I looked for venues to make some money – particularly online – I began to venture out into subjects I knew less about. I would supplement the knowledge with research. As I made a little more money, I got a little more daring. Today, I am willing to write about any subject as long as I have the ability to do a little research before I get started.
On the flip side, my fiction still stays within the boundaries of my personal knowledge. For me, fiction has a different edge to it than non-fiction. You just can’t fake it. There has to be a foundation of knowledge and understanding in order for the story to feel real and the characters to come to life.
Sticking to JUST what you know can lead to stale writing. Writing something that you know nothing about (with out taking the time to research and understand the subject) can make your writing silly and worthless.
So, should you write what you know or learn what you write? I say do them both. You stretch your knowledge, you stretch your writing techniques, and most of all you stretch your genres.
February 13th, 2008
When people start thinking about their debt, they are usually focused on their own future. Very few people understand how their own spending habits will affect the lives of their children. The truth is that your debt will put a burden on your children. The higher the debt, the more enslaved your children will become unless you learn how to break the debt curse and start NOW!
The problem is that children learn what they see. If they see you using credit cards, buying what ever you please and always getting more and more with out thought then that is the pattern of behavior they are likely to follow. If you think your financial situation is bad, then multiply it by ten and that is the direction you are sending your children.
It is possible to get your whole family back on the right track. It will take some communication, lots of honesty and a willingness to cut the fat!
1. Sit down with the whole family and discuss the financial place you are currently at and the financial goals that you want for the future.
2. Make a budget for all the necessities that you currently spend money on each month.
3. Put a limit on non-essential items and activities each month.
4. Set a savings goal for each month and work towards that goal as a family.
5. Teach the children the reality of the financial world. If they get an allowance then go ahead and begin taking “taxes” out of that money. It can go into a tax fund and the whole family can vote on how to spend that money each year.
6. Open a savings account for each of your children. Encourage them to do odd jobs for friends and family and to save a large portion of that money.
7. Think more about giving than about getting. Look at ways you can use your time, resources (including money) and energy to help the people around you.
8. Take care of what you have already. Keep the house and the car picked up and in order. Clean and straighten it daily. Show respect to the things that you have in your life.
The scary thing about debt is that it doesn’t just go away when you die. Everything you borrow and every charge you rack up will pass down to your children to sort out and pay. Not only do they inherit your debt, but your habits will teach your children the same habits.
If you want your children to live a life of freedom, then start teaching them today that they are enslaved by the people they owe. Debt is not a good way to live.
February 13th, 2008
