Freelance Friday: Ode to M

It's Freelance Friday once again. This week is Ode to the letter M for the A to Z Challenge. We have movies, making things, medication and an mmmm mmmm good snack.

Our first freelancer is Rodney Southern. You'll never meet a more down to earth guy, who's devoted to his wife and twin daughters. His writing takes us into the realm of horror movies. He tells us how to set the mood for a scary night in Setting the Mood for the Perfect Horror Movie Night. If you like your horror without gore, then check out the Top Five Horror Movies Without Gore. He then takes some of us down memory lane with Five Classic Monsters That Need a Remake. I like his ideas, I think you will too.

Rodney Southern has been with YCN since July 2007, writing on topics such as sports, parenting, news, pets and his faith. Check out his blog, Rodney Southern Says full of real life stories and humor.

Next up in our talented freelancer department is Linda Ann Nickerson. Her contribution to "M" day begins with Menstrual Migraines: 5 Ways I Managed the Monthly Mayhem. If you are someone who experiences them or love someone who does, give Linda's tips a try. From a woman who knows her horses, read about the proper way to mount these wonderful beasts in 10 Steps to Mounting a Horse from the Ground.  I'm glad to know I did all the right things when mounting my horse oh so long ago. Finally, control the drooling, she gives us Make Milky Way Brownies from Leftover Halloween Candy. It combines my two favorite things, brownies and Milky Way candy bars. I'm almost drooling at the thought of chomping down on one...or a few of these.

Linda joined up at YCN in March 2007 and has written on such subjects as news, horses, saving money, pets and seasonal content just for starters. Check out her blogs, Nickers and Ink, The Mane Point, Practically at Home for a little bit of everything starting with poetry, humor, horses and home and garden.

Moving along, we stop by Marie Anne St. Jean's  writings and found, Make Your Own Beads from Household Items. Some I've seen and done myself, others I have got to try. Buttons, buttons everywhere and not one on a shirt. Check out Easy Craft and Decorating Ideas to Make with Buttons. Just in time for Easter, find out what to do with all those hard boiled eggs when the holiday is over in What to Make from Leftover Hard Boiled Eggs After Easter. June 2008

Marie Anne, also known by those who love her as MA. She's a multi-faceted, talented woman who don't take stuff from nobody. She began writing at YCN in June 2008. For some fun reading, check out  Marie Anne's Missives, Write, Wrong or Indifferent, In the Garden With Sow-n-Sow and Every Day Crochet. She also has an Etsy store, MACrochet, where she sells her crocheted baby blankets and dishcloths.

Last on our list today is Lynn Pritchett. Understand how medications treat migraines and their effectiveness in treating them in, Top 5 Migraine Treatments and Medications. If it's closing in on prom time like it is here in Florida, this may save you a boatload of money getting your kids to prom in style. Give Save Money on Prom Expenses: Prom Dress to Limo. A terrific personal story about a mistake turned into a triumph with a little help from friends is found in Best Mistake I Ever Made.

Lynn joined YCN in June 2006. She was among the first I met when I joined YCN, which was AC back then. She's absolutely the sweetest person ever and I love her to death! Give her profile a glance and you'll see topics on health and wellness, places to go, music and a bit of everything else.

Inventing Your Writerly Self: Who Are You?

I didn't think much about a writerly self growing up, heck, didn't really thing about "serious" writing till a couple of years ago. See, I've always loved to write...and read, a lot. My whole life has been spent in pursuit of language and words, putting them together to create a tapestry. I wove words together to help heal wounds, as tributes, to be silly, or just dream. The picture upon the tapestry reflected parts of me.

Two years ago when I stumbled across AC, I saw a chance to expand my tapestry. It also made me think about my writerly self. Who was I? Some people have a niche, some are generalists, others do both. Inventing your writerly self is a process you may or may not give any thought to at all. I'm a thinker, a planner, an organizer, so in typical fashion, inventing my writerly self required some thought.

I began with health related content because of the chronic pain condition I have. That led to my next favorite subject of home remedies and other health problems. I wanted to be more than a health writer, so I did some parenting type articles. Being a mom to four kids and one grandson helps me come up with ideas for those.

I love crafting, which led to crafting articles. Sometimes crafting and decorating cross, so I ended up with multi-dimensional articles. I have one pagan article, but have plans for more one day, as well as genealogy subjects for YCN. I have two fur babies who own me and let them each write their own article and the one I wrote on Maine Coons. Over at DS, I stuck with the health articles, then started writing gardening type, with a few craft articles thrown in and a few genealogy too.

At this point, two years later, I'm still inventing my writerly self. I'm a crafter, genealogist, gardner (only virtually...I murder anything that grows in real life. I did garden with my grandma growing up, just don't do it on my own.), health, parent, pet owner and proud pagan. I am a generalist who can write to specific niche topics with ease due to my life experiences.

There's other dimensions to me as a writer that I have yet to explore, but it's not as if I have any limits on what I can do either. I've seen people ask many times about how to get article ideas or rely on assignments at YCN in order to write something. Everyone should take some time to find out what they like to do to begin inventing their writerly selves. Go on, getting crackin' and make a list! I bet you'll start coming up with ideas for articles before you get too far.