Looking Back at a Writing Career…. And Ahead
On the floor around my desk are folders and binders… newspaper clippings and magazine articles. “Don’t you have a list of all the articles you wrote?” my husband asks. I kept lists of articles I wrote each year, ticking off the paid box when the check came in. But that was it. A master list? What a good idea, but no way. When you’re in the middle of it, you don’t think about preserving what you’re doing. That comes later. In other words, now.
I was a freelance writer for 18 years. I wrote for dozens of magazines, the names of which surprise me when I look through the pile. In addition to those listed on the Articles page of this website, there were others. Adweek. American Baby. Sesame Street Parent. The Village Voice. Self. And some that are no longer around (even online)—Mademoiselle, Fitness (became Shape), Working Woman, and Conde Nast Sports for Women, to name a few.
In the beginning, I got assignments based on questions I had—mainly about fitness and nutrition. What should I eat before I exercise? Do I need to stretch before every workout? One thing led to another and before I knew it… I was going undercover, getting a job as a fitness instructor to prove how unregulated the industry was. I was interviewing Martina Navratilova, Mary Lou Retton, and Joan Lunden. I was taking a boat ride around Manhattan—next to a swimmer paddling her way around. I was teaching writing at the School of Visual Arts in NYC.
In other words, I was having a great time. Throw in a few books—one of my own and also as a co-author—and there you have it. A full and fulfilling career.
Then what happened? Why did I stop? Why is there a gap between those early years—and now?
What happened to that young woman who was running around town, writing for all the magazines, meeting editors, going to press events? I’ll tell
you what happened—divorce and the need for steady/ier work. Freelancing as a source of income was not reliable. I needed to know when the next paycheck was coming.
The solution soon presented itself as a part-time writing gig for a hospital. Interviewing doctors, finding out about medical advances, making medical information easy to understand for patients.
After that, my career took several turns. I worked full-time at a medical center. I wrote and edited a natural healing newsletter. I even served as a communications director for nonprofits and foundations.
I look back on my career and it seems sometimes that it happened to someone else. But no, it was me. The journalist, the reporter, interviewing people and telling stories wherever I could find them. First and foremost, a writer.
All this time, though, I was also doing another kind of writing. Fiction. Before work, after work, weekends. Whenever I could fit it in. I wrote short stories. I took writing workshops. I received a scholarship to attend the Bennington Writing Workshops one summer. I wrote two novels, unpublished.
Now, a third, represented by an agent, is trying to make its way into the world. I can’t wait to tell you more about it.