(Image credit: Yumemiru app, Gizmag.com)

It’s seems like a pretty interesting idea—but I guess it’s no different than going to sleep with the sound of waves crashing onto a beach and seagulls.

 I wonder what’s next? 

Mind Control. There’s An App for that.

(image credit: discovermagazine.com)

For the life of me I still have a hard time trying to figure out why people view the unemployed as a disease. For some reason it’s ingrained in our society that you’re not a “valuable” member of society unless you’re working a “stable” job. This conversation comes up a lot. Around the blogosphere there’s  constant bashing towards the unemployed. Makes me wonder if it’s our reptilian (No, I’m not talking about that show “V”)brain is at work. Now with technology and globalization, traditional jobs are not the same. Years ago we were told go to college, get a job, and then die. Pretty straight and to the point. However, it seems that those days are ancient. We’re now living in a globalized-technology driven world. 

Nowadays everyone should really be asking these questions: 1. Can my job be shipped overseas? 2. Can a computer do what I’m doing? 3. Is there a demand for what I’m doing? (This is what I always think to myself whenever some smug bastard makes a snide remark about unemployed people. Don’t get too comfortable— you may find yourself in a similar position). In this economy it seems that you have to create your own position/job to keep afloat. I’ve been reading articles on Inc. about people starting home based businesses. I know that this in no way is helpful towards those with families and mounting bills. It seems that there are no right answers. But maybe the information could be helpful towards those that don’t have the responsibility of a family. 

I’ve also heard stories about employers telling potential candidates to don’t bother applying if they’ve been unemployed for a lengthy amount of time. WTF? 

I get that it comes down to being up to date with your skills, etc. But if you are a person who works as a freelancer, don’t you have to take it upon yourself to keep learning certain skills if you want to attract certain clients? 

 Many also have the assumption that those unemployed just sit on their butts all day doing nothing. My personal favorite against bloggers is this—“Well, maybe if you’d stop blogging all day you’d have a job!” Has it ever occurred to some that maybe those blogging do make money? Has it ever occurred to some that blogging may even actually lead to a job? I had a friend who did just that and she was able to land her dream job as a music writer for a very well known company. But like with anything it takes time and effort. 

 But anyway, where does this mentality come from that “having a job” is a certainty to security? Sure, it might seem like it because you know when you’ll receive your check as opposed to freelancing.  Just last week, I read an article on Mediabistro that the new CEO of Yahoo! is restructuring the department—which also means that there will be more layoffs. So nowadays, just “having a job” doesn’t even seem a sure thing. 

This morning I came across this valuable piece of information on mediabistro’s blog Galleycat called Should Readers Listen to Authors?  How many times have we been told in writing workshops that we should write with the reader in mind? I also remember one of my professors telling us that we should write as if the reader is smarter than us. To this day, that statement still sticks in my head. I guess he made this comment because there are some writers that may write in a way, treating the readers as if they aren’t competenent enough to grasp what’s going on in the story. You could call it “spoonfeeding” and this kind of writing irks me. I try my best to avoid this in my own work. But that’s what having a critique group comes in at :)

All of this is nothing new. The only difference is that now we’re living in the digital age, it’s easier to bridge the gap between the reader and writer.  With that said, It wouldn’t surprise me if publishing houses are perusing different sites to see what readers are saying—after all, they have to adjust to the digital age. 

Personally, I think that getting feedback from readers could be a good thing. One has to remember that you are not just solely writing for yourself, but that you are also writing to make a connection with the reader.  Sharing your work with anyone (stranger or not) is always nerve wrecking. What I’ve learned from sharing my work in workshops and with friends is that if they all are saying the same thing about something that’s not working in the story, it might be worth taking a look. If someone says something that might sound too nitpicky or weird (This guy in one of my classes told a writer that her writing reminded him of “walking through a perfumery and that he’s allergic to it”) then it depends on how you choose to handle it. 

Lastly, I always have to roll my eyes at those that seem to think that all we have to do is sit back and just write down whatever pops into our heads. Writing is a journey. Getting the words on paper just might be the easiest out of the whole writing/publishing process.