How Can I Earn a Living With my Writing?

Where the magic happens

The question has been, and continues to be, what can I do with my ability to write that will allow me to earn a living from this talent? In other words, how do I apply this ability so that I can quit working at Fritz?

I’d loved to be a newspaper columnist. Why, for goodness sake, I have never found a columnist yet who I agree with more than myself. Okay, that was bad, but not nearly so bad as as this yet this garbage got published! I can do that!

What’s more, I could do that and have the intelligence to not reveal the identities of our top secret CIA and national security operatives, unlike Robert Novak. Of course it has become clear that Novak was given CIA agent Valerie Plame’s name to leak as a form of retaliation against her husband, Joe Wilson who was challenging Bush’s assertion that Saddam had sought yellowcake uranium in Nigeria.

This is a real life spy novel that ended the covert career of one of the CIA’s top counterterrorism agents.

See, I wouldn’t be that stupid. Nor would I be so unpatriotic as to compromise our nation’s security. Robert Novak should be tried for treason. I think that what he did, by printing the leaked name of Valerie Plame in his column was an act of treason and I think he needs to do thirty or forty years in federal prison. Maybe at Gitmo. I hear they let the inmates play with the dogs out there . . .

So, newspaper columnist would be one. The problem with that one is that I have not spent years as a reporter building up a virtual Rolodex of people to contact as sources. I don’t know at age thirty-five if it is really possible

What I would have been really, really good at when I was drinking is the Dark Arts of political writing. You know, the type of campaigning that is done anonymously. The Republicans have a stable of these specialists. They’re the ones who set up phone banks in South Carolina in 2000 calling white Republican (almost redundant there) voters saying things like, would you still vote for John McCain if he had a mixed race child?”They were the guys who said: John McCain? Oh, he’s a war hero, no doubt about it. But those five years in the POW camps . . . well, McCain’s got a real anger problem and he isn’t quite all there you know. Can’t trust him with nuclear weapons . . .”

So ended McCain’s run for the White House.

I would be good at that on the other side of the fence.

In fact, I hear that George W. Bush’s Ambien prescription has had to be increased since polls showing he was tied with Kerry started to come out in March, but recently he’s not been taking the Ambien. But I did hear that they restocked the bar on Air Force One, you know, since he doesn’t drink, they took the bar out. But just recently they’ve restocked it. Kinda funny to hear that and then see George’s hand shaking like that at that Ohio rally. That’s one of those things you know, once and alcoholic, always an alcoholic—he could drink again at any time, if he hasn’t already. It would be really dangerous if we had an active alcoholic in charge of our nuclear weapons in a time of war, you know.

See? Wouldn’t I be good with a poison pen? You probably didn’t even know about Lynn Cheney and Condi Rice either did you? Family values indeed.

I can’t do that crap though. It is just as corrosive to my soul as it is to the person it is about. Also, I have to be a force for the Goddess in the world, not an evangelist (those would not be welcome in my circles) but an example of Her worship. It’s a toxic way to use my writing talent and I don’t want to do it.

I still have not figured out a way to earn a living by writing.

Good Morning Goddess Brigit, my name is Andy and I am an alcoholic. I have been kept sober since 2/2/01 by Your grace and Your grace alone. I’d like to take this moment to thank You, my Higher Power, for this my daily reprieve. Today is a good day to be sober. Please, keep an eye on Linda as she undergoes surgery today. Thank You. Blessed Be.