by Tami Kamin Meyer | Aug 3, 2022 | Blog, Write Now Columbus Essay Archives
AN AUGUST OF ACTIVITY – WRITE NOW COLUMBUS AUGUST 2022
Tami here.
WE NEED YOUR HELP
Thank you for taking the time to peruse our monthly summary of literary news and events from throughout central Ohio. Nita and I enjoy sharing monthly local literary news about book releases, book fairs, author visits, book signings, workshops, and other writing-related happenings throughout the area.
To be honest, if we were trying to make a living at this, Nita and I would both be clients of my personal bankruptcy law practice (yes, I practice law on the side). We could really use some outside financial assistance to defray the costs of our website, its maintenance, occasional technical glitches, our researcher, and more.
Neither Nita nor I draw any kind of salary for these efforts, so our request for help isn’t about lining our pockets. We need help to keep the site running as it has for the past 19 years.
To donate whatever you can, please visit Nita’s DONATE page. To set up a recurring payment, check the box on that page. To send a check or money order, email nita@writenowcolumbus.com for the address. We take Venmo, too.
We also welcome sponsorships of this newsletter. At $15 a month or $40 for three months, we will mention your book, writing-related event, or even a little love note to your Write Now Columbus creators or our readers. Find sponsorship details HERE.
Thank you so very much!
DOING THE (freelance) HUSTLE!
In personal albeit professional news, I am excited and proud to announce I have been hired for four new writing opportunities. One of the freelance gigs is to write about cars for U.S. News and World Report. Another is to create original content for attorney websites. The two other writing jobs relate to banking and residential home buying, respectively.
It might seem I am flush with work, but, as a longtime freelancer, I know better. Things can change overnight. For example, a website I began writing for in January 2022 stopped using freelance writers in May, forcing me to find new opportunities.
To survive as a freelancer, a person needs to be a hustler. I don’t mean ‘hustler’ in a sneaky, unsavory way, but rather a ‘self-motivated, continuously digging for new challenges’ kind-of-way. Sure, it gets tiring, but overall, I enjoy the thrill of the hunt. And the dollars in my bank account!
IMPROV COMEDY at NEST!
Even more great news to share! Regular readers of this column know I am involved in the improv comedy community in Columbus. I’m THRILLED to announce I will be appearing in two shows in August at The Nest Theatre, 2643 North High Street. The first is Saturday, August 6, when I’ll be participating in a musical improv performance. The show will be the culmination of an intensive, 15-hour workshop I will be participating in Thursday, August 4 through the 6th, with the show at 8 pm that evening.
On August 11, at 7.30 pm, I will be performing a five-minute standup comedy routine as part of a class I am currently taking at The Nest. Yes, life is funny, and I have a lot to say about it.
And, in September, WORD: Live Lit and True Tales, will make its return. Neither the date nor the theme are set as of this writing, but if you’re interested in being a storyteller, please email me at tkmwrites@gmail.com. I’ll share more details as they become known.
For ticket information for any of those performances, please visit www.nesttheatre.com.
Happy August!
~ Tami
(c)Tami Kamin Meyer, 2022, all rights reserved
by Tami Kamin Meyer | Jul 3, 2022 | Blog, Write Now Columbus Essay Archives
July juxtaposition: You call this freedom?
The Summer of 2022 continued with a major slap in the face to every woman in America when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled to overturn the federal right to abortion. Nita and I are livid. I pray Ohio’s ‘Heartbeat Law’ is somehow deemed unconstitutional so women in our state can once again access the medical treatment they seek.
The numbers are on our side. We dissent.
On a lighter note, I’d like to share a glimpse into some of my recent writing successes.
I have been a freelance writer for over 40 years. As a freshman at the University of Cincinnati in 1981, I had no idea I could write. But I soon realized how enjoyable it was to research and write term papers and other assignments.
As a freshman, I joined the staff of The News Record, UC’s newspaper. Suddenly, I was interviewing people, asking questions to glean more information about the topic at hand, and writing article after article. I cried happy tears seeing my name in print. I did then and I still do now.
I have no idea how many articles I have written in those four decades, easily over 500, if not 1,000. One reason I honestly don’t know is that I’ve had several laptops and computers in that time, and not everything transferred each time I uploaded old data into new machines. Such is life. Also, some online publications don’t carry every article they have published, or perhaps rid their archives of content after time has passed. Therefore, I really have no way of knowing the actual number.
I’m grateful that 2022 has been wonderfully busy.
I have only written “on assignment.” That means I write articles based on a story idea and subsequent contract. The article suggestion is either one I made to an editor or one the editor offered to me. I receive a contract and write the piece.
I do not write “on spec.” Short for “on speculation,” writing on spec means I write the article, then shop it to several publications in the hopes one will buy and publish it. While that approach works for others, I simply don’t have the time to market my articles in the hopes of selling them after I write them. I strike the deal first, then write.
I am beyond proud to share one of my recent bylines in one of my favorite publications to write for, Cannabis & Tech Today. My editor there is pleasant, patient and honest, a joy to write for.
The article stems from my personal life experience. I possess an Ohio medical marijuana license for the pain and discomfort I endure due to arthritis. The idea for this article stems from my own difficulties opening certain types of packaging. Could it be that cannabis wrapping is ageist as it attempts to be child-proof?
You can find the article here.
by Tami Kamin Meyer | Apr 3, 2022 | Blog, Write Now Columbus Essay Archives
Hello Spring.
When I wrote the March essay one month ago, the Russian invasion of Ukraine was fresh and horrific news. I expressed my hope that when I wrote the April essay, I could write how the whole thing had been a terrible April Fool’s joke.
Sadly, that isn’t the case, but the unmitigated resolve displayed by Ukrainians, is so reassuring. Of course, there’s not just fighting for show. They’re fighting for their very existence. They’re standing up to the Big Boys, and it gives me hope that Good can truly conquer Evil.
Besides the incredible loss of life, shocking destruction and sorrowful circumstances that have befallen Ukrainians and others impacted by this aggression, there have been additional deaths and injuries stemming from the war.
“Additional deaths and injuries”
Just hours before I sat to write this essay, the Pope asked people to appreciate the sacrifices of the journalists killed covering the invasion of Ukraine.
Pope Francis spoke to journalists aboard a plane returning from Malta. In the U.S. News & World Report story, he said he was prepared to travel to the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, to express his condolences to “their fallen colleagues.” However, he noted, no decision has been made on the feasibility of such a trip.
“Your job is a job for the common good. They have fallen in service of the common good of information. Let’s not forget that they were courageous. I pray for them, I pray that the Lord rewards their work.”
Pope Francis
It is incredible to me there have been and continue to be journalists, photographers and countless others in supporting roles who risk their lives to be our eyes and ears in the midst of danger and peril. As I sit in comfort of my suburban home, enjoying the freedom of living in the United States, I am forever grateful to them for their dedication and sacrifice.
It’s magical to me the same day I planned on writing about the bravery of news gatherers and their teams, the Pope expressed his support for them, too.
As a journalist, I am proud and humbled to be among those to receive Papal consideration.
~ Tami
(c)Tami Kamin Meyer, 2022, all rights reserved
by Tami Kamin Meyer | Feb 5, 2022 | Blog, Write Now Columbus Essay Archives
The Fragilities of February
Guest Post by Tami Kamin Meyer
I write this essay cozy on my couch with my three dogs. Mother Nature coats our streets, cars and powerlines with layers of freezing rain. Several inches of snow are expected in the next day, wreaking havoc on people’s ability to drive, travel and even walk safely.
Although I am not a winter lover, I admit this unfriendly weather is ideal for my work as a freelance writer. Being temporarily quarantined at home, this time due to sleet and snow, affords me the delicious opportunity to read articles I’ve bookmarked, conduct research on story ideas I’m working on and even dally in Thesaurus.com.
In my mind, February is winter’s last attempt to make our Midwestern lives miserable. If the gray skies and frigid temperatures of January didn’t cause you to lose your mind’s last marble, February’s hostility seeks to finish the job.
February acts like a bridge
But one of the greatest joys of February, which acts like a bridge between the cold of January and the increasing mildness of March, is that it is the shortest month. February is like the stuffing of an awkwardly-flavored Oreo. You don’t want to eat it, but it gets forced down your throat, anyway.
Likewise, those delightful writing-related tasks I enjoy but don’t often have the time for are akin to being the Oreo of my freelance life. One side of the cookie represents the creating, thinking, researching and writing I do. The other half is comprised of the marketing, hustling and self-promotion I do to acquire opportunities to create, think, research, and write. Finally, the stuffing is composed of the activities I undertake to expand my knowledge base or sharpen my brain, such as crossword puzzles or researching pending legislation on a matter of interest to me.
When I write, I bring all those experiences and knowledge together. I create what I hope is a delicious, captivating and unique ‘cookie’ of creative expression.
In the meantime, I will make more coffee and heat the oven. It’s time to ‘get baking.’
by Tami Kamin Meyer | Jan 6, 2022 | Blog, Write Now Columbus Essay Archives
WORD is the Word
Guest post by Tami Kamin Meyer
As I type this, I (Tami) am beginning my second week of Omicron. At least I think it’s Omicron. Despite “enjoying” a myriad of symptoms for at least a week, the results of my pharmaceutically-administered COVID test read “negative.”
Hmmm….
Despite the uncertainty of the test, something “positive” did happen to me in December, something writing-related. I’m extremely proud to share it, so I appreciate this venue for spreading the news.
A bit of background
I have been involved with The Nest, an improv comedy theatre in Columbus for nearly three years. My wonderful, longtime boyfriend and I used to attend shows there, and we created many fond memories. It was his Christmas gift in December 2018 of the first level of improv comedy classes at The Nest that led me to me to become a part of that incredible community. It has since become a huge part of me, too.
Unfortunately, just two weeks after I began my first class, in May 2019, I found my dear Brad dead in the shower of our Manhattan hotel room. We had traveled to NYC to celebrate our sixth anniversary of meeting (and dating, because ours was that rare ‘Love at First Sight’ story that began the moment we met).
Despite the unspeakable shock I was in following Brad’s untimely death, I returned to my improv class its next meeting. It was incredibly difficult to open the same entrance door to the Nest that Brad and I had walked through multiple times to see improv shows, but I persevered. I had to. Brad would have wanted me to.
Heads turned when I walked into the theater turned classroom. Everyone knew what had happened in my life just a week before. Our teacher, who happened to be someone from the local improv scene Brad and I adored, embraced me deeply. I cried. He cried. Others came up and touched my shoulders in a show of support. It was a deeply touching moment forever etched in my heart.
Fast forward to December 2021, and the exciting news I received from The Nest.
One of the longest running shows at The Nest is actually not improv-based. It is WORD Live Literature & True Tales. As a writer, WORD is one of my favorite performances at The Nest because it focuses on real stories. Storytellers are invited to share a true story with audience members based on the show’s theme. I myself have presented at WORD three times, so I know it both as a presenter and attendee.
And, in 2022, I will be producing its quarterly incarnations! Just as exciting is the woman chosen to host the show is my closest “Nesty,” as we improvisers at the theatre are lovingly referred to. Brad would have been so happy for me and proud of me, so this means just that much more to me.
In the February issue of WNC, I’ll reveal the theme of WORD’s March show. Storytellers will be invited to volunteer to present at the event. Hopefully, so many folks will volunteer that Jodie and I will have to narrow down the number of storytellers chosen to perform (storytellers will know well in advance if they are being asked to participate).
If you have any questions about WORD, or The Nest, or writing, or even Omicron, please feel free to email me at writenowcolumbus@gmail.com. I’ll be happy to hear from you!
In the meantime, here’s to a sparkly, exciting, productive, joyful and HEALTHY y2K22.
