(Or, how I spend my once-a-month for 2 or so hour Thursday vacations.)
by David Tandet
These are the emails that found their way to the in-boxes of the respective members of our writers group last Wednesday:
We’re still on for Thursday, right? (Kevin)
Yep! (Joy)
Totally!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!(Debra)
mmm . . .
(Just kidding – wouldn’t miss it.) (me)
_____________
Sensing a kind of hair-down, fun, relaxed feel to it all?
Because I know we all were. For various reasons.
Kevin was backed up with projects. Debra had just gotten a new client she’d been working a bit overtime for, and Joy – well – we all live a bit vicariously through Joy’s tales of post-Oscar parties and the REAL inside scoop on . . .
And for me – nothing special. Just an even keel this past couple of weeks.
But these Thursday, once a month meetings have become a place to indulge in blueberry pancakes and coffee while we watch the waves curl around the pier from the patio of Hennessey’s Tavern in Hermosa Beach. We call it our writers group, but maybe it should really be called our nonwriting forum. Simply a place to sit back and . . . whatever.
A while back I wouldn’t have been able to imagine showing up at a regular meeting of fellow professionals without making sure we all got the benefit of the latest SEO method one of our group had come across. And had anyone else seen the most recent survey on freelance rates?
Sure, that stuff comes up. But the reason we all enjoy these surfside get-togethers so much is that we have something very special in common: our jobs as freelance writers.
There’s enough time every other day of the month to deal with work specifics. And something super-extraordinary about just sharing a special understanding with fellow professionals, while not getting into work specifics too deeply, on this day of the month.
The main thing we accomplish? Making sure we check our accomplishments at the door. And if someone needs to find out who can recommend a special photographer or designer for a particular project – we take care of it. On Friday. Because Thursday is about renewal. And afterwards we go back to our respective computers refreshed, in touch, and loving our lives as freelance commercial writers.