Assignments

Although I have a full-time job, I remain an active free-lance writer here in Hawaii. At the moment I have two assignments. One’s an advertorial for Honolulu Lights, a Kahala lighting retailer that also features an electric contracting partnership. The other is a story about Stanley Ann Dunham, President-elect Barrack Obama’s mother, a former student at the University of Hawaii-Manoa. The 1,000-word mini bio, which is an assignment for the UH-Manoa’s Malamalama magazine, will emphasize her life in Hawaii and her influence on our newly elected president. My story is due next Monday. I’ll need to get in touch with Obama’s sister, who teaches at La Pietra School. I will. Somehow, I always pull these stories together.

I absolutely love to write. I learned in high school that I could write my way to good grades. While a student at UH-Manoa, I always took writing intensive courses and earned scholarships each semester with my written entries to competitions.

My job is such that my writing is more medical and technical, with little room for artistic expression. The free-lance assignments fill that need for me. I absolutely love the learning aspect of both my full-time job and my free-lance writing endeavors. I meet new people, I learn something new, and I get to share it with readers.

Because I have a little experience with public relations, having worked at two Honolulu PR firms with disastrous results, I am often asked to assist groups, usually nonprofits, with their PR needs. Although my former employers would scoff at my abilities, I always get press for the groups that tap my services. Many times I do this on a pro bono basis. That’s OK with me. It’s a good personal policy to keep the good karma flowing.

The hardest part of being a free-lance writer is realizing that the time I spend researching and writing stories is time I don’t get to spend with my husband and daughters. I’ve learned how time is such a valuable commodity when it comes to building solid relationships with these three very important people. In these tough economic times, I refuse no assignment. I simply squeeze the work in. And in between, I get all the hugs and kisses I can from my family.