gear

Skullcandy MP3 Voice Recorder Watch

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Ever get a sudden idea for a great story, article, or plot device at the exact moment you can’t write anything down or e-mail it to yourself? This 1-gig MP3 watch from Skullcandy is the answer to that problem. The built-in voice recorder lets you dictate your ideas and save them for later in .wav format, compatible with all audio editors and playback software like Cubase, Vegas, Pro Tools, and iTunes. The watch stores a full gigabyte of MP3s and you can transfer music via USB just like any Zune or iPod.

Buy for $169.95 

travel

Writer’s Getaway: Secret Garden, Santa Barbara, CA

santa-barbara2.jpg The charming cottages at Secret Garden are perfect for writers–and some even have their own private decks or patios. Choose one with a hot tub for unwinding after a long day of working on a manuscript or brainstorming article ideas. The breakfast buffet served each day features fresh scones, French recipe quiches, and that much-needed morning jolt of coffee or tea to get started. 

If you settle in and find yourself with writer’s block, schedule a relaxing massage or wander the grounds and take in the sights and scents of the lovely gardens. More likely, you’ll find that the peaceful atmosphere here will inspire you to get some good work done. A perfect spot for those who require solitude and quiet to do their best work. If you write better with your trusted canine companion along, ask for a pet friendly cottage–but there’s no breakfast buffet for Fido!

Oh–and did I mention that it’s a great place to get away from those long winter days once the glow of the holiday season has faded? Those fed up with the cold will find the warmth of California a great restorative.

editorial

On Tunnel Vision

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Tunnel vision. That mode you go into when you’ve got your head buried in five deadlines at once, money on the line and probably your professional reputation too if you don’t deliver the goods. It happens to all of us in one form or another and for me, it usually takes something awful to snap myself out of it. I got snapped out of mine in a major way by two big news stories this week. One made national headlines, the other is all over the news in Chicago.

The national one you already know; the death of Heath Ledger. Everybody was shocked over the passing of this talented 28-year old who seemed to have everything going for him. So shocked that some in our business couldn’t resist connecting the dots to the worst possible explanations with nothing more than a few scraps of information. No surprise there, really.

Folio blogger Dylan Stableford’s two cents on all this pretty much sum it up for me, and while I normally nod my head, agree quietly and let things go, another blog entry made me passionate enough to blog about the whole thing. Stableford laments the shoddy journalism connected to Ledger’s death, the haste which some in the media took rumor and partial information, tying them together however it seemed to fit best.

Continue reading On Tunnel Vision →

reading

Make a Real Living as a Freelance Writer

jenna-glatzer-book1.jpgIf you want one good book on freelancing and you are just starting out, Make a Real Living as a Freelance Writer by Jenna Glatzer is definitely it. Jenna walks through the query process, tells some juicy insider secrets and teaches those who are just starting out a ton about the business of writing. She has penned many an article including credits in Woman’s World, Woman’s Own, and Prevention. Glatzer is a contributing editor at Writer’s Digest and has written several books including an authorized biography of Celine Dion.

There is a lot of information out there for the new freelancer, but you have to dig around in writing forums, magazine articles and books to find it–and it’s very time consuming. It can be difficult at first to tell the good advice from the bad. Glatzer’s book is a good starter resource that can help answer those “newbie” questions all in one place. Jenna has eaned herself the moniker “The Writer’s Writer,” and one of her specialties is helping other writers learn the business. This book is the perfect example.

See Jenna Glatzer’s blog or take a look at her impressive list of titles at her official site

gear

Quantaray Pro Photo/Laptop Backpack

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When you’re writing for a living, diversity is the name of the game. If you can add photography to the mix, you’re instantly more marketable in more ways than one. Since one of my main strengths is music and culture writing, I’d be a fool NOT to be a writer/photographer.

When I first started taking pictures for my pieces, I used any old bag for the gear, but after getting the Quantaray Pro as a gift, I am completely sold on a dedicated bag for all my gear. I carry my Zoom H4 recorder, mics, camera and lenses, plus my laptop in the Quantaray Pro and have used the same one for years without so much as a broken zipper. We do a lot of different types of gear reviews at Freelance-Zone, but this one ain’t based on specs alone–I am a huge fan of this backpack and will definitely buy another one just like it when I finally kill it years from now after one location shoot too many.

Buy the Quantaray Pro camera/laptop backpack for $79.00


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