Off Topic: My Origin Story

Caveat: Today’s subject is only tangentially about horses. For more non-equine subjects, see my other blog, Off Topic. Rodney’s Saga returns to regularly scheduled programming tomorrow.

I have a near-monthly gig interviewing folks about their jobs in the horse industry: good parts, bad parts, and how they got started [USDF Connection clips]. This led me to ponder how I ended up as a freelance writer specializing in equestrian journalism. It all stemmed from the World’s Greatest Rejection Letter.

I never had a calling to write. I never wanted to be a writer. I didn’t even know it possible. In grade school, a friend and I were playing a game that required us to pick a job. My friend said she would be a writer. My choice is lost in the mists of time, but I remember thinking, “A what?” Writing was something you did, like walking. It was not something you got paid for. I don’t know where I thought books, comics, and magazines came from.

In college, I never met an English professor who wasn’t eager to tell me how awful I was. I was put in a class for people with with “serious writing difficulties.” I was told that I “couldn’t write my way out of a paper bag.” and that I wrote “in a confused and torturous fashion” because that’s how I thought. There’s more, but I am too evolved to dwell on the past. Moving on.

After college, I volunteered as support for a 24-hour bicycle race. It was an unusual enough experience that I told the story repeatedly. I told it so often, I finally wrote it out avoid having to recount it again. (This was light-years before Facebook & blogs.) On a whim, I sent the result to a biking magazine. They couldn’t use it because it was about a qualifying race, not the main race. But they liked it very much. Very much indeed. If I had anything else on biking, would I please send it along? They were so taken with my participant/observer approach that they later used it to cover the main race.

Then I got married and was dragged moved to a small town. The local paper advertised for someone to cover Community News. I remembered the enthusiasm of the bike folks. Why not? Had I lived in New York or Washington DC, I never would have waltzed into the Times or the Post. A local, weekly paper did not hold the same intimidating gravitas. I applied. I interviewed. I stopped by to check in and smile at them. I made no secret about my complete lack of writing experience. No matter. They liked my enthusiasm.

Two reporters covered the serious news at the front of the paper. It was up to me to fill the back sections: Wedding, Schools, Religion, Organizations, and Community News. I had four to five half-pages to fill with whatever notices, articles, photos, or graphics I could generate. All with very little supervision. Editorial philosophy held that bylines looked better than retyped press releases. So, I wrote a lot of original stories. I took a lot of grip-and-grin photos. I aimed for one – very short – article and photo per section per week. I got over writer’s block. There’s no such thing when 20 inches of school board coverage are due as the paper goes to press. I also got over seeing my name in print. I much preferred to see my name on a check.

When I started freelancing, horses were the obvious place to start. I knew horses. I knew horse magazines. I was already going to the shows that I covered. Eventually, I wrote in other areas, but kept circling back to horses. At a non-horse magazine, I was a new kid and had to convince editors all over again each time. When I approached a new horse magazine, I could say, “I’ve written for x,y, & z.”

When the economy tanked, freelance budgets were the first to go. New assignments have conspicuously failed to clutter my inbox. (With the grateful exception of the USDF work, the presence of which allows me to continue to think of myself as a professional writer.) I suspect is it past time to reinvent my career. However, as I never expected to get to here, I can’t tell which way to go from here.

OT 5.5.14

Living Digitally: Foto Friday Recommitment

Written by Chris Gatcum [DK 2013US]
Written by Chris Gatcum
[DK 2013US]

The whole point of Foto Friday was technique over content [Texture]. I’m already all about content. I infinitely prefer a plot-driven book with a simple style to an ornate literary work that goes nowhere. Hence, plot – i.e. content – is not the problem with my photos. Style – i.e. technique – is. Even the occasional artsy photo [Trees & Water, Pollen] is more clever than crisp.

I want both.

The plan. I bought a book on photograph. I will read through it, working on the exercises as I go. The goal is to understand the bells & whistles well enough to take my camera off A. I have no attachment to this book specifically, aside from the usual lovely DK graphics. It was simply the first one I found after making the resolution. I’m sure there is adequate information online. I most likely have enough photo books at home. However, there is nothing like a new book to start a new project.

I also don’t need a plan, or exercises, or anything other than a camera to click. As with writing & riding, the only way to get better is to do it: butt in chair, feet in stirrups, hands on camera. This was not happening. So, book is my structure. Fridays are my public deadline. You get to suffer share along with my progress.

This week, Chapter 1: Equipment. Lesson learned: whether standing, crouching, or lying down, have elbows &/or knees supported to create a stable platform. pp28-31.
___________________________________________________________________
Gratuitous Cat Picture

Ghost
Ghost

Living Digitally: RibbonFest Invitation

Update: Offer rescinded. I have lost interest in wrangling other people’s photos. Feel free to blog hop. LMK, I will post a link here.

Send me your ribbons!

I mean pictures thereof. Please. Over at Tails From Provence: Le Stressage (waves hi!), there is a picture of a French ribbon and plaque. The fourth place ribbon is a beautiful, dark red. A nice change from the anemic white that I am used to for fourth. I wanna see more. What colors do other countries use? What shapes? What lettering? Please send photos to rodneyssaga@gmail.com.

Since I know what US ribbons look like, this invitation is primarily aimed at non-US readers. American readers are invited to send pictures of visually arresting specimens. For example, an Appaloosa show with spotted streamers or the St. Louis multi-medallioned championship neck ribbon. If I get enough pictures, I will create a post &/or start a page. Anyone wanna play? Canada, I’m looking at you.

I’ll start. While saddle seat has a tradition of massively amazing ribbons, see below, my single most impressive ribbon is from a sidesaddle show. Granted, the National Academy ribbon is longer, with tassel, but this one has four colors, one of them blue, or what used to be blue.

ribbon Hi-Horse

Place: Grand Champion
Class/Division: Hi Point Rider
Show: All Side-Saddle Show
Horse: Just George
Rider: Kathy Tuttle
Date: Spring 1986
Place: Hi-Horse Farm, Maryland USA
Comments: Came with a 1’x2′ cheesy silverplate tray of which I am inordinately fond.
Photo Credit: Katherine Walcott

Ribbon pictures previously posted.
(Yes, I am 12 years old. Your point?)

Photo credits: Julie Wamble, Kathie Maunter, Faith Pack

All but the first photo are saddle seat ribbons. The dual champions pic is from 2014. The rest are ribbons from 2013 shows, all but the tri-toned 6th & 8th are mine. Yes, I enjoyed the year heartily.

(form deleted)

Living Digitally: Watching From Afar

A common public fret is that social media is destroying the fabric of society. You’ve undoubtedly seen an image of two people – usually teens – seated together but each intent on a mobile device. The implication is that these hand-held hypnotizers are preventing the two individuals from engaging each other in enriching bonding activities.

Bullshit.

There’s a good chance that they are texting friends, maybe making plans for a party later on, maybe sharing minutiae of the day. Why shouldn’t they? Why not interact with people who are important to you than with whatever random hunk of protoplasm fate has seen fit to plunk down beside you?

UPHAChapter5NewLogoSM

For example, I spent several days last week watching on online friend* ride in the UPHA Chapter 5 Horse Show in Kansas City, MO, over 700 miles from my house. Ahead of time, she let us know the livestream website and her classes. I was able to wish her good luck before her ride. I watched her ride in realtime, including checking out the strength of the competition. Afterwards, I was able to congratulate or commiserate as appropriate. She was kind enough to post a brief recap of the class from her point of view. Was the experience any less real for not sharing the same cubic space?

We don’t live in caves any more. We don’t rely on our neighbors to scare off the tigers and hunt the mammoths. Why not seek out kindred souls at a distance? Why not chose friends by inclination rather than by geography?

(*Per my standard operating procedure [At Least I Got A Blog Post Out Of It:Names], I have defaulted to anonymity. The individual in question may fess up in the comments if so desired.)

Living Digitally: Paid It Forward

My attempt to make waves on the Internet.

Accepting the invitation:
Pay It Forward
January 2013

I have taken up the challenge issued by Halt, Salute and . . . to Creative Pay it Forward:

The first five people to comment on this post will receive a gift from me sometime this calender year! … The catch is you must make the same offer on your own page …. Offer applies worldwide – I will post anywhere! … To keep it simple, I’ll Pay it Forward for the first five comments on this blog – not on my Facebook page, Twitter account or on Haynet.

Rodney’s Saga Rewards might consist of
* A nice print if I struck it lucky with a photo this year.
* A bibelot at the intersection of LEGO and horses (I just finished four days of BrickFair).
* Ditto books and horses.
* A Spotted of your own, particularly if you live somewhere exotic relative to me (Eastern US) and are likely to retaliate with a Spotted At … photo.

Getting my loot:
Foto Friday: Smell-O-Vision
December 2013

PIF III

Returning the favor:

Pay It Forward letter trim

cov Finch AL