Why this blog

An economic downturn, bad writing flooding print but especially online media, and yes, the dreaded $3-5 articles. Though times for writers are not necessarily bad, one often gets the impression that there are a lot of forces out there that try to discourage us.

This scenario coupled with an experience that cheesed me off this morning brought on the idea for this blog - the writer's advantage.

No matter where you are in your writing career and no matter what you are trying to accomplish at the moment, if you have the drive to write and you value quality, you have nothing to worry about.
Because whatever happens, your talent will not go away. In fact, the more you hone it, the more it will grow. So even if you're going through a dry patch right now, hang in there, keep up the good work and wait for the next gig to come along.

In the meantime, your writing skills can come in handy (and might even pay off) in unexpected ways.
Consider this: I was trying to sign up for an online class that advertised a group discount on their web site if one found two other students. Fine, that I did and happily we got together to sign up. But, there was a catch. They offer five courses on a related subject and the three students had to take exactly the same class to avail of the discount. Why, I ask? The business is the same, they are selling three courses of approximately the same value, what's the fuss all about? No can do, when we asked them, they gave their inflexible ordering system as an excuse. Don't you hate it when they do that? Why can't they admit that nobody is willing to make a decision instead of blaming it on "the system"? Anyway, we've all been there with banks, online retailers and their offers, travel agents - you name it!

But the great thing is, as a writer, you have the advantage, you can voice your opinion. If nothing else, at least you've made yourself heard. Which is exactly what I did, I very politely sent them a to-the-point email and asked them to revise their policy. Now they have it, black on white, in their files. And I've done something. And can add "writing customer service letters" to my resume.

Cheers to that!