As an Odyssey writer, I love my job even though I am not paid to do it. I enjoy writing and sending my thoughts and words into the world. However, this does not mean writing for the Odyssey is a walk in the park. There are a lot of trials and tribulations that come with writing for the Odyssey, and here are 12 thoughts that run through every Odyssey writer's mind.
1. What do I even write about?
Writer's block hits so hard, especially when your article is due in a few hours. You can write about anything, which means you usually can't think of anything to write about. Since you have to write every week, topics and ideas are hard to come by.
2. That's A Good Idea...Nah Too Much Work
3. I Forgot To Write My Article
That stressful hour before your article is due and you realize that you forgot to write your article. So you do your best to quickly throw an article together and hope isn't too horrible.
4. I Have 30 Minutes, I Got This
After the moments of panic, we all go through the cocky phase where we believe this will be the best article written in thirty minutes. I mean I do this every week, how hard could it be in 30 minutes?
5. I Still Have No Idea What To Write About
OK, you have 25 more minutes before your article will be late, and guess what? You still have nothing to write about! Let the panic set in even further, because you still have no idea what to write about.
6. Why are subtitles so hard?
Like why? Why are subtitles so hard, it isn't even the first thing you see when the article appears, yet so much pressure.
7. Why are actual titles so hard?
Seriously, I feel like this shouldn't be as hard as it is. I wrote the article, I came up with the idea and now I can't figure out what to title the article.
8. Did I share my article?
It's been a few days since you logged onto your Odyssey Dashboard, and you remembered that you haven't shared your article. Panic sets in because you know you need to share your article, but you fear the unknown punishment if you don't share it.
9. How many strikes do I have?
You have three strikes and then you are let go from the writing staff at the Odyssey. Sometimes you turn in an article late or forget to write on and then you get a strike. However, no one ever seems to remember the strikes they have, which proves to be potentially problematic.
10. I totally shared my article...wait! No I didn't!
Well, this is awkward and it happens a lot. I am just going to leave it here as all of the Odyssey writers cringe because they all know they have done this at some point.
11. What are social engagements?
Shares, likes, comments, like what? Social engagements are so confusing, all you need to know is that you want a lot! Who doesn't what social media attention?
12. How do you even get that many social engagements?
Some writers are able to pull thousands of social engagements and like how? It is so impressive, maybe I need to spend less time writing in my cave and actually get out there and find new friends.
In the end, I do not think any Odyssey writer would trade their position for anything. No matter how much we complain, panic or stress, we all love our jobs and writing articles about everything and anything for the greater good of the public.
