After writing for Odyssey for a year with this post, I can say that the experience has been one more insightful experience I am grateful for. It showed what I was capable of and what my capacity was. Now it is time to go towards my calling elsewhere. Before I go, here are some pointers for those thinking of writing for Odyssey.
1. Deadlines are no fun each week.
Each week, an article is due the same day and same time. Extensions can be granted but that is one more article you have to prepare to write next week. Each deadline is closer than you think, so I when I want to save myself from burnout, I write articles ahead of time to push back stress and rushed articles.
2. You might get paid, if only in experience.
After you reach a certain amount of reader views on your blog posts, Odyssey pays you a certain amount after that view count. The reason why I do not plan on staying to reach that count is that I could be paid more for my work elsewhere and enjoy what I write while reaching people that will want to read what I write. Having another outlet is priceless, but so are my writing capabilities.
3. Write what you want, but know what you are writing for.
When I sat down to write a new article, I never lost site of my own point of view or who I was writing for. If you do not like what you write, write something you do like. I could not be bothered with what was popular or the most buzz-worthy. Unless there is some thinking to be done with a trending topic, I do not write about it. I am not in the business of making money first. I am in the business of writing for joy.
4. Odyssey is mostly women.
Odyssey no doubt is dominated by the female voice. While there is nothing wrong with this statistic, it does feel like the site shuffles and recycles similar blog posts and articles that hold no arguments but instead push opinions that female audiences time and time again agree with. Nothing necessarily changes here and the cycle repeats without readers noticing because they are too busy agreeing with everything published by another female like them. The echo chamber that is The Odyssey gets humdrum and repetitive real fast.
5. You can beat a dead horse and no one will stop you.
Shows like "The Bachelor" and "The Bachelorette'" trigger women's fantasy receptors in their brain. They may know better than to fall in love through a TV set, but how else can they have a relationship with true love? Getting to know a guy long enough and consistently in real life? Not this season, or any season, not that they're any better or different from the last. Think of it this way, an article that's been written before and was popular and polarizing then will surely be viewed and read again. Odyssey thinks this way: the horse is already dead, but it can always be deader.
Odyssey has been worth my time but the hourglass has dropped its last grain of sand. Now I have to turn it upside down.
man running in forestPhoto by 
