kathryn's blog

While I was student reporting at The Star Tribune, a fellow co-worker and former war-correspondent asked me why I wanted to write about African conflicts. At that time, I didn't have a spot-on answer. Maybe that's because I'd always felt a need to inform the public on issues outside their personal world, or maybe because I wanted to feel as though I was making a difference, changing the world for the better. Or maybe I just wanted the glory of traveling to a country that most people regard as exotic and uncharted.

Freelance writing is a whole other beast compared to reporting for a newspaper. It requires far fewer professional credentials, and far more determination and dedication to nab a decent gig.

I find the whole freelancing underworld a bit strange, as I always thought there would be much more writing than downtime looking for jobs. I was so wrong.

This economy has especially changed the freelancing profession, as many more people are deciding they are competent to write extensive, research heavy reports, the same task that took me four years of college to learn.

Late night bowling for my father's birthday. We went to a retro place in Uptown, Minneapolis where the burgers were flying and the bowling balls were rolling (with a few in the gutter).

Though the lighting wasn't great, I took a few decent photographs. Enjoy.

Another chilly Minnesota day - the perfect kind of day for holing away in a cozy coffee shop watching the world run by. Unfortunately, I seem to be stuck in a completely different place, one with plenty of inspiration, as well as plenty of commotion. Much of it is coming from the tiny tots bundled up from the new freeze, and the elderly ladies cumbersomely shuffling from door to shelf, picking at the musty paperback books along the way. Occasionally school kids come bouncing in after finishing their crossing guard gig across the street. Yes, the public library.

Can you experience writer’s block if you haven’t even begun writing? I suppose so, but this is a terrible feeling. It’s if the meaning of your existence is now personified by a piece of paper and also the lack of words printed on it.