Bluegrass Memories of a writer's clip

Dawn Goldsmith, a staff member of Ohio State Univesity's Development and Communications Department wrote a very interesting article on getting your foot in the door as far as being acknowledged for writing projects that act like a stepping stone to further your exposure and possibility of becoming a paid writer. In 1981, Dawn overcame her fear of people judging her writing as well as her fear of failure. A bluegrass band had returned home after winning a national blugrass contest. Their name was Blanchard Valley Bluegrass Boys and after researching their attributes, Dawn drug her husband to a concert they were doing and after the powers that be discovered her to being a writer, Dawn and her husband were escorted to the side of the stage to watch the performance.

Dawn wrote an article on the band and it was published in Bluegrass Unlimited to sum of $125.00 in her favor. More than just being paid for her writing, Dawn saw that it was possible for a small town person to become more than just a big fish in a small pond. By allowing herself to project herself outside the box, she began to compile her works to both regional and trade magazines, and Dawn was also made a writer and editorial assistant for her local newspaper. Writing locally taught her several important ways of overcoming deadlines while honing her style of writing as well.

Finally, her work with the newspaper opened the door for her current job at the university and continuing her writing in a forward motion opened yet another door with an internet writing workshop where together with Peggy Vincent, wrote a book called "Baby Catcher; Chronicles of a Modern Midwife" teaching her how to finesse the mechanics of other people's writings as well. Her growth as a writer increased when her focus was no longer revolving on monetary rewards. Although, by the level of her writing increasing, so did the financial accolades for her work. Her advice is to simply embrace criticism from others about your writing while not giving to much attention to self-criticism, and by doing so realizing that there are worse evils than someone rejecting your creation. "Write, write, and rewrite" are the ways she prescribes to becoming a better writer and to always keep your eye out for opportunities while enjoying the ride that your work will take you.