Artist Residency Vs. Writing Workshop

Guess which one I'm going to!? Plus, how do writers make money? Here's a glimpse at how I'm using my writing and grammar skills to earn money.

In a series of very fortunate events, I have been invited to attend an artist residency at Pine Meadow Ranch Center for Arts and Agriculture (PMRCAA) in Sisters, Oregon. During my two-week residency on a 260-acre working ranch just outside of town, I will be working exclusively on my historical novel about logging in Tahoe!

The vision of the PMRCAA residency program is to offer a space for cultural practitioners, ecological scientists, and creative thinkers to immerse themselves in their work and/or research through access to studios, open space and beautiful scenery. Located at the base of the Cascade Mountains, the historic Pine Meadows Ranch is in the traditional territory of the Wasco, Warm Springs, and Paiute peoples.

Pine Meadow Ranch Center for Art and Agriculture in Sisters, Oregon

In addition to writing my novel, I will be working alongside PMRCAA staff, volunteers, and community members “to preserve the natural biosphere and historic buildings of the ranch.” (I’m not sure what that means exactly: shoveling, raking, fence painting, wood stacking? Certainly not cow wrangling or horse grooming, neither of which I’m equipped for. But if someone hands me chaps, I suppose I’ll put them on over my running shoes…)

I am deeply grateful to The Roundhouse Foundation for offering this incredible opportunity and to the Board of Trustees who selected me.

The Roundhouse Foundation is a private, family foundation based in Sisters, Oregon, that believes solutions to the unique challenges of Oregon’s rural communities can be found through creative thinking and problem-solving, innovation and collaboration. They partner with community organizations and provide grant services to rural communities and tribal regions throughout Oregon to develop, implement and sustain creative, place-based approaches and programs that strengthen and celebrate rural Oregon. 

Given the Gift of Time

Artist residencies are incredible opportunities because they seclude you from daily life. Chores, distractions, work, family are physically somewhere else, which is often necessary to focus and engage deeply with a project.

I have attended writing workshops like the Community of Writers in Olympic Valley, CA, (Summer 2023 workshop application deadline is March 5, 2023, if you’re interested!) where you submit pages to a writing group and then critique them together, usually under the tutelage of a respected (ahem…published) author. Writing workshops are great for learning craft, meeting other writers, and exploring new skills.

Residencies, on the other hand, are solitary endeavors. Applications often ask something like, “How do you handle being alone?” or have some way of gauging that you’ll actually be productive because there are no distractions. Over the past several years I have funded my own writing residencies in various ways, including:

• Rented a studio in Hood River for a week (scouring Airbnb for a place with plenty of light and a large kitchen table)

• Taken a self-proclaimed “Book Week” at home, where my partner knew not to distract me during the our stay-at-home holiday when I did this

• Organized an art weekend with a friend where we both had projects and goals to work on (and we got to eat dinner together!)

There are ways to create space and time to work on your craft. Actually taking the time and doing it? That can be hard.

That’s why artist residencies like PMRCAA are so valuable. Everyone I’ve told—friends, family, clients—are so excited and supportive of my taking two weeks to write. They know I’ll be gone. They know I’ll be working on something important. And I’m thankful to have this dedicated time and space.

Here’s me during a self-proclaimed artist retreat. This space was generously donated by a friend of a friend (which proves it never hurts to ask!)

What Else Do I Write?

A friend recently asked, “Yeah, but how do you make money?” It’s a fair question to ask writers.

Five years ago, I started freelancing, which really meant quitting my salary job while convincing existing side hustle clients to give me more work. Over the years, I’ve acquired additional clients, let some go, and feel lucky that I have a consistent base.

My professional services include marketing consultation, content creation, editing, manuscript consultation, websites, ghost writing, blog writing, graphic design, interviewing, video scripting, and anything else that needs proper grammar and impressive storytelling…

One recent article I’m particularly proud of is Barley Beef: How Central Oregon cows are eating well and helping reduce brewery waste, published this winter in the beautiful Bend Savvy360 magazine.

When the magazine came out, I drove to Barley Beef ranch to share hard copies with owner Rob Rastovich. In return, he gifted me some gorgeous cuts of meat and a 100-year anniversary t-shirt. In an email he said, “This was the most well written article I’ve seen about us.” And that is the best compliment you can give a writer! 

I don’t often share articles since I consider those work, but I suppose I ought to. If you’re ever curious about what I do for work (how I actually make money), I list bylines on my website. And I’m grateful to my anchor clients who consistently feed me work while I continue to prod at the underbelly of the elusive creative-writing-as-a-career beast.