When I was writing an article today, I used the word "agreeance," and Word automatically flagged it. I was flabbergasted. Although I don't believe I've actually used it in Word before, I know I've heard this word used before.

So I did what any good writer would do: I looked it up.

The first thing I came across was some tabloid-worthy controversy from 2003, when Fred Durst, of all people, used the word agreeance in a public statement...and was immediately blasted by the media and the blogosphere. Then the Oxford English Dictionary came to his rescue, and said yes, agreeance is actually a word... Albeit one that fell out of common use two and a half centuries ago.

Hmmmm. If agreeance is such an out-of-date word, why am I so familiar with it that I would use it on an instinctive level? (Note: I think for most writers, word choice is a highly instinctive process. Synonyms often carry slightly different shades of meaning, and I usually know which one best serves my intended meaning. The only time I use a thesaurus is when I know there's a better word for what I want to say, but I can't think of the precise one.)

I considered the possibility that I could be familiar with the word simply because I was a literature major, and therefore have read more of the classics than the average person. To test this theory, I asked my husband, who is pursuing a history major. Nope, he was familiar with the word too, and had no idea that the right to its existence is hotly contested.

If you read the opinions at the above link, you will see that some users have pointed out that agreeance is commonly used in Australia and New Zealand, while others devalue that usage by labeling it as "slang." I can't help but wonder if a word can really be "obsolete" and "slang" at the same time. Rather, wouldn't that simply mean that it's not obsolete, since it is still in use?

What are your thoughts? Is agreeance really a word? (For the record, I decided it was, and left it in my article; using agreement instead just didn't sound right.) Also, can you think of any other cases where "old-fashioned" words have been reinstated in modern language? I'm sure there must be others, but I can't think of any off the top of my head!

Labels: diatribes, discussions, miscellaneous

I've been very busy the last couple of days. Aside from a follow-up vet visit for Panama's injury last weekend and a rather time-consuming experiment with commuting to the stables via public transportation, I had two of my regular clients contact me with rush jobs on Wednesday.

One of the jobs wasn't a bad rush — four or five days. The other job was one of those where the client wants it "as soon as possible" — and leaves me to figure out what that means. I said I could have it by today.

Unfortunately, working on this project in between vet visits and RTD commutes has set me back on a couple of other things. It's a bigger pain in the butt than it deserves to be, basically. I am considering instituting a rush order fee from now on, but I'm not sure how much to charge.

My thought is that a rush order charge ought to be a percentage of the job's normal rate. That way, bigger jobs (and bigger pains in the butts) command larger fees. However, I don't know what is a typical amount for a rush order fee.

What do you charge clients for a rush order?

Labels: discussions, freelancing

As a freelance writer, I have my good days and my bad days: Some days I am extremely productive, and other days I can't seem to get anything done, for whatever reason.

Unfortunately, this week has been the later so far.

I was doing great, I really was. I have been quite busy, so I drew up a daily schedule to help myself stay focused. I've been getting up early (i.e. 7am) with Michael for the last three or four weeks, and the earlier schedule has enabled me to add several work hours to my day.

Nevertheless, this week feels like it's been on fast forward -- the days have seemed to go twice as fast as usual, because I can't seem to get done all the things I normally would. And then yesterday, I had cramps and some minor body aches, but basically it kept me from getting comfortable enough to stay in the same place longer than about a half an hour at a time -- and getting up every half an hour is not conducive to a productive day.

What about you? Do you have good days and bad days? What typically constitutes a good day (or a bad day) for you?

Labels: discussions, freelancing, under the weather

I decided that my blog needed a new makeover. Now my blog is easier to get to from my website, and appears more integrated with the rest of the site! If you check out the nav bar, you'll notice that it has the same looks as the one on my site. The logo is also the same, and the header looks very similar.

I would love to hear your opinions on the new look. What do you think of the integrated blog? Please click on the post title and leave me a comment!

Labels: discussions, freelancing admin, website updates

I suffered a relapse last night...er, this morning. I didn't get to bed until nearly 7:30am, and got up at 2pm. It was for a good cause, though -- I worked through the night in order to meet a deadline (and make several hundred dollars).

Apparently when I went to bed I was not able to add and subtract correctly, because I set my alarms for about noon, thinking that would enough sleep. Needless to say, it wasn't.

It seems that to meet a deadline (and still be able to enjoy my weekend) I've sacrificed my hard work so far to change my sleep schedule. I'm hoping that a little over seven hours' sleep won't be enough, and I'll still be tired tonight, but we'll see.

What have you sacrificed in order to meet deadlines? Click on the post title to comment and tell me about it!

Labels: deadlines, discussions, freelancing, goals