After 30+ years with the same employer I am taking early retirement. My last day in the job will be at the end of March 2023. It is a momentous step to take, but I believe that it will be the right one. For most of my adult life I have been the main wage earner and, therefore, the provider to my family. My wife chose to concentrate on raising our kids, and a fine job she has done of it. She has contributed to the household later in life and we have grown to enjoy the standard of living that that gave us. Despite this, she has fully supported my decision to get out while I am still capable of doing something else.
In April I have no intention of lying besides an imaginary swimming pool, taking it easy doing nothing for the rest of my life! I intend to write. Not just novels, mind you. I intend to write for a living. I have always been told that I have excellent written communication skills, I just never got a chance to put them to good use in my day job. Indeed, it is the growing frustration that many of the skills that I do posses cannot be used in what I have been doing for a living that has inspired me to make the move.
As a writer I have developed the research skills that I learnt in college and employed them in many different ways. Obviously, there is a lot of research involved in writing a historical fiction novel, and I am proud that professional historians have praised my work for the level of detail and accuracy that I achieved. I enjoy doing the research, not least because it often results in me learning new things. Life-long learning is a real activity. We can all access it if we wish. For me, it is another benefit of looking to write for customers on a variety of topics. I am researching the profession of content writer and wondering if there is any particular field or subject matter that I should concentrate on. Fortunately, I have a very wide spectrum of interests, so I expect that I will be able to find something that will inspire me.
One aspect that I am keen on is being a freelance writer. I have worked the nine to five for too long now. I like the idea of taking on work when it suits me. If I am lucky to get something then I know that I will give it my all, but then after it is finished I will be able to sit back and relax, and also indulge some of my other interests. I might even get Pomerania, my next novel finished also!
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