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DEL.ICIO.USAspiring writer gets her wish
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
She sported designer handbags. She drove an SUV.
Nanette D. Massey lived well. Her forte was selling stuff, and she hawked goods for various companies for many years until she lost that closer’s edge.
Other jobs came and went. None lasted — buyouts, layoffs and in some cases, Massey’s own doings led to their demise. Unemployment benefits dried up. She ran out of options.
She became homeless.
And that may have been the best thing that’s ever happened to the Norcross woman.
You may have read about her. Two years ago, she wrote a first-person opinion essay about becoming homeless for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s @issue section. Response was overwhelming. She even landed a job as a data entry clerk with a firm in Duluth.
“All I did was share myself,” she told me Wednesday. “The article left people free to have their own individual reactions to homelessness and for many, it was very meaningful to them.”
For Massey, the essay helped her realize something friends had suggested for years: Pursue a career in writing, they’ve told her. You have something to say. The New York native has always kept a journal. Now approaching 40, she still has in her possession entries that date back to her high school days.
After the AJC article ran, Massey began freelancing for the Sunday Paper. She’s also submitted prose to Essence magazine and other publications.
Last April, though, she hit a bump in the road, one of her own making. She got canned from her data entry job due to excessive lateness. Massey admits she took advantage of friendships she’d formed with the company brass. Timeliness stopped being an issue.
So after bunking with friends, Massey has moved in temporarily with a relative in Columbus. She’s working day jobs through a temp agency till she lands something more to her liking.
Losing the data entry job may have been the second-best thing that’s ever happened to Massey. Now she’s trying to arrange her life so that writing, her first love, is a top priority.
A few weeks ago, she contacted the Tom Joyner Morning Show, a nationally syndicated program that airs locally on Atlanta’s Kiss 104.1 FM. She described herself as an aspiring writer. She sent copies of her work and told them she needed a computer.
“I sit and write long-hand on a [note] pad during the day and use the library computer at night to research and edit my work,” she wrote. “Please help me … give voice to those who would normally go unheard.”
On the July 5 broadcast of the Joyner show, Massey was crowned the weekly “Christmas wish winner.” Her Dell laptop computer and printer should arrive any day now.
“She wrote us a beautiful, touching letter,” said Sherée Zeisler, a producer on the Joyner show. “There is a passion there and she has an obvious talent.” Massey doesn’t think she’s suited for a 9-to-5 gig. She’d like to work as a nanny or live-in assistant in exchange for free room and board. That way, she can concentrate on her first love.
“The bottom line is that I am a writer,” she said by phone. “I don’t even tell people I am unemployed now. I say that I am a writer because that’s what I am. “I didn’t go through the homeless experience for nothing.”
You can contact Nanette Massey via e-mail: n6785790880@yahoo.com.
Comments
By Bruce Wilcox
July 13, 2006 11:52 AM | Link to this
J.K. Rowling is a good example of what is possible for a writer, who at one time, had nothing herself. Writing is another creative art form, it takes talent, hard work and a great deal of discipline. The chances of becoming the next J.K. Rowling are slim, but it is possible to earn a decent living. Not all that bad of a reward for doing something you love.
Many of the great painters and scibes of old died penniless, their great works only discovered many years after death. A hard price to pay for doing something you love.
Thankfully times have changed the majority can now read, no longer a privilege of the rich. I wish her well and look forward to see the name Massey adorn many works. This society needs more artists and less politicans.
By Yardie
July 13, 2006 12:57 PM | Link to this
A lot of people have aspirations, but you must also work to live, until your dream takes off. You can’t expect others to give you what you need by telling sob stories. We all have them. I have my own. The difference is, I WORK to pay my way, and don’t take advantage of others until my boat comes in because it may NEVER dock. In the meantime, do what it takes to be a productive citizen, and your dreams will fall into place, IF it was meant to be.
By Bruce Wilcox
July 13, 2006 01:36 PM | Link to this
Sadly in this society where the almighty dollar rules many do not have dreams. Not willing to risk the safety of being a good little trooper and just following the crowd. It is refreshing to see the few that dare take the risk and are willing to suffer for their art. For the majority of good little troopers their boat never will leave the dock, for it has no where to go.
By Keva
July 13, 2006 01:55 PM | Link to this
I just wanted to aknowledge the writer of this article, Rick Badie, for writing a great article. Next I would like to tell Nanette (my friend) that I am happy that she is being blessed with opportunities that are allowing her to utilize her gift. God has so much in store for you and you are showing that you are willing to do what it takes to make it happen. I pray for your success in all that you do. God bless you!!
By Michael H. Smith
July 13, 2006 06:48 PM | Link to this
OHMIGOSH!!!!!! Has someone turned capitalist?
By Jim
July 13, 2006 07:51 PM | Link to this
I taught school for over 30 years and in my classes I often had students who aspired to careers where financial success was difficult to achieve.
Dance, sports, music, acting, missionary work and writing head the list of low percentage careers where financial success can be expected.
So there I was, a teacher preparing students for life, and in my mist were students already chasing dreams that had a high probability of crashing down upon them.
Not everyone enjoys eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches into their 50s.
I never discouraged these students from going after their dreams but I did stress the importance of having a plan B.
Everyone has a plan B waiting for them if plan A does not work out. Either we pick plan A or the world does and the world can be very cruel.
So I would encourage my students to go after their dreams, but while in college, to also obtain a minor in a field they knew the world would accept.
There is no universal law that forbids earning a minor in accounting or business and a major in English literature or dance. Students can pursue a dream career and also prepare for a secure life if plan A does not work out.
Several years ago I received a Thank You note from a former student. When in high school, she had wanted to be a member of a symphony orchestra. She also had the good fortune to be in my class.
She earned a degree in music; was unable to obtain a position playing in an orchestra but she was offered a job in the business department of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.
She sent me the thank you note to let me know she had listened to me in high school and appreciated what I had done for her.
She was living in the professional environment she sought, even though she was not able to play in it.
That Thank You card made my day.
When I read the article and blogs about Nanette Massey, I worry that some teen or young adult will take her example and use it as a template for their own aspirations.
Forsake all and go for it!
Will they forsake all in an effort to achieve their dreams and if they do, is it necessary?
At some point, most young adults will marry and have a family. With family comes the responsibility to support others and chasing dreams will impact those that will be dependent upon them.
Should children suffer the impact of a parent’s dream?
I want everyone who has dreams to chase them but I also want the young to prepare for plan B if plan A does not pan out.
Nanette Massey does not appear to have children and so her decisions only impact her. I hope her writing career blossoms and she finds the success she desires.
That said, I also hope that all the young readers who have followed this story consider the financial risks they will be taking if they do not prepare for a plan B.
Teaching in high school was my plan B and I am very thankful that I was prepared for the career I enjoyed. Though I did not know it when I obtained my teaching certification, I realize now that I ended up doing what I was meant to do.
My plan B turned out to be a blessing.
By Bruce Wilcox
July 13, 2006 08:15 PM | Link to this
Jim I agree with every thing you said, it is wise advice. But it seems that Nanette Massey just played Plan B before Plan A.
By Dave
July 14, 2006 04:05 PM | Link to this
This is just a little tid bit that I will share to those want to be writers. I retired early to write. I wrote 3 pages of my “great” novel before I became mini managed by my spouse. That was 20 years ago. About once every six months I get out my three pages and enjoy my writing; then my manager grabs me for another honeydo. So much for being a writer. Good Luck, but stay single…………
By kate
July 14, 2006 07:40 PM | Link to this
Rolling my eyes, Dave. It’s all your wife’s fault that you have written three pages in 20 years. Uh-huh……..
By Bruce Wilcox
July 14, 2006 09:31 PM | Link to this
Remember what happened in “The Shining” when a wife got involved in her loving husbands writing. “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy”…
By Doug
July 15, 2006 10:49 AM | Link to this
I agree with Jim in that a person needs to make plans for their personal and professoinal successes in life. I worked as a business professional for years chasing the almighty dollar and found that I was leaving a piece of myself behind. Fortunately, I was able to recognize my failure to find my way through to genuine happiness. I left the business world, obtained my teaching certificate and am finding great joy in my work.
The joy is three-fold: I am able to coach, teach, and positively effect the lives of young people; I have more time to spend with my family; and I am able to pursue my dream of being a writer. Since entering the education field two years ago, I have taken that “Great American Novel” dream from concept to twenty-four chapters of work and love. I anticipate completion in the next few months. Whether I obtain publication or not, is not the main issue. I have garnered great satisfaction in the process. It takes a lot of dedication and determination to follow one’s dreams. It also takes substantial planning and commitment, as do all things in life. If Nanette wants to be a success at what she loves, then she also needs to plan for and accept the responsibility for her daily needs as well. Living off of the charity of others is not showing what it takes (responsibilty and dedication) to be a successful writer.