I'm actually a very good writer. Don’t think of me as too vain, though. I suck at everything else.
Like most good writers early in their careers, I’m largely unpublished, especially when it comes to my more creative side. Building a name for oneself is a process. Fortunately, as an artist, I respect and love the process. I’m always creating, always editing, always submitting. What have I published so far? Lots of political journalism and fashion journalism, a really fun ongoing review column about comic books, and a lot of other flotsam and jetsam. Most of it is worth reading. You’ll find it on my website, elysehauser.com.
I’ve also done a lot of editing, a lot of tutoring, and a few other projects. My subjects may seem all over the place. I don’t subscribe to the notion that people need to always find one specific niche and stay there. Some people do, and that works for them. For me, I can’t separate the fashionista in me from the engaged political citizen, from the party girl, from the comic book nerd, from the bitter nihilist, from the hopeless romantic. I’m into dichotomies and disparate ideas.
I'm also interested in a return to the idea of the writer as glamorous. Today's image of a writer often involves a frumpy recluse in sweatpants, and "Do you want fries with that?" We've all had those moments, and there's nothing wrong with living through the unglamorous aspects of the creative process. But artists also live really great lives sometimes. We figure out how to make the struggle look dope. The fact that I have a hard, cerebral job doesn't mean I can't also get turnt in Sam Edelman stilettos. Besides, as a writer, my job literally involves having cool experiences and then telling other people about them through writing. Once, people looked to authors like Hemingway and Fitzgerald as icons on how to dress, how to live, where to go, who to know. Now, actors and musicians are the only artists who draw that kind of attention. But I want to bring the life of writers back into the scope of people we admire, not just for their work, but for their lives.
I’m currently (always) working on improving my writing skills, which is where Steemit comes in. I’ve never been interested in hosting a personal blog. But the existence of a social media site where too-long-for-Facebook, too-short-for-a-magazine musings fit changes that. This is a place to expand on ideas, spark dialogues, and stretch writing muscles. I also hope to maintain it as a place to have fun, to be more esoteric, lengthy, uncertain, or silly than I get to be in my other writings.
When I’m not writing, or editing, or submitting, I might be working somewhere, probably a restaurant. That’s right, I’m an artist who waits tables—how original! (Do you want artisanal guacamole with that?) But in all honesty, it’s not bad work. It’s social, great for networking, my coworkers tend to be hotties, some nights I walk out with pockets full of cash. I get to eat food and learn a lot about beer.
And when I’m not doing that, there’s a good chance I’m dancing bachata, kizomba, salsa, or zouk. (Badly.) Or being a thot on some table in a nightclub. Doing Acro yoga. Doing regular yoga. Bitching at my personal trainer. Trying on a new trend. Doing my eyeshadow to bluegrass, or trap, or Kesha. Hiking in a national park. Spooning with my cat. Reading in the sun. Sipping whiskey in a bar.
I am a diversity of interests, ideas, and actions. And I hope to reflect those here in provocative, thoughtful ways. Thank you, everyone, for sharing this community with me.
