I just finished writing the text for the photo-essay, and I’ll share as soon as I run it by Anya and Regina to make sure I’m not misrepresenting them or anything either of them said. I know that’s not really news, but I wanted to pop in to tell you because I realized while I was working on it that… um…

1) Writing a sustained piece of short nonfiction (nearly 3,000 words) is fun, when I’m invested in the topic, I know what I’m talking about, and I’ve got a goal in mind that I care about.

2) I really can do this, and not just here on my blog.

3) If I’d pitched this article to a magazine, some (tiny niche) publication would probably be paying me (a rather small amount) for it soon. It’s not Pulitzer Prize-winning material by any means, but it’s certainly of publishable quality. It has a structure, it contains interesting ideas and information, and my voice hasn’t been totally crushed out of my throat by the formulaic pieces I’ve been writing as a freelancer.

4) If I commit to it, I can choose to write for a living, and much of the time I will actually enjoy it. I probably won’t become famous, and some months I might have trouble paying the bills, but it’s an accessible goal.

5) Huh.

Edited to add some portraits that aren’t going to make it into the more journalistic final piece. I keep saying it, but I know some incredibly beautiful folks: