WRITING IS DEMANDING
Writing is demanding.
Deadlines are inflexible.
Requests from editors for more work on a project are unpredictable.
For instance:
On Friday I sent in the proposal for the Alaska story. One inflexible deadline met. I was anticipating a weekend with nothing pressing to deal with in my writing world.
Late Friday afternoon the courier man arrived and handed me a package. It was line edits to be done on Dakota Cowboy and returned by Mon. Seeing as they go back by courier, Tuesday is the earliest I can manage it. Line edits is when the manuscript comes back with strike outs and notes in the margin. ‘Add something more here about the hero.’ ‘Change this word. Used too many times.’ ‘Why didn’t such and such happen? Explain.’
It sounds easy but it feels a lot like one of those math problems when someone gives you a list on unrelated numbers and asks what would come next. Do you guess or do you know?
It’s further proof that material from the editors is unpredictable.
Every moment of the week end will be spent getting this ready to return. Which proves that writing is demanding. (I will find balance just as soon as I have time!!!)
What I’m reading:
From age 45 to 59, Hannah Breece taught in the most primitive areas of Alaska. She once ‘held a hundred wild dogs at bay by herself and escaped. She traveled in a kayak wearing bear intestines! A bear almost ate her right from her bed and this time the dogs saved her!’ She scaled cliffs, fell through ice and outran a forest fire. This story is full of information but also reads like a story. I really enjoyed it.