The Grind
Writing a report no one cares about.
I should have written something here last week.
I should have written something here the week before…but I was off camping and kayaking and being irresponsible. But that was the week before last. Last week I was here. Sitting right here in front of this computer, this monitor, not writing. Don’t get me wrong, I know that people don’t look at this website to see my posts here. My Substack tends to be longer and frankly more interesting.
I write here because if you are a fan, if you came to my website I want you to have something to show for it. Not just old pictures of me from the army or pictures of me being irresponsible on the river or in the woods. Nope, I want you have some sort of regular post or essay.
I don’t mind taking a weekend off here or there. Usually for things like family vacations or the canoe trip. But up until last night I was finishing the last round of developmental edits for the sequel to Cold Island.
Developmental edits are tough. They involve a sort of tug of war between my editor Clarence and I. He’s a good at his job which means that he has to be tough on me about mine. Developmental edits make copy editing seem like a breeze. All edits come with a deadline attached to them and the edits for THE DRIFTWOOD BONES, were no different.
I spent the week chained to my desk and last night sent the attachment out. It was nice to have it done. There will be a little time off before the copy edits arrive needing attention but those go quickly. The nuts and bolts construction of spelling, grammar and fighting my innate love of awkward syntax are much easier to deal with addressing plot points. Those require some sort of creativity and honestly some days after work that is in short supply. Even with the assistance of decent whiskey.
Now I have a little time and I remembered that I haven’t written anything here in a couple of weeks. What’s next you may wonder? There are always a couple of partially complete writing projects that need some attention. My office is halfway cleaned and reorganized which a I started to do a couple of months ago. I would like move extraneous stuff out, put in another chair (preferably Scandinavian Design) and I’d like to add a globe bar to the mix as well. Who doesn’t feel like a James Bond villain rolling back the Northern hemisphere of a globe and pouring a nice glass of Irish inspiration from a decanter? There’s also the trim around the new windows that needs a couple of coats of paint. There are any number school related things with the kids that require attention. Not mention my Long Suffering Wife would love to not feel like a single mother while I am in the same house writing.
Anyway, more on the weekend.