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| The author/publisher, Dane F. Baylis |
WHAT PRESSURE?
OR
WHAT'S ALL THIS BEEN, THE MUSINGS OF SOME DILETTANTE?
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Occasionally, someone will say something like, "So, you write, too. Isn't that burning the candle at both ends?" Actually, no, it's more like applying a blow torch right to the middle of the candle.
Take, for instance, last night's e-mail shocker. I'm attending a writer's conference this weekend. No big deal, right? Just take along a notebook, sit in the audience, and take notes. Unless the organizers of the event wait until four days out to inform you that there is homework to be done prior to the first day's festivities. Oh sure, bring your notebook and pen, or whatever it is you intend to use to record all the gems you'll hear. Oh, and by the way, also make sure you have a copy of two books that you have to order from Amazon and hope they arrive on time.
Also, bring along a copy of the NY Times Book Review, or any NYT Book Review Best Seller list. Then, if you would, bring along the first five pages of your current work in progress with five different one line descriptors for that work. Oh, and a one paragraph description, as well.
Four days out! Hey, this is my first EVER conference, so to say the whole last minute laundry list came as a bit of a shock would be an understatement! I've ordered the books and hopefully Amazon wasn't bullshitting when they gave a delivery date just two days later. We'll see about that one. The rest I've pulled together, despite being under the weather at the moment. Include in this my job, preparing for a poetry reading, upcoming release of my own chapbook, on-going projects in prose/poetry/commentary (uh, this blog), and my studies, and things get to feel just a little tight around the shorts!
So goes the writing life. I've been at it long enough to have dealt with deadlines and last minute changes in all kinds of situations. Does the last minute thing, even if it involved a change in presenters, make it more palatable? Baby, even Mary Poppins', "Spoon Full Of Sugar", wouldn't help with this one.
The next time you're contemplating the joy of writing, don't forget to take into consideration that the only part of it you control is just that - the writing! Every ancillary project, process, or prospective involvement is a distraction or just damned more work. That's the reality - one person's fantasy is the next guy's job. But I wouldn't trade it. Well, maybe for a winning Power Ball ticket!
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Meanwhile...live, love, write.
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