The Motion of the Ocean

Writing and writing and writing…just not here. Time for a break…

Went on a cruise to the Bahamas last week; on a ship with 2000 people, pressed in cheek to jowl…educational. Among eavesdropping, others’ lack of self-editing, conversations, and amusing myself by making up stories about what I might be looking at, I have some interesting notions osmotically insinuated into my awareness; fodder. Remind me to share a session of “name-the-airport-denizen" sometime. As usual the best stories came from the service folk…honorable mention to Rose from Jamaica, a sweet young Ottowan out on her own for the very first time, Joao the Portuguese maitre’d, and Casius the Peruvian Purveyor of the drink-of-the-day.

I still like the sea it seems. Low-pressure followed us down and we had some chop. Barely felt on the big boat but enough to evoke my sea legs; loved it. Was swayin' and readin' about the habits of successful writers. No surprises, I already have most of that advice canned, though it was good to see it reinforced. The gist: Write…adverbially it doesn’t matter (how, when, where, under what chemical supervision…strangely caffeine (my 2nd favorite) is not recommended by most, though there are devotees), however you can get it done. Fear plays a large role; blocks the flow and spurs the discipline… a two-edged sword like most useful things. Deadlines and reputations; can you crank out a manuscript in the time allotted? Spec scripts are easy, you can take a whole lifetime to write one (if you never want to actually sell anything). Working to contract is where the wannabes are separated from the pros…if I keep writing about this, it’s not a gist any more…thank you to the NSA and the USN for my dedication to brevity.

Unlimbered the bow yesterday, time to thunk arrows into targets till my shoulder screams…tis the season for physicality if I can get out of my head (for me at least, hot days are for fiesta and siesta, not hard work…burnt by too many two-a-days as a tot and too much road-paving as a teen). Looking forward to a long Fall, a short Winter, and sweating my way through.