WRITING

Surviving Saturdays

Saturdays are for aimlessly puttering around the homestead attempting to look busy, and the writing that follows

Photo by David Todd McCarty.

Most of the time, when I begin writing, it’s based on an idea or premise that becomes a title or an opening line. Sometimes, I know where I’m going, and other times, well, not so much. I usually need some sort of spark, but after that, I let the story take me where it will.

In a majority of the cases, that’s somewhere interesting or at least with something good to eat. You can be all over the place, because when everything is clicking, even disparate themes come together to unite in a cohesive narrative.

When they don’t, you get what follows.

I’m not apologizing, but I would like to dissuade all those who think that excellence flows from mere experience, unheeded and effortlessly, and that everyone else somehow knows what they’re doing. We shoot for the stars, but more often than not, we fall flat on our faces. Some days, you just have to write it down and let the chips fall where they may.

This is one of those times.

I used to shit cash. That’s what my wife Jane called it. Shitting cash. Meaning I was making way more money than seemed reasonable at the time. I…