As I've mentioned, I recently signed myself up to write a serial fiction piece with some other writers from The Docket (a legal publication in Denver that tends to be less "legal" and more "publication," and never insists that I actually write about the law). Anyway, I was writer number three in the series and hadn't read either of the pieces before me until about two days before my deadline. As I've also mentioned, they say that in order to actually become a legit writer, you should drown yourself with hard-to-meet deadlines. If on these deadlines, you can produce some decent work, you might have a shot at making writing more than just a hobby. That's not, however, why I waited until the 11th hour to start my piece. It had just been one of those weeks after one of those weeks after one of those weeks, and all of a sudden, my deadline was in my face and I was less than prepared. To make matters worse, I wasn't thrilled about the topic: law school meets murder mystery - a somewhat cheesy whodunnit about cops, law students .... and mmmmuhrrr-der.
So I did what I could do. I set up shop at a really cute local wine bar that conveniently had a one-person table outside. I ordered a great glass of wine, and I stopped thinking about it so much.
This piece isn't necessarily my greatest work. But for my first published attempt at trying my hand at fiction, it worked out. And more than anything, I learned an important lesson on this one (a lesson that I've also been learning recently in other areas of my life): Sometimes, it really is better to not have a plan.
Part I of the series can be found here.
Part II found here.
No comments:
Post a Comment