Three More Weeks
The election, of course.
Fall has arrived on the island and the colors are spectacular! This is a picture I took a few years ago along one of our back roads.
I’m so sorry if you received a duplicate newsletter. My bad. I was trying to add more pictures and somehow hit the wrong button and sent a whole new newsletter. I’ll learn this yet!
The election is right up there, almost upon us, and every day there’s something new and chilling to think about, but I did manage to get away from it for a while and write about other things.
Remember when I told you a story of mine had been rejected, but the editors asked me to participate in their “Ask the Editors” series? Well, I did. The question this time was, How Can I Make My Nonfiction More Engaging?” and this is how it went. (I did this before I switched Indelible Ink from Creative Nonfiction to All Politics Until the Election, so I felt terrible when the push brought some CNF writers over and I had to tell I can’t use them until after the election.)
I’m working on three original drafts, plus revisions on a couple of old pieces I’d like to revive. I wish I could spend more time of them. I spend way too much time now playing editor to submissions coming in to Indelible Ink, I’m seriously thinking of charging for my services! I don’t want to do it, but every time a story comes in that needs some editing, my editor brain goes into gear and, instead of just saying, “Thanks but no thanks”, I have to show them the error of their ways. Just have to.
There are some submissions that won’t ever work; not unless I write the entire thing myself, and I’m not about to do that. But some stories are worth telling and I want them to shine. Most just need a nudge from passive to active voice, or a rearrangement of paragraphs so the reader is drawn in to the story without a whole lot of useless meandering, and often they’re things the writer gets as soon as they’re pointed out. That’s the satisfying part of it—and they do appreciate it. But it all takes time away from my own writing, and the only pay I get is in that satisfaction.
But it’s my own doing, so I have nobody else to blame. Just ignore me. I’m making excuses.
I did get three political pieces out there last week. I wrote “Will Trump Get a Sympathy Surge?” after Trump’s hospital debacle, when I got to thinking he might get a sympathy vote out of it. (I feel much better about it now.)
This one, “Gretchen Whitmer Could Have Been Kidnapped”, came after the news of a foiled kidnap plot against our governor. Her crime? She went against Trump, encouraging masks and further shutdowns because of COVID. Big no-nos in TrumpWorld. A motley band of terrorists, egged on by their leader, came up with a plan that seemed sort of nuts, but now they’re in jail, and Gretchen is safe for now. I expanded the piece to include other female politicians who ‘d had their lives threatened. Because it’s a thing.
This piece, called “The Trump Regime’s Fatal Flaw: They Don’t Understand Americans”, came out of my memories about being a kid during World War II, remembering how Americans came together during a crisis and worked to get the job done. It’s part of my ongoing attempt at cheerleading for America. It’s a tough job but somebody has to do it.
I spend a lot on time on Twitter these days, and, as always, I find it both awesome and repelling. I know some of you hate and/or fear Twitter. I won’t try to change your mind, but if you want to see what I see in it, you can read about it in my June piece, “The Twitterverse Beat: My Love/Hate Relationship with Jack’s Baby”.
Note that all of my links get you past Medium’s firewall, but if you click on links inside the pieces, you might be limited. I HATE firewalls, but I have no control over them. Sorry. See you next week. Until then, take care, stay safe, and wear your mask. (My Banned Books mask below.)
