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Writing Advice

A Rush Job

A friend emailed me with a writing opportunity. An editor was looking for biographical sports stories from published book authors for an anthology. I studied the requirements closely. On the one hand, biographical means factual. On the other hand, stories need details and dialogue. I wasn’t sure how to reconcile the two demands. The incident that I had in mind had happened back in fourth grade. My memory wasn’t that good.

At the bottom of the email, the editor had actually said to call with any questions. I decided to take the plunge. I carefully considered what I was going to say, took a deep breath and punched in the numbers. I was prepared for a secretary or voice mail, but this editor answered her own phone. I tried to sound cool and professional as I presented my qualifications. She addressed my concerns and then said the words that launched me into action: “I know the deadline is January 28th. But since the collection is coming out this fall, the sooner I get the first drafts the better.”

The next day I walked over to Sweet Bean, a little coffee shop on Main Street, and spent three hours getting the bones for the whole story down on paper. I often focus better when I’ve rented a table for the morning and don’t have email, computer games, or laundry to distract me. On the way home, I stopped at the library to check out a couple of books. When I opened my backpack that night to transcribe my notes, my papers were gone! They could have been anywhere between the coffee shop, the library and home. I sat down at my computer and did a re-creation. Miracle of miracles, most of it came back to me—even a few of the good phrases. The opening and closing scenes were working. The length was 2100 words, just over the minimum. Two days later, I had finished a complete draft. The middle transition was still awkward, but improving with every pass.

I’m a great believer in letting projects sit for a few days. It’s so much easier to catch mistakes with a little distance. But what if the anthology filled up while my project cooled off? I’m also great believer in obtaining critiques from my various groups. They’re great at pointing out mistakes and lapses in logic. But I could hardly dump what was now 2500 words in their laps and ask them to get back to me in 48 hours. So I just kept reading the thing out loud to myself, combing through the manuscript like a mother looking for head lice. Finally, I read through my manuscript without making a correction. It was time to save the file and then attach it to an outbound email. (The fact that the editor had encouraged me to email rather than snailmail the project had contributed to my anxiety.)

I may decide that I made a mistake in approaching this opportunity as a rush job if I receive a polite ‘No thanks.’ But as I wait for my answer, I have no regrets.