It is right now one of the beautiful summer days that make you feel sunny inside yourself. The sun is shining and there is no forecast of rain so it is bright and happy outside. The breeze is just light enough to take off any hint of heat. The temperature is not too hot, as it was a week ago, but cool enough to sit at a café and watch the people walk by and do a bit of writing. Of course, I am actually at my desk at work and taking a much needed break for lunch instead.
Many people have certain things they do to make summer very enjoyable. Some people go camping on the beach, some people escape the heat and head to a cabin in the mountains, others may like to go for long bike rides in the evenings or even a leisurely stroll as the day is still sunny when you get home from work, not like the darkness of winter. In Virginia and where I used to live, Wisconsin, many people enjoy fishing. Now, I have never been a big lover of fishing. I can count on one hand the number of times I have actually gone fishing and I can honestly say of those times not one of them was "ice" fishing. Brrrrrrrr!
Recently, I was having a rough weekend and my son was extra chipper so I decided we should go for a drive through the country which is my favorite thing to do when I am having a rough day. I need my trees or even mountains to re-energize me when those times hit. I love to blast my music and roll my windows all the way down, obviously this is more of a summer thing to do, and then just enjoy the long country roads and the fields of green with large trees and flowers and smells. Even the insects seem larger and louder and happier and you don't mind them as much as a visit from them into your home normally. Although, now we are visiting their home and they probably feel about as happy as we are when they visit.
Anyway, my son and I stopped at a local market to get a drink and stretch our legs. Off to the side of the market was a little lake. At the far edge of the lake was a Dad fishing with his son who was about eight years old. I watched as they caught a fish and then threw it back. As I started to walk away though the Dad caught one that must have passed some test because both the Dad and boy got excited and did not throw this fish back. I, being a fishing novice, do not know the parameters and rules attached to throwing a fish back versus keeping it but I am sure some of it may be related to size. I do know though that a few days later as I was editing Chapter Twenty for a final time I realized with editing there are times you want to keep something but it does not carry enough importance to the story so it has to be thrown back.
Editing can be a lot like fishing. You throw out a line, hope to catch a big one but sometimes have to throw it back. Then, instead of walking away, you throw out another line and try again until you have a finished product. I had waited a few weeks to edit chapter twenty so I had plenty of items I was throwing back but I was able to finish the edits and move on to chapter twenty one where I then went on to chapter twenty two and twenty three and now I have three chapters to edit. Yikes, I may have to take a week off just to focus on the editing...maybe instead I will just go fishing.
No comments:
Post a Comment