Tuesday, January 5, 2010

If money was no object




 A couple of years ago, under duress, I attended a small party hosted by a partner in the law firm where I worked. At the party, someone in the group I was talking with asked "If you could do anything, and money was no object, what career would you choose?" One woman said she wanted to write children’s books. One man wanted to be a fishing guide. Another woman would be a teacher. Apparently no one wanted to be a lawyer.

I said I would be a writer—outdoorsy stuff, mainly, experiences and ruminations, with a slight literary bent. It's a dream, perhaps a pipe dream, I've had for about ten years now but have never fully pursued. When I got laid off and came up with the idea of moving to Montana, I thought "Here's my chance." If I can't write in this most idyllic of settings, then it really was all just a pipe dream.

The first few months flew by. I spent more time exploring my new surroundings than I did trying to write about them, the blog notwithstanding. But in mid November I finally got mentally settled in and began to focus. I had originally planned to work on a book, but I couldn’t devise a structure I liked. All I had was a hodgepodge of ramblings that didn't go anywhere. There was no narrative flow. To avoid getting completely bogged down, I decided to shift focus and start working on smaller pieces and try to get the best ones published in some of the small literary journals. So, after a lot of stumbling aimlessly and flailing about, trying to decide what I was doing, I've finished two small pieces, about four thousand words each. I mailed one off last week, and I plan to mail the other in the next day or so (it's hard to stop editing—the writing could always be better).

A few close friends knew what I meant to do when I moved up here, but they've been nice enough not to ask me if I'm really doing it or just goofing off and staring at the mountains or the river. I'm happy to say that I am, finally, at work. I don't know if anything will come of it, but right now that is not what's important. The important thing is just to make a full, honest effort and let come what may.


7 comments:

  1. This is AWESOME news! I'm so proud of you! (It's been REALLY hard keeping my mouth shut!) Congratulations! Keep us posted.

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  2. I'M SO HAPPY FOR YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Stop editing and send it in - can't wait to read it and of course, I fully expect an autographed copy; don't forget us "small" people!

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  3. If your literary pieces are as enjoyable as what we have been reading on your blog, I predict you will be a great success. Go, Cliff!

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  4. I thank you all for the supportive words. Y'all are the greatest.

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  5. Very awesome indeed. Way to go! And like you say, it's not critical that they get published -- right now it's about the learning and the process, and even if you had had just been goofing off, that would have been alright too!

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  6. From what I remember you had English 101 at 8am and everyone knows you didn't go a day without a bag in! No wonder it's taken this long to get writing!!!

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  7. BMac, I like your philosophy. I bet you are a great dad.

    If I ever skipped English, it was because my roommate would lie in his bed in the morning and say, "Why are you going to class, Old? You need to go back to bed. It's warm and cozy."

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