Heavy Weather Making

I really am making kerfuffle out of this article.

I’ve been trying to adapt it in the ways suggested by the editor.

I loathe jigsaw puzzles but find writing an article a bit like a puzzle. I sit typing away not really sure what my story or angle is, and then a little while in I suddenly realise what the shape is, what my argument is, or whatever and a few shuffles of the paragraphs into a different order and I’m getting there.

But I’ve finally come to the conclusion that here, with this article I’m trying to fit a round peg into a square hole.

Today, after my committee meeting and a revolting lunch (I made it myself), I finally accepted this. I’d got a good idea what the shape/angle/story is but no amount of wedging or ramming the old version into the new hole was going to work. It doesn’t fit. There is nothing else for it: I’ve got to ditch the old one and start anew.

So I started rewriting.

I’ve been writing on and off for hours, and I’ve wrung out only 324 words so far. I think I might stop now and restart when I’m fresh in the morning.

Instead I could start my index cards with the scenes I’m planning. Ooohooo, that feels like a good decision.