The Tortoise and the Hare for Writers

As a novel writer, I move at a tortoise’s pace, working over my words with a fine tooth comb, re-reading to make sure everything flows as it should, reviewing beginnings and endings…you get the point, it’s never ending. As a first-time novel writer, I have the luxury of time.

But the newspaper and magazine world are all about timeliness. I’ve had a taste of this as I used to write-in to the local newspaper fairly frequently, responding to the current issues of the day. When you need speed, you lose some perfectionism, or at least you have to let some of it go. It feels antithetical to novel writing.

I’m not a magazine writer, but I’ve always wanted to write essays, or other non-fiction pieces. I read a lot and am fairly well-informed, but I’m not usually an expert on anything. I’m more of a generalist on everything. Which means there’s usually someone better qualified to write on just about any topic, than me.

But sometimes worlds converge and that’s where I found my sweet spot. I subscribe to a fairly new magazine, Meditation Magazine. I had just returned from our annual star party—which had been on hold for covid—and my head was swimming in the Milky Way and beyond. I happened to be reading the current issue of Meditation Magazine which was focussed on the theme of Earth. But somewhere in there, it said the next issue would be on the theme of the Universe. A topic I knew a lot about.

Fueled with passion, I decided to take a shot and make a pitch if the off chance the magazine hadn’t yet gone to print. Being a new magazine, and not having any bona fides myself, I offered my writing for free, just happy to be considered.

This was a bit crazy for me as I was starting teaching the following week and packing up my daughter to move her to university several hours away. I was incredibly busy. I rationalized, It’s probably too late anyway.

As I went to bed that night, I saw that I’d received an email from the editor asking if we could meet tomorrow (a Thursday) and brainstorm. I didn’t respond at that moment, but in my morning writing session, I did free-writing on what I might want to write about as it relates to meditation and science.

We arranged for a zoom meeting at noon where we discussed ideas back and forth. He liked what I had to offer, but we had to find a space where my piece could fit and a word count. He showed me the layout on his screen when he decided that my piece would do a good job of summing up all the material inside: I should write the conclusion—to a magazine I had yet to read!

As a side note, this edition would feature two of my inspirations: Neil deGrasse Tyson and Deepak Chopra.

But I was leaving for Ottawa the next morning and he needed it now. We discussed timing and I explained that I’m a morning writer. We also discussed just sending him a rough draft and then we could edit, all in the interest of time. He did encourage me to write in the afternoon.

So I did. I wrote a rough first draft, but I mean rough. I couldn’t send it to anyone. But I had a base to work with. The next morning, I woke at 4:00 am and edited my piece to a place that at least I wouldn’t be embarrassed. Only, it was too many words. He had room for 1000 and I had written 1500. But I had to get my daughter to Ottawa.

I was prepared to edit in the car as I didn’t need to drive. I had my phone and laptop prepped. While on the way, he sent me back his edited version and asked if I was okay with it, or if I wanted to make further changes. I changed one small thing, but let the rest go. Quite frankly, editing in a car wasn’t going to produce my best work. And I knew what was most important at this point, was getting the magazine to press. I made my one change and said, We’re good to go.

A friend asked me how I could write something so quickly. I had to think about it since my novel writing apparently takes forever. But there were a few things that helped me. First was, being passionate about the topic. Everything came from within me. I didn’t have to research or interview anyone, it was all me on a topic I know intimately. Secondly, I have a process and it served me well. Get it all down and go back and edit! But I also know myself well and knew that editing that night wouldn’t be the answer, it had to be the morning. Getting the rough draft done in the afternoon certainly accelerated the process and I was thankful for the push. But I needed my clear morning mind to do the final work.

The editor liked my piece and was quite happy with my quick turnaround. I believe I showed him he could trust me with another piece—which I already have percolating. I just need to write the pitch. And this time it won’t be so rushed.

It was a fun experience and I enjoyed having an editor! Someone to help me hone my ideas and my written piece.

There are a couple lessons from this experience:

1. If you’re interested in something, put yourself out there. You never know what might come of it.
2. Know your process, but also be willing to step out of it. Trust your instincts.
3. Don’t apply the same process to: newspaper/magazine writing, novel writing, short-story writing, or poetry. It’s hard to have both speed and perfectionism, know what is most important for your piece.
4. Have fun writing!