Rinse. Repeat. How Writing Imitates Life by Kait Carson

Snow Scallops

They say that when a Mainer doesn’t know what to say, they talk about the weather. That may be so. I’m not a Mainer, I just live here. That said, I had absolutely no topic for my monthly blog until this morning. That’s when I realized that writing and life have much in common.

It’s been a snowless year up here in the Crown of Maine. November, December, and January all passed and left behind a meager five inches of snow. Then came February. Oh, my. We had over a foot of snow fall between February 13th and Valentine’s Day. My husband and I have an agreement. I operate the shovel for detail work; he operates the snowblower for the paved areas. Fair deal. On Valentine’s Day morning, I picked up my shovel from next to the house and proceeded to shovel the steps, the side dooryard, and a dog run. Then I moved to the front of the house and shoveled the porch, a path to the bird feeder, and around the trash bins in the side yard. Then the plowman came, and I got to dig through five-foot drifts to reopen the dog run, clean up the stairs, and dig out the garbage bins. Rinse. Repeat.

Dog run dug though a five foot drift

Fast forward to the next morning. Did I mention we’d had winds in the neighborhood of 25-40 miles per hour? All those nice paths I’d carefully cleared were blown over. Rinse. Repeat. 

The snow started again on Sunday. By Monday morning we had over a foot of new snow. Rinse. Repeat.

I was working my way up the hill clearing the dog run when I realized shoveling snow is just like writing. You write the first draft—aptly called the vomit draft—and when you’re done, you’re not finished. You may take a quick break, but then it’s time to edit. Rinse. Repeat. Write draft two and more edits. Rinse Repeat. Then off to betas and…Rinse Repeat. You get the picture. 

Birds gotta eat, too

At some point in time, spring arrives, and the snow falls cease. Same with writing. There comes a time when you’ve done all you can and the book is ready to bloom. It’s a great feeling, but if you’re a writer, or a Mainer, you know what’s coming. Rinse. Repeat.

Kait Carson writes the Hayden Kent Mysteries set in the Fabulous Florida Keys and is at work on a new mystery set in her adopted state of Maine. Her short fiction has been nationally published in True Romance, True Confessions, True Story, True Experience, and Woman’s World magazines. Her short story, Gutted, Filleted, and Fried, appeared in the Falchion Finalist nominated Seventh Guppy Anthology Hook, Line, and Sinker. She is a former President of the Guppy Chapter of Sisters in Crime, a member of Sisters in Crime, and Guppies. Visit her website at www.kaitcarson.com. While you’re there, sign up for her newsletter and receive a yummy, authentic, key lime pie recipe.