Johann Andreas Benjamin Nothnagel:
Hermit Writing (18th Century)

A Decent Chance Of Becoming Requitable
Now that I've finished assembling my manuscript, my schedule allows me some distractions and respite from that all-consuming focus. I became a wannabe handyman again, entering The Home Despot only to have my desires dashed by the harsh realities they almost exclusively dispense there. Between that visit and a following one to a lumber yard, my grand plan to accomplish something besides manuscript assembling fell apart. I took these experiences particularly hard, for tight on the sense of success completing assembly had brought; I'd thought myself invulnerable to disappointment, only to learn better, by which I, of course, mean worse. I realize that my small successes influence little, almost nothing, yet they still feel consequential, at least until this old world starts dispensing its usual disappointments again. Again, I'm reminded of why I became a writer. It allows me to inhabit a world primarily of my own making, where my notions of what's possible hold a decent chance of becoming requitable.

————

I began my writing week with an Introduction of sorts, the last part of my manuscript written and the first part read. So my manuscript assembly process seems like a lengthy introduction, one only accomplished impressionistically. Much interpretation's required before I can comfortably conclude who or what I might have become in the interim since the beginning. I must admit that I was not entirely sure of my identity even then."

Jessie Willcox Smith:
Heidi introduced each in turn by its name to her friend Clara (1922)
—
I considered singular focus and concluded that it must be a Utopian notion. In real life, us humans seem much more likely to be MixingMetaphors. "Absent ambiguity, interpretation becomes easy, but without ambiguity, something essential might also go missing. The MixedMetaphor might be the one universal constant between almost all human endeavors. Not an enemy of civilization but its inevitable companion."

Jessie Willcox Smith:
Girl seated in flower garden (1905)
"Beware of good advice and even warier of better."
—
I completed assembling my manuscript after only two months of seriously inefficient effort in Onward&Inward. "The more one wishes to accomplish something, the more difficult it becomes to achieve. I suspect that if I could only become indifferent to accomplishing anything, my life would become a breeze, but without enough passion to sustain anyone, let alone me."

Jessie Willcox Smith:
One foot up, the other foot down (1918)
" … exclusively produced by fools like me …"
—
Every one of my projects eventually reaches the point where my inability to master a software application delays completion, and then I write a story almost exactly like PickyDetails. "I will not then or ever after become anything like a master of this manuscript app, let alone a master of Publishing. I'll never be much more than not quite a rank amateur at the PickyDetails of this profession."

Charles Herbert Moore,
Copy after Vittore Carpaccio:
Much Reduced Study of the Dragon in
Carpaccio's Picture of St. George and the Dragon,
in the Chapel of S. Giorgio dei [sic] Schiavoni, Venice, 1876
"I'll never be much more than not quite a rank amateur …"
—
I finally figured out how to produce an acceptable print copy of my newly assembled manuscript in Poifection. " It seems just as Poifect as a newborn ever could. It will mature from here, but it will never again appear as flawless as when I'm rereading it again for the first time in this form. It must have been a form of magic that produced it."

Ben Shahn:
Detail of a log fence in central Ohio (1938)

"It must have been a form of magic …"
—
I disclosed what writers do in lieu of writing, they *Read. This storynproved the most popular this period. "Days disappear between the covers of his latest. … Once the manuscript finally takes something closely resembling final form, it becomes curiously compelling."

Nicolas Lagneau:
Elderly Man Reading a Book (C.1650)
" … one can be fairly certain it isn't …"
—
I ended my writing week recounting how the Publishing business really works in OnSpec. "Books need not sell a million copies to make a real difference in this world with their presence. This remains their enduring magic."

Constant Troyon: The Road to Market (1858/59)
" … worth gratefully beyond measure."
—
This writing week served up a classic chronicle of the end of the inevitably lengthy manuscript assembly process. It began with the last piece written and the first one read, with the Introduction. It acknowledged the obvious: the final work gratefully lacked a single sharp focus; it Mixed its Metaphors. Finally, it acknowledged the end of an exacting effort, moving both Onward as well as Inward and straight into the obligatory PickyDetails. Another one last barrier breached, the author whispered to himself that the result seemed Poifection incarnate before settling back in to Read again. The tumultuous week ended with the budding author acknowledging that he's been working OnSpec, hopeful that his efforts might produce a lasting effect somewhere in this world. Thank you for following along on this grand adventure!

©2023 by David A. Schmaltz - all rights reserved

Tags: #Publishing, #PureSchmaltz