WRITblog

I’m a sucker for reality TV.

 I’d like to say I’m intellectually amazing all of the time, but the truth is that sometimes I grab a bag of chips and plop down in front of Rock of Love, or Top Chef, or MTV’s True Life. I draw the line at American Idol because that’s just way too much commitment for me. Top Chef has been one show that I continually tune into lately. These people have to be insane to cook gourmet food in a matter of minutes with all the restrictions the show puts on them. If someone gave me 10 minutes in a grocery store and $10 to put together a meal for a family of four I’m pretty sure I’d have a panic attack. The part of the show that I’m always really interested in is when the time is up and everyone mentions various things they would have done differently or tweaked in various ways. Writing is a lot like cooking in that it could always use a dash of salt or a minute more in the oven. There is always something in your writing that can be reexamined and made better with a little more time and effort. Fortunately for most of us, our creative writing is not on a timer and we have the opportunity (if we so choose) to edit our work and edit again and again and again. I can’t count the number of times that I’ve found a crumpled piece of paper or an old notebook with some poetry and thought, “Whoa! I could totally make this piece better!” So the next time you’re thinking about throwing that bit of poem/fiction/manuscript out the window, take a deep breath, pull out the salt, and season that writing!