Writing and Spinning

Spinning tales, spinning gold, putting the proper spin on it, whatever “it” is. Spinning is what writers do, really, including the spin that means to cast out a line (of words, not fishing lures--although we do hope to hook a few readers).

   

We spin webs in which to entangle our readers, shooting out gossamer lines so light and finely measured that they look absolutely dazzling on the page. We also spin our wheels and spin in circles and spin out of control when our carefully wrought characters and heartfelt stories crash and burn. I’ll bet the healthiest wordsmiths among us also just sit and spin (I mean this in a good way)—on a stationary bike, not in an office chair as I occasionally do. (“This is not what I do all day!” I tell my two-year old grandson as we spin one more time, "feet up so we don’t kick the printer.")

What I really have in mind when I think of spinning, though, is that plate spinner on Ed Sullivan, the one who ran from plate to plate spinning this one and that one to keep them all from falling off their spindles and crashing to the floor. That’s what writers really do! That’s what I do, anyway, as my brain shifts into high gear and I find myself moving from one story to the next and the next.

My morning usually goes something like this: I write for a couple of hours, working on whatever book is driving me at the moment, and then I think of the perfect line for the short story that’s due in a week. So I save and minimize and open another file only to get caught up in edits and rewrites until I remember the 1,667 words (my daily quota for NaNoWriMo) that I must write before my day gets busy. Then all of the other book/writing-related responsibilities kick in and I run from blog to website to LinkedIn to Google+ to post and respond and write and connect. Then back to writing and editing and reading and checking three email accounts and Facebook for likes and comments and reviews. Welcome to my spin cycle.

And then I repeat my mantra: Writing is a business. I must look at my books as employees, as profit centers that require attention and care. I must market them. I must support them. I must spin them.

Oh, who am I kidding? I’m a plate spinner. And until one of my plates turns to gold from all that spinning, I will continue to spin them all and love every minute of it. Until I don’t. And when that happens, if that happens, I will turn to yet another memory from my youth thanks to Zorba the Greek: Plate Smashing. 

(I wish I had a really cool graphic for plate spinning but unfortunately, I don't have time to look for one! I'm too busy spinning gold, spinning tales, spinning in my chair! Sorry!)