Momentum
A couple of minutes ago, I messaged Bill Blume with James River Writers and asked him for the photo we'd taken at a recent writer meet-up. He messaged back "sure" and the picture of us holding our weekly writing goals. The entire interaction took about 2 minutes.
How long would that have taken back in the day? Before digital photos, texting and Facebook? I would have had to call him. Asked him to take a negative to a store to send off for a print. Wait. He would have had to drive back to the store to pick it up (and pay) then either driven it to me or me to him to pick it up. It would have taken at least a week, if not longer.
Nowadays everything's so fast. Like this post. I'm writing it fast and maybe a little bit sloppy. I have to. Creative nonfiction is not my thing. I'm trying to perfect my fiction. I spend hours and hours editing a short story draft after draft so that it can be whittled down to this fast-paced machine of a story. Where there's so much momentum forward the reader is propelled from first sentence to last.
Occasionally (like Wednesdays at Urban Farmhouse with James River Writers) it's nice to slow down. Reconnect with other writers. Build your own community. Concentrate on THIS week's goals. Cheer each other on.
