Bob's Write from the Start: The Wonderful Thing About Hanging

Bob's Write from the Start

Bob’s Write from the Start, a blog sharing the roller coaster ride of this renewing writer’s feelings and actual experiences, began March 2017. That January, I began with a two-sentence contribution to a local Writing Group. I am now a Guest Columnist for a local paper and have contributed to small and online magazines. My comments for new and renewing writers? Start by starting. Join a writing group. You are unique but not alone. Once you start work, you will not be in Kansas anymore.

Saturday, June 24, 2017

The Wonderful Thing About Hanging

As Samuel Johnson is reported to have said, “Depend upon it, Sir, when a man knows he is to be hanged in a fortnight, it concentrates his mind wonderfully.”

I can now report the same thing, for me, may be said about preparing to make your first story submission.

Mr Writers' Group thought the story was good. Check. A prominent member of the WG suggested an online magazine. Check. I polished it a little bit with a quick update since it is a Trump satire. Check.

And I removed a small section - those who know me would know it was affectionate ribbing, not a bigoted attack. Those who do not know me would send the vigilantes with a rope. So, obvious lesson #1, don't rely on your personal reputation for assumed civility. It was the reality of submitting the story outside my WG that brought this mundane insight to my brain with lightning bolts. Another check.

Lesson #2 was that it is a satire of Donald Trump. The same Donald Trump who likes to sue people.

I will submit another story because now I think I'm ready. Ready but chicken.

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About Me

Name: Bob's Write From The Start

Location: Sarnia, Ontario, Canada

Born, raised and living in Sarnia, Ontario, Bob Boulton began writing poetry, short stories and humorous articles for his high school newspaper in the period just after dinosaurs roamed the earth. His article on the mysteries of the Chess Club was particularly well-received. Bob’s excruciatingly naive teenage sonnet was published with positive mention in the high school yearbook. In University he wrote pretty much indecipherable essays on Existentialism and Phenomenology. Then, early in his working career, Bob also wrote short feature articles in the now-defunct (not his fault) Weston York Times. For this, he was paid $5.00 per article, which didn’t quite cover his transportation and parking costs. Then after a short break of thirty-five or forty years as an executive and leadership coach, Bob reactivated his passion for writing. The alternatives he considered were learning to yodel or trying to play the bagpipes. Bob’s loving and supportive family voted enthusiastically, and quickly, for writing.