Thinking hockey players have it easier than this. Nights of little sleep resulting in a clouded head, full of what few brain cells I have left that might actually fire. Even the strongest of Earl Grey blends may not be enough for me to fire up whatever other ounce of strength I might have. Gotta be there somewhere.

Nah. My hockey heroes put themselves through more difficulty. There is just no comparison.

The self-imposed penalty for the morning is to write and see if my head clears up. To my right is a manuscript full of red ink that needs to be addressed. I have concluded that it is best that I start this task with a completely clear head. Especially since I am likely to keep going and put in a few late nights to get the first set of edits complete.

As I was writing this, I took my thoughts on editing to Twitter. My proclamation related to not feeling 100% ready to dive into this set of edits. Within seconds a colleague directed a reply to with the question “Are we ever really “100% ready” for edits though?” After pondering this to the background mix of music from Newfoundland’s Ron Hynes and the Howard Stern Show, my answer is a resounding no. No one is really 100% ready for edits. If I could spend this entire day in this office, my readiness factor might increase slightly. Writers want to face their edits with the vision of the completed product before their futures. With this particular manuscript, my investment of time, combined with my intention to get this into publisher friendly form by calendar year-end is what will keep the ignition lit.

Last night, I went to pick up one of the books I am reading. It is The Real Frank Zappa Book. My mentally worn out mind started to look at some of the words. It was a futile effort of reading. I let the book fall down to the coffee table then proclaimed to my wife and my two dogs “Fuck it, I can’t read”. Illiteracy is no laughing matter, but for that brief second my temporary illiteracy was downright funny.

Penalty served, can step away now.