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Dear Reader,
The other day I discovered some notes I'd written for a column over three years ago. After I finished reading them I was grinning from ear-to-ear, they were cute. So why hadn't I ever followed through and written a column? And now, how was I going to remember what I was thinking way back then? Two pages of notes from so long ago--yes I remembered where I was when I wrote them. My husband and I were on a long weekend, staying at a very nice hotel and I was hanging out down by the pool, people watching and writing. But the details of the day certainly weren't fresh in my mind. So I was very pleased with myself, because at least I'd jotted down a few one-liners, little gems, whatever you want to call them, things I'd heard people say, but I'd never be able to remember them now--at least not verbatim.
When I see or hear something that I think will make a great column I need to write down the specifics word-for-word, immediately, because I won't be able to duplicate them. Sure, I can paraphrase what was said, but the words I end up with will never turn someone's head, like they did mine, when I first heard them.
I imagine writing a column from decrepit notes must be like putting a jigsaw puzzle together. I'm only guessing, mind you, because I've never actually put a jigsaw puzzle together (other than a 6-piece puppy puzzle when I was a kid). But I imagine if I were going to try to master a jigsaw puzzle, one of the first things I'd do is put the outer surface together. Then I'd look for big masses of color, or objects in the picture that were easy to identify, and hopefully after I found all of those pieces it would start to become clear what to do with the leftovers.
And that's pretty much how putting together old column notes goes for me. The outer edge is what the column is about, the masses of color are the voice in the column and the objects in the notes are the one-liners. Arrange them in some sort of order and then take inventory on what I have left. Oh yeah, and there are always throwaways--thoughts that were so relevant at the time but I didn't leave myself enough clues to be able to figure them out three years later. (I guess throwaways would be a no-no when you're doing a jigsaw puzzle.) It's the kind of column that takes a lot of patience, the same kind of patience I imagine it takes to finish a 1000 piece puzzle.
Typing up my old notes hasn't inspired me to actually tackle a jigsaw puzzle, but I was inspired to buy some puzzles and some journals--and I'm giving them away today to readers. Write or put together a puzzle--your choice. I'm giving away two Travel-sized Puzzles, (small and compact with a case) and I have four journals, two light blue ones for women and two plain black ones for men.
To enter the drawing for a Travel Puzzle or journal and to see some photos of readers who've won "stuff" in the past, go to: http://tinyurl.com/4krhfl
Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.
Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com
http://www.DearReader.com
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