April hoisted the printout of her first novel off the counter of the Office Supply Store.
“Maybe you’d like a box for that?” suggested employee Office Max. “Don’t think I have a bag strong enough!”
April smiled. “Good idea. Thanks!”
He handed back her credit card, and fetched an empty printer paper box. She sighed. It might be time to invest in her own printer. All this productivity was breaking her budget. She needed a new strategy.
“So what’s next?” Max held the box steady as she loaded her tome.
“Massive edits,” April groaned. “Time to leash the beast.”
© Liz Husebye Hartmann (2021)
Carrot Ranch Prompt (06/06/2021): In 99 words (no more, no less), write a story being leashed. Is it literal or metaphorical? Who or what is leashed. How does it set the tone? Go where the prompt leads!
Valley of the Trolls 
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Oh, yes, Monster Manuscript Wrestling. Hopefully, April has a revision plan, otherwise known as the Care and Feeding of Your Beast.
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Dancing around the ring, ready to duke it out for round one!
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That’s a great description of editing! And yeah, sometimes we edit for reasons other than creative content. I once wrote a book for an educational publisher that meant I had to refer to a word list and use a mathematical equation to make sure those words were used in the manuscript exactly as often as the rules demanded, no more and no less!
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Uffda! That does not sound like a labor of love…
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I like this one – no wiser words were written – editing is leashing the beast. 😊
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Oh! you betcha!
Once those words are written…self edit is a massive hurdle until it’s sent for professional editing.
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And then you’re back on the beast again after the editor’s been there.
I like Ann LaMott’s idea that you start the big project by going Bird by Bird. 😀
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