If you’re one of the American members of this community, you’re probably getting ready to celebrate Thanksgiving. Pretty soon homes all over the country will fill with the smell of roast turkey and pumpkin pie. Friends and family will gather to give thanks. As I enjoy my first cup of coffee before the family wakes, it occurs to me that freelance writing is like Thanksgiving sometimes. Allow me to share:
1. It takes planning
Though it’s not difficult to whip up a Thanksgiving dinner at the last minute, to pull off a good one takes planning. A host will plan a menu, contact friends and relatives, shop for the best ingredients and spend the day in the kitchen. A good piece of writing also takes heavy planning. There’s research and an outline and several drafts before the finished product.
2. Collaboration rocks
The best Thanksgivings are the ones where each guest contributes. Mom makes the turkey, Aunt Martha brings the green bean casserole and Grandma rocks the apple pie. Everyone brings something to the table. Writing is also kicked up a level when two or more people collaborate on a project. We all have our specialties and our areas of expertise, putting some great minds together makes for an awesome piece of reading.
3. It takes a lot longer to prepare than to devour the finished product
As mentioned above, both writing and Thanksgiving take lots of planning, but it takes a lot longer to cook and prepare than to eat the meal. It also takes a lot longer to plan and write than it does to read a book or article.
4. Everything tastes better the next day
Who doesn’t look forward to turkey and stuffing sandwiches during the days that follow Thanksgiving? Some people even feel the leftovers are better than the original meal. When you walk away from a finished piece of writing, and come back to read it the next day, you’ll no doubt make some tweaks and tighten up your sentences. A fresh eye and a new outlook always make for a better piece of writing.
5. It’s meant to be shared
If you were alone would you cook a full fledged Thanksgiving dinner? Probably not. The meal and holiday is about sharing. Writing is meant to be shared too. We want others to enjoy what we do. Just as nothing feels better to a host than to receive praise for her Thanksgiving meal, nothing feels better for a writer than a good review.
What are some of the ways you feel writing and Thanksgiving are similar?
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