Editing resumes
After spending another week rebuilding my resume, website, and portfolio, I've finally been able to return to the editing desk for my book. While I'm not happy about the delay, the additional time away has afforded me more clarity about the structure of the plot. I have a better understanding of the story I wrote and how that compares to the story I want to tell. The new perspective is helping me decided what to keep and what to cut. It's also easier to set the prose aside for later. Now that I'm not trying to tinker with individual sentences, it makes things go quicker. I'm getting through about a chapter each day.
The job hunt is in full swing
And while I have more time for book editing, the job hunt is still priority #1. With fresh collateral, an answer for the "what do you want to be when you grow up?" question, and a search strategy in place, I'm finally applying for roles at the pace I'd hoped for. But it's hard to tell what's working in this market. I've got portfolio items that hit all the hot tech writer topics (AI, docs-as-code, runbooks, etc.). My resume is Applicant Tracking System (ATS) friendly. I've got impeccable references. The challenge seems to be overcoming the noise of everyone else looking for the same job.
Networking might be the best path forward. If anybody out there knows anybody who knows anything about a need for a writer, let me know.
Shorter Stories
I have a soft spot for short stories. Short stories are efficient. There's little room to waste on exposition that isn't relevant to the story. In fact, many short stories don't even explain details that are relevant to the tale, letting the reader decide for themselves what that context might be. Short stories have an idea they want to get across, and don't let anything get in the way.
As a reader, I love them because I can fill in the missing details any way I want and thus give flavor and meaning. I get to participate in telling the story.
As a writer, I love them because I can offload some of the world building and flavor to the reader while I focus on the heart of the story.
There are countless anthologies of short stories for every style, genre, and taste. But the short stories I think get most overlooked, yet might be the most familiar to everyone, is the story song. That three to five minutes (American Pie, Alice's Restaurant, and Stairway excepted) that tell so much story with little more than a couple hundred words. And that's while still making room for the musicians who are telling their own story.
Today, I come in praise of the what I consider the greatest example of the story song, "The Gambler". Written by Don Schlitz and immortalized by Kenny Rogers in 1978, long before he became America's premier purveyor of fast-casual roasted chicken. I'm sure you all know it, but in case you need a refresher:
This song isn't just a narrative about a midnight train ride; it's timeless wisdom disguised as a country-western ballad.
The song’s greatness begins with its cinematic efficiency. Within the first four lines, the listener is transported: a train bound for nowhere, the darkness outside the window, and two strangers. There's no unnecessary exposition. We don't need to know where they came from or where they're going. It doesn't matter. A great lesson in not over indulging in unneeded details.
On a warm summer's evenin' on a train bound for nowhere
I met up with a gambler, we were both too tired to sleep
So we took turns a-starin' out the window at the darkness
'Til boredom overtook us and he began to speak
Then we meet the titular gambler and learn enough about him to both suspect he has some wisdom to share, but also that was probably hard won based on his current condition.
He said, "Son, I've made a life out of readin' people's faces
And knowin' what their cards were by the way they held their eyes
So if you don't mind my sayin', I can see you're out of aces
For a taste of your whiskey I'll give you some advice"
So I handed him my bottle and he drank down my last swallow
Then he bummed a cigarette and asked me for a light
And the night got deathly quiet and his face lost all expression
Said, "If you're gonna play the game, boy, you gotta learn to play it right"
The chorus delivers a secular sermon in four simple lines. The first two lines preach on how to deal with the tension between persistence and letting go. The second two lines might be described today as mindfulness. The itinerant preacher is telling us to focus on the moment, and let tomorrow's problems belong to tomorrow.
You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em
Know when to walk away and know when to run
You never count your money when you're sittin' at the table
There'll be time enough for countin' when the dealing's done
The next four lines are repeating the ideas from the previous four, as if to say, "once more for those in the back who didn't hear me the first time!"
Every gambler knows that the secret to survivin'
Is knowin' what to throw away and knowing what to keep
'Cause every hand's a winner and every hand's a loser
And the best that you can hope for is to die in your sleep
And at the end, then the gambler dies, the torch is passed as the narrator becomes the gambler. The circle of life told in 4/4 time.
And when he finished speakin', he turned back toward the window
Crushed out his cigarette and faded off to sleep
And somewhere in the darkness, the gambler, he broke even
But in his final words, I found an ace that I could keep
That's it. Three minutes of efficient storytelling. Novelists could learn a thing or two from story songs, myself included.
Do you have a favorite story song? Drop it in the comments.
Just for fun, I put together the first 25 story songs I could think of. I'm sure I missed some greats.
“The most valuable of all talents is that of never using two words when one will do.”