Monday, July 11, 2011

What Card to Play

My dad was teaching me how to play Texas Hold 'em Poker yesterday.  I knew the fundamentals before we started, but was sorely lacking in the finer points.   After an hour of watching him patiently kick my a*% and strip me of all my cash, I gave up, told him I would stick to playing Go Fish with the kids.  He laughed, gave me back my money, and imparted this advice:  "Every hand is a winner, Trisha.  You just got to know which card to play."

Hmm . . . he's right.  In more ways then one.

I have four manuscripts sitting in front of me -- two done, one 10,000 words from completion, and one only 3,000 words deep.  Each one of those has the potential to be a masterpiece, can be crafted into a literary work that I am proud to put my name to.  The trick is knowing which one to attack first, which character's point of view to write it from, and which threads to toss out.  I will weigh my options, look at the market, and try to gauge what the smartest move to make is. Then I'll gamble, pull one of those manuscripts to the forefront, pour my heart and soul into re-shaping it, and hope it was the right card to play.

13 comments:

  1. Your father knows best! I believe it, too. Good luck with the choice you make.

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  2. It's wonderful to have four manuscripts on the go. And also a burden. Sounds like you're going about it in the right way. I loved your Dad's advice, but where to find the time.

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  3. Holy Toledo, that's awesome advice! I'm about to jump into rewrites for one of my MS's. I'll have to make sure that I play my cards right. :)

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  4. I love that advice, and that you've applied it to writing. And, it's great that you have so many MSs to choose from!

    Thanks for your enthusiasm for the Tour de Writing--it is going to be a blast!! :)

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  5. Good attitude~ best of luck!

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  6. What a great analogy :)

    I recently started playing hold'em and am loving it. But it took a hot minute for me to get the basics down...

    Good luck with your manuscripts!!!

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  7. This is a fabulous analogy! I always have bunch of things in the works and it does feel like a bit of a gamble when I set most of them aside to work on just one.

    How are things with you?!?!

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  8. Good timing for your post - I'm looking at my MS's this morning and trying to decide what direction to go in or which is calling to me the loudest. Maybe I should start playing cards - looks like your dad is onto something.

    Good luck!

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  9. Good luck! I know you will play your cards right and come out a winner.

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  10. Great advice. I'm glad you took it to heart and you're going to make something happen.

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  11. That's the trick, isn't it?? Knowing which one. I think sometimes we just rely on out gut on these things. Sometimes we're wrong, and sometimes we get to celebrate our wise choices. :)

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