What am I thinking now? Rural Ramblings

It’s diploma time. Some of our children are writing English exams. Back in the day in the mid 70s I too was studying English. Our exams didn’t kick off until the summer. Like now, we studied certain books, most of them in my view at the time, boring, and their authors in great depths. Like now, some of that study went into what the writer was trying to put across, the writer’s views on a topic and descending into what he or she was thinking. I remember at the time thinking that trying to accurately gauge someone’s thoughts was a long shot, I still do.

I started my professional writing career back in the mid 1990s completely by accident when I was asked by a mainland newspaper to cover stories on the island that we lived on. This saved sending a reporter out for the day on the ferry, which I’m sure they missed sometimes.

Anyway, newspaper freelancing led to online, magazines, daily newspapers, copy writing and more, including writing six technical/reference books on defence topics. I am, a professional writer that no one, yet anyway, has studied. I have dabbled in fiction but to date have not had the opportunity to put projects to disc. Maybe some day.

I have digressed somewhat. However, I do know what this writer thinks when they work and I’m sorry educators it’s not what the curriculum says. As a professional writer, I reckon to be able to turn out around 1,000 words of print ready material per day, less if it’s technical, and not including emails and such. I have, on occasion, experimented with doing more and regretted it in the morning as most of it needed rewrites.

For the record. My views on a topic when I’m writing a piece will depend if it’s an editorial or fact based. If it’s an editorial, you’ll know my views because they’ll be out there in plain English. Otherwise it will be balanced. If I have any views, which I frequently don’t, the professional in me won’t go there. I tell it like it is.

Now for the tricky one. What am I thinking? Am I weaving subtle undertones into the text, Da Vinci Code style? How about no. I’m more likely to be thinking about finishing the job in hand, sometimes other up coming jobs, family, sport, how many words left for the day, hungry, thirsty, tired, all of those and more. Not, repeat not, any of the stuff that the English curriculum may think I’m thinking. My thoughts and those of other authors alive and dead are our own unless we choose to vent them. Then, especially in my case, you’ll know, believe me.