Member-only story
Turning Point
Truth
At three o’clock in the morning, I tossed and turned, disturbing my sweet pup, Cassie, who wasn’t sure what was going on at this tender hour. The last email from an editor who insisted on making several changes to my Storytelling Event story kept me up. I’d had it with three weeks of back-and-forth, red slashes on one side, red ink on the other, and prompts that sent me down a dark alley.
Really?
Frustration and determination fueled getting out of bed. What in the hell was she looking for?
I went back to my desk and clicked on the story. “Okay, this is it. One final draft and then it’s either this version or she can hit the highway!”
I started cutting and slashing, keeping only the story’s framework. The narrative—about my mother and me on a cruise that went astray because of dangerous weather — had to be concise and to the point; I thought it already was. I told the story, didn’t I?
The editor insisted the emotion was not there.
I said to Cassie, who came into the room to see if it was time for breakfast, “She wants emotion? She’ll get emotion!” Then I said, “No, it’s not time for breakfast.” Cassie sassed me a bit, then realized she wasn’t getting a treat and slunk back to bed.
