Horse Latitudes are subtropical… latitudes between 30 and 35 degrees both north and south. Trolling Wikipedia, one theory of the phrase’s origin is that it stems from when the Spanish transported horses by ship to their colonies in the West Indies and Americas. When those ships became becalmed in flat seas in this latitude, water shortages made it impossible for the crew to keep their horses alive, so they were forced to throw the dead or dying animals overboard
It’s that time of year (for me): although I don’t have any horses to pitch over, I’m trapped in the doldrums as the summer winds down (and my girls are gone) and the fall (i.e., football, college sports, and the holidays) yet remains a couple of months away. This year it’s compounded by the nervous tension of trying to get a book ready to go on submission, and the days that eke by between revisions (I got my second set this week – hopefully, maybe, possibly, my last).
Plus, after all the drama and excitement of moving across the country again only three months ago (and for the second time in less than two years) and finally settling into the routine of 12/13 hour work days, everything else comes off as dull.
It’s not like I’m not working on new stuff, I am. And this is where my tight adherence to a schedule (my days are very scheduled) pays dividends – I have a ready-made “map” for navigating these waters: I just follow the schedule and keep my eyes ahead. In terms of my writing, specifically, I don’t wait for the “right mood” or bursts of creative energy or those moments when I’m really “into it”; I don’t have that luxury – right now I don’t have those moments anyway- and I’m not that kind of writer. Come hell or high water, it’s all about forward progress. Every mile (or league, if I’m going to keep straining the nautical theme) behind me, is one less in front of me.
From 30,000 feet that makes (my) life sound like sort of a slog, and I don’t mean it to. Maybe this is just the “Facebook/Twitter” effect at work, where a window-sized peek into someone’s life allows easy and often incorrect conclusions. I do it as well, particularly with Facebook, where people’s posts often leave me with the impression that everyone but me is always doing something wonderful and fascinating. These are just snapshots of lives in motion – a narcissistic strobe light – where everyone is always on vacation, or just bought something new, or just ate at some great restaurant, or just got tickets to a concert. Of course, you really don’t want to see or hear the minutia of people’s lives either (oh great, you went to the grocery today), so perhaps there is no right balance. Just sometimes from reading this stuff it appears that no one works, they just do – kind of like those training/time passing montages made popular in 80’s movies. You know what I mean: after a three or four minutes of imagery coupled with relevant time period music, our hero is ready to tackle the -insert problem- and success follows. All of the actual days of work – of mastery, of simply clocking in the necessary hours are compressed and condensed.
They’re glossed over, because frankly, they’re dull. They don’t move the story forward.
But that’s not how life works; it isn’t a TV show or movie, although I know people who seem surprised at the fact. They struggle with jobs and relationships, eve pursuing the interests they claim they’re passionate about, because succeeding at those things takes work. It is punching life’s time clock. It’s not fun all the time, but it is what moves life forward.
This is probably more acidic than I mean it to sound. And lord knows, I don’t necessarily follow my own wit and wisdom. It’s just as I watch my three girls grow, I constantly remind them that life isn’t like a reality TV show or a Facebook post or a movie. In fact, it’s ever more amazing and wonderful, if you’re really willing to work for what you want, for what you believe in, and for those things and loved ones that are important to you.
Anyway, here are some things that are helping me sail through my own end-of-summer horse latitudes: I finished up Joe Hill’s NOS4A2, and thought it was pretty damn good. At this stage of the game, the comparisons to his dad (Stephen King) are hard not to make, more so with this book than his prior efforts, but that’s not a bad comparison at all. It’s a helluva ride (yep, I went for the easy bucket) and an entertaining yarn. Pick it up. I’m almost finishing Benjamin Percy’s excellent RED MOON, and I’m about to start Philipp Myer’s THE SON. I’m really looking forward to ELYSIUM (going to see it next weekend), and the upcoming horror flick YOU’RE NEXT. I’ve been listening to the new Sick Puppies and some older Whiskey Myers. I’ll be excited to dig into this next round of revisions this week, and I’m happy with some of the other WIPs on my plate. I discovered a new beer (Rahr and Son’s Texas Red), and I was able to hook up my best friends via Google+ the other day, and will be doing so again soon.
Plus, the pool’s been a perfect 88 degrees, so it’s tough to complain about that.
It looks like I can get through the next month or so without throwing any horses overboard…
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