Butt. In the seat.

Dan and I are on book 2 of our joint Hemingway reading -- although Dan has smoked me by reading a couple of others. I will catch up one day, really. But anyway, we are now reading Islands in the Stream. (I know, queue ridiculous Kenny Rogers/Dolly Parton song here. I am kind of annoyed that they took that title. I think Ernest had it first). I’m only a quarter of the way through, but as Dan and I discussed at one of our sessions this week, there are already good lessons to be learned. Thomas Hudson is the main character; he lives one one of those idyllic islands that exist in, well...novels, and he is a painter. There’s a lot of Hemingway in Thomas Hudson, I think...which means a lot can be gleaned about the writing process and what it takes to be a professional writer. Lesson Number One? Show up. Every day. Sit down and paint (or in our case write). He lives on this gorgeous piece of paradise, and Hudson’s three sons are visiting him for their once-a-year time with dad. Perfect excuse to slack off with the workload, right? Wrong. He’s at it every morning regardless of weather/plans/interruptions/mood. That’s how you become good, and if you’re already good, it’s how you stay good and become better. Much like the Writer’s rooms...their chairs were comfy or hard or ugly or stylish, but those seats all had one thing in common: their butts were in them.