Back in the 1980's when I
first met my future husband, he taught me to sail. I'd never set foot
on a sailboat before then, but I loved it from the very start. The
rocking of the waves against the hull, the pressure of the wind
filling the sail, the flapping of telltales. Being on a sailboat is a
delight for the senses. But it is also a universe with its own rules,
language, and skills.
Navigation is a great
example of this. There is something odd and counter-intuitive about
navigating on a sailing vessel. For one thing, you can almost never
go precisely in the direction you want. And you can never ever sail
directly into the wind. Then, you have to understand that turning the
wheel might mean little if the wind and current aren't with you. Even
if you do everything right, sometimes the wind dies and you end up
drifting. . . . (Head on over to Black Ink, White Paper to read the rest of this post and see why sailing is very much like writing and publishing.)
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