Afternoon on Friday. Only one of my writeup subjects has emailed me back. Today is the deadline for the food blog writeups I’ve been assigned. This is the first time I’m contributing to Rogue Magazine and the editor has emailed me to remind me to submit on time.

I’m not worried at all.

I cook myself a simple lunch, brew myself some coffee (which the First Mate picked up from UCC) and read the answers to the questions I sent out. I eat leisurely, looking for the hook.

The trouble with most writeups is that they have no hook. They prattle off stuff you can get off the person’s biodata, fill out the required word count, add some quotes, and send it off to the poor editor who has to make something readable out of the resulting mishmash.

Not me. I look for the thing I find most interesting and begin from there.

Starting on my first cup of coffee for the day, I find the hook for the first writeup and start writing. Halfway through, the answers from the second blogger come in. I text the third one to gently remind her to send her answers in. There’s really no need to antagonize people when your job is to showcase what makes them unique.

I have a few questions before I can finish the first writeup. I text my questions over and get prompt, straightforward replies. I finish the article and move on to the second one.

The hook is immediately apparent so I start writing right off the bat. I use the Internet to fact-check, use Google to find articles I can quote from. Thank you Google. Thank you Internet. I lay offerings at your feet. I offer this cup of coffee to you.

As soon as I finish the second article the third person texts me to say she’s emailed her answers. I thank her profusely for her time, and I thank the powers for my charmed existence. The hook for the third article isn’t obvious. So I read her blog and check out her links. I find it in a place I didn’t expect, and I fall in love with her blog, finding myself growing hungrier by the minute. The writeup is easy after that.

I check for typos, save all the files, send them off to my editor (along with the photo of myself I am least embarrassed of), and lean back, finishing off my cup of coffee.

I love my life.

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