Another adventure in job hunting

I called the employment office about a "field interviewer" position. It was conducting face to face interviews in peoples homes for a research project. Very little information. Nights and weekends. Part time. Something I would be totally qualified to do with a masters degree and ten years of research experience.

They gave me an online site that was through an employment agency. So, I logged on to apply. Turns out the job is a "drug use" study, and for $14-$17/hr they wanted you to go into bad neighborhoods and "randomly" knock on peoples doors, get yourself invited in to do an hour interview, and then give the people cash.

I didn't meet the minimum qualifications for the job because I wasn't willing to go door-to-door willy nilly. I'd assumed they'd be scheduling the interviews.

The most disturbing part was the screening question about past criminal activity. You only got knocked out if you'd had a moving violation within 3 years, a DUII within 2 years, or a felony within 7 years!!!!!!

Another reason not to ever let strangers into your home!

Dangling from the Hook

The novel is back in the file drawer because it was attracting clutter in the living room. I had a job interview this week, number seventeen, and I needed order, a clear mind with clear surroundings. The windows are even clean for the first time in months, which I thought would be therapeutic but hasn’t been so far.  

Interviews are draining. You have to find just the right amount of enthusiasm, bouncy and aloof all at the same time.

I put on the good make-up that I bought for my daughter’s wedding and don “the suit,” which I fear may be cursed but is the most professional outfit I own.  I smile. I answer everything as best I can, unsure if I am the fisherman trying to reel them in or if I am the worm dangling from the hook. It feels more like the latter.

It will be two weeks before they let me know, fourteen days of second-guessing and wondering if some of my responses were as stupid as they now seem.  Is it a job I would enjoy? I don’t know.  

In the mean time, I will read and write…and dangle.

Basting

Elizabeth Lyon’s book, Manuscript Makeover, is like a favorite cookbook. It will help you make something decent with the ingredients you have on hand, and if you want more of a gourmet meal, you’ve got shopping lists and easy-to- understand directions for new techniques.

I absolutely love editing. Adding, removing. Creating, completing. There’s a basic domesticity to it.

Today I realized I needed to remove the five section headers in my book. They just aren’t needed anymore. Taking them out made me think of removing the basting stitches in a sewing project, something you can only do when you’re confident your work will hold together on its own.

There’s still a LOT of work to do on the novel, much of which is like the other type of basting, the careful pouring on of broth to make sure meat stays moist.  Because editing is so much fun, I have to be careful not to overdo it. Opening the oven door too much makes the cooking time longer and also leads, quite often, to something dry.

Next week:

1) Write some new scenes.

2) Baste them into the draft.

Changes

So, I did it. I’m posting in a week rather than three years. And, I read my book, making edits along the way, making lots of notes. I expected the story would need major changes, but it’s pretty solid. It needs updating in places, because so many little things have changed over the years. (Does anyone under forty even own an answering machine anymore?) It needs gentle re-crafting here and there, strengthened scenes, better word choices, and determined use of the delete key. But, mostly, the changes need to happen in me. I need faith.

The plan for this week:

1) Re-read the comments from a fellow writer who read the manuscript seven years ago.

2) Study Elizabeth Lyon’s book Manuscript Makeover .

3) Make some changes.

Chutes & Ladders

My life is a game of Chutes & Ladders, and I’ve just fallen from square #62 to square #19. It’s over a year since I lost my job. Sixty-eight applications, sixteen interviews, fifty-seven years old. Climbing up, sliding down.

I want a new game. Looking at the list of Amazon’s bestsellers I do not recognize the names of the first 13 on a list of 100. (How did I get so out of touch!) But I like the sounds of this one: Ticket to Ride.

The goal of Ticket to Ride is to visit as many cities in North America as you can in seven days. As fun and exciting as that would be to do, I have no money, and Unemployment restricts me from being out of the area for three days. I need another 7-day challenge.

In my files I have an 18-year old novel in need of a major overhaul. By this time next week, I challenge myself to:

1) Read the whole thing without too much cringing and self-flagellation.

2) Make a revision plan.

3) Edit at least 30 pages.

Things to remember today: You will make mistakes. People will judge you. While they judge, you shrink or grow. Your choice.