I knew there were stories that must be written from the council meeting Monday, but it was quite late for I finally figured out what they were.
Council went over time, they didn’t finish meeting until 9:45 p.m.
It’s not unheard of, but it’s also unusual.
Whenever public hearings on land items are combined with the regular council meeting, there’s a chance it will go well into the night.
Sometimes the items I’m interested writing about, don’t get discussed until the very last hour.
When that happens, I usually write several versions of the story.
Filing stories when it’s getting close to the 9:30 p.m. deadline can be tricky.
That’s when simple mistakes happen and that’s when I need the help of my editors to make sure I haven’t put any confusing information in the story.
I can’t remember how many re-writes I did on one story Monday night.
But I’d rather do that than get the ire of some readers, who seem to have become more demanding these days, they don’t even buy the paper. Or at least I don’t think they do, because they read the news online.
While I was driving home, I was still making re-writes to my story with the help of my editor.
At one point, I had to pull over, so I could talk to my editor and think at the same time.
It’s confusing to think of a story fix when what you’re seeing in front of you are traffic lights and motorists rushing to get home.
I don’t remember how I got home that night nor how I put the story to bed.
All I could remember was the smell of home-cooked meal, my partner has prepared for us to share after a hectic, busy, and cruel day.
Dec. 6. 2010
