Before I unload here, I just want to state the obvious—My job is fantastic. I love writing books, and I recognize I could be digging ditches, making Big Macs, babysitting, working as a male prostitute, selling used CDs, so on and so on.
That said …
At certain times, researching a book can define tedium. Tonight I am sitting in a diner, going day by day through the 1980 NFL season. Daaaaaaaaaaay by daaaaaaaaaaay. Practices, injury lists, point spreads, highs, lows. It’s extremely boring, and I find myself kept alive solely by the warm apple pie (with a scoop of vanilla ice cream) that should be landing on my table momentarily.
I love researching, because I love finding stuff. But sometimes it’s just plain dull. And long. Like a walk across America through quicksand. That said, what’s the alternative? I suppose I could spend some dough and hire someone to do all this for me. But that’d feel like cheating, and I also think it’d be counterproductive. The more digging I do on my own, the more I’ll retain when it’s time to write. That’s extremely important—having this bank of recollected knowledge at your disposal when you finally sit down and begin churning out pages.
Anyhow, back to Oct. 25, 1980 … EAGLES LET GILLMAN WING IT
