Do It Right

I want to share a contrast with you. All the houses I have lived in during my married life have involved rock in the landscaping theme. The first one didn't have any water to the rock except from the rain. In Arizona, that isn't often, so clearly nothing grew there. The next three houses had either black plastic or black weed prevention mesh stuff (I don't know the name), very little grew there and if it did, it was usually after a rainstorm. The bonus being that those weeds were usually super easy to pull. The house I am currently in has lots of rock. Nothing but hard Arizona soil under those rocks, but you know what? Weeds grow there. And not just a few. A. LOT. I don't think millions would be an exaggeration, but it obviously is. How is it possible that every day I am pulling weeds out of the rocks only to find many, many more the next day. When people say their kids grow like weeds, this is what they're talking about: day one, a tiny sprout, day seven, nearly a bush. Can you feel my frustration? Are you thinking "Weed killer, duh!"? Oh, I've tried weed killer. I know, I need a different kind, one with pre-emergent stuff in it. I'm not too confident that even that would work.

How does this apply to writing? Funny you should ask. A proper foundation, or doing things right, saves so much time and work in the long run. Learn your craft, never stop learning it, set a good foundation for your writing, and Write On my friends.