Writing is like gardening. There is always something to do. Both are creative and passionate endeavours and can while away the hours and days. Editing is like weeding; rewriting is like moving and discarding plants. Plants always move because they are in the wrong place, don’t fit, take up too much space or are just plain wrong. Like reworking a manuscript. Both, gardening and writing are not about money, fame or fortune. Success lies in the harvest. Fruit, vegetables and flowers in the garden, accolades and compliments for stories well told. A well-tended garden is very satisfying and gardeners everywhere are proud of their gardens as are writers of their stories. 

When I sit down to write I’m always planting a new idea, create or improve a character or narrative just like fertilizing or pruning an existing plant. Gardeners feel the same creative spirit when they plant bulbs in the fall, wondering what they will look like in the spring. 

Writing is planting seeds in the mind of the reader. They can stir emotions and bring joy or sorrow, as can a garden. If it blooms it can be sheer joy to behold or sadness when it fails to produce the intended flowers or vegetables. 

Some stories are perennial, always there to be read and enjoyed for many years as are plants and flowers that reappear every spring with new found vigour. 

Both gardening and writing are never boring, can be done at any age and both are time consuming and ongoing and are always satisfying and timeless and sometimes frustrating.

Gardens can be wild and chaotic, as can stories. They reflect the gardener or writer and are interpretations of their temperament and disposition. I like gardens that are full of surprises, like peppers which can look benign but are super-hot when eaten just like a story that is about a nice, shy person who turns out to be a sadistic killer. 

I’m not a gardener myself, just a critic and editor. I make suggestions and helpful hints, move unwanted debris like rocks and roots and enjoy the harvests. I need somebody like myself to help me with my writing, somebody that can spot unnecessary adjectives, repetitions and the wrong words in the wrong place. 

I need a gardener.