February 5, 2002

"All writers are inhabited by three selves: a creator, a critic, and a scribe. The first two are natural rivals who spend much of the time contradicting each other's dictates to the third.

I think of the creative self as a demon in a classical Greek sense - a zealous rather than an evil spirit. My demon is willful, unpredictable, and equally capable of inspired and dreadful prose; it works best when left alone. My critical self is an editor with a mean perfectionist streak whose sole mission is to point out the demon's weaknesses and sins. My scribe is a drudge who deserves to be paid much more for putting up with the other two." - From Stet Again: Selections from the Editorial Eye

I guess it was the snarling critic in me who prevented me from updating my blog for two whole weeks after my return from Mexico. I had plans to write a lengthy account of my Baja adventure, but somehow my perfectionist editor wouldn't allow my scribe to put down what the demon dictated. Instead, I endlessly read, mowed the lawn, or fed the wild birds.

The distressing thing was that I had already written most of the account, lying in a hammock in Baja. Upon my return though, all those unconfined thoughts met the merciless red pen of my editor. And so the story got buried.

Only for now though. I've vowed to seize the next mentally liberated moment, and recklessly blog the story - for once it's out there, no ever so brutish editor will be able to retract it.

In the meantime though, at least I can make it up to the loyal reader by providing some ravishing visuals from the trip - enjoy!