Processing Unexpected News without Fundamentalist Binaries

How to get your head around surprise without rigid resistance

I read a piece of writing advice this week: to start an essay in the middle. The idea is that it cuts to the chase and pulls the reader in immediately, without the bland contextual fluff that results when a writer spends too much time setting the stage.

If my Density essay is about a week, the middle of this week, Wednesday, was a party day. Laura’s book, When Religion Hurts You, launched on Tuesday, and on Wednesday we were packing the car, meeting friends for coffee, and looking forward to that evening’s dessert and cocktail celebration. Laura is a bestie and my Wise Jezebels’s co-host and I took over her guest room this week. If my Density essay is about a surprise, the middle is pretty much the height of the pre-anxiety.

Because I knew a big shift was coming on Friday when I’d meet with my agent and editor about to work on next. Deciding which book project to prioritize for the coming two years is no small thing (long run), and getting face time with an editor at a Big 5 publisher is also no small thing (short run). 10/20 was a VID (Very Important Day) and slanted the beginning, middle, and end of my week, as well as my month.

The outcome was unexpected.