How Hard Can It Be?

If I've ever questioned how hard writing is, this latest phase of editing and improving my WiP has convinced me conclusively.  It cracks me up then, when I watch movies like Romancing The Stone.

If you've never seen this movie from the mid-80's, it's not bad in a general sense.  There's one part however, that cracks me up now that I've become a writer.  Near the end of the movie, the main character (who is a writer) comes home and writes a bestseller based on her adventures. 

As long as you're assuming that the main man disappeared for two or more years while she wrote her masterpiece, the ending makes sense.  Oh wait, I forgot the other steps she goes through like re-writing, anguishing over terrible wording, weeks of insecurity, stealing Halloween chocolate from the neighbor's kid, and drinking a few bottles of wine at particularly low moments. 

During all this, the leading man is taking his time killing an escaping alligator and buying a boat.  Yeah, that's a great way to keep the romantic fires smouldering.

Or we can assume that she magically whipped out a masterpiece in a couple of weeks.  That's probably what they intend for us to believe, but those of us deep in the trenches know how far from the truth that is.  There's no such thing as "cranking out a story overnight."  It'd be nice, but probably we wouldn't appreciate it as much if it were that easy.

Have you had a moment recently that reminded you just how hard writing is?