Earlywood: 'The Woodwright's Shop' – the Unused Script

Publisher’s note: It’s once again time for Earlywood, a free excerpt from one of the thousands of pieces I’ve written since 1996, published every Saturday morning. Sometimes, it’s from a magazine article. Or a book. Or (in this case) a blog post from 2011. Each entry has been updated or annotated with some modern context or point of view. We hope you enjoy it.

photo by Mike Oniffrey

When I embark on a writing project, I try to begin with a ridiculous premise.  During the revisions and the rewrites, the absurdity begins to mellow or even drain out of the manuscript altogether.

Take “The Anarchist’s Tool Chest” for example. When I began writing the book, the nutty, never-happen-but-it-would-be-cool premise was to sell most of my tools, write a book, then quit my cushy corporate job… aw crap.

When Roy Underhill asked me to be a guest on a couple episodes of “The Woodwright’s Shop” for the upcoming season, we decided to do a show on planes and a show about the English Layout Square that grace…