Well, I ran this morning and I was going to do a Running Commentary, a fairly profound one, because I Wore Blue and Ran to Remember. That is a thing I found out about a few years ago: Wear Blue, Run to Remember. Then again, sometimes those posts come across as an ego thing: Look at ME! I ran to remember! I am ALL about the Veterans! Anyways, it wasn’t that great of a run. Not necessarily worthy of those who have given the ultimate sacrifice.
I’m thinking I cannot say anything deep about Memorial Day, certainly nothing better than what others have said. What I will do instead is give a quick shout-out to a local business, after sharing with you a few of my tribulations as a would-be novelist.
As my day wore on today, I was not getting a whole lot useful done, especially not beginning the new novel I wanted to. Yes, I have many novels I have started and not finished. I would, of course, like to finish one of those. First I have to find it! You have no idea what a mess my house is. I would have to spend a month cleaning before I found and could continue work on an already-started novel. To clean or to write? You know I would rather write!
First I couldn’t find a notebook with that many blank pages. Above all, I wanted to avoid writing my new novel in multiple notebooks which I would certainly lose track of. That is what happened to my previous attempts. Maybe I could go to a store and purchase a new notebook. I love having a new notebook. Then I found the last new notebook I had started a novel in (not a very good one). It was a BIG notebook, and I had only started ONE novel in it. This could work.
But not in my living room. I wrote a few post cards, which I had not done on Saturday as usual, and I walked to the post office with them. A walk often helps stir the creative juices. What it stirred in me was the desire to NOT write at my own house. I wanted to GO somewhere. All the libraries are closed for the holiday. Also, I wanted a beer.
Finally I decided to go to Asteroga Ale House, a handy 10-minute walk from my house. I got a beer and sat at a table that got nice natural light from outside. Alas, I could not get a Sam Adams draft, which is a fine thing to drink on a patriotic holiday. I got a local IPA instead, opened my notebook, and discovered that the lovely pen I had clipped to the spirals was gone. Dammit! I searched through my purse and did not like any of the pens I found. I wrote a few paragraphs regarding my search then told myself it was merely an excuse and tried to get to work.
In fact, I don’t know that it was entirely an excuse. Tools can make a real difference in creative endeavors. I may write a whole blog post about that, although I daresay I have touched upon the subject already. Be that as it may, I actually got quite a bit done. I started by jotting down vague ideas, then moved to more concrete ideas, and ended up writing a list of character names and some definite notes about those characters and how the plot is going to go.
I shan’t type anything more specific about it, though, because if you talk about something too much, you no longer feel you have to write it. That is a well-known phenomenon.
In the meantime, I highly recommend Asteroga Ale House as a place to go and have a beer or two (or other beverage or even food), whether or not you have a novel to start. They are located at 122 W. Albany St., Herkimer, NY, phone number 315-219-5578. I am back home now and wondering if I ought to have another beer.
Mohawk Valley Girl 