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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.