This past summer I vowed to begin writing
a story that has been swirling around in my head for years! I was on my favorite Maine island where
creativity abounds with artists, writers, poets, and craft persons. Since I just cannot seem to get going I asked
some friends “when do you write?” and received a variety of answers. One poet
starts her day with her coffee and just jots down anything that comes to mind.
A children’s author sets aside some time each day but also admitted to having a
book idea hanging around for years. I
even went to one session of a creative writing course in the library. I actually started the story and reviewed
some of the letters, photos, and clippings I might use! I did not write a whole
lot but liked what I wrote. It is fiction, maybe a mystery, and takes place in
Maine! But I have come to a complete halt.
I have not figured out how to go forward!
So for my recent cable show I pulled books
on writing off the shelves and I was amazed at the variety of helpful books on
all kinds of writing – plays, poetry, crime, travel, food, fiction, nonfiction,
and research. The 808.3 section of books on the second floor included “Writing
Mysteries” by Sue Grafton, “Writing Fiction: a guide to narrative craft” and
“101 Habits of Highly Successful Novelists” by McAlear and on 808.02 “You Can’t
Make This Stuff Up: the complete guide to writing creative nonfiction” by
Gutkind. I even went to the Internet and
searched “Writer’s Block”. One article
offered ten hints to help writers. The first block was “You Cannot Come Up With
An Idea”.
That was my problem for this column but I
fell back on an old favorite reference book “Chase’s Calendar of Events 2015”
(R394 Chase) and looked up October 29, 2015 the day this column will appear in the
paper. Some interesting as well as catastrophic events happened on Oct. 29.
In 1969 the first connection was made on this
day on what would become the Internet. Bits of data flowed between computers at
UCLA and the Stanford Research Institute which was the beginning of Arpanet. .
By the end of the year 4 sites were connected.
The next year there were ten sites and soon email and data transfer.
National Cat Day is October 29!!!! I will give my two cats big hugs and
treats! Go to a shelter and adopt a cat!
Superstorm Sandy wrecked havoc hitting Atlantic City Oct. 29, 2012 and
left huge damage on the northeastern seaboard. The storm started in
the Caribbean and became an extratropical cyclone by landfall. The damage
estimate was at least 50 billion dollars.
The Stock Market crashed on Oct 29, 1929. The boom was over and what followed was
nearly a decade of depression. More than
16 million shares were dumped and billions of dollars were lost.. Nearly a
quarter of U.S. workers were unemployed in 1932. The Great Depression affected not only the
United States but also Europe and industrialized countries.
A
library program might also help me. On Monday Nov 16 at 6:30 pm a two hour
workshop will be held on novel writing with emphasis on jumpstarting writing
and maybe getting rid of the writer’s block. The program is free and November
is National Novel Writing Month.
C.L.LeMay an author has designed the workshop “Novel Writing : An Act of
Courage”. He has a customized plan that
helps one to move ahead. To sign up call 781-769-0200 x110 or 222 or email norprograms@minlib.net, or stop by the Library Reference or Information Desk. Maybe
the story that is stuck in my head will become unstuck!
