I was at the local Hallmark store today. I walked past it, on my way to the grocery store on my lunch break, and something in the window must’ve caught my eye.
And so, I found myself looking at Christmas ornaments and Barry Manilow CDs.
I didn’t buy anything. I saw a half dozen ornaments I wanted for myself, I saw a couple of ornaments I thought friends would like.
What does any of this have to do with writing?
Nothing specific. Except that, as I walked back to the office, this brisk autumn afternoon, I mused on some of the writing ideas rattling around the brain. And like a few weeks ago, ideas just flowed.
Thinking on this historical epic, in particular. I’d identified a potential character a few weeks ago, but I wasn’t sure if I could fit him into the narrative framework. Some research on Saturday had turned up an angle, yet he’d still be someone who entered the story at an advanced stage, as the historical gears inexorably grind toward the tragic conclusion.
Yet, on this walk back from Hallmark and the grocery store, I realized — that’s not such a bad thing. Especially as he sets up some of the things that follow.
Not that I’m planning a sequel to this, but you never know. 😉
In retrospect, Hallmark actually has nothing to do with this.
And no, I did not buy the Barry Manilow Christmas CD. I would not want it. I think I was more surprised that Barry Manilow was still alive and producing Christmas CDs. Or that people were still buying Barry Manilow CDs in quantities enough to justify Hallmark doing a whole display of them.
Ah, the brisk airs of autumn. 🙂
Funny how inspiration can strike. I tend to get titles for stories at the strangest times, and I know that I must write them down or they’ll go off into oblivion.