To
a writer, a “creative well” is vital. It’s the source of your ideas,
inspiration, and creative juices. It should be nurtured, fed, and cared for
carefully. My creative muse, on the other hand, seems to have fallen in and drowned
in that well. She’s nowhere to be found. AWOL.
Or
maybe, after eleven books, my creative well has simply run dry.
Not
a happy thought for a writer.
I’m
desperate to replenish that well. So desperate, in fact, that I felt I had to
do something radical.
I’ve
lived in California and Florida for more than half my life. I can’t even
remember the last time I saw snow. So last weekend, I hopped a plane to the
first place I could think of that would be the polar opposite of the warmth and
palm trees I’m used to.
Boston,
Massachusetts.
Turns
out, the word ‘polar’ opposite was an apt description. I spent a bracing, 43-degree
Saturday wandering around Boston Common, Faneuil Hall, the Old North Church,
and some ancient cemeteries, just soaking up the sense of history and the
freezing 19-mph wind. It was the complete dichotomy of what I’m used to.
I
was hoping to shake up my mindset and hopefully my muse. And – who knows? – maybe
my shivering helped a bit with the shakeup, because I came back with a few
ideas.
I’m
a historical author. Usually I write Roman and Victorian romances, but who’s to say I
couldn’t do an American historical? I mean, what if Paul Revere’s horse had
gone lame on that fateful night in 1775 and he’d missed warning Samuel Adams and John Hancock that British
troops were coming to arrest them? Hmm…Or what might have happened if a bunch
of girls in Salem hadn’t claimed to be possessed by the devil and accused
several local women of witchcraft?
Alternative
histories are really popular on TV and in literature these days.
Of
course, I’d have to figure out romance angles for the plots. Maybe Paul Revere
stopped at a lonely farmhouse looking for help with his horse and discovered
true love. (Note to self: check to see if Paul Revere was married when he made
his famous midnight ride…)
Actually,
you know what? It doesn’t even matter. My mind is already swimming with “what
if” ideas, and that’s magic to a writer!
Thank
you, Beantown!
Leigh
No comments:
Post a Comment