The Great American Novel

My mom recently asked me when I was going to write my first novel (we both love to read, and as this blog attests, I do like to write as well!)

I don't really think I have the next "great American novel" in me.

However, I observed something today that reminded me of a writer's workshop I attended a year ago. In that workshop, the speaker told us that the best writing comes from the author's own experiences - even the negative ones! In fact, she told us the story of stopping for a potty break in the middle of the night in the jungle, stepping into some bushes for privacy, then finding herself free-falling through the air ... because the "bushes" were actually the tops of trees at the foot of a drop-off! She said that when she writes a similar scene in one of her next books, it will be so much more realistic because she has actually lived it!

All that to say that as I was walking with Owen to the hotel elevators, I noticed a man dialing the public telephone with the point of a plastic knife. Upon closer observation, he was also using a napkin to hold the receiver in his other hand. Perhaps he is only extremely germ-conscious (I myself have been accused of that a time or two!) Or perhaps ... he was trying to hide his fingerprints because he is an international gem thief ... or making an extortion phone call ... or worse ...

Just kidding, but isn't it fun to let your imagination run wild sometimes?!

Especially when you have nothing better to do than wait for an airplane to depart at five minutes to midnight tonight! (But on the bright side, if I ever do write that novel you can be sure that a very realistic episode involving an unpleasant airline experience will form an integral part of the plot!)