Readin' and Writin'

So, the book I'm reading right now is inspiring me to write ... a novel. In spite of being educated in the ways and appreciation of writing - journalism and English - I never felt the need or desire to write a book. Non-fiction? Sure. Poetry? You bet (let's just forget how awful my poetry was).

But something about Richard Russo's style has me thinking about things in a new way, and as I read Empire Falls, I'm thinking of places and stories in my life that could be told. It doesn't hurt that Empire Falls seems very much like the town my family is from, so the parallels are obvious.

The other thing that helps is that I've always thought I couldn't write a book because I couldn't come up with a plot. I'm just not creative in that way. Well, so far, there isn't really a plot to this one (I admit, the book probably isn't for everyone). So far, it's just a beautifully told story about a man's life that is sad, but very sweet.

I'm not saying that I'll sit here, write a novel, and get it published. When would I even have time to do that, when I can't even find the time to blog every day? But it is interesting that for the first time, with as many books as I've read over the years, this one in particular has changed the way I view things around me, and has changed, to some degree, my internal monologue.

Maybe I'll just start with my journal.