I hadn’t had an ideas day in some time – I think they coincide with my working on a writing project. Today turned out to be major ideas day. Thank Dog. Yesterday I wrote about making myself go to the computer and picking up where I left off the day before. I think that in doing this I further instilled in my subconscious that this was a good idea.

And so this morning, I didn’t have much time – I had to be at the dentist at 12:15 p.m. But I figured that working for a half hour would get me that much further down the road. So after a late breakfast I went upstairs, turned on the computer, and resumed working on the chapter in which Melina and I befriend one another. (Is this possible? I’m going to say yes.)

I had a handwritten draft, one page. I typed it into my computer, copy revising as I went along. It was as I was doing this that the ideas started coming to me. I was at the part in which I, on a road trip with Milena, entered the Homer Library, so as to meet and talk with the friends of the Homer Library. It was in fact serendipitous that last night, there was a book in the Title Wave haul entitled “Kachemak A B C’s.” It has the same illustrations that grace the walls of the library’s children’s literature section. Holding it in hand, I decided that I can include information about this book in one of the “Inside of a Book” sections. Each chapter will have one. Inside of a Book is in reference to the contents of some of the salvaged books, in this case one’s that have applicability to my narrative. Someone will help me figure out where in the text they should be inserted.

My next idea came on the heels of the first idea. It was about ideas; first that I was having an ideas day. I then focused on the word idea, as in Ideas Homeschool and the May commencement speech. I have decided to talk about the importance of ideas. One train of thought that I will follow down the tracks is that an idea is an ahh haa moment. I could then use the example of the BLBP to illustrate my point.

My next idea was that I should follow through on an idea I had a long, long time ago, and write a series of A-Z dispatches – “I” being about Ideas. Yesterday I wrote about C, consistency and continuity. Tomorrow I will write about D, dispatches. I am going, when I’m done, to print up what I have and get the document, The Writing Life, A-Z published. I might self-publish this manuscript, or should it be womanuscript?

My problem is that altogether too often I give up on what I’m working on, of course prior to publication. This is a common habit that I have. Knowing this, I am going to finish and find a publisher for Shelf Life.

A good ideas day, the first in a long time but hopefully not the last.

9. 1/9/24: Nulla Dies Sine Linea: Dispatches from the Field