I’m a big fan of inspirational quotes.
Not the really kitschy ones, mind you, but words that strike me and make
me think ‘YES, that’s amazing,’ or ‘this can be done!’ I’ve got several of them plastered around my
office where I can glance up at them occasionally. My absolute favorite is from Thoreau: “If you have built castles in the air, your
work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.” Thoreau’s pretty inspiring. My favorite writerly quote is from Bradbury
(RIP, Mr . Bradbury): “Let the world burn through you. Throw the prism light, white-hot, on paper.”
Today I have a new one. There
was an article in the Houston Chronicle this morning about a man named Dan
Black. He’s a triathalete who has
esophageal cancer, but is still following his passion- racing. I am definitely not the athletic type, but
the last line of the article struck me.
“I’ll never enter a race I won’t finish. If I have to walk, fine. But I will finish.”
I think it’s time I got back to work.
On that note, I’m always fascinated to research interesting things in
the course of writing a book. My first
novel, it was all about guns, and I was lucky enough to work at our
University’s campus police station. I
earned the nickname ‘Tackleberry,’ but the officers were delighted to show me
how their pistols worked and bring in their manuals for me to read. My second novel sent me into the world of the
Catholic church.
Today’s research is all about cavitation (the result of implosions of
cavities inside a liquid). I’m not sure
I’ll be able to use it in the end, but it’s definitely something I’d never even
thought existed!
Afterthought: Oh, I probably
won’t be able to use it at all, since cavitaiton occurs in a low-pressure
situation and I’m looking at a very high-pressure situation. Hmm.
Next idea…
