I continue to write for an hour or so each day, generally in the evening – short essays, book reviews or race reports. During the past year I have tried to start writing long form fiction, something that I have considered doing for many years (decades in fact). I have had a few ideas and have written some material, tried to build a sustainable story or two, but found it to be a daunting task. Apparently, many established authors take five or ten years to publish a book, and I can appreciate the effort and dedication required. I decided that perhaps a short story is a reasonable place to start. I learned so much in the crafting of a story – what point of view to write in, plots and themes, content, crafting descriptions, grammatical conventions, and copyright restrictions as well. It has been a slow yet enjoyable experience – the act of writing calms me.
This is a story about looking afar for the promise of new lives, and a travelog of sorts, with large parts set in Maine and then north to Ontario Canada. I have been to the far southern part of the state of Maine, and I have been to Quebec City Ontario; many of the pictures there I took. One of the most interesting parts of this effort were researching the landscape and history of northern Maine and Ontario – I feel like I know these places now. I gave the story a proper title, “first light“, befitting of lives (past and present) along the Maine coast. It is not a polished effort for sure, though some parts and descriptions resonated with me. Written in five short chapters – I drafted six chapters but have held the sixth chapter back for now. I will let it sit for a while and then perhaps expand it with additional content – and / or start something new.
Read it here: first light – Welcome
