Words … or lack thereof
Awareness of the outside world. Today is about Tulsa. Racial injustice. Public health risks. Politics. Wishing as much harmony as possible to everyone involved.
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A great setting for fiction, right?
It is/was the proposed location of the The Lowline, an indoor, underground park. Last time I was in NYC, I made a point to visit the station, eventhough there is nothing of the Lowline there [When].
It could be the setting for an urban western.
It could be the setting for ghost story of long-time commuters who haunt the tracks after they die.
It could be the setting for a post-apocalyptic fable, although that one is almost too easy. It fairly screams End of Days.
It could be the setting for a gritty, noir urban fantasy. Although, anything set here would almost have to be gritty & noir.
It could be the setting of a near future when the Lowline park has been built. Turn the above expectations on their head and make it a place of light.
It could be the setting for …
I got nothin’.
My fiction career, such as it is, has stalled. Partly my fault. I got rid of something that was working.
Despite going nowhere, our bills have stayed the same. I panicked and canceled my 750 subscription [A Place To Write, Answering My Own Question]. This was a ridiculous reaction. Why should our expenses go down? The hay bill doesn’t change because we are both WFH. As for the subscription, it was $5 a month. I can spend that on snacks at a pit stop.
Still, I purged several recurring, monthly expenses that had accumulated. Rational or not, that’s the line I’ve drawn at the moment. Besides, I don’t need a website to type 750 words. I am perfectly capable of opening a file and typing.
I am; I don’t.
That’s one avenue derailed.
I would have fun writing a book. Clearly, I enjoy producing text. I groove on refining what I want to say and wrestling with my understanding of the language for the right wording. Except, I can’t think of what to write.
This is not usual.
“I am assuming that if you want to write a novel, you have one or more things that you want to write about. If you really just want to write any old novel, no idea what, then I don’t think I can help you.” Patricia Wrede: Getting Started
Despite my brave words on this same subject in an earlier post, I grow doubtful.[What To Write].
I’d love to blame the pandemic. Many creatives are saying they can’t produce/are producing at a slower rate due to the world being on fire. In truth, I wasn’t much of a fiction machine before the flames.
I’m not whining. Okay, I’m not *just* whining. I am also asking for your help. I seem to do better with other people’s ideas [Ring, Bridge, Sixteen]. What’s up with that?
Anyway.
What does this atmosphere suggest to you? Who visits here? Why? What could happen here? What could NOT happen here?
If you give me the boost that leads to fame and fortune, I promise not to forget you. I will name you in my Hugo acceptance speech and send you a mint-in-box action figure when the movie comes out.
Essex Street Station.
NYC Subway.
Spooky, gritty, underground venue.
Go.
The Guardian: The upside down: inside Manhattan’s Lowline subterranean park, by Jake Nevins, April 6, 2019.
Spectrum News: Low on Cash, the Lowline Park is on Hold, by Michael Scotto, Feb. 22, 2020.
The Subway Nut: Essex Street. Welcome to SubwayNut.com, a website that is dedicated to rail based transit systems and trains in the United States and Canada, and whose goal is to have a photo essay of every station on every system. The Subway Nut: Home
Stay safe. Stay sane.
Katherine Walcott
Virtual Brush Box 
All my ideas were very unoriginal, every horror and sci-fi plot you can imagine, but then I remembered that scientists think the only evidence of our existence, far, far, far into the future, could be the tunnels we’ve created so how about: the earth has moved on a million years and by some fateful quirk of tectonic activity the Essex Street station has survived to be discovered again. By aliens? Evolved humans? What would they think of us based on that location? Is the station a tiny plot point in a bigger story about galactic superpowers?
Oh damn! I went all Star Wars at the end there…sorry.
Test.
Entered for someone whose comment was rejected three times. Bad WordPress, no cookie.
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The Place of light and plants and clean air in the future, as planned for the Lowline.
Why? Because Above is not so pleasant and only the Chosen? Or Rich? May live there. Or the Remnant?
Why? Germs, city in ruins? Ash clouds?
Technology allows the air and light above The Above to be brought to The Place. With plants, oxygen happens. Composting. Vegan by necessity. Water recycled. Heat from?
Your turn.
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Thank you for the ideas. Now I must get down to making electrons dance.