And I don’t mean me! This is something I am stealing from an old person, or at least someone older than me.
Here it is: You can start over at any age.
Today I met an 81-year-old man named Nick. He is a writer. However, he does not call himself a writer. But a few years ago he started over and started writing. So, he is a writer.
We crossed paths because he was looking for an editor, a role I have played more than a few times in my life. We spoke briefly on the phone and settled on meeting at Starbucks (I know, not very original! But to those who have read my earlier post on Starbucks, you will be proud of me because I did NOT order a Medium Mocha Frappachinno with whipped cream! Yay me!).
I knew nothing about him other than he would be wearing a white hat.
I know writing. I have been doing it for a long time. I know how to get published in magazines, in newspapers, on websites. I’ve done that. And it was fairly easy to figure out. I know how to get a book published. I have written a couple and have a couple ideas for future books. Now, I have not actually published either book. But I spent a lot of time trying to get published and getting rejected. Of course, today, I would just self-publish. Unfortunately, at the time, self-publishing still carried a huge stigma. You know. It wasn’t “normal.” So I have no books selling on Amazon.
As an English professor, I LOVE analyzing literature. And I especially love analyzing a novel with a class full of freshmen who really have no idea how to tackle a novel: mapping plots, evaluating characters, determining the role of setting, deconstructing the language, discerning themes. But I have not worked with my classes on reading scripts (except Shakespearean plays, of course!).
So this screenplay is not my first foray into the world of writing. I have written (and had published) dozens of articles, served as a regular columnist for a magazine, and written two books before this.
Huge lesson today. And I should have known better.
I can’t explain it. Soon after adopting Captain, I saw him as a character in an animated movie. And one day, I knew the title of the movie: Captain and the Greyhound. I had no idea what the story would be, but I liked how that sounded. The reason I picked a greyhound was because this dog liked to RUN. Boy, did he like to rn.
The Writing Life 