[Link] Author Patti Callahan Henry Talks About Having that Lightbulb Moment—and Doing Something About It

Several years ago, I sat down at my desk with an idea for a novel. I had heard about a shipwreck that happened years ago off the coast of North Carolina, and I was intrigued by its story. I learned that on a balmy June morning in 1838, the luxury steamship Pulaski set sail from Savannah, Ga., with a promise of only one night at sea until they reached the North.

But we all know that life can be irrevocably altered in an instant, and for those passengers it was. The elegant ship exploded in the middle of the night, taking 128 passengers and crew members with it to the bottom of the sea.

They called it “the Titanic of the South.”

My interest was piqued. But I also had my doubts. Was this my story to tell? Was it my time to tell it? Was the fate of the passengers tied into my own fate to write about them?

We do this a lot, don’t we? We approach things and wonder, “Is this meant to be? Should I invest my life and time to this?” We step close and then back away and then peek at it again. We look for signs, wondering if fate has something in store for us or if we should walk away.

I was curious enough to at least get started on the novel. I began my research, played around with an outline of the disastrous night and kept my eye out for the story that would take me into the untold parts of the ship’s history.

But still, I was stuck, feeling as lost as the ship itself as I waited for some sort of indication that I was on the right path.

Read the full article: https://parade.com/1170609/friendsandfiction/patti-callahan-henry-essay-friends-and-fiction/