You infuriate and delight me. Delayed trains and crowded seats can annoy me beyond belief. But once your wheels start rolling, and I settle in and realize that I’m stuck with you for the next 3, 5, 7 hours or so (depending on my destination and your ever-apt-to-change schedule), I start to appreciate you. The relative quiet and limited distractions (this is not Acela, so no reliable Wifi to distract me) do wonders for my reading – I always manage to get started on a new book – and my writing – I always manage to pump out at least a new blog entry or two.
So it was with
amusement that I read recently about Amtrak’s fledgling program wherein they are offering "writers' residencies": long round-trip rides aboard Amtrak trains dedicated solely to the purpose of writing. Essentially, a longer version of the same
creative inspiration I find myself enjoying on my sporadic trips.
I am
intrigued. If a short trip to Vermont produces one or two blog entries (not to
mention the occasional work-related writing I also accomplish), what could a
week-long trip produce? A short story? The beginnings of a novel?
I’m keeping tabs
on this program, to see if it really gets off the ground and flies – or I suppose I should say, "rolls" along successfully. For now, I shall sit back and enjoy the momentary
mini-residency – and creative spark – that my current short journey
provides.
