Hi!
I’m writing this post during a power outage. Usually, we sit in the dark because of snow, not rain and heavy winds, so I wasn’t prepared for this power outage. We did not get hit as badly as the southern part of our state or coast with rain, but the wind did its damage. Keep those facing weather challenges in your thoughts and prayers.
Fortunately, this time around our landlines and DSL are still up, so I’m able to communicate. I use my phone. This is where I get news and updates and where most of my focus is. I have been without this communication during storms and it’s like being alone on an island. No idea what is going on in the world.
I thought I’d try to get some work done or this post. My little laptop took forever to update and finally let me use it on what limited internet is available. Our power came back later that night and then we got some snow the next day.
Even with these issues, I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else. It may not be ideal to experience in real life, but for characters, it adds an extra dimension to the story. My experience is that cooking on a woodstove can be fun—at first. A character who can’t get a fire burning or hot enough will have a few lessons to learn.
A generator is one of the best investments we’ve made for where we live. It’s not a full house, but it runs the well so we have water, outlets in the bedroom to run hubby’s CPAP machine, refrigerator, outdoor lights, and microwave. It requires not only gas and oil but learning how to run it safely. People have burned their houses down by putting them in the attic. You have to make sure your power lines coming in are shut off or you may send unwanted power to the people working on the lines. An electrician put our panel in and we are careful to follow instructions. Other things to learn is how much wattage applicances take and what is most important. There are so many possible stories just in that.
There needs to be some downtime in stressful situations. During this outage I watched a TV show on Chromecast and Hulu. Usually, it’s through a satellite as that is more reliable at our house but it needs power too. I got lucky with the internet working. But it gave me the break I needed. Books offer that same escape so we can reset and rewind, ready for what the world brings us.
Sometimes in life, all we can do is survive. The same happens in a story where our experience can be woven into any story making it all the more real. Characters being out of communication and having no power adds that opportunity for a killer, sudden illness or injury, a tree hitting the house and losing shelter, a war going on and no clue, or even the worst case, it’s worldwide.
A forced change in our daily routine makes us look at the world differently. For me, besides trying to get the fire going and keeping it going, my mind wanders. My what-ifs kick in and ideas flow that insist on being written down. Plus, there is that lesson showing us what is important. Being safe along with having shelter, food, and water. This bit of wisdom and empathy can flow into a story, with a few challenges along the way.
Like life, nothing goes along smoothly, and in stories that is what keeps us turning the page.
Note: That little bug that’s been making it way though my family for the last month finally claimed me. So I took some time to rest and recoup.
Read a good book and create some of that magic. D. L. Finn
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