In Stillness A Voice

     I once was introduced to a man by mutual friends who seemed to be interesting ... at first. Each time I encountered him, more discrepancies in his story came to light. So much about him simply didn't fit and my inner warning system activated.

     Around this time someone suggested I sign up for the National Novel Writing Month, shortened as NaNoWriMo, a creative writing program wherein the goal was to write a 50,000 word novel (novella) in thirty days. I often thought I would write a novel someday. I had been following The Artist's Way, so I decided to give this a try. What would I write? I headed to the river and my new acquaintance came to mind.

     Before there were the television shows Once Upon A Time and Grimm, my guiding voice suggested, "Re-write a fairy tale." My next stop was the Strand Bookstore on Broadway at 12th Street.

     Whenever I visit the Strand to find something to read, I always start with the bargain shelves on the sidewalk. The prices of these books range from one dollar to three for second-hand great books. On this particular visit I went straight to the only book to catch my eye, a copy of The Illustrated Treasury of Children's Literature edited by Margaret Martignoni, published by Grosset & Dunlap in 1955 for one dollar. I began reading it on the subway home. All the stories from my childhood were here. Rumpelstiltskin stood out as the basis of the Faustian tale I would write as The Dashing Mister R. 

     Here was the story of a mysterious man whom no one truly knew who did whatever he could to ingratiate himself to people. He later demanded a price for those favors.

    So discovering and purchasing the book was the synchronicity. The paranormal part came into play when I heard a new voice, that of a young man. "Something like this happened to me. Let me tell you my story." And so I met Sebastian Stephens. Every morning and sometimes in the middle of the night after dreaming, I would sit at my computer and record Sebastian's experience with the mysterious Mister R. I finished the first draft in three weeks. I didn't have to think, plan, or outline. I only had to be still and listen. I entered on a printed page a story I heard once.