Unleash the power of “What if …”
This past weekend, several unusual experiences came together for me. And that got me to thinking …
For someone who works with words, that can be a powerful combination.
A trustee of the Colorado Railroad Museum in Golden, Colorado, invited members of the local Model A Ford club to bring their cars for a weekend celebrating a steam locomotive’s return to service. In exchange, we’d be welcome to ride the train each half hour.
That morning, I enjoyed three laps around the 15-acre railyard, riding in the caboose. Later, I rode once again, this time in an open car behind the tender.
What a difference. The wooden seats carried a coating of black, gritty cinders. Once the train began to move, I caught a light mist from the escaping steam, then the distinctive smell of coal smoke.
Tons of machinery moved dozens of people down the track … all because centuries ago, crazy, creative people had harnessed the idea of the force of boiling water when heated by burning, black rock.
Sometimes ideas lead to physical inventions. Sometimes to powerful writing. Adventure novelist Jack DuBrul speaks of the out-of-the-blue notion that sparked Pandora’s Curse. For some reason, he’d gotten the idea of a tug of war between a blimp and a submarine.
Working backward to envision how such an encounter might take place, then blending elements from multiple other what-if situations, DuBrul developed a novel that earned acclaim from Clive Cussler, Douglas Preston, and Lincoln Child.
Where do you find those ideas? In the words of baseball legend Yogi Berra, “You can observe a lot just by watching.” And by listening, and smelling, and feeling.
