A flash of memory.

I drove through this intersection recently and had a flash of memory - right here is where a whole book was born. I don’t know how it happens for other people but that’s how it happened for me.

I was stopped at this intersection one night, maybe five years ago now, and I was crying because I was driving home from work and work had been really hard.

At that time I was coordinating a kitchen that served a free meal to the homeless and it had just been one of those nights - a full moon, a bit of discontent, some shouting, something thrown - I think I might have had to call the police but it’s fuzzy now.

Nights like that weren’t super out of the ordinary but they always made me feel discouraged. And then I slowed to a stop at this intersection, teary, and as I sat there an entire story just downloaded straight into my mind. Complete characters, concept, storyline. The whole first scene with dialogue and everything.

I rushed home and scribbled it all into a notepad.

The fact is, you just never know when a dull minute at a boring intersection is going to change your life.

#whereitallstarted #dimesheppard #flashofmemory