Question of the Day!

That which is rarest:

when you're writing a set of fictional characters, like in my case the Romano-family, in a real place, in this case the NYC-boroughs of Staten Island, Queens and Manhattan, and then have the opportunity to travel there.

Like I made possible for my 40th birthday last year: one month NYC... and talking to locals, eating local food, immersing myself in daily life and activities there...

But I digress, sorry.

The creepy thing is that – although I only had Goggle, Google Maps, Wikipedia, and local websites to help add reality to the fiction – I got it almost perfectly right.

Locals from all over the place even told me after coaxing me into letting them read some bits, that this is EXACTLY where they live and were brought up, how their neighborhood is, their job, how they talk, etc. They couldn't believe that a GERMAN from BEYOND the pond actually wrote that.

Which is the F–G BIGGEST compliment a writer can receive IMHO.



MORE common:

– when I learn something about myself and for my real life when characters solve a puzzling/straining/etc. situation, and try to "apply" it.

– simply when I realize that a story is finished. No more editing, re-writing, fretting about if it's "good". Just FINITO. Basta.

See?