The Relationship Between The Written Word and Hurricane Dorian
The Similarities Are Striking
“The most beautiful things are those that madness prompts and reason writes.”
— Andre Gide
As I wait for Hurricane Dorian to pummel Florida, I began thinking about this Category 5 monstrosity and how it relates to writing. I’m sending good thoughts to anyone in its path.
It Requires Research
Preparing for a hurricane requires plenty of research. You need to board up, get supplies, food, and constantly watch the news to figure out how much danger you’re in. You need to decide if evacuation is the right choice. This all takes a great deal of time.
Writing requires plenty of research as well. When you’re writing, you need to make sure your facts are correct. If you’re writing a novel in a specific city, you want to get the streets, restaurants, and hotels right. If you write about a famous landmark, you need to portray it properly. Research takes plenty of time, as does waiting for this hurricane. It’s going 1 mph.
The Path Shifts Constantly
This hurricane has no clue what it wants to do. One minute, it’s going fast. Then it slows down to nothing. First, it was supposed to barrel into Orlando, then it changed to West Palm Beach, now it’s…
