I always have a good idea it seems. Of course those good ideas always get me involved in another thing that I don't know how I will make the time for. Somehow I always do figure out how to manage and then I add something else to the list and have to figure out how I can manage everything all over again.
I wrote last time about our local restaurant and bar, called the Mill. The community is working to restore it to its glory days after World War II when Route 66 was the road America drove to see much of the country.
Besides, the celebrations and ghost hunting and the like last weekend, I was taken back by one constant during the day's activities.
So many people had a story or stories to tell about the Mill as they remembered it. From the 1930s to its last days, people were telling tales of funny stories and interesting stories all with the Mill as the principal character in the tale.
It struck me that the Mill needed its memoirs written down and published. It also struck me as I saw many elderly folks chatting about the old days that time was of the essence to get this project going.
When I told the tourism director my thoughts on creating a book about the Mill as well as the local Route 66 stories, he was all enthused. It probably helped that I offered to collect, rewrite and prepare the book for publishing at no cost. Not exactly the way to make a living writing but I see this as a potential giant ad for my services.
The profits from the book will be used to restore the Mill and then be available as a gift shop item for years to come.
This will be a lot of fun. We will solicit the community to send in their stories. By computer would be best but I will get a lot of help with volunteers typing handwritten stories into word documents.
We will have get togethers at local retirement homes and park districts and church halls and just allow everyone to chat and recall and remember what for many was a world filled with fond memories.
We will also get the word out to Route 66 organizations all over the country. Perhaps some of them were originally from this area. Maybe a few drove through here in the old days and will offer a different perspective on those days than our locals.
It will need to be explained that the book won't be about them and that they shouldn't expect passages in the manuscript saying Joe Blow recalls etc. Instead all that everyone gives will be sorted by decade and then spun into a chapter on that decade.
We will make sure everyone who contributes even just one sentence will have their name listed in the back of the book. When it is done, we want everyone to be able to say they helped write a book and here is the proof.
The more I and the tourism director think about this, the more enthused we are getting. There are so many possibilities to have fun with the community plus listen to all the old-timer's yarns.
Plus we can document a story that every month loses a bit more history to a local cemetery.
In my e-book about finding writing opportunities, I talk about organizations, structures, churches and long storied businesses being potential clients for the professional writer. You can maybe get an idea or learn a lesson about what opportunities there are in your own Locale for a similar project. The only thing I recommend differently is you don't keep saying you will do something for free. Unless the idea feels so good you say, "Oh what the hell".
Freelance writer, columnist, author and writing coach, ex-Chicagoan Mike Fak presently resides in Central Illinois. More information about Mike's services are available at his home website www.mikefak.com
Mike currently writes primarily humor columns for searchwarp bi-weekly and is the managing editor of www.lincolndailynews.com
Mike now offers a 26,000 word e-book on making money as a freelance writer for only $10.00 at this page. http://www.mikefak.com/id45.html
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