Hey, they have books in there?

For the last three weeks, MaveFave Keira and I have met up on the weekend to write. Since many weeks our little write meets are the only time I get to do writing-related things, they're quickly becoming sacred. But last week's write meet was particularly inspiring, as I had an Aha Moment so big it derailed my entire set of plans for the weekend.

The first time we got together, it was at a small library. The no-talking thing was difficult, so when it unexpectedly closed at 5pm (what??) we went to the local Pizza Hut to talk craft. Not the best move, after all: not only was it a bad thing for our waistlines, but it also meant we spent the entire night chatting instead of working.

Which isn't to say it was all bad, since that's the night I had my aha moment about BTL stories. Keira got an impromptu Maven Storyboarding 602 presentation. But no writing occurred.

The next week, we met at a coffee shop. This was better than the previous week because we weren't prohibited from talking, but our table was small and there was still food nearby. However, we did manage to do some writing things, which was awesome. I took my previous week's idea to expand my story and put thoughts into action, writing up a new micro synopsis I then translated into a brand new storyboard the following day. (That weekend, work plans were also derailed in favor of writing stuff. Sensing a theme...)

With my brand-spanking new storyboard, you'd think I spent the next few days furiously banging out new scenes. But I couldn't, because in my case "bigger story" means bigger social and political flavor and for some reason, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get a sense of 18th century British Abolition staring at the walls of my home office. Too broke to go on Amazon until the following paycheck, I let the story sit.

Learning from the previous weeks, Keira suggested the following week we meet at an enormous library in the middle of town. Bigger tables, more privacy if we wanted to talk, and yet still the general no-talking rule -- packing up my new storyboard with the intent of forcing myself to write crap, I thought meeting at the library was a cool idea. Until I got to the library, at which point I went, "Omigod. There are books here!"

Yes, people! Thousands and thousands of books! Many of them non-fiction! Many of them research! And at least twenty of them on 18th century British Abolition! All free to read anytime I want! Who knew?!?

Uh, everybody. Everybody says "Don't forget to go to your local library. It's the best place to get research material." But I never understood. Did I think my subject was too obscure to be stocked locally? Certainly, by now I've found enough obscure stuff on Amazon to know they print books on my subject. Did I think it would be too hard to find the books on the shelves? It only took a few tries to get the hang of the system. Did I think inter-library loan was going to be the only way to get my hands on the books I need? The big central library had almost all the books not only on their shelves, but checked in. No wait list!

In short, I took home about twenty books. Not just books on Abolition, but also books on the history of lace. I've already read 3, devoting every evening and all my breaks to pouring over the books as fast as I can. After all, I can't start writing until I know what I'm writing about. What was I waiting for?

What cool book did you find at the library? Have you gone? Never gone? Why? Did you know how easy it is to get BOOKS there? Are you one of those lucky people who doesn't need to research her stories *cough cough Contemporary*