If this Blog had any readers, they might well ask, "Where's the Fireman?" But as this was a private learning venture, we are the only readers. For reasons known only to the Fire Man, he has abandoned this project...so I blunder on alone, left to my own devices, determined to come away a little bit wiser about the craft of writing through what I am discovering through Appel's short story narrative technique.
I understand that Appel has another set of stories, AMAZING THINGS ARE HAPPENING HERE, published in 2019. This is another set of eight short stories, and I gather that more than half are told in first person. The technique of entering into another identity to tell a story requires considerable skill, and Appel has been extremely prolific. Nothing beats learning about writing than writing itself. I'm happy Appel has brought forth these new stories. Reading is another way to unlock narrative awareness.
I miss Fireman. I wish he would sort out his issues and join me again. His participation would surely deepen what we might learn about writing as a process.
As I write this, a late winter snow storm is raging past my studio windows. I'm on the edge of a forest reserve, and my windows are framed by stately firs exactly like those that populate the Blue Mountain Forest Reserve. The moment is one that I envisioned in my teens, writing furiously during a snowstorm...only it was in Vermont.
Existentially, is the Fire Man Nowhere...or maybe really, Now Here?
