Out of the nowhere's forehead

I love surprises. I love the way a project can drop in your lap, seemingly out of nowhere.

I've wanted a new prose project ever since realizing I'm not ready yet for the novel I was working on, it's too difficult, it needs more research and thought. But I had no ideas for something else.

I'm reading a biography of Chet Baker. It's written in an unusual form, part bio and part oral history, and I find it gripping. This morning I thought, What an interesting form this would be for a novel!

But what would the story be? Whose bio? I then I remember my favorite wild man from the 60s, an art professor, and I thought, Wow, now here is the prototype for a fun character, and a 60s comedy would be good for me to work on prior to the grad school reunion at the end of the summer. Get me in the aura and all.

So I took the eee pc out on the deck and a couple hours later I had a healthy start on it, an outline of its general reach, and the "form" is working out beautifully. I'll just keep plodding ahead through a messy draft and see what I have when I'm done. The main thing is, it's comic, it's fun, it' about the 60s, all of which are good for me right now.

Surprises, surprises. Will the wonders never cease.