These Are My JOTtings, Part #2

Searching for a New Book to Write

Some days it seems a long way off
to find a book, that has new thoughts.
Will others like it? Hat to doff?
Or need I shine with higher watts?

A novelist has quite a gift
to tell a story, bring along
the reader's longing heart to lift,
succeeding when they end in song.

Some days I wonder, if that's me,
the novelist, who stands so tall.
Is there another tale to see?
Is storytelling mine at all?

When NaNoPrep starts in two weeks,
I'll need to find a title rare.
What story now will my mind seek?
What plotline makes the reader care?

A mystery? Or tale of woe?
Adventure, seeking awesome gain?
A friendship, that I need to know?
Or loss of hope, that's searing plain?

Whatever starts the book along
will be the catalyst to grow.
Will there be victory and song?
Will someone's pain now overflow?

The novel can be from the heart,
some subject lived through the writer's days.
Yet, trouble is a ready part
of every life in all our ways.

What makes me pick up each new book,
and keep it in my hands all through?
A title causing me to look?
An admonition, that I do?

Why do I want to write at all?
Why do I plan and craft my words?
Is there a story yet too tall?
Can Hope still fly among the birds?

What novel thoughts these books now bring!
We write, and hope, and grow anew.
At satisfying ends, we sing.
At tragedy, we weep 'til through.

by Jay O’Toole
on September 18th, 2023