I was searching the McClung Collection of the Knox County (Tennessee) Public Library for a totally different historic image when I ran across this house plan from 1901 (Mattie might know someone back in Ohio who built just such a house). House plans are wonderful aids to imagining places in fiction, and local libraries like the Knoxville can be unexpectedly rich sources of images.
In this case, however, what struck me was how useful the image was for carrying out Natasha Pulley's exercise in starting a fantasy story. Remember? It has three parts: List five impossible things. Choose one and list questions related to "If this is true, what else must be true?" Think about those particulars, then write a paragraph.
Picturing a World
Shelter in place
April 4, 2020
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Fact and fantasy in self-isolation
April 2, 2020
I first read Natasha Pulley's Bedlam Stacks in a library copy. I liked it, but not as much as The Watchmaker of Filigree Street. Or so I thought. Still, after a while I decided to buy a copy to have on hand, knowing I would want to reread it someday. The day came as soon as I put down The Lost Future of Pepperharrow, and very glad I was to have it with libraries and bookstores now closed. I loved it on second reading! It sent me Googling Pulley, which led to two links that are worth pursuing if you are interested in the interweave of fact and fiction.