“Without fail, I am inspired to start writing a story in any hotel lobby, but particularly one with marble floors that is somewhat dim, at around three o’clock in the afternoon. I go into the gift shop and buy a bottle of soda, and then I sit down on a leather couch and stare at the several clocks and art posters on the wall. No one bothers me, everyone thinks I am a guest, waiting for my brother to finish up his call in the phone booth. There’s a fellow sitting alone at the bar, watching golf, chewing on a piece of shrimp. I take a piece of paper out of my pocket and jot down the first few lines of the story, and then rush out through the revolving doors. I hit the street like an idiot, and the hotel—once again—has been good to me.”
—Joshua Baldwin, author of The Wilshire Sun (Turtle Point Press, 2011)
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Kadey replied on Permalink
Hotel Lobby's
That is so true! You painted a great picture there (with the exception of the bottle of soda- kinda killed the image :-) At first I thought you meant you were always inclined to write about something happening in a hotel lobby- and so much can happen, with such a variety of characters. And then I realized ( I was distracted by a chainsaw hacking up a storm outside my window) that you meant you write in hotel lobbies. I agree, and have done so myself. It really is a crosroads for activity, dialogue, people watching. I often just jot down bits of conversation, or imagine why people are there. A few months ago this young man came up to me, in a hotel lobby, and asked if he could buy me a drink. I was flattered of course, but told him I was married. He smiled and said, that's okay, so am I. And that became inspiration for a story. But even the marble floors- clicking of heels, someone slipping, something dropped and smashing, drops of paint, the cold sensation of cheek to floor....