Be All That You Want to Be

Know what the very best thing about having a writer's brain is? It's the ability to be anyone and to do anything.

The other day I happened to cruise past my local UBS, and I thought about how cool it would be to own a used book store. I thought about how crammed full of books my UBS - called Cornerstone Books - is, how it has floor-to-ceiling shelves from wall to wall overflowing with used books of every genre and subgenre. The romance section is situated all the way in the back, with overflow heading into the stock room (and I've mentioned how I'm never sure if I'm allowed to peruse the offerings in this stock room, but I do anyway). I thought about how the UBS in my mother's town has an amazing romance novel section, with books divided and subdivided by theme, author, subgenre, etc.

Which led me to thinking about how I would do it if I owned a UBS.

Then I wondered if a UBS dedicated to selling only (or primarily) romance books would ever be viable as a business entity. Would it go under because there isn't a big enough market or would it be a smashing success because it focuses on one small slice of the reading pie in such a way as to do it justice? I even thought of a great name for it: Romancelandia Books.

But, being practical and a realist, I do know the downside of owning a bookstore, or any service-related business for that matter. You have to work crazy hours, including weekends. You have to stress about employees, inventory, vendors, payroll, rent, etc. All those minute details required to operate a business. Owning your own store/restaurant/whatever involves pretty much an entire-life commitment, and unless you are unique in some way, chances of long-term success are pretty slim.

BUT...I rationalized as I drove around...no reason one of my fictional characters couldn't own a bookstore. No reason I couldn't live out the fantasy, even including the downside, on paper. Talk about low risk, no risk, right? And because it's my world I'm creating, my character's endeavor CAN be a smashing success simply because I say so, assuming, of course, I've made a reasonably realistic case for it.

So, no matter what zany idea occurs to me - like back during my junior year of college when my roommate and I went to Sea World over spring break and I decided I wanted to become a dolphin trainer - I can find a way to make it happen. In the course of my small lifetime, I can be anything I want to be via the characters that I bring to life.

How cool is that?!