It’s my personal contention that some of the best thrillers and mysteries, whether of the literary or cinematic variety, are anchored by a single common denominator: they take place on a train. There’s just something about being hunkered down in a train car; maybe its the speed at which the train moves, or the fact that once you’re onboard you can’t get off until it stops. One local writer is taking this notion to heart, looking for inspiration on a train in order to complete a novel of which he hasn’t even started.
Writer Kevin McLaughlin launched his Kickstarter campaign after considering a program offered by Amtrak that gave 24 writers the opportunity to produce original works while traversing its rails. McLaughlin realized he didn’t need Amtrak to undertake a personalized version of Amtrak’s initiative and took to the crowdfunding platform to gain both moral and monetary support for his idea.
He has 15 days to raise a total of $1,500. To date, he’s banked $204 from 10 different backers.
McLaughlin’s train ride differs from Amtrak’s in that his will last just three days (Amtrak’s ran as long as five), and will be completely funded by the masses. The result, he hopes, will be a completely original novel. Even better is that he plans on live streaming much of the endeavor to keep you updated on his progress while spreading the notion that writing can generally be an activity with an audience.
BostInno reached out to McLaughlin to find out more on his goals for the project and the benefits of writing on a train as opposed to penning while stationary, and if completing a full book in three days is ample time.
“On a train, you have minimal distractions: you can just write,” said McLaughlin in an email. “It’s similar in some ways to the idea of retreating to a cabin in the woods, except if anything there’s even less you can do to distract yourself aboard a train. It’s a focused period to just get words on the page.”
Along with the two literary works he’s already published, McLauglin maintains a blog dedicated to helping writers find their voice and map their stories. His three day trip, though, will be completely focused on writing quickly and efficiently.
The idea for his book, as noted on McLaughlin’s Kickstarter page, combines both a popular contemporary theme with that of a timeless one.
“I mean, King Arthur and zombies,” he writes. “I’m stunned nobody else has written it yet. If they had, I’d be reading it!”
Armed with a funding campaign, a mobile workplace and a plot idea, all McLaughlin needs now is to throw a dart at the map and get rolling on the rails. He’s used to marathon writing sessions like the one he hopes to do – he’s done it before. And perhaps what’s most impressive is that he can write more words in a more efficient manner than most of us could likely fathom.
“I’ve done days of [20 to 25 thousand] words before, and I know many writers have been curious how,” McLaughlin mentioned. “My own results have been really clear on the subject: more words per hour doesn’t improve quality, but more hours per day distinctly improves a work. If I have a 50 hour writing project and finish it in 10 days, the resulting work will almost always be better than it would have been had I finished it in 50 days.”
Added the author, “Sometimes, ‘seeing is believing’ – and seeing someone produce 15k-plus words per day can, perhaps, help other writers believe they can tell stories that way too.”
Interested in learning more about McLaughlin’s Kickstarter and how you can tune in to his live stream upon his project getting funded? Be sure to read about it and check out the promotional pitch video on his Kickstarter page right here.
