This weekend, I spent a little time out of state.  Can you guess where?

No, this is not the Swiss Alps, so don’t start singing Edelweiss (like I did.  They didn’t like that.)  It’s Mt. Rainier, near Seattle, Washington!

Now, as some of you may have guessed, I’m not what you call ‘outdoorsy’.  I like cities.  I like noise and people, and being able to ignore that noise and those people in a superior way because I’ve been a city dweller so long they don’t phase me.   I don’t hike.  I power-walk avenue blocks like a supermodel Olympian in 4 inch heels.  (Ok, the supermodel thing may be a stretch, and the four-inch heels may eerily resemble Converse All Stars, but still…)  Little did I know just how much my quads would be burning after taking a mountain-side stroll.  Oh what a beautiful place, but oh what pain!!!!

Seriously though, this got me thinking about fish out of water stories.  What happens when you put a city girl in the middle of a ginormous national park?  What happens when the country boy comes to the city?  (Hopefully something less bleak than Midnight Cowboy.  I write happy romances, after all.)  Fish out of water stories are great because they provide instant, relatable conflict.  Who among us hasn’t felt a little ill-at-ease when in a new situation?  Great fodder for story telling.  And relatable to my next project, which I was little bit stuck on, and now I know where to go next.

So, the next time you get stuck on your magnum opus, and it seems like climbing a mountain would be easier than working on it… try climbing the mountain!  Or do something else that’s outside your normal.  It worked for me…

Happy Reading (and Writing), everyone!