“Try to be one of the people on whom nothing is lost.” Henry James, The Art of Fiction

Today, April 15, is not just Tax Day, it’s also the birthday of the novelist and short story writer, Henry James—he was born in 1843. In his honor, here’s a short story of how he came upon the idea for The Aspern Papers. As Anthony Curtis, an editor, recounts, “In his carefully studied role of observer, eavesdropping on precious conversations that could be worked into full length tales, Henry James was equally at home in the most exclusive London drawing rooms, the grandest country-house, and in the more cosmopolitan society of Europe.”

Apparently, while dining at someone’s country home he heard a woman recount a true story that became the seed for The Aspern Papers. But as Henry carefully notes, it was his “alert recognition” that made all the difference. As a “seeking fabulist,” he always had his anecodotal antennae up – gathering tidbits of conversations, stories, and remarks that he might turn to writer’s gold.

A “seeking fabulist”—love this self-description our boy Henry bestowed upon himself! It’s one that we might all do well to embrace! As seeking fabulists, we can all become more alert and alive to the world around us, constantly trolling for ideas, chance comments, wonderful turns of phrases that people come up with.

And of course, to catch them all, we have our handy cellphones—or even an old-school notebook and pen.

What a gift it is to remember that every day brings us opportunities to explore and mine our daily rounds for nuggets of gold we can use in our work. “Alert recognition”—what a precious tool-of-the-trade for us, as we all write on!

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