Alley’s General Store on Martha’s Vineyard is such a wonderful place. If you hang around there long enough a novel will spring from you spontaneously.
I went to Alley’s last week looking for laundry detergent and found a postcard that was perfect inspiration for a scene I was writing. That’s the beauty of Alley’s. You never know what you’ll dig up in there.
It’s one-stop-shopping, so writers can get everything they need in a single trip and get back to the beach work. Universal writer essentials like stamps. Milk. Draino. And decent chocolate.
Alley’s, built in 1858, is so old and charming it’s hard not to be inspired. The creaky wide plank floors, the metal mailboxes, the giant rubber chipmunk head. Plus, tireless manager Rhonda Backus makes sure they have every variety of sugar ever made. Atomic fireballs work especially well to keep the creative juices flowing.
In summer, you’re guaranteed at least five or six genuine old New England types to stare at, surreptitiously photograph or just commit to memory for use in future physical descriptions of characters. John Alley, above, is also Justice of the Peace in case you want to get married.
The bulletin board out front is good for at least 15 minutes of procrastination/research. Where else can you find James Franco and llamas on the same board?
Chew the fat or a donut with interesting people you can write about, on the Alley’s front porch–those who do things you would never in a million years do, like willingly ride a bicycle.
If you need to kickstart your writing, Nancy Slonim Aronie’s Chilmark Writing Workshop is just up-island from Alley’s in Chilmark–the perfect four day writing retreat. Nancy is the funniest, most inspiring writing coach I know and her son is the best chef on the island. A win-win. She offers her workshops all around the country (and in wonderful warm places in winter) but try and do a Vineyard one. The hot bread alone is worth the trip and workshops end at noon so you can come to Alley’s and write your daily prompt on the porch.
On the Alley’s porch you can get your horoscope and weight read on a writer’s budget. Critical info every writer needs, like will my novel be published? Hopefully your horoscope will also predict another trip back to Alley’s soon.
