A Bit of Inspiration

So I don't know how many of you are familiar with the book Blindness by Jose Saramago, but I started reading it this past summer and I have to say, it definitely has caught my attention. Not just as a reader, but as a writer. Blindness is about an epidemic that causes people to see nothing but white. The government quarantines those declared blind into an old, rundown mental hospital. Food is rationed out and everybody is left to fend for themselves. Of course with everybody being blind, humans begin to start acting like animals. There is stealing and assaults that occur. And like any other book I start, I read halfway and life forbids me to finish.

Anyway, I really think writing about a situation where something has a ripple effect onto others which in turn leads to a catastrophe. After reading Connor's science fiction story, that has me thinking of multiple ideas I want to write about. Will I win a Pulitzer Prize? Probably not. But if I can write a story where a small event becomes a national crisis or some science fiction adventure, I'll call it a success.

But you guys should definitely check out this book. It won a Pulitzer Prize and is just an interesting scenario to think about. How would you deal with being blind and being surrounded by seven strangers who are also blind? Who would you trust and how would you use your other senses to help you live? Will you go crazy or will you be able to push through the adversity?