Dive into your own story,” my novel-writing workplan instructs. I hesitate, a knot tightening in my stomach. I get it, truly, but the past has a way of clinging to shadows, doesn’t it?
It reminds me of writing The Dandelion Spirit, the story of my descent and eventual ascent out of the hell of an abusive relationship that almost killed me. Back then, I wanted to skip the messy bits and the downward spiral along with the heartbreak that led to my eventual blooming. But my publisher, wise soul that he is, insisted on context. “Show them the broken pieces,” he urged, “so they can marvel at how you put yourself back together.”
And so I did. Tears flowed, old wounds ached, but through the writing, a strange alchemy occurred. The past, once a monster lurking in the corners of my mind, became a tapestry woven with threads of resilience and hope.
“That was then,” I whispered to myself, my mantra for survival. “This is now. I am safe. I am loved. I am enough.”
Now, facing this new story, the echoes of that past resistance return. My novel, you see, dances with the shadows of my own relationship with my mother – a dance that continued long after she was gone.
To breathe life into my heroine’s journey, to illuminate her triumphs, I must first descend into the darkness of her past, a past mirrored in my own.
It’s a daunting task, this excavation of memory. But perhaps, like those ancient cave paintings, our stories – the light and the shadow – are meant to be shared, to illuminate not just our own paths, but the paths of others who yearn for healing and wholeness.
And so, I dive in. Not to dwell in the pain, but to find the glimmers of resilience, the whispers of hope that have always been there, waiting to be unearthed. Because maybe, just maybe, in the telling of our stories, we find not just healing, but a way to truly live beyond the grief and sorrow, and step into the radiant light of who we were always meant to be.
I’d love to hear from you. What stories are you working to bring to life? How are you navigating the delicate dance between past, present, and future? Share your thoughts and experiences in the comments below – let’s support each other on this journey of storytelling and self-discovery.
By sharing your story, you not only heal yourself but also offer a beacon of hope and inspiration to others. Every story matters. Like a pebble tossed into still water,
our stories of courage and triupmph create ripples that expand outwards, merging into waves of shared experience, washing over the world with love, healing, and the promise of a brighter tomorrow.
Namaste
Dare Boldly 
Oh…I could have commented here instead of on your FB page! (doh!)
Anyway, here’s my favourite quotes from two pretty good writers:
Hemingway:
“Do not worry. You have always written before, and you will write now. All you must do is write one true sentence. Write the truest sentence that you know.”
Hemngway’s Nobel speech:
“For he does his work alone and if he is a good enough writer, he must face eternity, or the lack of it, each day.
For a true writer, each book should be a new beginning where he tries again for something that is beyond attainment. He should always try for something that has never been done or that others have tried and failed. Then sometimes, with great luck, he will succeed.
It is because we have had such great writers in the past that a writer is driven far out past where he can go, out to where no one can help him.”
Arthur Miller (paraphrase):
“A good writer tries to get closer to speaking the unspeakable.”
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Those are inspiring quotes DAve! Thanks so much!
PS — Happy New Year and lovely to ‘see’ you here! Hi to Sharon.
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Elgie, have you thought of writing your book – not as memoir or autobiography – but as fiction? You could write a novel, set it in the places where you life events unfolded – but you could weave in characters, places, and other story lines along with your ‘real meat of the story’ using a different name for the character (she should be French, non?) – and she might adventure across Europe, NA, India and elsewhere. The experiences, the ‘shock and awe’ for readers can be the same as the harsh cold story. You could bill as a ‘novel, based on a true story’ …. I can hear Hollywood calling already …
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LOL — I am writing it as a novel Mark – it’s just because it is loosely based on many of my own experiences, I need to write-out scenes I can use and to do that, I need to dive into my story to find my heroine’s path.
One of the interesting aspects is trying to determine — ‘what is her story?’ is looking at my own and trying to discern major character arcs and then, looking to see how they shine a light on hers.
It’s all fun (ha!) and more than anything, fascinating to create a character whose foibles are mine, but amplified. And then, determine her arc and what is the big lesson she learns in life.
The mother in the story is very much like Granbma Kurnitz in Lost in Yonkers. While the world swirls and shifts around her, she refuses to change. It’s how my character learns and grows and shifts that makes the underpinning of this story — and yes, she is of French descent. 🙂
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YES …, it’s tons of fun. The great element of fiction is that you can make that character’s qualities and actions ‘whatever you want them to be’. One of Kurt Vonnegut’s recommendations in one of his talks was to ‘create wonderful likeable characters and then make horrible things happen to them’ … and see how that character deals with those adversities ‘in character; for the character you’ve created.
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Ooohh… brilliant idea!
I remember when I was writing a novel years ago and whenever I got stuck with ‘what happens next’, my writing coach said, Have someone knock on the door — lol — whenever I did, I was always fascinated to see who turned up in the characters story! 🙂
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