Literary Summer
I love to read. And by that, I mean that I love to read to the exclusion of everything else. When I start in on a story, I struggle to put it down. I've been known to cook supper and unload the dishwasher with a book in one hand, and I've sometimes been tempted to bring my book along to read at red lights.
I often feel the same way about writing. When I'm inspired, words keep me awake at night. I struggle to balance anything else with the desire to put pen to paper and get creative.
This last year was so full to the brim with kids, work, health, etc., that there was literally no margin for me to pursue reading or writing. And when there was occasionally time to spare, I didn't have the mental capacity for either one. It was just a really all-consuming season.
But this summer, I made a commitment to carve out some space for words. I checked out a couple of books from the library and dove head-first into my love of reading. I've lost count of how many books I've read so far since the end of the school year, but I think I'm approaching thirty.
Being back in the reading mindset also seemed to unlock my months(years?)-long writer's block. Reading other authors' work, for the first time in a long time, made me feel like maybe I could write too.
I started a novel over five years ago about a woman named Claire and her husband, Ben. It was a story about her journey with illness and their love story in the midst of it. But I got bogged down in logistics and life and became stuck for almost three years. I moved on and started other stories. I dabbled in shorter pieces and entered a couple of writing contests. I was so frustrated and discouraged, that I didn't return to Ben and Claire. But the story was still begging to be told.
This summer I revisited them. I reworked some things--including the setting and the era in which the story takes place-- and suddenly, it unlocked the whole thing. The words have been pouring out and a novel is quickly taking shape!
The book takes place in a fictional small town in Indiana in the mid-1920s. It centers on Claire, whose life is turned upside down by sudden illness. As her condition worsens, she grapples with the physical and emotional burden of her health, and has to find a new way to thrive. In the process, her marriage is put to the test and she recognizes that it will either be destroyed by the trials they endure, or be made stronger than ever.
I wanted to share the experience of living with chronic illness and all the unexpected ways that it affects a person's life, but even more than that, I wanted to write a marriage love story. It's no secret that Micah and I are passionate about marriages, and there are so few strong relationships in literature (in fact, most stories end with "and they lived happily ever after," with no real marriage story at all). There are many elements of our own experience in this book, but it is NOT our story. And that's been part of the challenge, to imagine how things would play out for two completely different people in completely different circumstances, facing some of the challenges we've faced.
As things progressed, I set a goal: to complete my rough draft by the end of the summer. I know how busy the school year will get and how little margin I'll have in just a few weeks. So time is of the essence during the summer months.
Sometimes I struggle to write and get my thoughts out, and there have certainly been moments of hard work with this book. But I have never enjoyed writing more than I have this summer. I actually miss my characters when I'm at work, and I can't wait to get back to discovering their journey!
Part of my story takes place in the very real West Baden Springs Hotel in southern Indiana. I've visited a handful of times and always been mesmerized by it. I was trying to do some research and not getting the answers I wanted from a distance, so last weekend we took a family "research trip" to West Baden. The kids were troupers, and spent the weekend pointing out sites and imagining moments that could be added to my story. I came home with dozens of notes, pictures, and books to refer to as I write.
I've made many trips to the library and waded knee-deep into medical journals and histories from the 1920s and before. And I've loved every second of it! I'm a self-professed history geek, and I've relished the excuse to dig deep into history to find interesting tidbits and pieces of information to build my story.
This summer has felt like a gift. Sometimes certain seasons force us to set aside the things we are truly passionate about for a time. A few people in my life, in particular, kept whispering encouragement through those seasons to keep writing, to keep dreaming. I'm grateful they did, because it was their confidence that gave me the confidence to try again.
Who knows where it will lead? And who cares? I'm just grateful for the fun adventure of a full-on literary summer!
