Originally a short story I wrote in college, it was a ghost story inspired by what I felt when I went home for the summer or for the holidays. I was there, but I wasn’t there. I wasn’t part of what was going on in my past life anymore. That’s really what the story was about. After I had reworked and tweeked the story several times, it was suggested that I might have a novel’s worth of material hiding in the untold parts. So I began working on a novel adaptation of the story. I’ve been writing and rewriting for years and making no progress.
Well, now I’ve outlined much of the story, and it has changed. It is no longer coming from “home for the holidays.” It’s coming from having to find my place here, trying to reconcile my current life with my past life, and I think I have found some insight through the events that seemed to write themselves. The way the characters’ problems are resolved is the way that some aspects of my life have resolved themselves: letting parts of the past fade away, saying goodbye in some cases, and moving on with a new life that promises many rewards.
I started writing, once upon a time, so I could create little fantasy worlds to live in for a moment in time. I never thought of writing as a kind of therapy. I knew it could be for some, but I never really saw my writing that way. Until now. Now, I have to fully purge this demon of mine so that I can move on to the next story.
It definitely has book potential now. It’s going to take something book-length to tell the whole story.
And no, I haven’t read either. I’ve read excerpts from On Writing, of course, but I’ve never picked up a copy of it to read. Hopefully I can make it for Christmas. Right now it’s looking good, but it could always change.
Wow. Awesome. Do you still think it has book potential, or are you writing this one more for its therapeutic value now?
Have you read Anne LaMott’s Bird by Bird? Or Stephen King’s On Writing? If not, remind me and I’ll bring them at Christmas for you. Both are excellent.