Post # 01: Lessons
For years I’ve avoided writing a legitimate blog because I sort of feel like being a writer is already a pretty self-involved thing to be!
I always write for myself first, but in order to complete the circle of life for a story I’ve written, I need readers! So over the years, I’ve learned how to write for others, too. But writing about myself isn’t as easy for me as writing fiction…
In this first Lessons from the Shoreline post, I suppose I want you to know a few things about me and my novels. However, I want to give you total permission to discover who I am and to “figure me out” for yourself, too. Just so you know, this is not the safest plan for me, because, in this blog, it’s just you and me, and I can’t hide behind a very layered character.
So… If you don’t like what I write in this blog, then that means you might not like me either!
But for some reason, even though I much prefer writing behind the cover of a character, openly writing about my life as an author feels like a risk I’m finally certain I want to take.
I love creating fiction so much because, through my storytelling, I can go on a vicarious adventure that starts in my imagination but then takes on a real life as the characters I create experience things inside of the pages of a book. And when the adventure takes an unexpected turn, or when one of my characters stumbles and falls, I’m right there with her, learning the lessons for myself, gaining the wisdom through her pain, and adding layers of color to how I see the world right alongside her…
To me, that’s the most worthy kind of experience I can share with others!
But now I’m ready to let you see the real me, too. I’m willing to invite people into my life as an author bit more so I can authentically express how much storytelling fuels my purpose. My desire to connect to people through the stories I write is what gets me up in the morning, and it’s what I think about all the time. But sharing myself with you in this very vulnerable and transparent way still seems rather indulgent and self-involved to me.
Who cares what I think, right? (I guess I’m hoping maybe you will!)
Anyway… Back to the point. I wrote Hurricane Season more than ten years ago, but the story of Eloise Butts, the 33-year-old virgin from South Beach, has become such a part of me that I can hardly separate myself from her anymore. To me, Eloise feels real — like a phantom limb I often scratch and sometimes even try to put a bracelet on! I think about her all the time. And, I’ve even thought things like, “Oh! That dress would look amazing on Elle! But on me…? Not so much.” I realize that must make me sound like a nut job.
But I guess I don’t care if you think I’m crazy because I love Eloise Butts that much! And in a surreal, twisty-sort-of-way, she’s given me a parallel life to believe in when things in my own life were falling apart. But on the flip side, Eloise has also nearly destroyed me a couple of times when I didn’t know how to let go of the plans I made for her. So my relationship with this fictional person I created is clearly pretty complicated.
I’m 47-years-old at the time of this post, but Eloise Butts never ages.
However, she does change, mature and grow inside of me whenever she helps me connect with my audience of readers. Eloise is sacred to me, and I’ve fought for her survival in a world where there are so many other stories that might seem better or more worthy of your time and attention than hers. But Eloise always gives me the first reason to write.
I’ve come to see that the fears, insecurities, and worries I struggle to keep at bay when it comes to Elle and my career as an author are likely the very same fears, insecurities, and worries I believe most of us share as human beings when we’re trying to do something important with our lives and talents in this very tricky world of ours.
I can assure you, I’m not completely mental… I’m just very passionate about the value of storytelling! And, I’m particularly fond of the first character I ever created. So perhaps the best way to answer the
