Maeve Binchy wrote in her book The Maeve Binchy Writer's Club about how, "A book is a journey." To me, that is so true. Writing my book, Unexpectations, has taken me on quite a journey. I started writing it as a form of therapy years after having a stillborn son. I was just trying to get my feelings out on paper. Those feelings turned into a fictionalized version of my experience which I decided would become a novel.
I developed characters. I researched locations. I outlined chapters and plots and listed all that would happen. And, then, as I was writing it, the ending took a completely different turn than what I had intended.
As with any journey, things change. In the process of my writing, the main character, Erica Harding, began taking on a voice in my head that seemed to totally veer from what I had outlined for her. I followed what she said to me. I started researching the lesbian path that she was taking me down. With interest, of course. After a period of time of writing and researching, I had one of those "aha moments" and realized that my character was me. I was the one needing to go down that path too. When I came out to my writer's group, they all said, "Yea, we knew that a while ago." What? Why was I the last to know?
Writing this book has totally changed my life but I feel like it has been for the better. I healed my heart from my loss (as much as a heart can heal from the loss of a baby) and I came out from what seemed to everyone as a perfect marriage. Life hasn't exactly been what I thought it would be. Even with hardships and things I've endured since then, I know that I am who I'm supposed to be. Isn't knowing that what much of our journey in life is all about? Things can only get better from here. The journey is still on...
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Unexpectations Kindle version
