A while back, Barbara Samuel (one of my favorite authors) talked about how life and writing are intertwined. I knew then that she was right (it was a fabulous speech!) and every now and then something happens to reinforce the message for me.
That happened this week. I’ve been doing a Book in a Week to try to write a completely new version of Pink Refrigerator. The heroine isn’t me, though she is making a cross country trip alone as I did, but as I’m writing her story and she’s having epiphanies about her life, I’m having epiphanies about mine. There are things I wish I’d been smart enough to realize on my trip the way she is on hers.
If we’re writers, we can’t entirely separate writing and life. And maybe that’s a good thing. It’s out of that profound connection I believe that we are able to write the stories that touch hearts and have a chance to change minds. It’s when that connection is powerful for us, I suspect, that we write the deepest emotion and create the stories that come alive for our readers.
In any event, I found myself thinking this week that even if no one else ever wants to read the Pink Refrigerator, I will be profoundly glad that I took the time to write it!
