by Katherine Reay, @Katherine_Reay
The word “story” implies coherence. In our writing – it’s necessary or it’s not much of a novel. In our lives, it suggests we can see the events, good or bad, as moments that will merge into a unified whole.
I think the word fits well for both our work and our lives. We write stories. We live stories. And they are not mutually exclusive. After all, no matter which direction life takes – back and forth or around the barn door – it’s ours and each touch-point within it forms our web of experience, our worldview, and becomes part of our story that impresses itself upon our writing.
Our job as writers is to then take all that, and more, and create something that touches readers. And we must hold tight to that crucial thread of cohesion so at the end of our manuscripts – after all the painful events, gripping conflict, devastation, and fun we can imagine – we deliver the reader a complete experience, a cohesive arc for the characters and the work in its entirety.
We must never forget the story.
I learned this lesson at a college reunion a few years ago. Someone asked me “What have you been up to?” I gave her a quick recitation of kids, moves, jobs, work, our family ups and downs, and a few more highlights.
To my surprise, she said, “I’m so sorry. You’ve had a really a rough time.”
Huh?
She heard 14 moves; 3 stints in graduate school between my husband and I; 3 kids; a few serious medical issues; and who knows what else… She heard the events.
She didn’t hear the story – a family coming together, good work, a family chasing after God, health regained, grace bestowed, kids thriving… She didn’t hear the story of it all. And that was my fault.
So as you share at your next college reunion or you write your next novel – remember that each event and each scene must create a cohesive whole just as the Master Author is working out such a whole within your own life.
Today I challenge you, as you write that next scene or edit a collection of them, to step back and look at the entire story. Make sure you see the forest, as well as the trees. Then I implore to smile and savor the entire process, for it is in that synergy, the energy between scenes and drama carried throughout the tale, the magic happens.
Have fun!
Katherine
Mary Davies finds safety in her ordered and productive life. Working as an engineer, she genuinely enjoys her job and her colleagues – particularly a certain adorable and intelligent consultant. But something is missing. When Mary’s estranged childhood friend, Isabel Dwyer offers her a two-week stay in a gorgeous manor house in England, she reluctantly agrees in hopes that the holiday will shake up her quiet life in just the right ways.
But Mary gets more than she bargained for when Isabel loses her memory and fully believes she lives in Jane Austen’s Bath. While Isabel rests and delights in the leisure of a Regency lady, attended by other costume-clad guests, Mary uncovers startling truths about their shared past, who Isabel was, who she seems to be, and the man who now stands between them.
Outings are undertaken, misunderstandings play out, and dancing ensues as this company of clever, well-informed people, who have a great deal of conversation, work out their lives and hearts.
Katherine Reay is the national bestselling and award-winning author of Dear Mr. Knightley, Lizzy & Jane, The Bronte Plot, A Portrait of Emily Price, and The Austen Escape. Her next novel, The Printed Letter Bookshop, will release May 2019. All Katherine’s novels are contemporary stories with a bit of classical flair. She has also just signed a contract for a nonfiction work to be published in February 2020. Katherine holds a BA and MS from Northwestern University, graduating Phi Beta Kappa, and is a wife, mother, former marketer, and avid chocolate consumer. After living all across the country and a few stops in Europe, Katherine now happily resides outside Chicago, IL. You can meet her at www.katherinereay.com or on Facebook: KatherineReayBooks, Twitter: @katherine_reay or Instagram: @katherinereay.