After years of following patterns for knitting or sewing projects, I decided to tackle writing a book. I wrote my first story at least 15 years ago but didn’t do anything with it. It was a cathartic story, one that was hiding in me that needed to get out so that I could go on to the second book. I didn’t worry about story format, character building, the three act structure, or anything else. I just wrote. That story is around here somewhere, not sure where.
It was about a girl who didn’t go to her high school prom for some reason – some difficulty that she couldn’t get past. That’s the only part of the plot I remember.
The second book I wrote was another cathartic story, this was about what I would like to happen to me given a certain set of circumstances. I could really see me in the story and the locations were all familiar to me. It’s around here somewhere too. Again, no time spent on story format, character building, etc. Just a story.
It was about a professional woman who runs into an old boyfriend when she returns to her hometown. They had a fling, as you do, and a baby is created. Unbeknownst to him. (I have a thing for secret baby stories for some reason. There’s probably a story there). Somehow, someway, he finds out and they end up happily ever after. Thank you fairy tales and romance stories.
Then I got into a whirl and wrote three stories at the same time. Not cathartic stories, stories about real people living their lives. And three distinctly different stories. Again no real editing or formatting, just a story.
One is about 4 women who create a supper club and meet once a month to connect. Each chapter is about what happened to one of them and includes a recipe that is served during the meal. It is just over there on the shelf and will see the light of day, when I figure out what the story arc is for each character.
The second is about a young American man in the late 1800s who meets at young Canadian woman in Boston. They marry and come to the wilds of Canada to start their life. It is loosely based on my great grandparents lives in that it traces their journey. I haven’t done the research to add reality to what the world was like back then, although I found a picture of their house in Boston and have a few pictures of their early homes in the wild. I’m not sure what I will do with it yet.
The third story is about four women who go to school together and then on to university. They come from challenging homes and seek solace and support in each other. Each chapter of the story captures their lives five years later. The story ends with them creating a marvellous “thing” that will help other women to find support and solace as they face the challenges of their lives. It will see the light of day again, when I figure out how to flesh out their individual stores.
So that’s what I have written. I have one story that I am working on that I published. Future blogs tell of its evolution.
