Story Behind the Story #3 – Whisper on the Wind

In the last couple of posts I shared where I got the idea for writing Whisper on the Wind. This week and next I want to tell you a little about the process of writing—and then re-writing—the actual book.

I mentioned before there was a time in my life when I wasn’t writing. Fifteen years or so. My goodness, that makes me feel old! Fifteen years seems like forever, but as a percentage of my life that’s…well, let’s not count. Let’s just say I’m not nearly as old as this typewriter, but the passage of years seems to fit the layers of dust in this picture.

As I mentioned before, writing, for me, must be done when I’m in a settled state. The first time I set out to write, I was financially secure but in an unhappy marriage. Writing was my escape hatch. When that marriage ended and I became a single parent, I had neither the time nor the energy to write. During those single years I read mainly non-fiction, and my whole writing life felt dead. Years later, when I was happily re-married, I was too happy to write. Then our oldest son was diagnosed with Fragile X Syndrome, (check out www.fragilex.org for more information on what that is) and then I was too unhappy to write.

But eventually there came a time when I was settled again: emotionally, physically, financially. I still needed an outlet, though, and that’s when I began writing again. And I knew where I wanted to start—with all that background I’d investigated related to La Libre Belgique.

When I sat down to write that story, all I knew was that I wanted a hero and heroine to be involved. I knew enough of the newspaper’s story and what Belgium was like during the WWI German occupation to have a basic understanding of the story arc, but I did no outlining or planning. I simply sat down to write—and did, every day. At the end of my sometimes frenzied writing sessions, I would write a two- or three-line plan for where I thought I might start the next day.

If I’ve ever tasted a bit of Heaven, it was then. I hadn’t seriously indulged in writing for years, despite my deeply held belief that writing was something God gave me in order to deal with life—to process it, to enhance my experience of it. To learn and grow through it. All that began to happen as I picked up writing again.

As this book unfolded, everywhere I turned, more ideas popped into my head. I would sit in church and nearly every week I’d learn some spiritual truth that found a way into the thoughts or experiences of my characters. I would overhear a conversation and somehow it would have something to do with my story. I’d see a news clip and somehow it, too, would relate to my book. This story, these characters, were almost never out of my thoughts.

My favorite memory of that time was how close I felt to the Lord. I was convinced, I am still convinced, that God wired me to write. When we get to do things we’re created to do, everything feels in sync. Our spirit soars and we connect with God in a way that seems more special than ever, because He’s our creator and He knows us best and His gifts are good.

Before I knew it, in just three months, I’d written over one hundred and fifty thousand words. That’s a lot of words!

Actually . . . that’s too many words. I knew it needed cutting, but I was so close to the project I couldn’t see where. Writing the story had been something of a spiritual experience, and cutting just seemed… well, something I couldn’t do. I was, to put it mildly, back to being a brand new writer without a single trace of objectivity. (Please don’t be offended if you’re a brand new writer smart enough to posses objectivity; I’m just saying I was like a new writer who didn’t. You can pity me, but don’t be angry with me.) ☺

Check back next week to see the next step in the process!