Voyage of Discovery

I have been reading a lot of fiction lately, and it is helping me with my own writing.

One of the things that I struggle with when I write is what I know that the reader doesn't know.  When do I disclose important information, so that it enhances the story and doesn't anger the reader?

I know that to build suspense, I often have to withhold information, and that is easy.  But when in order to identify with the character, the reader has to learn something about them, I struggle with when to disclose.

I finished a book the other night where the author withheld a critical piece of information until the last twenty pages or so of the book.

The withholding of this information was necessary for character and story development.  It was necessary for the major theme of the book to be successful.  I was shocked when I learned the information, and I had to stop reading and cry for a moment.

But I wasn't angry.  The author had me so deeply emotionally involved in the story that the timing of the revelation made absolute sense.  I felt the impact of the information at the same time as the central character did.  It was an amazing book, and an amazing feat of emotional connection through fiction.

When I read a book like that, I think I must be crazy to try to write books of my own.

But then after a few minutes, I'm inspired to write more in the hopes that someday I can write a book that impacts a reader as profoundly as that book impacted me.

And then I started thinking about how important attitude and outlook are.

There have been days in the past few months where reading a book that good would have made it impossible for me to write.  The self-doubt and self-criticism would have been crippling.

But because I am in a good space, because my overall attitude and outlook are positive right now, I see inspiration instead of discouragement.

The next step in my journey of self-discovery and improvement is how to stay in this positive space.

I'm learning more and more that it is really not external forces or events that impact my mood and attitude.  It is really how much time and energy I decide to put into feeling better, or how much time and energy I put into focusing on that which makes me feel worse.

Unfortunately, the path of least resistance for me is the one which makes me feel worse.  I keep reading the depressing news stories, I don't force myself to write or crochet.  I click mindlessly through the internet, instead of playing with my dogs.

I've been working hard for the past few weeks to force myself to redirect to positive uplifting activities instead of getting bogged down in minutiae that makes me sad.  And it is working.

I talked to a friend the other day who told me that her company was sending everyone to stress resiliency training.  I went to a class like that almost twenty years ago, and then it was called stress hardening.

The basic concept is there will always be stress, what everyone needs to do is learn better coping mechanisms.  The facilitator of the course won my confidence when she told the group that when something truly terrible happens, like the death of a loved one, eating more broccoli isn't going to fix it.  (Because these workshops always seem to focus on eating well and exercising more.)

She said when the truly terrible happens, you just do your best to keep breathing and surviving, and you use whatever crutches are necessary to get to a point where survival is an option.

But for all the daily stresses that are not truly terrible, forcing yourself to exercise, forcing yourself to go outside and experience nature, forcing yourself to eat healthier foods, forcing yourself to reach out to friends for socialization really does help.

As I go through life, I learn new things, but I relearn so many things so many times.

I hope someday I remember to choose to turn towards the light and away from the darkness before I spend time in the dark.

Until then, as I share my voyage of discovery with you, I hope I help you turn towards the light.