Four years ago today, according to my writing journal, I met Jack Elliott, a.k.a. Graypay from my book, Unforgettable Roads.
Jack Elliott is modeled after a man I see at church. He is handsome, all grey, and very devout. I didn’t get to know him until after Unforgettable Roads was accepted for publication, and I was amazed to learn that his name is Jack. Coincidence?
Shortly after I wrote a short story about Jack Elliott and his granddaughter, I registered for the Calvin College Festival of Faith and Writing. This was my fourth writing conference. I expected to go, listen, learn, and then write – same as always. But I went with Beth, my friend and writing partner, and the conference was completely different.
I hope you have a friend like Beth. She pushes me gently, inspires me even when she’s not around, and encourages me. I tried to do the same for her at this conference by staying up late to go to the poetry reading from 8:00 – 11:00 PM. I’m all for staying up late, but this was a push for me. I had been gone all day, was missing my kids, and was overwhelmed by the amount of information I’d received. But my love for Beth was stronger (plus my kids were already in bed, so I wasn’t going to see them anyway) and I gladly walked into the room.
It was my first poetry reading and I loved it. I also felt a little jaded by the fact that there wasn’t a short-fiction reading. What’s a fiction author to do but raid the second night of the poetry readings with a short fiction piece?
That’s where I shared the chapter of Graypay, a.k.a. Jack Elliott, with my first audience. If you have the book, it’s the chapter titled, “Time Machines”. The buzzer sounded ten minutes after I started reading, so my writing obviously wasn’t short enough, but the audience protested with the time-keeper to allow me to finish.
Talk about a boost in self-esteem!
Several people loved Graypay’s character and wanted more. “Is this a part of a novel?” they asked.
At the time it wasn’t, but through their enthusiasm, I did start to think about the larger story.
The point of this post is to encourage you to keep a journal. As a parent, teacher, writer, doctor, business owner, grandparent – whatever you do & whoever you are – a journal will help you trudge through difficulties, celebrate milestones, and track the events of your life. Just like Jack’s journals play an important role in the novel, your journals can do the same for future generations. Write about your successes, your plans, your failures. Share the expectations you have and the reality of the world; be it authentic awe or disappointment.
The notes in my writing journal that I kept while writing Unforgettable Roads are filled with my research, travel notes, photographs and practice scenes with the characters. I use it differently each day: sometimes to track a to-do list, other times it’s a place to try new ideas for current writing pieces. My journal is also where Eddie, another character from the book, sprang to life. I’ve never experienced that before – a character just showing up – and it wouldn’t have happened without the journal. I’m working on writing a second book that follows Eddie after his conversion.
My journal, like Jack says, is like my brain with all my thoughts, ideas and memories locked into existence with ink.
So stop reading – go write!
