Create Your Own World
Create Your Own World
As many Americans hold their breath for election results, focus on creating a world you're happy to live in.
I voted early, with my youngest son, for whom it was the very first time ever voting. That was cool. The election officials looked at his license and called out, “We have a first time voter here!” And my son flushed with embarrassment as people cheered. I loved it.
Before the precinct opened, we stood in line and talked with fellow voters. Of course, no one knows who’s voting for whom, and honestly no one seemed to care. The young woman in front of me said, “I hope we come closer together after this.” I agreed, and then we swapped restaurant recommendations in Minneapolis because my other son lives there and her brother lives there.
The woman behind us was first cousins with my cousin’s father-in-law, so we played a little Jewish geography. Oh and she worked at my son’s school, so they chatted about that, too. After, when I waited for my son to come out from voting, a man offered me his seat. It was, all-in-all, a lovely American experience, with people I didn’t know being friendly and generous and kind.
Which is what I keep telling myself as my stomach knots up about the forthcoming results. Also, that everything is a story.
Story is my currency, of course, and so I know that I can take control of a narrative and find one that suits me. I mean, that’s what we’re all doing anyway, isn’t it? Instead of turning myself inside-out with worry over the outcome of this election, I’m taking my emotions to the page. Writing a story where I have control of the outcome, where I can pepper in redemption and happy-endings and everyone-gets-along and we’re-all-in-this-together.
(By the way, I finished the first draft of my next novel!! What a joy to pour my energy into those pages instead of election-worry.)
We are in a time of absolute-ism, of black-and-white blindness, but I write in color. I write stories where I can love the characters and champion the endings. And I try to live my life in the same way.
Read Rachael Cerrotti’s op-ed, “The Line Between Free Speech and Hate Speech is Us,” about the stories we tell. So powerful. Here’s an excerpt that I find particularly resonant for writers:
“Writing a memoir is telling a story about one’s own subjective truth. Memoirists tend to look at the world that surrounds them with an insatiable curiosity to understand their place in it. They explore their pain in the context of their physical place, and do their best to construct a narrative arc around a life that can often feel like chaos. There is no shortage of memoirs written by Americans that open a window into what it feels like to be a citizen of this country, and no two stories are ever the same; go to any bookstore and you will find a plethora of perspectives that either challenge or comfort you.”
Once, I was surrounded by people who were judgmental and gossipy and never saw the good in others. They were insecure and threatened and afraid. I didn’t know that then. I was too young to understand nuance.
But eventually, I grew up and learned that there are other ways to be, and that’s when I adopted the philosophy of being nice to everyone and looking for the best even in difficult situations. Might be pollyanna-ish of me, but I’m ok with that. Perhaps it’s why I write.
I mean, my life is steeped in story. Work, play, relationships, down time, all swirling in stories. I know a good one when I see it, and I quickly flip away from the bad ones.
Some of the writers in The Writers Community, my year-long program to strengthen your writing, are masterful at creating alternate worlds in their writing. It’s a choice to get mired in a world you hate, even if it is the real world of angsty, finger-pointing politics.
Do you realize what power you have when you write? You can literally change the world.
So let’s make a different choice this week, and immerse in a world of our own making. Go where you want to be. Create characters with depth and heart and kindness, who, even if they believe differently, care equally about everyone.
It’s not just an exercise in escapism. It might actually do something of significance in our real world. I believe in the power of manifesting, that what we put our effort into becomes true. For me, even when I speak something, it often ends up happening.
So let’s use our words for good. On the page first, and then perhaps out loud. You never know where it will take you.
And if you have a story about how your writing made real change, impacted someone, or otherwise made a reader think differently, I’d love to hear it!!
Events This Month
Many chances to chat with me this month about my books and writing! This week, I am speaking at a private book club in West Bloomfield, Michigan. Next week, I’ll be live on Zoom with Qesher, a European Jewish travel organization, speaking about Jewish Scotland and my latest novel, CAVE OF SECRETS. Check out my events calendar here and come if you can!
Thanks for reading the Rebel Author Newsletter. I write this weekly to share conversations about writing and publishing and help writers find the courage to put their words on the page. If you like what you read, please share this with others who might find it of value. And, I’d sure appreciate a paid subscription to support a working writer. See you next week!
Wise words. Thank you.