I’ve been keeping busy. Well, with seven children there is always something going on. But I’ve also been climbing boulders. Physically AND mentally.
Climbing Real Boulders
My husband and I celebrated 27 years of marriage this year, and for our anniversary we left one of my daughters in charge and headed off. We drove three hours to a hotel in southern Utah to go hiking. And while hiking isn’t my favorite activity, this was incredible. It felt as if we were the only ones in the entire world! We climbed over boulders like these in the picture below. Yes, that’s me, hamming it up in the first two pictures.
Neither of us wanted to stop, so we kept on for four hours, climbing under brush and seeing sights few people see. When we hit a little waterfall blocked by boulders and fallen trees (see the picture of my husband in front of it below) and couldn’t make it over, that still didn’t stop us. We scaled the side of the mountain and managed to go farther. But we ultimately had to admit defeat. Except it didn’t feel like defeat because we’d already conquered so much. We did almost get lost going back, but after six hours we finally made it to the car. Wonderful time.
Hitting a Boulder in My Book
I hit a boulder in my current novel Visions, which was supposed to have been finished by now. There was a plot issue that simply wouldn’t resolve. It was a LOT like climbing boulders, but not nearly as fun. I spent an entire week writing everything except the end because I couldn’t figure out how to make my character go to a certain location to get something she really needed. She absolutely refused. “That’s stupid,” she told me. “No way can I get there unless you change something big.”
Sometimes it’s so irritating how characters take on their own life and order me around!
You might call that writer’s block, but writers with seven children don’t have time for such nonsense. I can usually work on other parts of the book. But by then I was at the very end of everything else, and the moment of truth had come. I had to imagine something really wonderful or admit that I was blocked (gasp!).
So I did what any experienced writer would do—I ate a lot of protein, prayed like crazy, and WENT TO SLEEP early. The next morning, the plot came to me. Of course I couldn’t have her go to a certain location—I’d have someone else who had a reason to be where she was carry the object. In fact, the resolution worked so perfectly with my setup that I wondered how I hadn’t seen it before. Yay! Boulder conquered.
So I finished in a few weeks and am now editing it before sending it to my beta readers. I’m later than I wanted to be (as I often am), but the book is also longer. Hopefully, I can get it out in late June or in July at the latest.
Thank you, thank you for all the support. You are awesome, and I’m so grateful for you. Do you have an experience with climbing boulders? Let me know in the comments!
Copyright 2018 Teyla Rachel Branton
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