What Story Do You Need to Tell?

 

 Nearly every day for the past sixteen months, I’ve taken Sam for a two-mile walk.

Samwise the border collie

Early morning is our time – before six o’clock is my sweet spot in the summer, and after seven in the winter. I try to walk when most of the rest of the neighborhood is still at home and off the roads.

(Blame Sam. He thinks his job is to control all the cars on our road, and all the deer he can see. That herding instinct is strong!)

But even during this peaceful time, I’ll meet neighbors who are enjoying the same early morning routine as I am. And since we’re fairly new in our little community, some will strike up a conversation.

It usually goes like this:

Neighbor: “I’ve seen you walking your dog.”

Sam lays on the gravel road, waiting for a treat. Or a pat. Or anything.

Me: “He needs his road work every day.”

Neighbor: “You live down there?” (she points)

Me: “We bought Fred’s place and moved in a couple years ago.”

Everyone knows Fred.

Neighbor: “How is he doing?”

Me: “I haven’t heard, but I know he’s living in town now.”

Then comes the ultimate question…

Neighbor: “What do you and your husband do?”

Me: “My husband is retired and I’m an author.”

And then the response…

Neighbor: “Oh.” She looks down the road. “Well, I had better finish my walk.”


I don’t need to ask my neighbor any more questions. I know where she lives – she waves when I walk by with Sam in the morning as she has coffee on her front porch. I know she and her husband leave together every morning at 7:10. I know she likes to feed the deer.

I also know she is not a reader.

 
Because if she WAS a reader, her response would have been something like…

“I’ve always wanted to write a book, but I don’t know where to start.”

And the hopeful look. The questioning glance. After all, I’m an author. I must know the secret.

Jack the corgi

 Well, yes, I do know the secret. If you’ve been reading the Seekerville blog for very long, you know the secret, too.

Writing a book is work. Hard work. Work that demands perseverance and determination.

  

Sometimes, though, you meet that person who is challenged when you tell her that writing isn’t easy. She is enthusiastic about visiting the blogs I mention (including Seekerville,) and then follows through and actually looks up the blog.

I recently met a young woman on my walk who is house sitting for our neighbors (hi, Shana!) The next time she saw me she said she had stopped by to visit Seekerville.

That is the kind of person who may actually write a book and may actually finish it. And may actually have it published.

Because that kind of person won’t let anything stop her.

Her story will become her life. She’ll think about the next plot point while she’s cooking dinner. She’ll talk to her characters when no one else will listen to her. She’ll be surprised to see green grass in the yard in July because her story is set in the mountains in December.

She will stay up late into the night researching a quirky allergy her character has and rise early in the morning to write five hundred words before work.

Weather won’t stop her. A pandemic won’t stop her. A boat-load of zucchini in the garden will only delay her for a few hours. And a border collie puppy? No problem. The book will still be written.

 
Because when we have a story to tell, we have to tell it.

Is there a story you need to tell?

Whether you're a writer or a reader,

whether your story is written down or it's still in your head,

tell us a little bit about it in the comments,

(100 words or less – practice your “elevator pitch”) 

 and you’ll be entered to win a copy of “An Amish Christmas Kitchen.”

Because we all need a bit of Christmas in July!

(US only for paperback, e-copy wherever Amazon will send it.)

As the weather grows cold and the nights grow long, the cheer and warmth of the Christmas season is one thing all readers can find comfort in. This collection from bestselling Amish fiction novelists Leslie Gould, Jan Drexler, and Kate Lloyd finds the beating heart at the center of the holiday and offers three novellas that celebrate family, faith, and especially the sights and smells of a bustling holiday kitchen.

Leslie Gould tells the story of how, in the wake of a heartbreaking loss, a young Amish woman finds unexpected comfort and hope in a yearly baking tradition surrounding the local Lancaster Christmas market. Jan Drexler offers a sweet tale of a shy Amish woman who decides to use her gift for sweets to woo a local Amish boy with her beloved Christmas cookies. And Kate Lloyd offers a heartwarming tale of a woman's unexpected discovery about the truth of her past, and the warm and welcoming Amish family table she finds herself invited to on Christmas.