A lot of people know I’m writing a book. A handful know the premise. Only Ian - the lucky man that he is - has gotten to hear all of my crazy ideas and excerpts from the book that make me blush with embarrassment.
I’m not ready to share loads about the book, mostly because I’m still in the writing process and oh-my-god-I-don’t-know-where-it’s-going-to-go stage.
But, I thought it would be fun to share where and how the idea came to me.
I read Elizabeth Gilbert’s Big Magic a couple years ago. Would highly recommend it to anyone who doesn’t want to live life in a cardboard box.
The premise is basically that an idea is a thing. It is not yours. It’s not hers or his or theirs. An idea belongs to itself. And as something that belongs to itself, it can float around from person to person anytime it chooses.
It’s up to the person the idea chooses to create a lovely, safe home, and importantly, choose it back. But, if the idea were to leave a person’s home, the person must trust it and let it go freely.
My idea came to me in a dream in April 2020.
I know. Very cliche, but it’s the truth. That’s how she decided to procreate.
The un-cliche thing was that the idea revealed herself to me as an image.
An image of a very popular 1990’s pen.
Stay with me here.
If you were thinking of those ultra cool gel pens that could erase into a different color…you would be wrong.
But, if you thought about the pen that changes the color of the ink with a click, you would be right.
This pen to be precise.
Now, what does a pen have to do with an idea for a story?
In this dream, when you clicked on the colors to change the ink, the ink didn’t change. A person’s career did.
I’ve long been fascinated with the career pivot.
I was the delusional American Millennial who truly believed she could be absolutely anything, at any time. When you’re sold the American dream, you drink that tea hard. You can be anything. You can do anything. You are truly the best, and the world really should be thanking you for being alive with all the change and innovation and greatness you’re about to bring it.
(Cue the American National Anthem in the background. Or any Toby Keith song.)
It’s only when you’re absolutely steaming (British slang for drunk) that you learn you can’t switch careers without giving something substantial up.
The American Dream is true in the sense that you can be anything you want (with a lot of fucking help and privilege). That optimism is something I am grateful for and hope all young people get the chance to feel.
The American Dream is wrong in that you certainly cannot do anything you want. And, the world will only thank you when you pipe down, join them on the ground and stop thinking that America ‘won WWII’ for everyone else.
But, what The American Dream fails to mentions is once you do choose a career path, you only have a short period of time to make a change. Once that period has elapsed, the roots are deep and buried and twisted. To unearth those roots, you sacrifice the beautiful flowers you’ve long admired for the next (several) seasons.
To actually make a career pivot, a person needs significant financial help in the form of their parents or partner, or they need to work both their current job and hustle towards their new job. They likely need to go straight back to the bottom of the ladder, oftentimes with people much younger than them while the soft skills they’ve developed over years are overlooked. Or, they start their new career after they retire from their first.
However someone does it, it takes guts and sacrifice.
And, I’ve always thought that was such a shame.
Why should someone be expected to know what they want to do for the majority of their hours at the ripe age of 18? If the one undeniable truth is that change is constant and bound to happen, then why don’t we, as a society, account for this type of change through a person’s career? Why don’t we take soft skills more seriously, and allow for changes that don’t detrimentally disrupt a person’s life?
Why can’t we click to change our careers as easily as we can click to change the ink of our pen?
If someone is a lawyer, why can’t they create beautiful black and red pen drawings? If someone is an artist, why can’t they write a legally binding contract in paint?
My book is about all of the above. And, it’s about nothing from the above.
Interesting, right?
What I can say is that it has a tall, fiery protagonist. It has magic and Stylos. Uniforms and secret societies. School houses and competitions. Secrets and corruptions. Love and friendship. Betrayal and bonds. Letters and heartbreak. Scotland and America. Dark pasts and hopeful futures. Vengeance and revenge. Chosen families and unbreakable bonds.
Now, to finish the first draft by 15 December!
Will you read it?
Love it! Can’t wait to read it.
I love this! I came across Big Magic at the same time I kept having this nagging voice in my head telling me I needed to write a novel--something I never even considered. Big Magic absolutely resonated with me, and I'm so happy to read its helping you craft your novel. Best of luck getting that draft done by Dec 15th! Looking forward to your updates.