Tips & Answers to Qs

A NOD TO THE MASTERS OF THEIR CRAFT ON WRITING

Isabel Allende

“Show up. Show up in front of the computer or the typewriter.
And if I show up long enough—it happens.”

“When I started writing, I always had the feeling that the book was like a gift–

that it would just fall in my lap like an apple or something.

So I almost had the feeling that it wasn’t going to happen again.

That I had written The House of the Spirits, and that was it.

Or I had written the second or third book, and that was it.

But what I have learned in time, in thirty-two years of writing,

is that it’s a lot of work, and if I just show up, and I work and work,

there is a moment, a magical moment, at some point, when it gives.

And then you don’t need the effort anymore. It’s like dancing.

When you’re dancing and counting the steps, you’re not dancing.

When your body just goes—then you’re dancing, and then there’s a rhythm,

there’s a velocity, there’s a feeling, there’s a joy that you cannot describe.

And it happens in spite of me. I think that’s the moment in writing when the book

starts to happen. From that point on, it’s all joy.

At the beginning, it’s work.”

From the Editor's Desk

Magical Realism

This month’s featured author extraordinaire, Isabel Allende, is the high priestess of magical realism. Neil Gaiman says, “Within a work of magical realism, the world is still grounded in the real world, but fantastical elements are considered normal in this world. Like fairy tales, magical realism novels and short stories blur the line between fantasy and reality.”

What a perfect way to describe what’s happening in our world today. Behavior by some government officials definitely blurs the lines between fantasy and reality. The über Herculean tasks performed by our medical professionals and first responders makes reality feel like fantasy. The everyday efforts of grocery store workers, truck drivers, postal workers, bank and credit union employees, farmers, and factory workers is nothing short of fantastical. Spouses and partners finally cleaning out the garage, building backyard ponds, and painting the kitchen is a reality many of us thought we’d never see.

There’s a lot going on to make us feel out of sorts, but holding on to the reality that things will get better is not a fantasy. It’s a waiting game. It’s patience we don’t think we have. It’s forcing us to dig deep and find the strength to believe.

You can do it. Authors in particular have an outlet for their angst, and now is a good time to coalesce those feelings and put them into characters on a journey to happy.

As Ms. Allende says, “Show up. Show up in front of the computer or the typewriter. And if I show up long enough—it happens.”