In the days of covered wagon travel, pioneers ventured west with hopes and dreams of the fertile lands of California and Oregon. It’s estimated that 1 in every 10 emigrants died on the Oregon Trail. Diseases like dysentery and smallpox claimed some. Drownings during river crossings took out others. Falls from wagons. Accidental shootings. Weather. Wild animals. Some pioneers, after an arduous journey across the Great Plains, came to a halt along the eastern edge of the Rockies. They not only rammed into physical walls of mountain granite, canyons, raging rivers, and wild weather, but also mental and emotional walls. They had had enough!
I’ve spent part of the last two years writing my second novel about a young woman’s life during the Depression Era, set in the northern mountains of British Columbia. Due to the time period, location, and certain topics, the book has necessitated a considerable amount of research and study. So much so that I find the creative side of my writing fading away, and I’ve now forgotten the heartbeat of the book. The plot is weakening. The characters are wallowing in meaningless details. I, too, have hit a wall.
Writing historical fiction is challenging, and I have a newfound appreciation for historical writers, especially those great writers like John Steinbeck, Colson Whitehead, or Maggie O’Farrell. It’s not easy to describe accurate facts while weaving a fictitious story.
To ‘hit a wall’ is a common figure of speech to describe a sudden inability to do something because it’s difficult. To reach a point of mental, physical, or emotional fatigue, have a drop in energy or performance. To come up against a brick wall. Hit a dead end. Run into a roadblock. Be at a standstill. Reach an impasse. Be out of steam. Beat tired. Usually, when this happens, frustration sets in, and progress is hindered. Psychologists recommend taking a break. Rest and re-evaluate. Step back and consider other approaches. Revisit goals.
At a writer’s conference I attended several years ago, the keynote speaker shared their secret sauce for success. Know your genre! At the time, I thought I understood what that meant. Know what category your book fits into: literary fiction, women’s fiction, fantasy fiction, romance, horror, mystery, thriller, and so on. I knew my first book fit into the women’s fiction category, and my memoir was under the general classification of biographies. While that’s true, I think she was also implying that it’s best to know what kind of writer you are, and the more you can define that, the better. Be a whale in a pond!
So, I’ve decided to file this historical fiction novel away for a while, maybe forever, and take a break. What is my genre? What do I want to say? What do I want to write about? I don’t know yet, but I’ll keep you posted!
“What we call a new beginning is often the end. And to make an end is to make a beginning. The end is where we start from.” T.S. Eliot
Enjoy the Passage of Time.
Sharon
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