The Magic That Comes From Writing About Resilient Characters #AmWriting

Last year I wrote a post on how writing about characters who reinvent themselves can spark a change in your own life. Back then writing about Pippa’s transformation in my book, Instructions For Falling In Love Again, had sparked enormous change in my own life. My post questioned whether writing about change had this magic ability to set off a chain reaction of change deep inside of me.

At the end of last year I became obsessed with creating new characters who were life survivors in my eyes. They were a bit rough around the edges but had a hidden diamond quality to them. Life hadn’t been fair to them but against the odds they’d somehow managed to survive whatever had come their way. No matter what I threw at them they always seemed to bounce back. These characters felt more realistic to me and a lot like some of the people in my life who are still standing after going through hell.

So, I have spent the last six months working with these characters. Through my stories I have watched them adapt to change, learn how to cope with yet more setbacks, make mistakes and learn from them, recognise their weaknesses and recover from failure.

At my mid-year review in my day job the feedback from the senior management team has focused on my new found RESILIENCE. This was a surprise to me. It’s not a word which has been used to describe me before. They talked about how this year they have seen me adapt to the changes COVID19 has brought, learned how to cope with numerous setbacks, they’ve watched me make mistakes and learn from them and they have watched me get back on my feet after failure.

Once again, folks, I find myself questioning this writing lark. Is there more to writing than just producing stories and books for people to read? 

I am staring to wonder whether writing does sprinkle a bit of magic over us. It certainly feels like it to me. Creating and writing about strong characters might have given me an extra shot of resilience.

So, if you want to change yourself in some way or bring about change in your own life my advice for you is to get writing!

I am going to borrow my quote from last year:

Writing is not just about producing books, short stories and blog posts, it is also about discovering new versions of you hidden within the pages of your stories.

For noting – at the end of this year I am going to start writing about characters who win big on the lottery