Writing Sara
Meet Sara Matthews
Running from her past, Sara is always looking over her shoulder.
Note: For those unfamiliar with Success Is The Best Revenge (SIBR), Sara's story is based on my life.
Sara had been through a lot in her life. A lifetime of abuse had taken its toll on her. She desperately needed to escape the only home she had known and find a new job to pay off the debts her business and life partner, Thomas, had left her with.
As Sara arrived in Normal, IL, she was greeted by the bitter cold of a mid-winter night. The city was blanketed in snow, and the frigid air took her breath away. Despite the harsh conditions, she felt the world's weight lift off her shoulders - she was free, but more importantly, she was safe.
However, driving in the snow and ice was a different fear. Whidbey Island, where her home was, shut down when the snow storms made the roads treacherous. Pulling up her big girl's panties, she knew she had to get behind the wheel of the rental car and make her way to the warm corporate apartment that was waiting for her,
Writing this first chapter of Sara's continuing story would be easy. Or so I thought. After all, the painful stuff was already written and being read by readers of Success Is The Best Revenge. But, as I looked at the blank page of Chapter 1, my brain went blank. All the emotions Sara had felt as she arrived in a strange city in the dark of night evaporated, so there I sat like a lump of clay, trying to muster up the memories of what it was like to be all alone, to find my way to my new temporary apartment when I knew I couldn't find my way out of a brown paper bag (this was before the Godsend of GPS).
And then my Muse, Sara, arrived and put my fingers on the keyboard, and words began to appear on that blank screen. For those who do not believe there is such a thing as a Muse, I'm here to tell you that there definitely is.
When I start my next Creative NonFiction series based on my late husband's life, will Sara still be my Muse, or will she morph into something else? Something to ponder - we shall wait and see!
Well, faithful readers, I am now on my journey to write as my soul depended on it. After my husband, Bob passed, all my passions seemed to die with him. I went through a couple of months reminiscent of a Zombie. Bob was my biggest cheerleader and motivator when it came to my writing. He encouraged me to retire and fulfill my wish to write. And then, he was gone. His encouraging words were gone. His nagging me to write was gone.
Then Sara came along and inspired me to get behind the keyboard again. And now, words are flying onto the pages, and Sara's next chapter is taking on a life of its own. I am again in my happy place, with Bob's words always in my ear. He gets along well with Sara :)
So, what do you think of the picture of Sara? For those who read SIBR, does she look like you imagined? If she doesn't, how did you imagine her?
Until next time,
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