Sunday Scribblings: The Books I Would Write

This Sunday’s prompt taps a little into something I have thought about doing so many times: The Books I Would Write.

It has always been a dream of mine to write books. I think it started when I was young, back in first or second grade. Yes. That was quite the early start to a dream. I attempted to write a novel as part of my school assignment when I was in tenth grade. I finished the book and the assignment, but I wasn’t too happy with my work. I still cringe when I thought about it: a lot of emotions, a lot less common sense. I was definitely an angsty teenager. I think that one experience scarred me.

OK. I’m being dramatic. It didn’t scar me per se. It did, however, make me hesitant about writing a longer work. I was satisfied with writing poetry and creative shorts. Even essays. But not a novel. Never a novel.

Fast forward to today. As I was going into this year, I told myself that this was going to be the year of the book. I couldn’t have predicted that there would be a global pandemic, forcing me to stay home with my thoughts. With the characters I have constructed in my mind. The stories that have come to life in my head.

So I guess this writing prompt is both a confession and a plea for accountability. I’m determined to write my book this year. Even if it means overcoming my insecurities and fear of writing a longer piece.

What kind of books would I write?

I had a conversation with one of my teens who told me that I should write a book on all the crazy things my teens have said over the years. She pretty much asked me to write a memoir of my time as a youth pastor. She wanted me to call the book Adventures of a Teens’ Pastor: A Study of Teenage Relationships and their effect on Young Teenage Minds. I realized that the title was extremely long and utilized a form of the word “teenager” thrice. She proceeded to tell me that one of the chapters in my book should be called “Faye’s Fickle Fishboy Fiasco”. This book would be fun to write! All of the teenage relationship drama that I have witnessed or shockingly find myself embroiled in have been interesting and entertaining. Of course, I wouldn’t call it entertaining if I was stuck in the midst of such chaos. From a distance, teenage relationship drama is indeed entertaining.

On to a more serious book idea. I have a sweet spot for retellings of known stories. I thoroughly enjoy retellings of biblical stories in modern contexts. I enjoy retellings of fairytales, either in modern contexts or in a different reimagining. I have quite a collection of books belonging to this classification in my Kindle library. I had an idea a while back about writing about the story of Esther in the context of modern day oppressive community - like a community ruled by a mob boss, or a community where the majority oppresses the minority. I mean if we think about it, Esther and the Jewish people in Persia were existing right under the nose of a tyrannical oppressive group. They were surviving, but had to tread carefully. It would be so interesting to write about a girl from the oppressed community rise through favor and made a difference in a world where she shouldn’t have had a voice. It would also be an interesting “love” story. I am a sucker for relationships that are unconventionally motivated. I don’t know why.

I am currently working on a story based on a writing prompt I found on Squibler.io. The writing prompt caught my attention.

A new shop opens that allows humans to rent mystical and magical things: superpowers, magical abilities/items, etc. Monetary payment is not accepted. You must pay much more abstract prices - memories, emotions, or even years of your life for the most expensive items.

I’m slowly building the different parts one by one. It’s looking at different human relationships and desires, also at the consequences of removing memory. We are made up of our memories, right? Will a part of us go missing if the memories depart?

If you ever go to the landing page on this domain, you’d probably notice a Hemingway quote, located firmly front and center.

There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at the typewriter and bleed.

There will always be a part of myself and my struggles in my writing. I can’t help it. That’s probably the scariest part of writing. If you are really honest with yourself and your voice, if you are invested in your writing, you can’t help but write about your fears, your insecurities, dreams. You can’t help but write about your pain. For me, the struggle is to write hope into all of that. To write a happy ending or a different ending to something hard and real that is currently facing you. There’s a quote from a movie that stays with me and my writing. It kind of informs how I want to write.

The quote comes from the movie “Saving Mr. Banks”, and it talks about the struggle of Walt Disney to get the rights to do the movie “Mary Poppins” from its author, P.L. Travers. It turns out that Mary Poppins was a story about P.L. Travers and her relationship with her father. What Walt Disney said in the movie resonated with me as a person who loves writing:

George Banks and all he stands for will be saved. Maybe not in life, but in imagination. Because that's what we storytellers do. We restore order with imagination. We instill hope again and again and again.

Life won’t end up the way we want to. A lot of times, life doesn’t end up the way it should. But when we write, somehow we can restore order, instill hope, and live.

June 7, 2020