Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Time of Rebirth

Happy Easter Everyone!
With Easter on the horizon, it's a time of renewal in our lives. Since early biblical times, people have looked at the onset of spring as the perfect time to start over, and to renew their life and themselves.

What can this mean for our writing? 


Early Easter Traditions
Spring symbolized life and rebirth, and eggs are the ancient symbol for that. Across the ancient world, eggs were the symbol of fertility for the Egyptians, Persians, Romans, Gauls, and even the Chinese.

When we write, our stories are a little chick to be hatched. It isn't fully formed first take, but all the elements we need are there hoping and waiting to hatch.




Easter Memories. Who didn't love the story The Country Bunny, and the Little Gold Shoes when they were little? The message is loud and clear, smart and happening little bunnies who defy prejudice and have a strong sense of self worth can do it all when they are grown up bunnies. But that is what is so wonderful about springtime; the promise of hope.

To view the book and review, look here for The Country Bunny.


Symbols to start over are everywhere this time of year.
We all love to go out and buy that new Easter dress, but what too many of us forget is what that dress stands for. It represents us shedding off the old and sinful life and instead, putting on our new and blemish free garment.

The bulb flowers such as lilies or tulips that are so prevalent at Easter time are also symbolic of the empty tomb of Jesus. But Jesus wasn't dead, and neither is your writing.



The tradition of Easter baskets grew from the pagan representation of birds weaving nests together when they mated. Each bird brought forth twigs, berries, lent, and whatever they could find based on their experience. Much the same way, we need to bring forth our ideas and weave them together to form our best work. It's fun, easy, and addictive. We all need to help each other along. 

What I want you to do:  share with us a time when you shelved your story, article or whatever, and came back to it. What were the results? From my own experience, often the piece is just that much richer because we gain experience and objectivity from that delay.

So join the conversation. The Write Conversation.




Laurie Epps is a non-fiction author, essayist, editor, and poet living in Anderson, South Carolina. A seeker of beauty, her is dream is to travel the world one day and tell their many stories. To read more of Laurie's stories visit her Thoughtful Thursday column dedicated to the art of Poetry at: http://1writerlaurieepps.blogspot.com



10 comments:

  1. Thanks for the history, Laurie! Great info. :-)

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    1. Thanks Vonda. I remember going to the library with my kids years ago and reading a book about Easter traditions. I loved that book because everything about our Easter celebration is packed with symbolism like a good novel. I thought that I could find these same facts on the web, and a lot of them were available. I guess the rest will have to wait for next Easter! Thanks for stopping by.
      Blessings, Laurie

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  2. Great comparisons, Laurie. Thanks for the insight.

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    1. Thank you Sandy. I think I pushed myself too hard when I wrote this particular column since it was in the gauntlet of major papers and midterms, but it will spin off into another column for next week. I hope you'll stop by, and I will explain what I mean. Happy Easter to you.
      Blessings, Laurie

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  3. Back in 2001 I was happily writing away when God called me to stop writing fiction and to help write an abstinence program instead. I worked in the abstinence program for 7 years, never having even one good scene pop into my mind. Then one day in my devotional time, a character spoke to me, told me someone was stalking her and suddenly I knew God had allowed me to return to my beloved fiction. And in February 2014, that character and her story will be published. Great post, Laurie.

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    1. Hi Patricia, your story resonates with me so profoundly. Before the Christmas break, I realized that I fundamentally didn't mesh with a professor at the college, and this professor could hold up my graduation. I write about women's issues, historical fiction, and children's literature. This professor was never going to appreciate my use of alliteration or artistic license and definitely never dig my poetry. So with tears in my eyes, I started filling out IPW's (Independent Program Worksheets) and trying to concretely know what majors I was inline for. The answer was four. They were PreLaw, the Humanities, Liberal Studies, and Creative Writing. I chose to switch from technical to creative writing ultimately. I had only been writing the mainstay of the new major since I was seven years old! It was like God hit me with a brick. Not only has it changed my writing, but how I approach it as well. Possibly a new blog post?
      Blessings, Laurie

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  4. Laurie, I do practice "shelving." Sometimes it can be hard to put away that piece or story I'm writing, but I agree something happens in the time away. I try to put the rough draft to my novel aside for at least a couple of weeks. It is amazing when I return to it that I can more easily find the holes I left while getting the story down the first time. That chick wasn't quite all the way emerged.
    Great post and analogies! I'm hoping and praying for some renewing spring in my writing this season.

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    1. Hi Paula, I was able to write about this because I have experienced it. A couple of years ago, I had a hard time giving up my poetry portfolio, and last year my Advanced Composition portfolio, and both times had a bit of a tug of war with the same professor. Albeit, last year he made me laugh at myself when he said, "I'll take good care of your baby." Especially in Advanced Composition, I cried all semester, and I thought Dr. Cox hated me. But he didn't, and now I try to take class with him whenever I can. From that semester, my best work emerged, and two of my essays have been published as a result of that class. So I am hoping like the breath of fresh air to reappear this spring for me as well. Happy Easter.
      Blessings, Laurie

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  5. Laurie, thank you so much for your encouraging words! I shelved my first attempt at a novel several years ago and have yet to return. Your well-timed reminder (and reading Patricia's comment) has given me reason to hope that one day the story may spring to life again! Happy Easter!

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    1. Hi Tarissa, I have an essay I wrote (see above at Paula's comment) that just wasn't very good. It was for my advanced composition class and hidden in the back of my portfolio. The concept was great, but I couldn't get it off the ground. I hope I am brave enough to pull it out, have other writers rip it apart, and that it will lead to something else. The good concepts are there. Maybe scrap it and start all over? I don't know, but I will let you know when I do know what to do with it. I'd love a breath of spring air to pour over it.
      Happy Easter to you too. Blessings, Laurie

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