I’ve heard the following analogy several times, albeit I don’t know its original author.
A gardener takes his sharpest tools and trims a bush back to nearly nothing. The bush cries. “Why did you do this to me? I had such long limbs. I’ll never bloom again! I’m nothing!” Throughout the growing season, the gardener watered, stroked, sang to, and fertilized the bush. He knew something the bush didn’t. He knew its potential, knew that with time and with great care, the bush would grow tall, full and bear the most beautiful flowers the town had ever seen.
You and I have potential to grow into great writers, great workers of magnificent narratives and sought after story tellers. We may face difficult, even overwhelming challenges, things that make us cry, discouraged, feeling like nothing, and perhaps angry. I suggest to you that all challenges will make our writing bloom.
When I write, I’m in a small, somewhat restrictive space. About the same size as my deck. Both writing and a small garden require precise plotting, in addition to “pantsing” here and there. For instance, I don’t know all the dialogue that will come together between characters. My deck only gets partial sun, 3-5 hours a day. Still, with the right maneuvering—meaning making certain my characters are in the right place at the right time, and in the right mood…great scenes develop. Making “steps” for different pot heights will give all my plants the opportunities to, if you will, express themselves.
Who is/are my main character(s)?
For my WIP, (Work in Progress), the storyteller is a woman, married with children. For my garden, herbs equal the family.
What about antagonists? Who lurks in the dark?
A desperate Mafia guy comes to mind. And wasps. I hate wasps, and all similar insects. I know they’re pollinators. I still hate them. Will keeping my garden hydrated be a challenge? What about building those “steps”? Additional characters in the story may include, cops, jail birds, neighbors, troubled kids, and a wavering marriage. Sounds like a nice mixed salad.
Then there are those characters that zip in and out of a story once-in-a-while like a taxi driver. They may be necessary. Yep, I’ll add a humming bird feeder.
The setting. Ah, the sweet smells, fresh breezes. And the all-important luscious dirt. I love fresh turned dirt! (I know somebody that has old, old horse manure.) All I need is a tarp to mix all the dirt and manure together, a few deeper pots, and along with pantsing my story, and my tiny garden will blossom.
The Protagonist.
What about self-help books?
While I was researching for my WIP, as well as, my deck garden, I happened upon, and scored, a pre-release book titled, Soil, The Story of A Black Mother’s Garden. The author is from Colorado, and teaches poetry at CSU. Her analogies are incredible and her words stick in my mind well after finishing this true story. I highly recommend this book—when it becomes available in May, 2023.
“Planting seeds in your garden is like planting thoughts in your mind. Nourish the good ones and pull out the weeds.”-LeAura Alderson
Fun metaphors for writing and characters…I definitely have a few wasps in my WIP. And more than a few weeds that need to be yanked out by the roots. LOL.
Thank you, Kelley. Those stinging wasps!