Project Runway
I know you are thinking. Why is an author writing a blog post titled Project Runway? I would probably have the same reaction, too. Hang with me a minute, and hopefully I will connect the two.
After all my fun over the summer, apparently my body decided it had had enough, and I caught COVID. I spent the last few days on the couch with little energy to do anything, which led to multiple days of watching TV. After a day of cooking shows, which with little appetite did nothing for me, I turned my attention to the newest season of Project Runway. I had already missed the first five episodes, so I binged that. Then went back to the last season that I didn’t remember watching.
A few episodes in, and I had an epiphany. These fashion designers all started with a dream. They could see a story in their mind’s eye, like we see words; they see a look, a jacket, a dress, a kilt. On the show, they receive a challenge, sketch, buy materials, create a draft in muslin, then rip their soul out and bleed to create the look. They rip their soul out again to edit before letting their baby fly down the runway. I realized that the designers’ experience is quite literally what we as authors do.
We start with an idea, whether inspired by something such as a photograph, an experience, a story on the news, or a conversation we overheard in a restaurant. We either outline the idea or pants the idea into a draft of the story. We bleed on the page until the story has a beginning, middle, and a crescendo to the end. We send it off to an editor who evaluates our story. They point out the flaws, the missing pieces, the good, the bad, and the in between. We get it back and we bleed again, wrangling the words into place to make the story stronger. And then one day, we are ready to send our story out into the world.
I am working on my second round of edits of my middle-grade novel. Unfortunately, with the lack of energy from being sick, it has been very slow going. I hoped to be further along, but as it is, I will get there. I am at the point where I am ripping my soul out and editing so that my book baby can fly down the runway. What I find so empowering about the process is that my developmental editor, Joyce Bloemker, Leg Up Book Editing, has provided excellent guidance through the process. From self-care to re-imagining the story, her Christian Siriano-type guidance has given me critical pointers that are truly strengthening my story.
Do I have a point with all of this? Don’t be afraid to follow your dream. Don’t be afraid to do the hard part. Don’t be afraid of the easy part.
