Visiting Babylon

Today in the NaNoWriMo process, I hitched a ride to Babylon. Ok, not exactly Bablyon, but in the neighborhood. If you are not catching the correlation right off the bat, Babylon was the place of imprisonment for the Israelites. One of my characters is in a dark place, and in order to write authentically, I had to hang out with her for a bit. For me, at least at this point of my writing journey, I cannot craft someone I don’t have a piece of inside me. As I created darkness for my character, I visited my own dark places.

For awhile I wshed I was writing a fluffy book about bunnies and butterflies, a place where no one gets hurt.

But sometimes, in order to lead others towards the light, you have to stand in the dark with them and take them by the hand. That’s what I’m doing in my novel, leading others. Their stories won’t be exactly my own, but they are borne of the same parent.

 As I struggled with the feelings that came back, I kept repeating the verse “The light shines into the darkness and the darkness did not overcome it. (John 1:5)” Even as I write this, the darkness stands behind me, breathing down my neck. I have to remember I am just a visitor this time around. I already know how this story ends.

 Check out the link to the song Times by Tenth Avenue North . I listened to this on repeat about 900 times.