“Write what you know,” we’re told. “Write your passion.” As authors of fiction, we sometimes write bits and pieces of ourselves into our characters and their experiences.
Friendship was on my mind when I began writing The Three Sisters series. I remembered the hurt I felt when a girl I one time considered my best friend focused on new friendships, and I thought about why that happened. We change, our interests become diverse, and our life goals take us in different directions, giving a new face to our friendship.
I maintain a relationship with only a few of the many friends I’ve had, sometimes their choice, sometimes mine, sometimes because life takes us in different directions.
But when I think about the series, I see a little bit of me in each of the young women. I identified the least with Aubrey and the most with Haleigh. But they aren’t me.
I wanted to become an elementary school teacher at one time. Aubrey White, in Heart’s Desire, becomes one. I chose not to get an education degree and teach, although I taught in a Christian school for one year, substituted as a teacher’s aid in public school for a couple of years, and taught Sunday school and children’s Bible clubs. Then I homeschooled my kids for twelve years.
In A Heart’s Journey, after graduating college, Haleigh doesn’t know for sure what she wants to do. She loves flowers, so when Willie offers her a job at Floral Creations, she accepts and enjoys it. I considered working for a florist but didn’t. I like growing and tending the flowers in my garden, and I love receiving floral gifts from my husband for birthdays and Valentine’s Day.
At a very young age, I thought I’d become a nurse, like Katie in Her Heart’s Longing. I appreciate all that nurses do, but it wasn’t the profession for me. However, as a wife and mother, I had plenty of experience caring for ill family members.
And, like Haleigh, I’m not an athlete (Aubrey’s skill) or an actress (Katie’s skill).
https://scrivenings.link/heartsdesire https://scrivenings.link/aheartsjourney
Coming in July, 2023: Her Heart’s Longing
Do you see a bit of yourself in the books you read?
https://www.bookbub.com/profile/beth-e-westcott
https://www.facebook.com/bethewestcott
Also by me: https://scrivenings.link/meadowsong
Nicely shared. I’m sure you did a wonderful job homeschooling. I can hardly imagine a more important task, and now that and more is spread more widely through your writing.