A Writer's Secret Garden

Yesterday I finished reading The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. I’ve read it once before when I was younger, but I’d forgotten how delightful it is! Like with all things in life, my mind kept wondering to the writing process as I read the book.

I thought about how easily Mary could’ve been discouraged: her neglectful parents dead, taken from her home to live in a 100-room mansion with no one to play with or care what she did. When she found the garden, it was deserted, overgrown and wild. It hadn’t been cared for in ten years. She had no gardening experience; in fact, she’d never done a chore a day in her life! But Mary saw the possibilities and determinedly cleared away weeds and dead wood though she didn’t know if what she was doing was right. Her instincts led her to make room for the tiny buds to spread their roots, soak up the rain and sunshine, and grow. Despite the hard work and her desperation for the garden to be lively and beautiful again, Mary took her time and enjoyed every working moment.

Sometimes the writing life is like this. It often seems overwhelming. There’s a lot of negativity out there: article after article stating the difficulty of getting published and then remaining published, the economically suffering publishing industry, the odds of achieving what thousands of others want, too. It’s easy to feel discouraged. But reading The Secret Garden reminded  me to enjoy the moment I’m in right now. 

I have yet to be published, but I’m in a great place. Rejections mean I’m submitting. I’m on my way. I’m continually revising and my writing is improving. I’m learning to not take criticism personally. I’m remembering to recognize how amazing it is that I can create stories from the bud of an idea. Like the tiny green points in Mary’s garden, ideas sprout everywhere. Writers see their fruitful possibilities. We clear away the weeds and find the green points and nurture those ideas into blooming works in progress.

When Mary entered Misselthwaite, she was ugly and sour-faced, spoiled and temperamental. No one expected her to grow into a pretty, mannerly young lady. Yet, she didn’t pay any attention to the negativity surrounding herself or the secret garden’s unpleasant history. We must forget the negativity, too. It will always be there, but we don’t have to pay attention to it. We have a choice: we can lock ourselves inside and wallow. Or we can go search for our secret garden, allow our roots to soak up the sunshine, and nurture our writing to grow into something extraordinary.

And our gardens will grow! Some gardens might take longer than others, but they will become lively and abundant. It’s a beautiful thing, this writing life, and only people who write know it. Today if you’re feeling down, I want you to know how much all of you mean to me. I’m having such a great time meeting and chatting with all of you in the blogosphere! I appreciate all your support and kind comments so much. Remember you’re not alone, either. I’m in this with you, no matter what road in the writing process you’re on, and I’m rooting for you the entire way! Here, you’ll always be as safe as a missel thrush.

Happy Monday, blog buddies!

“If tha’ was a missel thrush an’ showed me where thy nest was, does tha’ thing I’d tell anyone? Not me. Tha’ art as safe as a missel thrush.” ~Dickon to Mary Lennox in The Secret Garden

“No matter where you are in the process, concentrate on that. There really is a time to every purpose under heaven. When you're ready, your time will come, the doors will slide open, and your dreams will unfold.” ~Debra L. Schubert of Write on Target

"Talent is helpful in writing, but guts are absolutely essential."  ~Jessamyn West

"Success comes to a writer, as a rule, so gradually that it is always something of a shock to him to look back and realize the heights to which he has climbed."  ~P.G. Wodehouse

Share with me!

How was your weekend? Did you read anything inspirational? What are your writing plans this week?