July 18, 2006 @ 8:10 am | Filed under: Travel

Green, green, it’s green they say, on the far side of the hill. Green, green, I’m going away, to where the grass is greener still.

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Some people have Cabo. Some have Maui. Some may choose NYC.

For me it’s here. Well, actually it’s a little further south, but I don’t write at our retreat so here is my writing home-away-from-home. This is where I come and remember how to e-x-h-a-l-e…

I love that I can be as integral a part of this small community as I choose, and yet retreat with my laptop to my upstairs room-with-a-view, or a shady park bench, or my favorite local eatery, and write to my heart’s content.

We arrived yesterday afternoon and, since Mike had to teach an evening class, I spent the time leisurely walking "my" town. I cruised in and out of shops that are alive with flavor and small-town charm. I chatted with local shop employees and sampled my favorite peach and mango salsa at the General Store.

You’ve got to love a town with an honest-to-goodness General Store, right?

When I felt I’d fully reacquainted with all my favorite spots and had allowed myself time to relish in all that I treasure about this place, I found a quiet table in a secluded courtyard and began to let my mind drift naturally to the next few days.

I’m working on The Revival this week, and I’m excited to see what will evolve with this story as the week progresses. I’ve worked on this book in snatches of divine inspiration and in times of  great burden.

I’ve learned for the most part to attach myself to a chair and just WRITE, inspiration or no inspiration. Unfortunately, as a writer you don’t always feel the tickle of adrenaline and the spark of excitement about your characters and their lives.

But you trust your story, you trust your call to tell the story, and you press on. Just when you least expect it, the inspiration is back and your heart races a bit faster as the story spills out of you.

With The Revival it’s different, and has been from the beginning. This story I simply cannot tell on my own. It’s taking a lot of prayer, a lot of reflection, and a lot of patience. I go through stages where the story seems to flow straight from my heart, through my fingertips, and onto the computer screen, only to come up against a mental, emotional, and spiritual brick wall.

I’ve learned the hard way to step away from it at those times. Breathe deeply. Give the story time to sit and simmer. I move on to other projects and sometimes it’s months before I go back to the people of Calvary, Louisiana.

People like Cecily, and Reece, and Pastor Wills Jacobsen, folks who deeply care about their town and who are in a fight to save the small community from the darkness that has invaded their peaceful surroundings.

It’s a fight to preserve sanctity, standards, and a code of ethics and justice that seem to be floundering all around them. But Calvary is in good hands – in HIS hands – and revival will put this small town on the map.

So, for now, I’m packing up my notebook and my inspiration and I’m going to leave the quietness of my room and find a spot in this adopted town of mine and I’m going to…write.