All who follow the Armand Gamache series by Canadian author, Louise Penny, know that Louise’s husband died in the Fall of 2016. Michael had been the inspiration for Armand Gamache as well as her devoted partner and supporter — her great love. After his death, Louise told her agents and publishers she was taking a year off but believed in her heart that the multi-book series had come to an end. She could not write about Gamache again.
She begins the acknowledgments page of Kingdom of the Blind (released in November, 2018), as follows:
“A funny thing happened on my way to not writing this book. / I started writing.”
She then explains how, a few months after her decision, she found herself sitting at her pine writing table with her laptop open:
“And I wrote two words: Armand Gamache
Then the next day I wrote: slowed his car to a crawl
And the next day: then stopped on the snow-covered secondary road.”
I love the way she told this part of her story.
I now find myself stuck as I write my second in the series which began with Other Wise. I’m slogging through and know that a lot of what I’ve written so far will end up in a file of failed attempts. Following a wonderful flurry of readings, sales, and book group discussions for Other Wise, I’m in a brief lull. And some life events around me have me looking down the slippery slope that leads to overwhelm and depression.
So I look to Louise. And to Anne Lamott. And to Rumi. And to all the wise teachers who sit on my desk, their colorful spines a standing array of encouragement.
And so I trust story as a way through. Louise’s story. Armand’s story. My story. Margaret’s story. And I honor the notion of the shitty first draft. And I welcome each new arrival to this guest house of being human — “even if they are a crowd of sorrows.” And even if they aren’t here to clear me out for “some new delight.”
And I start writing. Taking it word by word.
Elizabeth Barrett says
Keep writing, Mary Lou. It’s the only way through. And you will be amazed at what you learn in this second book.
And thanks for the Louise Penny story. That is an inspiring one.
Mary Lou Bagley says
Thank you for checking in, Elizabeth. So true. I have a sign on my desk: WRITE YOUR WAY IN & THROUGH. Hope you have discovered Louise Penny’s books. Blessings to you. I am grateful for your wise counsel.
Lady Anne says
Margaret WILL find her way again! It might be over a cup of tea or under the old oak with the chandelier and a cold glass of lemonade. It’s like a cold that blocks your nose and suddenly it opens up again and you can breathe!
Spring is coming – more natural light and daffodils bringing the uplifting of spirits.
Mary Lou Bagley says
Thank you Lady Anne for the encouragement and reminder. Yes, Margaret is welcoming me back into her life, offering a cup of tea and telling me more of her story. I’m slowly coming out of hibernation and reaching toward Spring. Breathing again. I add my loyal readers to my list of wise teachers. Blessings to you. Onward …
Irene M. Drago says
Mary Lou, we’ve never met. I opened your blog because Bruce Coffin liked your post in MWPA, and I’ve sold books with Bruce sitting and selling beside me. On his recommendation, I read your post, “Word by Word,” and now I realize you know as if we had chatted over coffee for hours. Keep writing. You have a way with words. I’m 38,000 words into my sequel to my debut novel, “Daughters of Long Reach,” and I feel like I’m slipping and sliding every day. One minute I’m confident and my fingers are pounding on the keys; the next minute I’m hitting and deleting every other word. When you cited Ms. Penny’s returning two words, “Armand Gamache,” you shined a light on my own inspiration: the character. I keep writing because I love the characters I create. They tell my story, and I have stories worth telling.
Thank you for posting.
Mary Lou Bagley says
Thank you Irene for taking the time to offer up these wise words. Yes, the character! I have the great honor of telling Margaret’s story and the comments I’ve received from readers tell me they long to hear more of her story. They want to share a cup of tea with her. They want to hang with her. And that was what I set out to do — give my readers characters they wouldn’t want to leave. One reader told me that she held off reading the final pages because she didn’t want the book to end. You’ve brought me back around to that. And thanks to Bruce Coffin! A great panelist at the Crime Wave and fine writer I greatly admire. Blessings to you both and your characters. And now I go back to Margaret et al. refreshed and re-energized.