Holy moly, that movie had me on the edge of my seat, building the suspense with every sign telegraphing, “Something strange is going on in Doylestown, Pennsylvania!” Until…well, I don’t want to ruin it for you if you haven’t seen Mel Gibson and Joaquin Phoenix in this M. Night Shyamalan thriller. The point is, all the signs were there, and the signs came together at the end into this climax of revelation that was very satisfying.
I’m a firm believer in signs. Wherever they come from, and whether I see them in a dream or sitting on my desk, I’m always going to take a minute to do a little discerning. What does this sign mean? And what am I going to do with this sign? The latest sign came along just a few weeks ago and it involved writing, so I thought I’d share with you…
I was working in my office, doing a little first-of-the-year organizing, and I picked up a small notebook on the bookcase. Hmmmm, I thought, wonder if I’ve written anything inside? So I opened it and saw all kinds of notes I had about an idea for a novel; there were plot notes, character arcs, even setting descriptions. The main character was a 12-year-old girl named Althea.
Mind you, I had no memory of writing all this out. Which is not uncommon; I have lots of ideas, some well-developed and some just a line or two on a sticky note. I set the notebook on the corner of my desk and continued cleaning up the bookcase.
Days later, I received a set of cards from the Save the Cat Blog tour we’ll be doing later this month; I’m a big fan of Save the Cat but if I’m being honest, I’d forgotten about signing up and was a wee bit worried. I mean, I have finished manuscripts but no works-in-progress, and really, the cards are meant for someone actually writing a novel (or at least in the planning stages).
So the cards sat on my desk, too.
And then a few days later, I find myself with a bit of time on my hands and bam! I have this idea for a brilliant opening for Althea. So I write. Hand-written notes, which I hardly ever do; I’m scribbling away fast and furious. I know exactly the voice I want for this character and the words flow from my brain to my fingertips to the paper. But then I’m interrupted and I set the notes aside.
More days pass until I have a moment to think again, and I decide I’ll open up a word doc for this new story. And so I type up my handwritten notes; I have a good first chapter and I’m pretty happy. I save the document and I call it, sensibly, ALTHEA.
Except my laptop asks me if I want to replace my original ALTHEA word doc. My original ALTHEA doc?
That’s odd, I think, knowing I haven’t written this story yet. So I open the original ALTHEA doc, just to see if maybe I’ve put my plot notes (from the little notebook) in there.
It’s the first two chapters of a Middle Grade novel I called ALTHEA.
Two chapters that are eerily similar to what I’ve just written.
Right down to the weirdly particular voice I’ve used.
I am dumbstruck.
So I close the doc and of course, I have to check. When did I write this original ALTHEA? It’s January 16, 2020. The day I was writing the new ALTHEA? January 17th.
Obviously, a confluence of signs, all coming together to say (or shout, really), “Hey, Cathy! You’re supposed to write this Middle Grade novel, Althea (and use the Save the Cat note cards)!
So what do you think? Signs? Coincidence? Or am I’m just getting old and doomed to start the same weird novel every January? (Which, now that I think about it, could be a pretty creepy mystery movie. Especially if Joaquin was starring.)
(Also, bonus points if you know the song referenced in the title of this blog post!)
Cathy C. Hall is a children's author, freelance writer, blogger, speaker, and dog wrangler. Way harder than it looks.
10 comments:
I love that movie! Your post resonated with me in such a timely manner -- another sign? :-) Just yesterday, I spent hours going through all of my binders of WIPs so I could write down each novel's current stage of revision. Some were NaNoWriMo drafts that haven't been touched since first written, and I must admit that there were two I had completely forgotten the storylines of. Now they're a bit fresher in my mind, giving me some things to think about when I'm not writing. The best part was looking through newly found writings and thinking, "I wrote this? This is pretty good." Now to come up with a plan to continue working on those barely-started projects!
Cathy, I don't think you are getting old and doomed to start the same novel every January, it was just a sure sign that you should write your middle grade novel. I once read in an article that, "if something crosses your path, it's not by mistake," so I am a believer of signs.
If you have the same idea more than once, this is something you need to work on! Go, go, go! And? I've got that song stuck in my head.
So I'm not the only one who forgets her ideas (or that she's written something that's been completely forgotten)! Yay...I think. :-)
Jeanine, yep, I don't much believe in coincidences, so as Sue said, I'm going. :-) Also, I've had that song stuck in my head since I wrote this post (Sorry)!
Do this, do that, can't you read the sign? (Then, a sound like somebody got hit really hard in the stomach and afterwards: Cue loud rock music.)
I love this oldie but goodie because 1) it tells a story and 2) there's a real change in tone (when they get really soft toward the end). I don't know who did it (without looking it up).
Yeah, read the sign. Work on Althea.
I loved the line, "And the sign said, 'Long-haired, freaky people need not apply." When this song came out, we were ALL long-haired, freaky people. Hahahahha! (Or maybe that was just my crowd.)
Anyway, yes. Working on Althea right now.
Sioux,
It was sung by Five Man Electrical Band. I asked Dan.
I love the movie "Signs." Can't ever turn it off it comes on television while I'm flipping channels. "Swing away, Merrell. Swing away." I love how all these occurrences came together to give you the gentle nudge to continue work on Althea, even if you didn't remember the original draft! I couldn't think of a more loudly-painted sign!
Sounds to me like it was meant to be. Write on!
Love when this happens. I found a fictional short story in a file and could not believe that I was the author. Oh I beleive in signs!
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