Real Stories - Across Space and Time - Issue 4

Issue No. 6

Courage to Believe In Herself

"It's a huge project and I'm terrified, I just don't think I can actually carry it off. Can you help me? Tina (not her real name) was asking me to help her write her first novel. She has published several books, and is a successful and published author in other areas. She is a professor and a strong supporter of women's issues.

"Yes, I think we can find a path through your fears and have a great time along the way." I assured her. She was immediately relieved and quickly began to ask more questions about what we would do, and how I thought I could help her write this deeply complex novel.

We started by clearing limiting beliefs around writing, succeeding, failing, being wrong, lacking imagination and things like that. She and I had a blast and she courageously faced her fears one by one.

The day arrived when she was cleared of most of the limiting beliefs and now it was time to begin actually discovering how her book would almost write itself. When I suggested that she could let her characters tell her their own stories, she was shocked and I suspect having trouble believing this could happen. Even so, she jumped right into to the role play. She would become one of her characters and I would interview that character to help her character tell us their story.

It has been an amazing journey for "all" of us. <smile> We have now had many conversations with her various characters and the stories are alive, filled with color and realism just as if those characters were actually people once upon a time.

The book spans five different lifetimes of five different women whose lives weave together to form a complex, tantalizing and truly believable story. Each "interview" manifests details that make sense, add color and blend gracefully with the others. Because of Tina's research into other countries and other times, she posses the knowledge it takes to support her characters as they tell their stories complete with historical and geographical accuracy.

What a joy she has discovered within herself. Tina is experiencing her innate ability to connect with her imagination and allow it to come to life in the form of these characters. I've never done this exact kind of work until now, and I'm enjoying it and hoping to do more. Humans are so powerful when we trust our connection to our own inner knowledge and strength. I'm looking forward to reading her novel and remembering what a great time we had interviewing the characters. Way to go, Tina!