One thing I have always enjoyed about novels in reading as in writing is the possibility to narrate the whole life span of a person. To tell the events of several years or decades, and to explore how these different stages of a life might have felt, how big changes might have happened, and all of this with a pinch of nostalgia, only to find a new surprise waiting around the corner, because life never is a dead end until you are actually dead.
While writing my witching novel, I want to feel myself into each of the stages of the life of my witch. I want to see it all before my eyes, every detail. I want to know what it smelled like, how the wind felt on her skin, and how emotions made her shiver.
So far, I could identify the following parts of her life:
The upbringing of a witch
…when she was still a child looking at a life well planned by a wealthy family.
Being a witching wife
…as a young woman being eager to fit into this life and slowly having to realize that certain parts of her body and soul did not function accordingly.
Dystopia
…her world being struck by bad climate, crop failure, or even the plague getting close.
A witch on trial
…experiencing a world she had belonged into turning against her for things she might have done years ago which now seem suspicious.
A dark and sweet surprise
…against all odds surviving, because the town fell apart before they got to burn her and being saved by her dark master able to walk the streets covered in death, her later lover.
Life as witch
… living a second life with her lover outside of that society that turned on her and on the weird side of everything.
Afterwards
…when life in the 17th century was too fragile and even her odd second life came to an end, and she has to survive the afterwards as long as she could.
Looking at a whole life span, life might seem dark, because everything comes to an end at some point, but if I look at her life in detail, it seems more and more like an explosion of light and dark. I don‘t know what will be my conclusion on this yet, and I think I fill find out while writing. What I am convinced of is that sometimes things are just worth happening and light and dark are not always easy to tell apart.
I wish I’d told you all my stories.
I want to tell you all my storiesIt’s not that they would changeIt’s just that I would likeTo see themFormA new expressionOn your face I need to tell you all my storiesI am not sureIf they makeSenseThe way I thoughtThey do. I will tell you all my storiesThey frighten meI’m sure you won’t endureI see…
Dealing with darkness in writing
This spring afternoon is glowing pink and tastes like strong tea. It feels much too familiar, and I begin to open up.I feel far away from myself as I start to talk, to babble on about my novel. About all the things I’ve been reading about in the past 5 years. About the 17th century,…
Radical witching novel rewrites at 4 AM!
I wore the same night dress my witch used to wear to get drunk on my windowsill, when I suddenly had an idea at 4 AM. Great ideas always happen at 4 AM, remember? This one however, kept me awake for at least a week, debating it back and forth. At some point my witch…
Mistress witch writes 
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