By Laurel Blount
My daughter is getting married in October, so our family’s immersed in a chaotic whirl of wedding planning. Coincidentally, while I’m launching my oldest child into her “happily-ever-after,” I’m also celebrating the launch of an entirely different sort of “baby”!
Love Inspired released my newest “book baby,” (aptly titled A Baby for the Minister), in September. So, in between final consultations about cakes and flowers, I’m working with a launch team, scheduling book signings and trying to stay current on social media.
It’s been a little crazy—and pretty emotional—around my house lately. Maybe that’s why I’ve found myself noticing so many similarities between the seasons of parenting my beloved daughter and those of writing my not-nearly-so-beloved-but-still-special book.
The first stage for both human and book babies is all about the “awws,” isn’t it? You’re birthing a brand new baby/story, and of course, it’s going to be perfect! Your nursery/writing desk is clean, neat and beautifully organized. Everybody’s over-the-moon excited. You’re going to be the best parent/writer EVER.
This morphs into the newborn stage where you’re in the trenches, actually parenting/writing. Those confident images of effortless perfection are replaced by exhaustion, confusion and a great big old learning curve. This is a lot harder than you thought. Your pristine nursery/office is now a cluttered wreck. Why didn’t somebody tell you about colic/sagging middles?
Then—the toddler stage. Turns out, this kid/book has a mind of her own, and she’s not the least bit inclined to cooperate with you. While you still adore your lovely creation, you’re not entirely sure you should unleash her upon an unsuspecting world. You suspect your child’s never going to be potty trained—or in the case of your book—you may wonder if you’ll ever be brave enough to let anybody else read it.
But then the school years arrive. You spiff up your precious child/book, put a bow on her head and send her off to be scrutinized by an experienced teacher/editor. As you wait to see how this turns out, you may vacillate between confidence that you’ll soon hear that your offspring is absolutely the best ever and concern that you’ll get a note asking you to please never procreate again.
When the feedback does finally arrive, it’s usually mixed. Certain issues may be brought to your attention. Maybe your precious child bit a classmate. Or your plot doesn’t have quite enough conflict. You work on resolving these problems and send your kid back again.
And probably again.
Then, hopefully, eventually—perhaps when you’ve almost given up—comes a graduation/the call! Your baby made it! Soon you’re looking at a cap-and-gowned young adult/published book with a mixture of pride and astonishment.
Your baby’s out into the world and out of your hands. Now your job is to promote, celebrate and enjoy! And like any doting parent, you pray that your baby will find her way to somebody who’ll love her as much as you do. (Although fair warning: weddings are a lot easier to write about than they are to pull off in real life!)
See? I told you there were some striking similarities in these two journeys. And I haven’t even mentioned the most important one! Whether we end up picking out bridal veils or writing back-cover blurbs, we have an infinitely patient and amazingly creative God to walk with us and encourage us through each developing season.
And that means our journey already has “happily-ever-after” written all over it.
A bride-to-be and a brand new book: Laurel Blount (@laurelannwrites)takes a humorous look at two different journeys that lead to beautiful happily ever afters! #ACFWBlogs #amwriting www.acfw.com/blog Click To Tweet
Award-winning author Laurel Blount lives in middle Georgia with her husband, four children and assorted spoiled farm animals. Her days are a happy whirl of writing, housekeeping, homeschooling and hobby farming. Her second Love Inspired contemporary romance A Baby for the Minister is available now! Find her at laurelblountbooks.com.