Women's Inspiration

Despite it almost being spring, it seems the weather here is determined to dump snow on us. The weather has been fluctuating between unseasonably warm and bone shatteringly cold, which has left many of my school's students and teachers out sick this week. Believe me, Clorox wipes and hand sanitizer have been my best friends!

This week something happened at the last minute that really reinforced the power that a group of people can have when they put their minds to it. Wednesday was International Women's Day, as well as the "Day Without a Woman" protest. There were so many women in my school district who took off work that the superintendent cancelled school for the students!

As usual, I tried to think about the power of women in my writing. Most of my protagonists are women; after all, I am one. My heroines tend to be women of power or skill, who also have personal demons to wrestle with. But the story that I'm working on is different. My heroine is still a girl, but she's an ordinary person with a nine-to-five who lives her adventures through books (kinda like me in that respect). Even though she does not have the recognition or power that my previous heroines have had, she still manages to have a huge impact on those around her.

I write about women because I know how incredibly complex and diverse we are. There is no one mixture of skills, beliefs, or looks that create the perfect woman; so there is never a shortage of them to read about. The women who made statements on the "Day Without A Woman" were not all powerful and well-known people; they were teachers, and mothers, and wives who are not known outside of their friends, family, and work groups. But their decision to either take off from work, wear red, or shop at only female owned stores on that day sent a powerful message.

I don't want to create stories about the typical woman who falls easily in love with her knight in shining armor; instead, I want to write about normal women who are just trying to live their live and encounter new things along the way. I want women and girls like me, who's only dangerous adventure comes from reading a book, to be able to relate with the women in my stories. I want the impact that women can have to be real and relatable to everyone who reads my stories.

My best friend and editor thinks that I'll finish a book this year; I'm praying that it happens. Until it does, I'll keep on writing about my ladies and taking inspiration from the ones around me.

“What you're supposed to do when you don't like a thing is change it. If you can't change it, change the way you think about it. Don't complain.”
― Maya Angelou