Building a story? It’s like laying beautiful stones

If you visit this blog at all you know I’ve been absent for a while. I took several weeks off from blogging to turn my attention to creating something totally different – building a flagstone patio, walkway and new garden in my back yard.

I hired a contractor to help design it and oversee its construction, but I offered to work alongside him to help cut his labor time and costs.

Yes, there’s a writing connection here

This was unlike anything I’ve ever worked on. I wasn’t sure if I could actually help or if I’d just be in the way. At first I thought I might just be the “gopher” girl, you know, “Patti, go for this, go for that.” Instead, my contractor put me right to work hauling rock, mixing mortar, cutting stone, and installing irrigation lines.[pullquote]…as I was squatting down for what seemed to be the 900^th time to lay a stone, I actually started thinking about how this whole thing was a metaphor for building a story.[/pullquote]

It took several weeks to finish the project and it demanded hard physical labor in the hot summer sun, a  far cry from my usual day as a writer sitting in front of a computer in an air-conditioned home office, cat on lap, coffee in hand.

I was sore, tired, bruised and blistered. Ibuprofen became part of my breakfast and bedtime regimen.

But, I  learned new skills and gained confidence in unrealized abilities. The day my contractor handed me the stone cutter and said (with sort of a chuckle), “Today you are a stone mason,” it hit me that I can do anything I want in life if I decide to just try.

Patios, plots, purpose…

For several weeks, I didn’t really think about writing. Instead I was immersed in heaving and hauling, which was about all my body and brain could handle at the moment. For every heavy paver that was laid, I reveled in the instant gratification of being one stone closer to my finish line.

Then one day, as I was squatting down for what seemed to be the 900^th time to lay a stone, I actually started thinking about how this whole thing was a metaphor for building a story. Yep, I can even find metaphors and analogies as I’m killing myself.

Here’s what I came up with:

• Choosing the right material to create your project is critical.  If you enjoy flagstone patios, then don’t settle for a brick one. The material has to be right for you.
• Start with a good foundation to build upon. If your foundation is wobbly, the structure won’t hold up well.
• Have a design or structure in mind to guide you. You can’t just start throwing stones, or plots, together willy-nilly and expect it magically to work out.
• Your material should work together to create an interesting pattern. Sometimes you have to move it all around to make it work; sometimes you have to cut it down to fit; sometimes it just doesn’t fit and you toss it out.
• Your mortar is like your plot — it needs to be strong to hold all the pieces together.
• Your project is a work in progress so keep your patience. You may not get all the stones, or words, laid in one day or one week, and you’ll have to look at an unfinished piece of work for a while. But keep in mind you WILL get it done if you just keep at it.
• There is pain and exertion involved in both. But there is also great satisfaction in a job well done.

And, perhaps one of the most important things that I’m still learning:

• Once your project is done you will probably find some mistakes. A stone that is a little off, a teeny crack in the mortar, an area that isn’t exactly level… a typo, a sentence that doesn’t make sense, a concept that doesn’t work. Fix what you can, let the rest go. Don’t beat yourself up and don’t belittle the entire project over a few glitches. Celebrate it’s completion. It’s your unique creation with its own character, and each little imperfection provides a learning lesson for the next time.