This Picture Is Worth A Whole Novel...

I can really relate to this picture. No, I’ve never been in a war or in a muddy trench, but I have nursed a day-old kitten. There was something about this picture that grabbed me, held me, and brought me to tears. It was in the remembering, and in the feeling, that hit a homer for me. I remembered how I felt just being there for the kitten. Yes, there was a sense of hopelessness, but I was focused on the outcome. And like listening to a favourite song and losing your soul in it, I lost mine in this old black and white photo.

Common sense tells me that both the subjects have long since past away. For all I know, it could have been the next day, or even sooner. Who knows how long we have? It’s in what we do with the time we have left that counts. It’s truly in how we live our life and what actions we take.

This photo rekindled something inside of me. It forces me to be a better writer, a better person. There’s a definite story here, deep in the gesture of the soldier, and in the vulnerability of the kitten. There’s gentleness, there’s love, and there’s determination.

 Despite whatever is going on in the soldier’s mind, he’s certainly focused on the present, and that’s a solid state to be in.

So the next time you’re struggling with your story, whether in revisions, edits or a work-in-progress, remembering this photo may help you take the necessary action to move your book forward and get the job done.