Inspiration from the beach

We’re finally getting to that time of the year when summer is properly on the horizon.  For most people that means shedding the winter layers at last and pondering the prospect of a holiday.  Of all of those on offer, there’s nothing quite like a holiday that includes the seaside to relax you and perhaps remind you of your childhood holidays of yesteryear.

My recent travels, which involved driving a solid 885 miles over several days, allowed me a day of respite to spend at the coast.  Work was done, breaths were taken but, best of all, there was time to walk the sands of an almost deserted beach.

This particular stretch of coastline is marked by big black rocks of indeterminate origin (so help me Google, I tried) which have been pounded and shaped by the ocean through all the changing seasons for countless generations.

Although I was looking for inspiration for a specific story at the time, it occurred to me that those chunks of solid rock could well be representative of our stories.  Either they are revealed over time as the surrounding material is stripped away, or they can appear almost ready-made, popping into our consciousness like a welcome breeze on a sweltering day.

The waves could represent our words which, on occasions, come like a raging storm – our fingers flying over the keyboard to keep up with them and, in my case at least, necessitating some serious re-reading as the typos stack up alarmingly.  At other times, usually when editing, the wave of words arrive more slowly on our metaphorical beach; we can select and re-select without fear of drowning in the melee.  Either way, our stories are rhythmically shaped by the words which keep on coming, day and night, whether in trickles or in torrents.

The sand (certainly on the beach where I walked), gets moved around quite regularly.  It was easy to see how high the tide had been at it’s peak; to note where the sand had been undercut, sucked out to sea or hurled aside – a good illustration of how our weaker plot lines show themselves as the words roll in and are always shifting; they can be discarded or reshaped as appropriate.

Every beach is different according to its geographical position, topography, climate etc.  The fact remains that across the globe people are drawn to the beach.  We go there for rest, refreshment and replenishment.  If we have time to laze there for a day, it’s a total treat.  Perhaps we have to make do with a brisk walk between other commitments.  It’s delightful in summer, invigorating in autumn, bracing in winter and hopeful in spring. In the same way, whichever season we’re in, people are drawn to stories.

The oral tradition has given way to the delight of hard copy books with their wonderful smell, alluring blurbs and covers which promise so much.  Even if you read from a kindle, or equivalent, the experience of immersing yourself in a story remains as magical as a day at the seaside.

May all your own upcoming beach visits bring you rest, clarity and inspiration for the next chapter of your writing journey.

 

Jenny Sanders has spent the last eleven years living between the UK and South Africa. She writes faith-inspired non-fiction: Spiritual Feasting (2020) asks how we can ‘feast’ when life serves unpalatable menus; Polished Arrows is available now, exploring the allegory of God shaping us to be fired effectively into our culture and contexts.                 

Jenny also has two published collections of humorous short stories for Key Stage 2 children. She is available for author visits in primary schools, taking creative writing sessions.  She loves walking in nature, preferably by a river, and has a visceral loathing for offal, pineapple and incorrect use of car indicators on roundabouts.