Writing is Real Life
When I joined a community book club, I didn’t know any other members, but I’ve enjoyed getting to know them. It turns out one young woman had attended the same high school I’d taught at for nearly two decades. We dug deeper; she’d never been in my class, but her brother had. That’s when I exclaimed, “I remember your mom!”
Of the thousands of students and parents I’d met over the years, how was it possible I could pick out one person? Because her mom had been so warm and open; she’d told me all about her daughter’s interest in horseback riding and when I said my own two (at the time) young daughters were interested, she invited us to visit the stables where her daughter rode. We took her up on that offer—and that got my kids into riding lesson. (For which my new book club friend apologized, given the cost!) This was not typical of a parent-teacher relationship, yet it was so generous on the part of their mom.
It’s easy for writers to craft serendipitous moments when two characters reunite or find a distant connection. It’s even easier for readers to dismiss these moments as being “too convenient” or “too coincidental”. The writer has to ensure these moments are neither; there has to be clear cause-and-effect so the reader does buy that this scene could happen—but then my reunion with this former student reminded me how possible these moments actually are. As a writer, lean into them.