Can you be inspired by a novel?
People read fiction for numerous reasons: escapism, to learn more about an era or topic, to be thrilled by a dramatic story. All perfectly valid motivations, but one of the reasons I love to read novels is to draw inspiration from the characters.
Which sounds completely insane…I mean, Frodo and Sam never existed, so how on earth can they inspire me to keep trudging forward even when my body, soul, and mind are running on empty?
They just do.
One of the things I aimed for when I wrote Into the Whirlwind (due out August 1) was to create those kind of inspiring characters who tough it out through the worst of circumstances. The book is set during and immediately after the Great Fire of Chicago in 1871. As in any crisis, the fire brought out the best and worst in people. Mollie thinks of the months following the fire as a “wonderful, terrible time.” I am not the first person to suggest it is the hardest things in life that make us great, but I wanted this to be a major theme of the novel.
I explore the exhilaration that comes from surviving a crisis, and then Mollie’s triumph in remaking her life into something even better than it was before. This is an uplifting novel about the power of community and the bonds that can be formed during a shared crisis.
Some of the other novels I’ve loved because of watching the inspiring characters battle the odds are Redeeming Love (Francine Rivers) The Bronze Horseman (Paullina Simons) and Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett). What about you? Any novels you’d care to recommend that puts a character through the wringer but still gives you that thrilling jolt of inspiration?
Comments 2
Absolutely, Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte! It’s my favorite novel and each time I read it I think…”Would I have done what Jane did? Would I have given into passion…or would I have held true to what I believed to be right?” Those are my favorite kinds of stories…where the reader wrestles with the difficulties, right along with the character. It is, by the way, one of the reasons I like your novels Elizabeth!! Realistic dilemmas of the heart that make you pause…think and, as you’ve said-be inspired in the end!
I think Bilbo Baggins from “The Hobbit” is an inspirational character. I recently watched the first movie and can’t wait for the next 2. I think I like these better than the “Frodo” movies.