As a writer becomes more successful, inevitably somebody asks her what inspired her to first start writing, or how she got her start. If the answer’s good enough, it gets published, too, usually on the inside back cover flap.
Like a superhero origin story.
I guess writing is like a superpower. I mean, what is a super-power but something possible that can be done better. Super strength. Super speed. Super agility. OK, maybe not this one.
Super writing? Believe it. Language is one of the most powerful abilities humans have. Pen mightier than the sword and all that. I will admit that a quick turn of phrase is nowhere near as immediate (nor as sharp) as this.
Along those lines, when you actually write them out, most writer origin stories aren’t the stuff from which ten year-old dreams are made of. Hemingway? Got drunk in Spain. Faulkner? Trying to woo a woman. Countless failed law clerks, journalists and librarians ended up writers. Ho-hum.
It’s the children’s writers whose origin stories are interesting to children. Why? Most of them started writing children’s books because . . . wait for it . . . they love children.
But it’s the authors who wrote for their children who seem like superheroes to me. A.A. Milne had to record his son’s adventures with his stuffed bear. Lewis Carroll had his Alice to inspire him. Roald Dahl penned James and the Giant Peach for his daughter, Olivia, when she was alive; and then, poignantly, The BFG after she had died of measles. A more modern example, Rick Riordan, told his son Greek myths as bedtime stories until he ran out. He had to make some more up.
I’m no super famous author, nor a superhero, but I have an origin story of sorts. It’s nowhere near as entertaining as The Lightning Thief (as my daughter often reminded me), but it’s genuine, and I wrote it down.
It begins pedantically like most origin stories do. When my family first moved to North Carolina, we drove through a tremendous thunderstorm. We crawled along a dark, unfamiliar street, the willow oaks looming darkly on each side. Raindrops pounded the car, backed up by the low bass thunder rumble punctuated by spine tingling cracks and searing lightning. The power went out, and the streetlights vanished. Luckily, a fire station nearby still had a light on, and we waited out the storm in the parking lot.
I was stoked. Growing up in Arkansas, we were used to huge storms. I reveled with each lightning strike and laughed at each thunderclap, trying to pass my excitement on to my family to quell their fears. But it backfired, and my often fearless daughter became even more scared. Her quiet ate up my excitement, and I gave up, embarrassed and sad that I’d turned an already scary situation even more frightening.
It was a week of summer evening celestial fireworks. So it wasn’t long before I was putting her to bed during a storm. Lying close next to her, listening to the loud rain, she asked me to distract her with a story. This is what I came up with. It’s full of holes (as my critique group reminded me), lacks a coherent message, and is unlikely to be snapped up by a publisher (or so I gather from Farrar, Strauss, Giroux’s rejection letter). Regarding the last assertion, I’m too protective of it (you always are with your first, right?) to submit it again. At least, not until I become a Published Author (think positive) and have a little cache. I hope you enjoy it.
The Shepherdess
The very first time her parents trusted her to take their sheep out to pasture, the little shepherd girl’s cheeks burned with pride and fear. At first, everything happened just the way she rehearsed in her head. The sheep contentedly grazed on the hills above their home. They bleated when she used her staff to herd them along, but they obeyed. No wolves crept along the forest’s edge for her to worry about. The day idled away. The sun blazed purple-orange along fish-scale cloud edges. She was almost ready to head home when Lightning flashed. The little shepherd girl knew it was about to rain, and she did not want to get wet. She herded her sheep towards a nearby tree when out of nowhere a burning blaze seared her eyeballs. Smoke billowed from the tree.
She started to run, but a rumbling voice pleaded, “Please stay. I won’t hurt you.”
Curious, she approached the smoldering tree. The smoke made her cough. When it cleared, a wondrous sight appeared — a huge eagle stuck in the split tree. His sparkling gold and electric blue feathers crackled. His shiny silver beak stuck halfway into the tree trunk.
“Please help me,” he politely asked.
Just as politely, she replied, “My Mommy said I shouldn’t talk to strangers.”
The eagle grinned, “But I’m not a stranger. You hear me every time it rains. I’m Thunder. Nice to meet you.”
She beamed, “Nice to meet you, too. I’m a little shepherd girl.”
Thunder rolled on, “I hope I didn’t frighten you. You shouldn’t be too afraid of me. I don’t mean to hurt anyone. But I get a little excited, and I don’t have very good aim. Sometimes I miss. Like now.”
He blushed, a little embarrassed.
The little shepherd girl puzzled, “Should I be afraid of you?” Thunder explained, “Whenever you hear me, you should go indoors. I might miss and hit you instead. Or a tree. Like this one. . . I guess you shouldn’t stand under a tree, either. “
The little shepherd girl agreed, “I won’t next time. When I hear you, I’ll go inside. But I won’t be afraid. For a Force of Nature, you’re nice.”
Thunder meekly boomed, “Thanks. So will you help me?” The little shepherd girl frowned, “How?” Thunder answered, “By finding my sister, Lightning.”
The little shepherd girl was curious now, “How do I find her?” Thunder described her, “She’s a pretty fairy lady. She always carries mirrors. You climb to the top of a tall mountain, and then you close your eyes. When you feel the hair stand up on the back of your neck, open your eyes as quickly as you can. You’ll see her. Tell her where I am.”
The little shepherd girl climbed up the highest mountain around and did exactly as Thunder instructed. When she felt the hair stand up on the back of her neck, she quickly opened her eyes and beheld the prettiest woman she had ever seen. The lady wore a shimmering white silk robe, shining and glittering before the dark clouds. The robe paled next to the light from her two mirrors, one in each hand. Each burned as hot and bright as the sun.
The lady gasped, “Oh! I almost didn’t see you. Are you all right?”
Though her voice was kind, the light burning in her hands was fierce. The bright mirrors terrified the little shepherd girl. She knew Thunder needed help, but her tongue froze in fear. When she didn’t answer, the fairy flashed away.
Startled, the little girl’s worry for her new friend Thunder melted her fear. She didn’t know what to do. In a panic she skittered about calling for Lightning. Then she saw flashes over a nearby summit. Dashing down the mountain, she panted up the neighboring mountain and closed her eyes again.
This time, when the fairy lady appeared, the shepherdess braved the light. Breathlessly, the shepherdess told the fairy, “Your friend, Thunder is stuck in a tree down in the valley.”
Lightning puffed her cheeks out, relieved, “My friend Thunder? Where is he? I’ve been frantic, looking everywhere. Please take me to him.”
The little shepherd girl, exhausted from climbing, wanted to tell Lightning she couldn’t take another step. Lightning touched the girl’s forehead and sparks danced before their eyes, “I’m way ahead of you. Hold onto my hand.”
The little shepherd girl grasped Lightning’s hand, and, in a flash, they stood next to the tree where Thunder was stuck. He boomed, “Wow, Lightning. I am glad you are here!”
Lightning pulled on Thunder’s feet. With a crack and a boom and a flash, Thunder and Lightning launched from the tree and filled the sky. The little shepherd girl hurried back to her sheep.
As she herded them, she heard a low rumble that sounded like, “Thank you.”
A few days later, the little shepherd girl tended her flock when she heard the boom of Thunder. Remembering his warnings, she started to head back home. Just then, some bandits leaped from behind nearby rocks.
Their chief demanded, “We’re hungry. Give us your sheep to eat!”
The little shepherd girl was scared of the bandits, but she bravely spoke out, “That’s not nice! These sheep give milk and wool. I don’t eat them and neither should you! You better be careful. Thunder and Lightning are around. They might hit you by mistake.”
The bandit laughed, “You are the one who had better be careful, little girl. Now, give us your sheep or we will hurt you.”
The bandits started to attack the little girl when all of a sudden, they were blinded by Lightning. Some of the bandits stopped in their tracks. Others blundered into each other. The head bandit wasn’t blinded. He had closed his eyes in time. He was about to tackle the little shepherd girl when Thunder boomed. All of the frightened bandits covered their ears and ran away.
The little shepherd girl herded her sheep back home. She glanced up into the sky and said, “Thank you, Thunder and Lightning, for saving my life.”
A big flash of lightning spelled out
You’re welcome
From that day on, when the little shepherd girl heard Thunder and saw Lightning, she wasn’t afraid, but she did go indoors.
Hoping to See the Whole 
