“Balance Your Opposites.”
This advice was scribed by author Kristina McBride on the cover page of her novel THE TENSION OF OPPOSITES at a book fair in Ohio a couple of years ago. At the time, I remember thinking that it was a great turn of phrase. After reading the book—a heartwrenching story about a teenage girl whose best friend returns two years after being abducted from a neighborhood park—its meaning hit me on a deeper level.
There really is a delicate balance to everything in life, and anytime the scales tip too far in one direction… you could be headed for a crash landing.
Last winter I ended up writing two manuscripts simultaneously (not something I set out to do). Book #1 is rather dark—the story of a girl trying to maintain her integrity as she’s thrust into a life of depravity. Book #2 is more upbeat—a love story set in a beautiful mountain town. Book #1 sort of came at me full speed, without much planning or plotting. But after several days of crazy inspiration, I realized that writing Book #1 was starting to make me sad.
So I did what any sane writer (is that an oxymoron?) would do—closed the document and started work on my much lighter Book #2. I never thought I’d write two stories at once. But alas, switching between these two manuscripts was the perfect solution. My opposites were completely balanced. Thanks, Kristina!
Have you read THE TENSION OF OPPOSITES yet? What about other good books that deal with contrasting issues? Life/Death. Quiet/Loud. Safe/Scary. How do you keep your balance in life or literature?
This advice was scribed by author Kristina McBride on the cover page of her novel THE TENSION OF OPPOSITES at a book fair in Ohio a couple of years ago. At the time, I remember thinking that it was a great turn of phrase. After reading the book—a heartwrenching story about a teenage girl whose best friend returns two years after being abducted from a neighborhood park—its meaning hit me on a deeper level.
I have no balance!!! Well, I'm always striving for it. It's just elusive.
ReplyDeleteYou know I think The Tension of Opposites is an AMAZING book. I'm so glad you found it and put it in my hands to read.
Great post! I think individual books have to have that same balance of happy and sad. (John Green does this perfectly. I mean, just look at TFIOS. It's a book about death that manages to make the reader chuckle.)
ReplyDeleteI haven't read Tension of Opposites yet, but I'm dying to since I absolutely LOVED One Moment.
I know, Sarah! I love The Tension of Opposites; it's such an intense and moving story.
ReplyDeleteSara, right on. Books that combine both happy and sad elements are the best. TFIOS certainly has it all. One Moment is great, too-- it sucked me right in and I couldn't put it down.
Thanks for commenting, ladies!
I haven't read TENSION OF OPPOSITES yet -- I'm not sure how that happened! -- but I HAVE been thinking about balance a lot recently, so your post really resonated with me. :) For me, it's about using my time wisely. I'm on the computer all the time, but that doesn't mean I should be *connected* all the time. I need to learn how to balance my time/energy for the most important things (my family, my writing) and limit how much of it I give to everything else (FB, Twitter).
ReplyDeleteGUITAR NOTES (which we have blogged about a bit here at WHYA) is sort of about balance, too. The balance between what's expected of you vs. your passions, structure vs. freedom. I really appreciate stories like that, which can show you that things aren't black or white, that you have to learn to find your place in the gray.