Adventuring in Utah Gave Me Insight into Important Writing Truths: Part 1 The Brutal Beginning

by Lynn H. Blackburn @LynnHBlackburn

A few weeks ago, I found myself at the base of the first real hike of our Mighty 5 adventure. The West Rim Trail leading to Scout Lookout.

Y’all…

I don’t know who the sadistic creature was who thought, “Oh, this hike is so horrible, we should make sure the trail is here so lots of people can suffer the same way we did,” but someone did. And it turns out that so many people want to suffer this way, they have had to create a durable trail. I was shocked by how much of it is paved! 

The trail starts off innocuously enough. A nice little path by the river that makes the unwary hiker think, “how hard can it be?” as you take the first few steps. But it’s not long before you encounter the first set of switchbacks and start to rethink all your life choices. This is not fun. This…is…gasp…not…gasp…cool at all. But, hey, I signed up for this. Right? 

Onward! 

Did I mention that over the years, parts of the trail have been given cool names? There’s Refrigerator Canyon—so named because it’s the one spot on the trail where you can get out of the sun and experience something that resembles a cool breeze. But when you leave the canyon, you hit Walter’s Wiggles, which you would be tempted to think sounds like a fun twisty section of trail. But you would be wrong. Walter’s Wiggles were designed by someone who clearly hated human knees.

And, here’s the best part…Walter’s Wiggles come after you’ve gained close to 1000’ of elevation in 1.8 miles of uphill hiking. Now, so close to your objective, the trail becomes harder and steeper as you gain another 250 feet of elevation by way of twenty-one brutal switchbacks carved into the red rock face of Zion's canyon wall.

Somewhere along the way, as I paused to catch my breath for the hundredth time, I realized I'd made the same mistake I make every time I start a new novel: I'd underestimated just how brutal the journey would be.

You’re probably going to think it will kill you:

The cruelest part of the wiggles is that you can’t see the top! You know they end, eventually. But while you’re in the middle of them, every switchback victory reveals another climb. Every time you think, “this is it,” you come around the curve to yet another uphill slog. And there’s nothing to do but keep putting one foot in front of the other. 

The same thing happens when writing a novel. The journey begins easily enough. There are a few challenges, but somehow we think it will get easier. 

It doesn’t. 

You will need more time than you think:

I know there are people who write fast. Most of us are not those people. My husband and boys reached Scout Lookout after an hour or so of hiking. It took me twice as long. 

Same with writing a book. No matter how much research you’ve done, there will be things that surprise you.

Hills you weren’t expecting. Challenges you have to overcome. It’s going to take a while. 

Accept it!

You may choose a different trail, but the lessons are the same:

The day after the West Rim Trail, our family tackled The Narrows. After the torture I had put my knees and hips through, I was excited for a mostly flat hike. I knew the terrain would be different (paved trail vs. walking through the Virgin River) but … still … FLAT! 

Yeah. No. Flat through a river is just a different kind of hard. It still took hours to go a few miles.

I’m an organic writer. You might be a plotter. Or you may believe you’ve found the perfect thing that will help you craft your novels faster than ever. And maybe you have. But it doesn’t matter how you go about it. Writing a book is hard.

Full stop.

You won’t regret it:

I may never hike The Narrows or the trail to Scout Lookout ever again, but I will never regret a moment of it. No one can ever take that away from me. I put my head down, did the hard work, and reached my goals. I saw things that no photograph can capture. I marveled at God’s power and genius, and I felt the vastness of His love and grace as I contemplated what He had made. 

There’s something powerful about reaching “the end” of a book. A moment where you realize that there was nothing here, and now there is. You learn things when you stick with it and reach the end of a story that you never would have learned any other way. And regardless of any publication that does or doesn’t happen, you wrote a book! No one can take that way from you. 

You did it! 

I hope I haven’t scared you off from Zion or novel writing. Both are wonderful! Five stars! Would recommend (as long as you know what you’re getting into!) 

Next month…Bryce Canyon, Keeping Your Head Down, and Holding the Reins Loosely. 

Grace and peace,

Lynn

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Lynn H. Blackburn is the award-winning author of Unknown Threat, Malicious Intent, and Under Fire, as well as the Dive Team Investigations series. She loves writing swoon-worthy southern suspense because her childhood fantasy was to become a spy, but her grown-up reality is that she's a huge chicken and would have been caught on her first mission. She prefers to live vicariously through her characters by putting them into terrifying situations while she's sitting at home in her pajamas! She lives in Simpsonville, South Carolina, with her true love, Brian, and their three children. Learn more at www.lynnhblackburn.com.