Madeleine L’Engle had a Lot to Say by Virginia McCullough


One of the best parts of being a writer is reading other authors’ thoughts about the process, creativity, savoring ideas, and all the experiences that go along with putting fingers to keyboards or pens to paper. MadeleineL’Engle, who died in 2007 at age 88, had a career that spanned decades and produced 60 books, both fiction and nonfiction. 


Although A Wrinkle in Time and A Swiftly TiltingPlanet are among her most celebrated novels, I’ve always been drawn to her nonfiction. Perhaps this is so because I’ve had a varied career—and I know many Heartwarming authors also started their careers in nonfiction.




Many authors have admired L’Engle because although publication didn’t come easily for her, she persisted…and persisted. Here’s her humorous take on her ten straight years of rejection:  
During that dreadful decade of rejection, I pinned on my workroom wall a cartoon in which a writer, bearing a rejected manuscript, is dejectedly leaving a publisher’s office; the caption says, “We’re very sorry Mr. Tolstoy, but we aren’t in the market for a war story right now.” 


Since she wrote for a decade without success, it’s no wonder she also believed writing took some courage:
I’m grateful I started writing at a very early age, before I realized what a daring thing it is to do, to set down words on paper, to attempt to tell a story, to create characters. We have to be braver than we think we can be…


Later, when she’d written best-selling books for young readers, L’Engle also experienced the frustration of having a few of her titles banned from libraries and schools. I imagine she thought a great deal about the courage to write when that happened. But, she also was a woman of great faith, a mystic, really, which no doubt helped her cope with rejection and seeing her books maligned.
Contracts and book sales aside, she could be hard on herself, too, never quite believing she’d fully “served the work.” Like the rest of us, she wrote on deadline, so she’d finally have to let the manuscript go:

You begin to sense the point at which you have done as much revising as you can do. It’s not exactly right, you haven’t served it as well as it should be served, but that’s as far as you can go.

Comforting thought, Madeleine. 

I was happy to learn that L’Engle became very attached to her characters and wrote about the same ones over and over because she wanted to find out what happened to them. Don’t we—and our readers—often feel that way about our series? It’s hard to tell a bunch of people in a favorite town that you have to pack up and move on—and you can’t take them with you, except in spirit, of course. 

I found the strongest identification with this master storyteller when she described something that happened when she was away on a vacation with her family:    

And suddenly into my mind came the names, Mrs. Whatsit. Mrs. Who. Mrs. Which. I turned around to the children and said, “Hey kids, listen to these three great names that just popped into my mind: I’ll have to write a book about them.”  

And so, A Wrinkle in Time was born. 


*****

An author of both fiction and nonfiction books, Virginia currently lives in Green Bay, Wisconsin. She’s also a ghostwriter/editor and a coach for other authors at various stages of their careers. A Family for Jason, Book 1 of Virginia’s Back to Bluestone River series, is scheduled for release in August 2019, and book 2 will follow for the holidays. 


Her other Harlequin Heartwarming books include: Girl in the SpotlightSomething to Treasure and Love, Unexpected. She also writes award-winning women’s fiction, including Island Healing, Greta's Grace and The Chapels on the Hill. All Virginia’s stories explore themes of hope, healing, and plenty of second chances.
You can add you name to Virginia’s mailing list at www.virginiamccullough.com  and visit her on Facebook at Virginia McCullough  and on Twitter @VEMccullough






Comments

  1. I loved a Wrinkle in Time when I was a girl. I took Mike to see the

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    1. Okay, my computer is being wonky. I took my 13 year old to see it and wished we'd read the book first. LOL.

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    2. That book--and now movie--are classics. Like the Narnia books and the Harry Potter series, they got kids reading. I think most kids see the movies as a kind of bonus, but not a substitute.

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  2. I hope you are staying warm today. Love the post. I like hearing the words of wisdom from authors who have struggled to be successful.

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    1. I'm warm as long as I stay inside! I always love reading about "the writer's life."

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  3. It’s always inspiring to read about other writers...especially famous ones- and their pathway to success. Perseverance defininitely plays a large part. Thanks Virginia!

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    1. I have both volumes of Rumer Godden's memoirs of her writing life, and I keep going back to them. I'm not nearly as fond of her novels as I am of her memoirs.

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  4. I love hearing the stories of other authors, too. It reassures me when "the greats" felt the same way I do.

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    1. Exactly why I like to read what these famous writers say about the process--turns out we all have a lot in common. I found that to be true when my writing was 100% nonfiction.

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  5. I loved that book as a child. I'll have to pick it up again one of these days. Great post!

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    1. Thanks, Beth. I'm always amazed at L'Engle's range--she wrote some of everything.

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  6. I love that L'Engle wrote about her characters to find out what happened to them. Sometimes when I am stuck on a story line, my characters come in my dreams to tell me what they want to do next. Her example of perseverance is one I'll have to remember as my rejections pile up. Thanks for the post. It is great encouragement.

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    1. I'm glad you found her words encouraging. I know I have over the years. It's also great to know other authors never really say goodbye to characters and imagine them living their lives. I love that.

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  7. She was so brilliant. I loved both her fiction and non-fiction. Thank you for sharing her wisdom!

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  8. I enjoy reading what other writers have to say on the perseverance of writing. It's so easy to look at a success like L'Engle and think, "Well of course she should have kept going for ten years. She's brilliant!" Then when it comes to our own rejection, we can be so hard on ourselves. Here's to banishing our own dark thoughts of self doubt! Thanks for sharing, Virginia. Stay warm in Green Bay. I'm currently sitting at zero degrees in Ohio.

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    1. I enjoyed reading about the years when her husband was the actor on All My Children and they were raising their own children in CT and running a general store. Those were rejections years for her. I agree we can be way too hard on ourselves. It's scary to think of her no persevering! Our whole region is in a deep freeze, huh? But the sun is out!

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  9. I love this post, Virginia. A Wrinkle in Time was one of my favorite childhood books and my kids read my copy of it when they were old enough. I recently watched the movie and loved it too. L'Engle was an amazing author. I had no idea she had dealt with banning and so many rejections! Thanks for the inspiring post.

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    1. Thanks, Rula. She was an amazing woman and A wrinkle in Time is on the top 10 list of banned books--of the recent lists, post WWII. The American Library Association keeps track of all this, as you can imagine.

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