A Book's Gestation

Forgive the "Mom-talk," but I suppose I can't help but see parallels to writing in things I experience...

Last week my baby turned one...and I was amazed to realize what an independent person she is now. How she is not much like I imagined she would be when I first found out I was expecting--she is so much better. I had a flash of remembrance to the weeks of morning sickness, to the constant shoving of (healthful) food into my mouth so I would gain weight, to the intensity of delivery. And as real/difficult/intense as those things were at the time, they pale in comparison to the present reality of my beautiful little girl who can always make me smile--and who can reach out beyond me to make others smile, too.
Now, I would never say that a book can compare to a person. Really. I mean, we writers like to think of them that way, but every so often we do need to step back and realize that fiction's fiction. However, I think it is also our obligation to make that fiction as meaningful, as life-touching, and as true as possible.
So just remember, during the sick mornings of outlining and developing; during the weeks and months where it seems as if all your time is going into feeding something which seems so tiny; during the hours of distraction when you can't think about anything else; during the pain of bringing that idea into the world....it is so worth it. Someday the world may forget you were behind it, or think it was easy for you...and that won't even matter.
I'll probably be writing some more about how my stories develop (in a rather more concrete way) later this week... In the meantime, I'm back to writing. I'm still at the morning sickness stage of this book, and as every wise mother knows, the best way to get through that is to be vigilant. :)