Writing Out the Storm

I've been so inspired by my encounters with writers whose lives have been upended by Hurricane Sandy and are writing through it. Some were without power and Internet for days. Others were dealing with water and other damage brought on by the storm. And they are writing. Through adversity and for their own pleasure and escape, they are moving their own books forward.

Early Sunday on Facebook, Caroline Leavitt (Pictures of You, Girls in Trouble) wrote that she still had “no real internet, no TV, no landline, but heat and light still on…. Going to try and write today and thinking of changing the name of new novel from She’s Not There to Cruel Beautiful World -- which sort of fits with today.”

MJ Rose (The Book of Lost Fragrances, The Hypnotist) was another author who checked in, saying, “It’s a small victory, but I wrote for the third day in a row despite Sandy and this miserable cold. This book is sneeze-proof and writing is not the only the best revenge but the best escape.”

On Twitter, YA author Susane Colasanti (Keep Holding On, So Much Closer) wrote, “I can’t tell you how good it feels to have a solid day of writing after all the #Sandy drama. #amwriting #amalive #amsafe #amthankful”

This excites me. I’m thinking about the books we’ll see in a few years, these children of Sandy. Not books about the storm (though I’m sure we’ll see those, as well), but books brought to fruition inside a passion born of adrenaline and the sheer will not to give in as well as a desire just to get on.

I imagine that they will be brave and thoughtful, these storm-born tomes, no matter their topics. They will speak to us about resilience and human spirit and survival. They will teach us about compassion and understanding and love.

We’ll wait for these stories, for the literary alumna of Frankenstorm 2012. And we’ll read them fondly, sometimes with tears standing in our eyes.

And we’ll remember.

Note: This piece appeared on January Magazine in a slightly different form a few days ago. You can see the original piece here.