Well, the pain has been gone for several months now, but this remains true, as we have seen in many other pieces of art – painted, sculpted, or written – the deepest pain can lead to beautiful creations.

Frida Kahlo’s suffering was reportedly chronicled in four paintings. Many authors use pain in their books. I have certainly done it. At moments of great distress, I sometimes sat down and wrote it all down. It is very cathartic and at the same time you have a piece of authentic, emotional writing that may fit well in a story you’re working on. Not that we do it for the latter reason, but now that the tears are spilled, we might as well use them.

I always write it down for the sole purpose to let it all out, but when I later see what I wrote, I simply have to integrate it into the story, perhaps for a grieving or an angry character – depending on the emotions I’m letting loose.

Although The Fall of the Stone (following up on The Path of the Stone and The Rise of the Stone) is still in the works – at least, it was a few months ago – I have been busy with a new manuscript, which is set in the future. It is based on an inspiration that came to me while I was dealing with a broken heart.

Yes, it sounds dramatic, I know. No worries, I already healed from my broken heart and I realized a long time ago that the guy who hurt me wasn’t worth the misery I felt, but that’s not what this blog post is about. Well, kind of, but don’t worry, I won’t bore you with details about what happened between him and me – unless you want to know the juicy details? 😉

In a nutshell, someone I had always held in high esteem for a year and a half got close to me in May – June 2022, and turned out to be not what I had expected.

I always thought that the term narcissism has been thrown around a lot during recent years – and with good reason, in most cases. Nevertheless, I sometimes felt that it was applied too easily. Suddenly, everyone seemed to have narcissistic traits.

??

However, surprise, surprise, so did the guy I was getting close to. I realized it too late, after he had already hurt me – although there were signs before, to be honest. I remember thinking, “I can’t believe that I ended up with a narcissist myself.”

Well, I didn’t end up with him, thank goodness, but at the time, what he did and how he did it hurt like hell, and those are details I won’t write about here. 😉

Something good came out of it, though, and yes, you guessed right: A BOOK!

What he did (let’s call him J.) just destroyed me, and after moping for days, I decided to go to the beach. I live around 3-4 kilometers from the beach. It was raining that day and I thought, “Perfect, just like my mood.” I figured that a walk on the beach in the rain might do me some good, and I was right!

I parked my car near the beach and decided to walk to a spot in the distance where huge boulders form a small natural dam. It was a 4 kilometer walk, and then 4 kilometers back, 8 in total. I didn’t care. I needed this.

So, I strolled on the beach, near the water. Waves rolled onto the shore as rain drops splashed on my face. What an amazing walk it was! When I reached the boulders, I climbed on the highest one and I lied down on the rocky surface, my arms spread wide, gazing up at the dark clouds while it rained down on me. It felt so wonderful.

The rain washed the pain off of me at once and I felt much better. As I lay there, staring at the sky, a sudden inspiration came to me. A story formed in my mind.

Later, when I walked back, I saw a growth of plants on a rocky mound. From a distance, it looked like a huge rock overgrown with moss.

When I got closer, I realized it wasn’t a rock at all. It seemed strange since some plants seemed unfamiliar to me, not the fauna I usually saw at the beach. Immediately, my mind started whirring again, seeing a whole fantastical world in there, which matched perfectly for the idea I had for my story.

Final Thoughts

To this day I don’t know why J. came into my life and what the point was of all that pain. I am, nonetheless, grateful for the experience and the book that came of it. I have to thank J. for having given rise to this new story.

It is set in the future, a mix of science fiction and fantastical elements. The characters have taken me on an incredible ride and while working on the book initially helped me process the pain, it is now a project I intend to finish and publish.

I’m not sure when my manuscript will be ready for publication. I think it will take me a while, but when it’s ready, I’ll let you know.

Have you ever created something beautiful that came from your deepest pain?