The Longest Pregnancy

At 760 days, the African elephant holds the record for longest gestation period among all mammals.  Until now; until I began attempting to write a book.

The Muse was definitely present at conception of the story, using a rainy day on a cruise day at port in “New Providence” to seduce me to a pirate museum.  That was almost five years ago.

The first trimester, consisting mostly of research and idea-storming, lasted at least as long as the elephants’ entire pregnancy.  So here I am, still in the second trimester of writing in earnest.  Three more years and a hundred or so pages later, and my primary heroine still has yet to be born.

Yes, I had another kind of baby in between (the kind that screams for attention far more vocally).  Yes, I’ve been homeschooling my older child as well.  And yes, I have many more valid and convenient excuses for not carving out more time for my “third child,” as I call IT.

Hence have I remained adrift in the very chapter in which the aforementioned character is to be born.  I edit; I ponder; I have lots of fun with Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary.  And still I linger before childbirth, perhaps paralyzed by the fear of what will happen if she ever does actually come out of the womb.

Yet perhaps this blog is serving its first noble purpose already: to inspire us Chicks to make progress on our creative projects.  Just knowing that my three beloved compeers alone are watching is motivating.  If anyone else happens to stumble upon our humble blog, even more so.  At any rate, I feel now acutely the restless, impatient irritability that means I need to write.

And so, precious Muse, I am going to the page and asking you to please meet me there.  Please vanquish my fear and help deliver this baby.