Let's Talk About Stories: Five things Anne of Green Gables taught me about writing
The timeless tale of a young orphan girl who lived among the flowers and in accordance with her heart stole mine. Easily this has become my new favorite book, and I learned so much from it! Here are five things Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery taught me about writing.
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Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
Five things Anne of Green Gables taught me about writing
Presence to engage with creating
Committing to your values
How to bring characters to life
Poetry integrated into the literature
Write what you believe, who you are, what you want in life to create a timeless tale
Presence to engage with creating
Every day I practice presence. To be conscious in an unconscious civilization. When I am reminded of the beauty in front of me, to slow down my mind - I find consciousness. Anne represents this more than I have ever felt another character has in a story. The tale is about everyday living, making the concept feel attainable. L.M. Montgomery writes Anne as a girl who talks out everything she is thinking. There is no other state of presence than that because you are focused on the now. It is extremely imaginative, but she is engaged and aware. She embraces her imagination.
This is the reason Anne is such a great storyteller - she is engaged with the world around her, with a tendency to allow her imagination to explore deep truths within it.
Putting oneself in a serene atmosphere is a great way to help bring peace. Finding presence in a garden, for example, is a simple way to pull yourself back to the moment because of the surrounding beauty. The aroma can pull you into a world of imagination. But there are also wonderful and imaginative things one can think up in the middle of a crowd.
“The world calls them its singers and poets and artists and storytellers; but they are just people who have never forgotten the way to fairyland.”
-L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables
Committing to your values
I admire Anne’s covenant to herself. She knows who she is and what she wants. She makes plenty of mistakes, but that is part of her growth, and she is the first to apologize. But never once did she undermine her integrity.
Anne exemplifies this when she meets Mrs. Rachael. Kindred Spirits know one another and can tell the evil in the world. Anne knew from the moment she met Mrs. Rachael that she was not a good human, wicked in the soul. And Anne was proved right when she was cruel at a first impression. Although Anne could have ruined her adoption by lashing out, she did not stand down because doing so would be wrong. Take this to your characters to make their values unbreakable. From there is where your reader will want to stand behind them.
“We ought always to try to influence others for good.”
-L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables
How to bring characters to life
L.M Montgomery gives us details of each character's life. If we passed them on the street, we would know who they are (at least we would know as much as we were shown). Through detail and diction, the characters are represented by ideas and personality traits. We know that Anne hates her red hair, but we also know that she is selfless, seeking friendship, and cares for all because she was craving that since she was orphaned.
Write your characters as if they are part of you because they are. Yes, describe what they may look like, but more than that - tell us their inner conflict and how they walk about their world. How do they present themselves? Where do they fit into their society, and how do they respond to that?
“‘Anne, whatever are you thinking of?’ demanded Marilla sharply.
Anne came back to earth with a start.
‘That’ she said, pointing to the picture - a rather vivid chromo entitled, ‘Christ Blessing Little Children’ - ‘and I was just imagining I was one of them - that I was the little girl in the blue dress, standing off by herself in the corner as if she didn’t belong to anybody, like me. She looks lonely and sad, don't you think? I guess she hadn’t any father or mother of her own. But she wanted to be blessed, too, so she just crept shyly up on the outside of the crowd, hoping nobody would notice her - except Him. I’m sure I know just how she felt. Her heart must have beat and her hands must have got cold, like mine did when I asked you if I could stay.’”
-L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables
Poetry integrated into the literature
There is nothing more beautiful and gut-wrenching than when words flow perfectly as a whole. When you read a poem or a sentence and think, that could not have been written any better. The impact it has makes you have to pause and soak in each word. THAT is what I want to take to my writing, and that is how L.M. Montgomery writes.
“Anne sat long at her window that night companioned by a glad content. The wind purred sorely in the cherry boughs, and the mint breaths came up to her.
-L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables
Write what you believe, who you are, what you want in life to create a timeless tale
Art is intimate. We create to release the emotions we don’t want pent up in our souls. With every project, there is a desire to share the truth. An understanding of the world just so we don't suffocate from feeling it all without any other placement for it. And the beauty of doing that is there are people in the world who connect and feel theexact same way: heartbreak, joy, love, excitement, despair, addiction, anger, grief, loss, contentment, and the list goes on. Everything about humanity lives and breathes in art. And if done well, it resonates and touches lives. Anne of Green Gables has shown me how to live and what it means to engage with the beautiful world even with its pockets of cruelty. It is a timeless tale, and that is what I hope to give in my writing. Thank you, L.M. Montgomery.
“Why must people kneel down to pray? If I really wanted to pray I’ll tell you what I’d do. I’d go out into a great big field all alone or in the deep, deep woods, and I’d look up into the sky - up - up - up - into that lovely blue sky that looks as if there was no end to its blueness. And then I’d just feel a prayer.”
-L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables
Time to take it to the pages
Anne of Green Gables has taught me these five things about writing and storytelling: presence to engage with creating, committing to your values, how to bring characters to life, poetry integrated into the literature, and to write what you believe, who you are, what you want in life to create a timeless tale.
The goal is to create a piece of art that lives on - sharing with the world your insight - your story. To help people feel whole - feel connected - feel something. Now, time to pull out that work-in-progress and bleed.
