In writing terms, concept = question. So what’s the big question behind my lifelong aspiration to climb Mt. Hood?
Today the question is:
What if I have a body and spirit that will drive me up 5,239 vertical
feet to the summit of Mt. Hood?
The question is not do
I have these things, because clearly I don’t at the moment. But what would life be like for a person who
can do that? Does she advance through
life full of confidence and strength? Can
she work a full day, be a good mom and wife, and still squeeze in a life between
work and bedtime? Is her head clear? Does she defy the label, older woman? Does she trust her body? Big questions, a big concept.
Beyond the concept, in writing terms, there’s the premise. Or what’s at stake. What might I win or lose by meeting the
version of myself who is capable of climbing Mt. Hood? I might be disappointed that she’s still full
of self-doubt. That she’s
still immobilized at the end of the day and wants to do nothing more than sit
on the couch and click around on her iPhone.
I might be disappointed to meet an old forty-year-old who is still
absent minded. What might I win? Nothing less than life and love and clarity
of mind.
Six months and twenty-one days to my story’s conclusion.
