When I attended the writers' retreat with Wild author Cheryl Strayed a few weeks ago, I learned a lot about writing and storytelling. I learned about leaning into subjectivity and the power of objects.
I was also struck by two points Cheryl made about revelations.
What is a Revelation?
A revelation is when you realize something about yourself, someone else, or the world.
In a story, revelations shape the emotional plot, it’s emotional or psychological trajectory, and throughout a novel or memoir, a character has a series of revelations that shape her moral journey.
The climax is often the biggest revelation of all.
How do you use revelations effectively in your story, though? According to Cheryl, there are two rules you need to follow:
1. Revelations Must Be Earned
I don’t think it’s much a spoiler to say that in Wild, one of her revelations was that, despite all that she had been through, she was going to be OK.
But the memoir wouldn’t be nearly as satisfying if Cheryl just woke up one day and it came to her. No, she had to earn that revelation.
It wasn’t until she spent three months hiking the Pacific Crest Trail that Cheryl finally understood that her life wouldn’t be horrible forever. She hiked alone—pushing herself to her physical and mental limits—and survived. Only then, did she realize she would be OK.
Note that Cheryl said this is an issue that comes up in a lot of prologues—often prologues give the reader a revelation that he hasn’t earned yet.
Being a part of the moral, mental, or emotional journey that leads to a revelation is a key part of the experience of reading a book. It shouldn’t be passed over.
2. Revelations Can Be Wrong
One of the most interesting things Cheryl says about revelations is that sometimes they are profoundly incorrect.
The best example of this is when the person you love turns out to not be the one. At some point in your life, you “realized” that you would be with this person forever, that she was perfect for you, that you found the one. But she wasn’t the one. That was a profound revelation that was also incorrect.
Cheryl also quoted Ernest Hemingway’s “Indian Camp,” where the author shows the perspective of a little boy. The boy asks his father about death. After his father answers, “the boy knew that he would never die.”
This is another revelation that is profoundly incorrect, and yet it is beautiful literature because it shows the innocence of a child’s perspective.
Have you ever written about a revelation? What did you or your character realize? Share in the comments!
PRACTICE
I encourage you to take fifteen minutes to write about any of these prompts and share in the comments section:
- Write about a time when you realized something and your life was changed.
- Write about a revelation that took a long time to get to.
- Write about a time when you knew you couldn’t do something.
I’ve been a silent reader on your website for a few months now. Your post is so good, Monica that I just can’t resist adding something about my own revelation.
These are a few lines from my book “The Sacred Seduction” that has recently been released on Amazon. I won’t share the exact revelation but it’s what happened after that revelation:
After being caught in the Prison of Time, I didn’t see her for some time – perhaps for some years, months, days or moments. I can’t remember; in Time Prison, time loses its meaning.
Once I realized The Truth… the simplest or the most bizarre truth… to which love guided me… I got out of that prison… she came out as well… but then it wasn’t the same world anymore… people across that huge world got connected by a vast interconnecting network – The Internet. It was the dawn of a new age – The Age of Love.
World changed… age changed… but we’re still the same… our hearts are still the same… our love is still the same… it withstood the challenge of time… now it’s stronger, taller and purer… it’s selfless…
So here we are, free at last. Clouds cry again, this time with tears…
Mosaic (which is free on Amazon & Story Cartel now), my protagonist loses her father in the terrorist attacks of 9/11. This, obviously, is a deep and abiding realization that my protag understands about herself and her world. What is hidden from her awareness, what drives her every day, is the idea that she must be vigilant in everything that occurs to make sure there are no more attacks on U.S. soil. It’s an innocent, almost childish viewpoint, but understandable. This becomes a heightened awareness when she has to drop out of Columbia and becomes a ticket agent for World Wide Airlines. which is hit by a terrorist’s bomb. It is ultimately a redemptive story with a special ending, but the path from beginning to end is a difficult one.
Thank you for these series of articles, Monica. You have brought back treasures from the seminar with Cheryl Strayed and shared them with the rest of us.Much appreciated!
I was the type of person to call you on the weekend to see what you were up to and ask a million questions. Who?, What?, When, Where, and why? I never rolled the dice. I was reserved. Then I met a guy who was visiting Boston from a small town off in the country and worked on a small farm. He told me all about his life in the country and it sounded amazing. He told me how he would get up before the sun rises, cut lettuce before the sun gets too hot, clean, wash and ship it out to local restaurants. I kept in touch with him and over time he invited me to come out, live and work on the farm with him. I took the offer. I just packed all my stuff up and hit the road. I only knew 2 or 3 people who had lived out in the woods but I closed my eyes for the first time and just went for it. I remember the very moment I let go. I was sitting in a house full of unfamiliar people partying and I just sat there not talking. Then it hit me, I needed forget worry and really go with the flow. It wasn’t worth holding back and trying to know everything before it happens. It ended up being one of the best summers of my life. I learned so much, forgot my old rotten patterns and made life long friends that I keep in touch with to this day.
It is actually hard really put this story into words. It was one of the first times in my life I really let go. Like bungee jumping or cliff jumping. There was a lot going on in my life at the point to sum up in a small practice. Like bungee jumping or cliff jumping. I haven’t read Wild yet but I feel like our revelations are very similar. We both just went for something and realized you will be OK. You will live and learn. Forget fear.
shower revelations: they work in real life, but what about in fiction?
I’ve had one or two revelations in the shower, so I would think that they would, unless you’re the tin-man, rust in the shower, and need an oil can. But, in and of itself, that would be a revelation.
Hi Monica, here is one revelation of my romance.
“In the year of 2000, after the rumors about the end of the world were proved wrong, I was aware of that feeling for the first time. It probably had already hit my heart before, but never that way. Never with that intensity. That day, in September, I started dating a wealthy and intelligent man. We worked together at the greatest radio station in the city. He was my boss and I was totally in love with him. Mesmerized. Fascinated. I thought he was the man of my life, until our first night out together. The restaurant was small, rustic, and the light of the candles on the tables gave it a mysterious and charming look. The pale yellow tablecloths fit perfectly with the gold silverware and the white roses in a vase in front of us. The red wine and the joy of the conversation formed a perfect match with the lamb dish he chose for us. It couldn’t be perfect, until I got home. As soon as he left me at the front door, I felt something was wrong. It was difficult for me to find my keys in my purse. The house was cold and the smell of that silence was uncomfortable. Going up to my bedroom, in the middle of the stairs, that deep voice spoke to my heart: “It’s not him.” I stopped. Put my left hand on the wall to support my body. My right hand over my stomach. My body bent a little as if it was in pain. At that moment, at the stairs, after our very first dinner, I knew it was not him. A certainty that he was not for me. A negative certainty. Sometime after that day, the voice was proved right. Unfortunately, it was too late for me.”
Hi Monica, here is a revelation that actually happened to me. I just wrote it as if it was a short story.
“In the year of 2000, after the rumors about the end of the world were proved wrong, I was aware of that feeling for the first time. It probably had already hit my heart before, but never that way. Never with that intensity. That day, in September, I started dating a wealthy and intelligent man. We worked together at the greatest radio station in the city. He was my boss and I was totally in love with him. Mesmerized. Fascinated. I thought he was the man of my life, until our first night out together. The restaurant was small, rustic, and the light of the candles on the tables gave it a mysterious and charming look. The pale yellow tablecloths fit perfectly with the gold silverware and the white roses in a vase in front of us. The red wine and the joy of the conversation formed a perfect match with the lamb dish he chose for us. It couldn’t be perfect, until I got home. As soon as he left me at the front door, I felt something was wrong. It was difficult for me to find my keys in my purse. The house was cold and the smell of that silence was uncomfortable. Going up to my bedroom, in the middle of the stairs, that deep voice spoke to my heart: “It’s not him.” I stopped. Put my left hand on the wall to support my body. My right hand over my stomach. My body bent a little as if it was in pain. At that moment, at the stairs, after our very first dinner, I knew it was not him. A certainty that he was not for me. A negative certainty. Sometime after that day, the voice was proved right. Unfortunately, it was too late for me.”
There are pivotal times in our lives when a choice is made and then it passes us into the direction we chose. Sometimes are inactions at that moment determine the choice for us. These moments change our lives. One such moment came for me. It was my inaction that sent me on another direction. Some would say how could I know that that moment would have changed my life. I knew it in my heart. It was my fear that caused my inaction and the moment to pass.
I had been hooked up by a family friend for an interview for a new and better job. It does not matter at this time the name of the company, as it is, I have forgotten. I do remember that it was a good job with lots of advancement possibilities. MY application had been accepted and I was called in for a test of my clerical skills. I was nervous of course but did my best. I then was selected for an interview. This too was a time of nervousness and worry that I would blow it. I had very little experience with job interviews. It was my second as a young adult. I had fast food jobs but do not count those as experience.
Coming this far you would think that I would follow through. I had passed the skill test, an interview, and a personal recommendation. I was offered the job with good pay and benefits. I was scared and comfortable at the job I had had. The job I had was familiar, though the company had been downsizing. I had made it through the first cut so I felt safe. I did not see the signs that there was no advancement in my present job. There was possibly no job for the future at my present job. The company was being bought out. You would think I would jump at the chance for this new job. I did not take it. I declined the job. Looking back all I can say was that I was young, inexperienced and not as confident as I would like to think I was.
How do I know my life would have changed? It would have changed because I would not have been so ready to leave the area after I got married. I would have interacted with more people. I always do my best so I know I would have advanced. At that time I was only dating my boyfriend so there was a chance, a slim chance, that I might have made this job a career. The possibilities were more than I had been offered or exposed to in my first job. After that every job I had was to bring in extra income and for the medical benefits. Non were never a career.
The sting of revelations like that could haunt us. Thank you for sharing, and don’t let it be a regret that pins you to a spot in the past.
Thank you, yes it haunts me at times but I do try to use it more to encourage myself and at times to encourage others. That it is never too late to make a major change and that we can learn not only from our mistakes, we can also learn from our choices in life that we feel gave us a wrong turn. Read a quote once, “Keep moving …. ” , that helps me.
I read your awesome prompt and then for some reason my wife came into the room, and we talked about changing how we do Sunday lunches… then I turned to your assignment.
——
Food is a funny thing. At least it seems funny to me in the way that so many people have so many rules and traditions about it. I was just looking over pasta fagioli recipes with my wife, and in saying that I can tell you two things: some of you might be asking what in the world pasta fagioli is, and some of you might have visions of what you suppose it to be. I can tell you this, because that is what food is, mushy ideas that it’s very easy to have concrete standards of.
When my wife hears pasta fagioli she’s thinking soup, as might many of you readers. When I hear it I hear literally “pasta” and “beans.” Now sure, I grew up in an Italian home, where it was served quite often, and it was pretty much standardized, and it was mostly soupy like. But, we were not rich folk, I’m one of twelve children, and my father was not Rockefeller. If for some reason there was not a particular ingredient my mother would not have ran out to the local A&P to grab it, unless of course it was pasta, beans, or tomatoes. All of which I can not remember a time that we were ever without. A miracle of a resourceful dad.
What I’m getting at though is that, as with any food that is truly Italian, there has to be allowances for variation. It’s part of the heart of soul of Italian cooking, what else would they have to fight about. I’m saying all this because it has taken me a while to realize the changeability of our plates. This is right up there with the day I realized it was okay to put pineapple on pizza, (my Dad was not so okay with that,) or that I didn’t have to finish every morsel on my plate – two other huge revelations.
So I told my wife I wasn’t expecting her to run out and get the ingredients she was missing, unless of course it was pasta or beans. That it would be okay, permissible, even enjoyable, to make due with what we have on hand. Pasta fagioli wasn’t created by a chef in a master kitchen, it was made by poor people who had nothing else to eat. That’s the attitude that I’d like to develop more of now that I am aware that it’s not only allowed, but the fabric of food, especially Italian.
Gotcha. My mom used to make “goulash”, and mostly it was what ever was handy, but always had hamburger meat and tomato sauce.
Revelations? Which one? After 60 years there have been so many. There was the “revelation” that I, me, myself and me, you know the holy personal trinity, were to go forth and preach the gospel and save the whole world. That was followed by the revelation that I and my entire denomination were full of shit, and the world was in less need of saving than we thought. Oh yeah, revelations, I love’m. The biggies have been known to redirect my life; preaching, becoming a commissioned officer in the Army of the United States, realizing I really really liked to program computers. The revelation that finally, after so many years, I was in love and joy of all joys she had said “YES”!!
Life is thousands of revelations. Trust me, if you don’t know that now, you will. It’s not the “and they lived happily ever after.” God I hope not. That would be so terribly boring.
‘It’s not the “and they lived happily ever after.” ‘ So true–life would be boring if we didn’t have struggles and obstacles to overcome. Thanks for sharing. : )
I was working at camp this past summer.
We were focusing on leadership and the best way to get through to the
kids (14-18) through different teaching styles, which is huge in the
boy scouts. As I’m describing this to my staff, it began to dawn on
me that I’ve known a lot of this stuff for years. I leaned about the
four stages of team development, conflict resolution, all sorts of
different ideas and techniques when I was thirteen years old. When I
was thirteen I hadn’t even hit puberty; I was literally just a kid.
As I sat here teaching about all these different techniques, things I
had taught for quite a few years now, I began to realize something.
I’m 6′ 1” and in fairly good shape, I can grow a beard, and I’ve
been a leader for quite a few organizations. Ten years ago I didn’t
honestly know what I would have done, what I’d be like. In ten years
I had grown up both physically and mentally. Something about that
thought resonated with me, and it was able to keep me strong and
motivated for the rest of the summer.
Awesome. Nice reflection.
A few months ago I ended up in the hospital with septicemia, and almost died. Thru my recovery, I realized how wonderful it is to just be alive, to still feel, and think, and just be, dammit. Every day is an opportunity to grow, or to just contemplate my belly button. Sure, crap still happens in my life, but you know, it’s all good. All my experiences have helped me become a better person most times. I’m not always good; my temper still gets heated, but I’m human. We all are; mistakes are made, you learn from them, and at the end of the day, I just want to be mindful of my happiness, and helping someone else be a little happier with their day. Life’s short, no matter how long you live it. So long as you live it, it’s all good.
My Revelation
By Kiki Stamatiou a. k. a. Joanna Maharis
From the end of March 2002 until sometime in 2014, I had been searching for a job. I was laid off from the buffet restaurant I worked for 4 ½ years. I continued putting in job application after job application, with no luck of obtaining a job.
I focused on my writing endeavors, until I was able to obtain employment. Through competing in literary competitions, I obtained a few honors and awards, but I really wanted to find a means of making a substantial amount of money.
In October of 2010, I started a training program for an insurance company. However, when I took the practice test for obtaining my to sell life insurance, I found it to be rather challenging. So, I left the company on good terms, and continued to focus on my writing endeavors, while also putting in application and resumes to different businesses in my local area.
To no avail, I wasn’t getting results. Although I did get a few interviews, there weren’t any promising job prospects.
In 2014, I got extremely depressed and didn’t find any worth in my life. I had no self worth. I believed my value as a person came from having a job. I based my worth on having a job. Without a job, I had no self worth.
I continued to put in job application after job application, going to interview after interview, but no luck of getting hired for employment.
Then, toward the latter part of 2014, I applied online to work at a bank. I passed the first stage, after submitting my application. I was contacted by email to sign up for my first telephone interview with a representative from the corporate office of the bank.
Upon talking to the first interviewer on the phone, I was told based on my responses, a second interviewer would be contacting me, and when and what time.
After talking to the second interviewer, I was told she would get back with me a couple days later to let me know either way if I had the job or not.
All night long, I had a good feeling. My gut feeling told me I had a very good chance of getting the job. I got good vibes all night long. They were so good, I got scared. I thought to myself, what if I did get the job? How would I be able to take care of my health, when my diabetes called for me to eat at certain times of the day. How would I be able to do that? So many fears came into my mind about how I would have to go shopping every weekend to keep buying new clothes to wear to work. It would be a huge expense. It was when I came close to getting the job I prayed I wouldn’t get the job. I realized I would be happier and contented to write and focus on making a living as a writer.
I realized the job at the bank would not be the right job for me. Through working as an independent writer through making a living online, I could set my own hours, and help my aunt to care for my elderly grandmother through my working from the privacy of my own home, instead.
When the representative notified me via email two days later, I was told they decided to go with another candidate. I was relieved about not getting the job.
© Copyright, Kiki Stamatiou, 2015
My revelation
In the last year I had so many revelations. I think this is the period of my life where I started to focus on discovering who I am and who I do want to be.
I am a little rebel, maybe too aggressive sometimes, a girl who always has an opinion about everything.
My opinion has changed about love. I discovered that it’s possible. It’s possible even for me.
I have found the person I have been looking for since an eternity. He is just as crazy as I am. He smiles and looks into my eyes like nobody has before. He is patient and kind, he is honest and we can open up for each other without any problem.
For this summer I had big plans: going to Turkey, to a small city, for two months. I wanted to be there alone, to discover the culture, to discover myself. I wanted to be lost and found and to come home as a changed person.
But now I realized I’ve been lost for such a long time, and now, finally he found me. He supported my decision. He said he would wait for me to come home. We searched together to book my flight. He promised we will talk every day. His eyes promised me more, and suddenly I realized I don’t want to go anymore. The dream has been changed on my way reaching it. I don’t want to leave him now, and here it comes
something even scarier: I want him to be on my side, forever. Big words from a
little girl who is so, so sooo naïve. I want to discover the world, other
cultures and myself only with him.
It was my 10th birthday and I was very excited. My mom had promised me my favourite dinner and my dad gave me a book by my favourite author. My friends at school had brought me cake. I was over the moon as I was returning from school that day. But it didn’t last long. The older girls in my bus did not appreciate my happiness. They forcefully took my bag and threw it out the window. They grabbed my hair painfully and laughed as I cried. No one helped me. I was in tears as I walked home from the bus stand. I quickly wiped my tears and began to construct a story about why I didn’t have my bag. But that day I realized that in life the good stuff comes hand in hand with the bad stuff. It was the most important revelation I have had and it has kept me fighting through the worst times.