June 2009

Books = Elephant Babies

Some people compare writing a novel to having a baby. There is a gestational period when ideas take form, the labor of shaping those ideas and inspirations into a story, and the eventual birth of the book, when the story becomes a part of the world.

Yes, writing a novel can be like having a baby, but I would argue that babies are generally easier and quicker to make. Start to finish, a human baby takes nine months, ten months tops. But a book can take years. I have been working on one particular novel since early spring of 2007—over two years now.

African elephants have the longest gestational period of all mammals: An average of 22 months. So if you want to compare my current project to a baby, best make it an African elephant baby. One that really, really likes the warmth of his mother’s belly and is not quite ready to emerge.

But I think I might be close with this book. It feels full and ripe and nearly ready to come into the world. And when it does, I will mark its arrival with a celebration worthy of a long-anticipated baby. I’m talking cake. Champagne. Dancing. And the jubilant trumpeting of horns, like the call of a happy mama elephant.

Photo courtesy of auntie rain's photostream on flickr.com.