The Room I Built Instead of An Argument

Dear Sovereigns:My latest novel, Sovereign Women started as a story about Emily Carter, a woman standing in the space between fear and love. But underneath Emily’s story was mine. I wanted to write something that finally gave women a third option, not head, not heart, but something quieter than both.Every instinct in me wanted to pick a side. Readers want a verdict. They want the author to hand them the answer wrapped in a character’s mouth so they can walk away certain they know what’s right. I felt that pull on every page. Make her choose loudly. Make the choice mean something everyone can point to and agree on.I stopped writing toward an answer and started writing toward a room. A room where Emily could go still. Not silent because she had nothing to say, but quiet enough to hear which voice was actually hers, the one asking from fear or the one asking from love. I built the whole book around that stillness instead of around a stance.There was a riskThe risk wasn’t the subject matter. It was trusting that a woman doesn’t need to be told what to think to find her own way through. If I argued for a side, I’d hand the reader a belief. If I built the room instead, I’d hand her a door.I used to believe a story had to persuade to matter. Now I believe the strongest thing a story can do is go quiet at exactly the moment the reader expects it to shout, and trust her to fill that silence with her own knowing.Love tenderly guides everyone to the garden of the heart.Reason says, the world is limited in six directions, there is no way out.Love says, there is a way, and I have traveled it many times. - RumiEmily doesn’t win an argument in this book. She learns to listen for the one authentic voice, instead of the loudest. That’s the third way. It’s not a compromise between fear and love. Instead, it’s the stillness underneath both, where a woman finally hears what she knows to be true for her.I didn’t write Emily a position or a verdict. I created the space where she can hear what is hers. Many blessings,KathrynP.S. When you buy Sovereign Women: Love is a Revolutionary Choice, you gain access to a 50% off coupon to the digital course, “How to Become a Sovereign Woman.”If anything in this post felt helpful, please share it with someone who would also benefit. Thank you :-) This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit empoweredway.substack.com