Labyrinths

I’ve had a long love affair with labyrinths. I’ve stitched them, sketched them, and walked them—though never often enough.

Last week my husband and I had two errands to run. The day was a break in the stormy weather we’ve been having. Our first errand completed, we arrived at the second with too much time on our hands. I knew the nearby church hosts a labyrinth, and we decided to walk it.

After the first bend or two, my jangled thoughts smoothed out, calmed by the measured pace of following the path. An added plus was knowing I wasn’t alone. My husband followed, a silent, steady companion.

I find meditation difficult, preferring group meditation, where I can’t simply follow my impulses to quit early. In the same way, I’m a better maze walker with someone else’s expectations keeping me within the pattern. 

We finished all the curves and turns right on time for our next appointment.

Labyrinthine Plots

As a novel writer, I can’t help comparing labyrinths to plotting a novel. In the early pages, the main character has a goal or dilemma in mind. The MC circles that goal, first on one side, then the other. That dream of reaching the goal or solving the problem appears to be so near, within the bounds of possibility. 

And then the path moves farther and farther from center. When hope is all but lost, one last turn leads straight into the heart of the maze.

As for my science fiction plot, I’ll know when my hero reaches center, but right now we’re on that outside ring and “we” have found some blockages. Actually, it feels more like a maze (with dead ends) than a labyrinth with a single path. But I know there’s a way.

The verse novel, on the other hand, works better with the labyrinth metaphor. Its ending is fixed. That’s those outer rings. But the the first two-thirds (inner rings) contain too many steps for the space allowed. I’m having to prune words to keep my heroine moving steadily forward.

Happy springtime to all!