The Antarctic Bridge -

Writing and Creation Process

Editing my first novel in a coffeeshop, on Orcas Island, United States

Writing a novel

It had always been a dream to write a novel; a dream, which path seemed blocked to me. I never would have thought I’d ever get there. And yet, peace by peace, one word, one step, after the next, my first novel The Antarctic Bridge came to life. At its heart, it is a story of collective creation ; that’s why I believe it’s important for me to share its creative journey, as example, as inspiration, as story.

Apart from this novel, but also fully part of its genesis, it wasn’t my first writing project.

After a decade of writing a travel blog in French, I went back to university and studied a MA in Screenwriting in Scotland. From there, I was lucky and grateful to have the space to experiment, learn and grow as a writer, playing with writing short films, graphic fiction, a TV show pilot, and a feature film. This was the breeding ground for writing my first two books.

Rainbow in a grey sky of Edinburgh, above tenment flats

Wooden Sculpture of a mermaid holding a starfish

Intuition at play

Alongside these writing beginnings, I was encountering a deeper well inside of myself, an inner voice, or the intuition. It was leading me beyond the rational mind, and showing me a world of possibilities, of healing, of peace, of imagination, of signs and synchronicities, in life, in creation, and in writing.

I had only just been certified in spiritual life coaching, and these other realms, beyond the material, were becoming more and more part of my life and thoughts.

When it came time to start creating and putting myself out there, as much as I tried to brainstorm, imagine and think my way to my next project, nothing stuck. Until… I surrendered, and accepted for the ideas to find me, and not the other way around…

Through the fog of surrender… towards clarity.

One fall day, as I walked on the hills of Edinburgh next to my home, as I sat with the birds, two book ideas fell on me, as if they were walking hand in hand: an intuitive audio series, which would then go on to become L’Envol - my first book and memoir - and
The Antarctic Bridge.

Letting the story unfold

When the idea for The Antarctic Bridge came to me, along with its title, it was just that: an idea. I had received its middle climax action, the three main characters, one core theme, and a location, but nothing more.

It was NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), and therefore the perfect time to start writing. I remember writing the first 16,000 words in 10 days, in a sort of trance, before the pace of writing habitually slowed down.

I never worked out the story in my mind, and for over a year, I came to the page, almost every day, empty, an intuitive channel for the story. It was an act of devotion, an act of intuition, and of learning to get out of the way for the truest, most original story to unfold. For I was convinced that our best stories are channelled, and not forced into being.

I had been at a great school with my first book, and it was such a pleasure to discover every day where the characters wanted to lead me, where the story was going, and what would happen next. I was surprised countless of times, and not in the least by the end.

Antarctica, a land of inspiration for the novel

When I started travelling around the world in 2013, I was lucky enough to spend my first Christmas on the road in Antarctica. Although the trip only lasted 10 days, it remains, to this day, one of my favourite trip, and one of the most beautiful and wild place I’ve ever been to.

Despite continuing to explore the world nomadically for seven years, and living in some of the most beautiful places in the world, I came back, again and again, in heart and soul, to Antarctica, to its animals, to its ice, to its light, to its silence. And I never found a way to truly honour it. And I believe that’s why it became the central location of my first novel. If my ecological convictions prevented me from going back there in this life, at least, I could play in it in the imaginary realms, and take advantage of a novel to bring awareness to climate collapse and the impact on this, oh so special continent.

This novel isn’t about exploring Antartica, but rather how its energy is magnetic, and how when attuning to it, we can, perhaps, create another version of the future, without pillaging it or extracting from it, as we have in other parts of the planet.

From a channelled draft to a polished manuscript…

Next steps forward

Once the story had landed in a first draft, came the time to shape and carve it, to translate it into a readable and intelligible storyline.

This stage was a delicate balance of language, of truth, of being faithful to the original ideas, while leaning towards a polished form, of playing with one’s style and preferences.

I see the editing process as the perfect moment for the vessel to let the human shine through, with their past, their skills, their preferences, their style, their joy, their language, their art colouring what has already been created ; the merging of soul with the material, of idea with structure, of originality with a grounded reality.

This wasn’t an easy step, and it took time, but when, after several drafts, things started to click into place, it was truly magical, carrying the same spark of light, understanding, and joy, as when I discovered the first draft!