A Result of My Gazing: Melissa Brooks on Writing “Walking in San Miguel de Allende”
Melissa Brooks doesn’t consider herself a writer, but sometimes jots down what she observes if the mood strikes. A grant writer by trade, she is passionate about preserving the environment and an advocate of sustainable practices.
In this craft essay, Brooks explores finding inspiration and voice, and how creative works can sometimes emerge unexpectedly while working on a larger project.
As my sister likes to say, “We survived both 60s.” That is, the 1960s and our 60s.
As she and I entered our 60s in the beginning of 2010, we often realized the sweep of time and how it has all flown by so quickly. We were kids growing up in the 50s in the suburbs of Los Angeles in California, free to roam the neighborhoods, walk to school, play outside most of the day and into the night, and hitchhike to the beach (without our parents knowing). We were kids who grew up to see all this rapid-paced technology happen—from party lines, rotary phones and Barbie dolls, to the expanding roles of women, gay marriage, iPhones, and Artificial Intelligence.
Advance track to 2014 when I wrote “Walking in San Miguel de Allende”. My sister and I decided we wanted to pursue a writing collaboration. But where to begin? Neither of us are “writers” by trade, although we both are avid readers and write for our professions, so we hoped to be influenced and motivated during our time at the conference, to take risks and expand our skills. The goal was to create a story of two California girls during one of the most privileged times for the middle class in the history of the United States. Technology aside, the historical evolution of the United States as the greatest nation post-WWII has shifted, climate change and mass migration, 9/11, and other historical backdrops make it a fascinating time to write about.
My sister found a writers’ conference we were both interested in attending. We signed up for the San Miguel Writers’ Conference with the goal of collaborating on a memoir from two different perspectives—she is two years older than I am, and we have always filled the gaps in each other’s stories, but we are also very different. It would make for a great story as a memoir from the different points of view of two sisters—each chapter explaining the time frame, each with a different voice.
“We had free time to roam around San Miguel de Allende. The architecture of the old buildings was so breathtaking. I was mostly looking up. ”
We had free time to roam around San Miguel de Allende. The architecture of the old buildings was so breathtaking. I was mostly looking up. There were mottled colors with a vibrancy and patina that was both new and old—crumbling, with wonderful hues and textures, reminiscent of Venice, Italy. As a result of my gazing at every opportunity, I kept stumbling on the cobblestones and curbs of the city.
While at the conference, I was also stumbling in my writing skills and feeling discouraged. Then, during one of our workshop exercises, I finally wrote a piece that I felt others might enjoy, “Walking in San Miguel de Allende.” In a sense, “Walking in San Miguel de Allende” is symbolic of my writing process—and of how to find the authentic when overwhelmed by a larger project. As a “wanna-be” writer, I have often heard that I should write about what I know.
Stumbling through the writers’ conference with not a lot of confidence, I finally wrote a piece that I certainly had experienced—I did bruise. But I also healed, and it was well worth it.
Brooks in San Miguel de Allende
