Serendipity
By Kathleen McCleary | June 12, 2024 |
I’ve traveled quite a bit this spring, to Denmark, Iceland, England, and Scotland. And it’s funny, but when people ask about the highlights of my trips, the first things that come to mind are not the planned adventures—the tour of the castle, the hike along the cliffs, the dinner at the restaurant booked in advance. No, it’s the lunch of cheese and prosciutto and warm, fresh bread and pickled vegetables at the little pub we wandered into after an eight-mile hike. It’s sitting down in a church in Copenhagen to get out of the rain and having a profound and surprising conversation about belief with the tour guide I’d met an hour before. It’s turning onto a small street because I was lost and stumbling upon the Museum of Happiness (I am not making this up).
All of these highlights are moments of serendipity, when things align in ways you’d never anticipated. Years ago I interviewed an academic researcher into serendipity (I’m not making that up either), Dr. Stephann Makri, who defined serendipity as when unexpected circumstances and a moment of insight lead to a valuable outcome. Think of Scottish scientist Alexander Fleming, who noticed all the dead bacteria around the mold in one of his culture dishes and figured out penicillin.
As I come down the home stretch of my fourth novel, I’m more and more aware of the role serendipity plays in the writing process and in the lives of my characters. For me, serendipity takes the form of reading a book review in the paper about a novel I’d loved as a child, which inspired me to re-read that novel and then realize exactly what voice I needed for one of my protagonists. It also looks like walking into an art gallery in tiny, rural Kircudbright (pop. 3,350), Scotland, to find an exhibit by an artist whose relationship to the natural world is a model for another of my characters. And in the actual writing process, serendipity occurs for me when I’ve been writing a scene or dialogue and one of my characters says or does something out of the blue that I hadn’t planned or anticipated but that is exactly the right thing for the story—surprising, fulfilling, true.
I’m aware that my characters need moments of serendipity, too. They need the chance encounter with a stranger, the overheard phrase, the wrong turn, that lead to a new relationship, insight, burst of creativity that changes their lives. Yet by definition, serendipity is not something you can plan for or make happen. But you can optimize the opportunities for serendipity in your writing and your life:
Pay attention
Curiosity, alertness, flexibility, courage and diligence—they’re traits that prepare you to recognize opportunities and act on them. So are keen powers of observation. It goes without saying that writers have to be keen observers, but it’s easy to get distracted and forget to really, truly study what we see. Perhaps your characters need to slow down and pay attention once in a while. What if in the midst of doing, struggling, solving, fixing, destroying, creating, fretting, etc. your character just stopped? And spent a few moments immersed in the present moment. How would that change their trajectory? What unexpected things—and ideas—might unfold?
Open your calendar
A hyper-scheduled lifestyle can close you off to serendipity. Down time—walking, meditating, staring out the window—allows connections and patterns and ideas to reveal themselves. Maybe some of your weekly writing time should involve something unplanned and unstructured, a walk to a coffee shop you haven’t frequented in a long time, a drive along a different route home from work, sending the card you’ve been meaning to send to that friend who had a birthday two months ago. Each of these acts could lead to nothing, or to something.
Increase your odds
The more things you try, the more good things will happen. If you try 30 new things, at the end of the year you might count 15 successes. But if you wait to try things only when you’re sure you’ll succeed, you might count just three successes in a year. Write in a different location or at a different time of day. Write from the point of view of a different character. Try a new sport. Push yourself—and your characters—out of your comfort zones. Similarly, give your characters as many opportunities as possible to achieve the insight, strength, or whatever they need to move forward. Their failures will inform your story—and their trajectory—as much as the successes.
How has serendipity played a role in your writing? In the lives of your characters? How do you maximize the opportunities for serendipity?
Kathleen McCleary is the author of three novels—House and Home, A Simple Thing, and Leaving Haven—and has worked as a bookseller, bartender, and barista (all great jobs for gathering material for fiction). A Simple Thing (HarperCollins 2012) was nominated for the Library of Virginia Literary Awards. She was a journalist for many years before turning to fiction, and her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Good Housekeeping, Ladies Home Journal, and USA Weekend, as well as HGTV.com, where she was a regular columnist. She taught writing as an adjunct professor at American University in Washington, D.C., and teaches creative writing to kids ages 8-18 as an instructor with Writopia Labs, a non-profit. She also offers college essay coaching (https://thenobleapp.com), because she believes that life is stressful enough and telling stories of any kind should be exciting and fun. When she’s not writing or coaching writing, she looks for any excuse to get out into the woods or mountains or onto a lake. She lives in northern Virginia with her husband and two daughters and Jinx the cat.
[coffee]
I love every word of this, Kathleen. Just for starters, it’s serendipitous that you traveled to two of my favorite places. I haven’t been to Iceland yet but I will go. And, serendipity. Yes. I think it as a tap from the Universe that I’m on the right path, doing the thing that resonates with my soul. I also love when a character stumbles upon one and has a revelation or conversely, ignores one and hits a wall. I’ve come to depend on these events to reassure me when the work gets hard. And I can think of nothing more delicious than discovering that little pub after a long trek. The unplanned delight that tells you you’re exactly where you need to be. Thank you for making my day.
I’m so glad the column resonated with you, Susan, and I so appreciate your thoughts. I love the “unexpected” aspect of serendipity most of all. Even when things look dark, it’s those small, unanticipated moments that provide flashes of light and/or insight. How wonderful that you’re doing the thing that resonates with your soul. Happy writing!
Hey Kathleen — Gosh, I’ve encountered so much serendipity–for myself and for my characters–along the way of my writing journey, and I’ve found it so astonishing, that I’ve unconsciously woven it into my work on a thematic level. Is serendipity a divine gift? Does it guide us to destiny? Can it lead us astray? My characters can’t help but wonder. Which, of course, means I’ve been deeply wondering.
Thanks for the lovely reminder and tips, and for reminding me how to best experience travel (you’re so right about that!).
Hi, Vaughn. I love the idea that serendipity is woven throughout your work. Sometimes it does feel like it HAS to be some kind of divine gift. I’m intrigued by the idea that it might lead us astray, too. Glad you enjoyed the column, and thanks for taking the time to comment.
Sometimes serendipity requires courage, like when I was researching a dungeon and I realized i was a fraidy cat, which made me realize that my character had a terror of the dark. Thank you, serendipity!
That’s yet another side of serendipity, Debra—chance encounters that lead us to unexpected moments of insight about ourselves. Thanks for your comment!
Hi Kathleen I am traveling today in California and your post will remind me to notice not only flora and fauna but the actions of people, snippets of conversations…all igniting ideas and moments to fill a notepad and lines in our work. Happy Serendipity!!
Hi, Beth! Hope you find lots of serendipity (and inspiration) out west. Enjoy every moment.
Kathleen, I love your post because my whole life is full of serendipitous events, from escaping an intolerable situation in India to my schooling in the US (I’ve been blessed with the most excellent teachers my whole life) and meeting my husband, falling into this writing life and religion too. And so many scientific discoveries have been attributed to serendipity. It’s such a marvel. Pasteur said, “chance favors the prepared mind.” After our conversion to the Catholic faith, I can no longer say it’s pure coincidence–I feel like the hand of God is arranging even the smallest details. I just have to be open to receiving all the graces. And as you point out–pay attention! I love that we get to play God with our story people, arranging things just so, but it’s even more wonderful when they come to life and do the most unexpected but perfect things. Thank you and may you have many more serendipities in life.
I love hearing your story, Vijaya. Thanks for sharing the many instances of serendipity, luck, divine grace—whatever you want to call it (maybe all of the above?). Wishing many more serendipities for you, too. Happy writing!