My daughter had been swimming for
five years when I came up with the idea to write a novel about girls’ varsity
swimming. Sitting on those cold, hard bleachers season after season gave me
more than a sore you-know-what. It sparked my imagination, creating a story
line and cast of characters that would show in written form what high school
swimming is like for these girls. As I wrote the story, they were always at the
heart of it. I wrote it for them. And I wanted it to be as accurate and
realistic as possible.
In many ways, writing Swim Season was natural and easy. Through
many autumns, I’d watched my daughter and her team swim their hearts out, beside
parents rooting for their own swimmers. In the beginning, I knew next to
nothing about the sport, about swim meets. But as the years went on, I learned.
I learned simple things, like the
order of events. Try finding your kid on a pool deck swarming with dozens of young
swimmers in caps and goggles when you’re not sure which event it is, or whether
your child is swimming in it or not. Impossible.
I chaperoned the waiting rooms
where dozens of youngsters waited for their next event. Try to keep all that adrenaline
in check.
I volunteered to time the races,
and stood at the blocks, race after race, helping to make things run smoothly,
making sure the right kid was in the right lane.
I helped out at the concession
stand, serving up bagels and cream cheese.
I was involved with the fundraising
activities, Picture Day, and put together the program for Senior Night for a
number of years.
I went to 99 percent of the meets with
my husband (we missed one when it was an hour away from our home on a week
night.)
Most of my daughters’ friends were
swimmers, so I got to know several of them up close and personal. They were an
intelligent, ambitious, fantastic set of young women. When my book was
criticized by a critique partner because the characters seemed “too smart,” I responded
with, “Well, those are the girls I know.” The team had the highest GPA of all
athletic teams at the high school year after year. Yes, swimmers are smart.
I took advantage of coaches I knew personally
(and some I didn’t) to pick their brains, try out the story’s premise for believability,
and tweak the details. Many thanks go to the following New York State coaches: Frank
Woodward, Middletown High School; Justin Wright, Monroe-Woodbury High School;
Jeremy Cuebas, Minisink Valley High School; and Danielle Lindner, former coach
for Mount Saint Mary College, in Newburgh.
Early in the process, I sent out a
tweet on Twitter, asking swimmers to complete a questionnaire for a new book about
varsity swimming. Almost a dozen young swimmers – girls and boys - responded, and we started dialogues that provided
great background for my story. Some of them went on to become beta readers. All
of them were thrilled at the idea of a book about them, about their sport.
As a reader, when the answers weren’t
so simple I resorted to books. Michael Phelps’ biography No Limits: The Will to Succeed, with Alan Abrahamson, was more than worth its cost. Likewise,
Amanda Beard’s memoir In the Water They
Can't See You Cry gave me insight into how to build an Olympic silver
medalist. Instruction books, such as Terry Laughlin’s Total Immersion, with John Delves, and Tracey McFarlane’s Mirande’s
Championship Swimming with Kathlene
Bissell, taught me the fine-tuning of technique. The Champion’s Mind: How Great Athletes Think, Train, and Thrive,
by Jim Afremow, PhD, was instrumental in creating Aerin’s mental game. For
inspiration I turned to Swimmers: Courage
and Triumph by Larry Thomson.
Then there was the time when I
decided to swim the race at the heart of my story. For a while I was taking
Aquasize classes at my local YMCA. One day I got the idea to try to swim 500
yards. I wanted to see if I could do it, how long it would take, and how I
would feel during and afterwards. I have never swum competitively, although I
have always loved to swim and am capable of doing the freestyle. My first 500
clocked in at 30 minutes. I stopped after every length to catch my breath and
chat with the other ladies in the Aquasize class. I kept at it, though, and
after a few weeks managed to complete the 500 in 16 minutes, which was
phenomenal for me. Of course, the time to beat in Swim Season is 4:52.50, which, for me, was in never never land.
But, as a middle-aged woman with below-average fitness, I was proud of my
achievement. In the end, unfortunately, it exacerbated my repetitive strain
injuries and I had to give it up.
Writing Swim Season was an endeavor born of many resources, personal and professional.
It’s recommended that we write what we know. I knew a lot about competitive swimming
as a Swim Mom, but that was not enough to compose this story. I needed to reach
out to many others - swimmers, coaches, parents, Olympians, and a psychologist –
to nail the details. All of this, I believe, leads to a more credible,
believable story with depth.
Swim Season is available in paperback and Kindle on Amazon.
I must admit it took me a very long time to write this story, which consumes all of 49 pages. Many obstacles got in my way: My chronic repetitive strain issues which prohibit writing on a regular schedule, and caregiving for my mother and stepfather, which came to its own natural end. Perfectionism also held me up because I wanted this story to be as special as "Blue Hydrangeas," to be "beautiful," as so many readers said it was. I hope I have succeeded.
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