The Peaceful Path

by M. L. Buchman

THE WANDERING PATH

I often think that there is little stranger in the world that a writer’s journey. We set out to write one thing but create another. We begin in a favorite genre, yet eventually discover that our voice lies somewhere else. A story begins with a clear picture of a character in the writer’s head, however the character has other ideas and takes stories in unexpected directions. A writer is often the last person to know quite what they’ve written (honestly).

Writing isn’t just a creative path, it is also often a blind one with a hundred curves that the writer can’t see around until they get there. There’s a certain faith that’s required to believe that the road (or sometimes the narrow dusty path that is barely an animal track) continues around the curve—though it always does.

THE CHOSEN PATH

I’m a very peaceful person. Had I been drafted, I’d have been a conscientious objector. I got my black belt so that I could teach my kid how to defend herself in an aggressive world. My writing motto is “To Champion the Human Spirit” which is exemplified in every story I’ve written because I believe that is the path to a more peaceful future. If we can treat each other well, with respect and openness to new ideas, we will be living in a better world.

Sure, I’m saddened by the world’s news (both the human tragedies and the political idiocies), but I choose my own battle in my own way. If people feel uplifted by what I write and try to help, then I have achieved a life’s work. (That I get to make a living doing this is just a crazy bonus.)

THE UNCHOSEN PATH

And yet I write primarily military (military romantic suspense, retired military romance, and, most recently, military/political technothriller). I never served. I don’t come from a military family. (Dad did two years in WWII, mostly to avoid flunking out of college the way his old roommate tells it. But he never spoke about those times working as an anchorman on minesweeper barge that ranged up and down the US East Coast.) Note that I didn’t say I wrote “about the military.” I don’t have the expertise to do that. But I definitely write in the military; a very curious place for a pacifist to land.

I came to it by a curious path. In my second novel, a science fiction space opera that will never again see the light of day, I wrote a “general of the opposing troops.” He was laughed out of the critique room. After far too many revisions, it was acceded that he was finally “at least male.” Knowing this was a weakness in my writing (I write mostly from the viewpoint of strong women), I began to research “men.” I decided that the best place to begin was with elite forces memoir—straight from the “man’s mouth” so to speak. I was specifically interested in those who had chosen the military as a career, not just in for a few tours but rather as a life’s path.

I began with US Navy Seal Chuck Pfarrer’s autobiography Warrior Soul and went on from there. The more I read, the more I came to understand these men (invariably) and their choices. (When female warrior memoir emerged, Shoot Like a Girl, Ashley’s War, Soldier Girls… I certainly plunged into those as well.)

Several interesting things came to light for me. Some obvious, some less so. Not one of these people had joined the military because they liked to fight. Not one of these people thought that war was in any way a good thing. “For God and Country” was not a major theme for the warriors who chose to make a career of the military. Trying to make the world a better place, however, was a major theme. To stop the horror that others were perpetrating on the innocent was also important. The true core? The team. People who stayed in for ten, twenty, thirty years, were doing it because they had made a family of their team. 

THE HIGHER CAUSE & THE TEAM

This is the theme that captured my attention as a writer, and it is a story I’ve been writing ever since. Whether it is a light contemporary romance like my Where Dreams series, an action-adventure political technothriller like my Miranda Chase series, or a military romantic suspense like my Night Stalkers, there is always the higher cause and the team.

The higher cause is invariably: a better world. A better, happier, more peaceful place to be. And whether the team is a romantic couple of two people or an entire company in the military, that “team” strives for that better world with all of their heart and passion.

So, as we celebrate Independence Day (25 countries place their Independence Day in July and, while Canada never declared independence, July includes Canada Day to celebrate the forming of the dominion, so call it 26), I look to so many militaries fighting for peace.

It may sound incongruous, but it isn’t. One only needs to read the news on any day of the year to see that it isn’t. There are so many empires based upon ego and repression and “us versus them” that it is heart-rending. And if someone doesn’t fight back against such avarice and greed, it will dominate.

THE CHOICE

So, as a writer, I curiously found my path to touting peace lies through the eyes of the military. It can be a force to help rather than hinder. I wish we could live in a world where there was no need for the military. Curiously, every warrior biography I’ve read and every service person I’ve spoken with agrees.

Until we can, I found my voice for peace in my writings of the military.

What choice do you make? What story do you try to tell with your writing, with your day job, with what books you recommend to others, with your interaction with every person you come in contact with? Every day is your opportunity to change the world for the better. It doesn’t matter how small the action. Millions of people all taking tiny actions toward a more peaceful world is the vision I hold. Please ask yourself how you do that. I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.

 

BIO

USA Today and Amazon #1 Bestseller M. L. "Matt" Buchman has 70+ contemporary and military romance novels, and action-adventure thrillers. Also 100+ short stories and lotsa audiobooks. Booklist says: 3x “Top 10 Romance of the Year” and among “The 20 Best Romantic Suspense Novels: Modern Masterpieces.” NPR and B&N say: “Best 5 Romance of the Year.” PW declares: “Tom Clancy fans open to a strong female lead will clamor for more.” A project manager with a geophysics degree, he’s designed and built houses, flown and jumped out of planes, solo-sailed a 50’ sailboat, and bicycled solo around the world…and he quilts. 

More at: www.mlbuchman.com.