My writing experience this year has been quite different
from past years and I hope my reflections on it will not be too disjointed. In
contrast to ten years of immersing myself in my family history, combining the
known facts with fiction and producing ten novels, this year I have focussed on
the life of an 80 year old man I would call a living legend. Bill, a man I had
met a couple of times, and heard speak about his work with underprivileged
children, contacted me late last year and asked if I would be interested in
writing his life story. He and his family wanted to have in print his own
journey from a childhood in Boy’s Homes, adolescence on the streets of Sydney,
through alcoholism, workaholism, conversion to Christianity, and retirement
spent establishing a foundation and successful work in helping children he so
deeply identifies with. Bill’s desire is
that this book will be a guide to freedom and faith for those who struggle with
the effects of deprivation, rejection and abuse in their early lives. He also
wants it to be a helpful blueprint for those who are attempting to minister to
and support neglected, abused and homeless children. No small or simple task!
After prayer and deliberation I agreed to do this and while
it has been a privilege it has also been an amazing challenge. As Bill and his
wife both struggle with failing health we have not been able to progress
quickly and we have all had to trust the grace of God for the completion of
this work, which is still a way off. Apart from the practical challenges of
such an undertaking, this has been for me a huge learning curve in writing
style. I would call what I’m doing, ghost writing Bill’s memoirs. So while
telling his story, in his words, I’m attempting to help him structure and
explore deeply his experience, so that readers will best understand not only
what he has experienced and learned, but what has shaped him and led him to be
the wonderful human being that he has become, and what God has been able to
accomplish in and through him.
While my work with Bill has taken much of my allotted
writing time, I have also, through Book Whispers, re-edited and re-released one
of my earlier novels. Price of Peace was my third novel, the last of my Oakes
Family Saga, following Suzannah’s Gold and Rebecca’s Dream, which were
re-released a few years ago. This was a new and quite different process of
publication for me and so also involved a learning curve. It was interesting to
go back to my earlier writing and see how much I’ve learned about writing and
presentation. Editing one’s own work is always eye-opening, challenging and
somewhat humbling, although it’s been satisfying to make adjustments to an earlier
work and now have it available in better form.
Furthermore, there continues to be for me an internal debate
about the future. Will I attempt to write another novel? Can I bear to go
through the process of publication again – always so daunting. Do I want to
write more fiction or should I think about non-fiction? On our recent holiday in Western Australia I
was tempted to have a go at writing comedy. It was our first holiday in a motor
home – one we hired for three weeks as it seemed the best way to travel to the
areas we wanted to explore in that vast state. This meant overnight stays and
sometimes two or three days in caravan parks. As much as I loved our visits to
National Parks, beautiful coastline areas, the gorges and our search for wild
flowers, I must admit that I was as taken with the comedic antics we witnessed
in these caravan parks. The arrivals and departures of couples, setting up and
packing up of not only the van or motor home, but so many gadgets, appliances,
specially made fixtures to ensure a home away from home experience for the
travellers, was not only an education
for my husband and I, but provided much unexpected entertainment as we ate our
breakfast or dinner.
So many men in singlets and thongs, apparently having thrown
off the strictures of everyday work life, where what one looks like matters, to
spend hours unwinding or winding up hoses and cords, setting up awnings, solar
panels, TV aerials and BBQs, laying out matting, tables and chairs, cleaning
wheel hubs, bull bars and windows. While
men saw to their outside duties, no doubt the women were as busy inside, before
appearing with the nibbles and wine for happy hour, where couples would gather
and have conversations which seemed amazingly repetitive: ‘where have you come
from today? Where are you going next? What new invention or gadget have you
acquired for your van?’
And then there were the dogs! So often a dog, or even two, would emerge
from unknown corners of the vehicle after the agonisingly long process of
parking and straightening and balancing these huge vans, usually accompanied by
a range of expletives as husband and wife yelled instructions and reprimands to
each other. The dogs then often became the focus of attention as their beds,
bowls, leads and jacket were brought out and they waited for their customary
walk around the park where they’d meet up with other newly arrived dogs and
sniff around each other while their owners discussed important things with
other owners; ‘where have you come from today? Where are you heading next?
Which is your van and what gadgets have you lately put on it? Would you like to
join us for drinks and nibbles?’
Early mornings seemed to be taken up with more cleaning for
the men, perhaps meeting up with other men at the ‘dump site’ with their jerry
cans which were also of many and varied sizes and shapes, while women headed
off to the laundry with huge baskets of sheets, towels and dirty clothes. After all this seemingly exhausting activity
I must admit I wondered how much energy or time most of these people had for
sightseeing or enjoying the local area. It appeared as if the social life and
community of the caravan park was often sufficient enjoyment and involvement
for them. That said, I must acknowledge that we have numerous dear friends who have
caravans and love this kind of travelling, and if it makes their
retirement happy and fulfilled, then good for them, I say.
No doubt we provided a bit of entertainment for some of
these experienced caravaners when we forgot to wind in our awning one evening
and drove towards the exit with seven foot of waving canvas until we heard an
almighty bang and looked back to see our awning in pieces on the road. Please
note the ‘before’ photo. Clearly two and half weeks was not sufficient for us
to become proficient caravaners.
Those who travel regularly in this manner would have many a
humorous story to tell and I’m sure someone with skills for recreating these
images in words, could write a really funny book. For us it was experiment in
holiday style and while we loved exploring Western Australia, we did decide
that we’d go back to our usual way of travelling; a good four wheel drive
vehicle and cabins or motels each night, where we can spread out in a decent
sized bed, have a fresh set of sheets and towels each day, and leave what we’ve
deposited in the bathroom behind.
So my writing experience and reflections have been varied
and interesting this year and apart from continuing with Bill’s life story I’m
not sure what next year holds, but I am open to what God brings across my path
and wants to teach me as my journey continues.
I’d love to hear what other writers have been up to. Any changes in
direction, new challenges, inspirations?
Carol
Carol writes historical novels based on her family ancestry
in Australia from the First Fleet. They include the Turning the Tide series;
Mary’s Guardian, Charlotte’s Angel, Tangled Secrets and Truly Free. Two of her
earlier novels, Suzannah’s Gold and Rebecca’s Dream, were re-released by EBP. Next of Kin was released in 2015 by Rhiza
Press and the sequel, Beyond the Fight, was released in 2016. Most recently,
with the help of Book Whispers, Carol has re-released Price of Peace, the third
novel in the Oakes Family Saga which includes Suzannah’s Gold and Rebecca’s
Dream. You can see more about Carol and her novels on her website, her Amazon
author page or FB author page.
