Such an interesting bunch! - Jo-Anne Berthelsen

Authors are a varied and intriguing lot, I have decided. I have met many in person at writing conferences, seminars and book events, as well as online. And, after all, I am one of them! Recently, I saw afresh what a vast mixture of writing approaches and writing goals we have when I set myself the task of reading or re-reading several well-known books on writing. Out of all this, I came to what may well be some obvious conclusions.

Firstly, there is no one right road towards producing that literary masterpiece. There may be some things authors all need to do, such as drawing the reader on with that exciting narrative arc or creating characters readers care about—but how we do this will vary. For example, some of us may agree with Stephen King’s views on plotting:

I distrust plot for two reasons: first, because our lives are largely plotless ... and second, because I believe plotting and the spontaneity of real creation aren’t compatible. (On Writing: A memoir of the craft p 163)

Some may also relate to Anne Lamott ‘s thoughts about characterisation:

Just don’t pretend you know more about your characters than they do, because you don’t stay open to them. It’s teatime and all the dolls are at the table. Listen. It’s that simple. (Bird by Bird p 53)

But some of us, on the other hand, may revel in using those detailed plotting timelines and in-depth character studies or clarifying our thoughts via complex mind maps or some version of Randy Ingermanson’s ‘snowflake method’. We are all different. And that’s okay. That’s how God intended it to be.

I am bearing all this in mind as I prepare my upcoming workshop on memoir writing for the Christian Writers’ Conference to be held next month (see http://www.christianwritersconference.dx.am/). Yes, I plan to discuss the importance of working out the theme and structure of that memoir before we start—at least to some degree. But I shy away from advocating that authors follow one narrow path in it all. I hate being squeezed into any mould myself. And I am not even totally convinced about those rigid delineations between different genres at times. Where does biography become memoir or vice versa, for example? Where does memoir become ‘creative fiction’ when our memory might fail us or our perception of certain events differs from others’? There is a place for fluidity even here, in my opinion.

Secondly, we have different goals in choosing to write. Yes, we may agree we want to provide readers with good, uplifting fiction or non-fiction that honours God. We may all even hope to make a tiny profit in the process! But, while many of us will desire to encourage our readers in some way and perhaps even challenge or inspire them, others will aim simply to entertain and enable readers to relax a little. We may each also have underlying, even subconscious motives in doing what we do, I believe, which will usually colour our own unique writing voice. It may be that we feel we have to write—that this is what we were created to do and what we find most fulfilling. It may be that as we write, we are making sense of our lives. It may even be that, as we write, we are finding ourselves.

And that’s part of what makes it all so interesting, don’t you agree?

Jo-Anne Berthelsen lives in Sydney but grew up in Brisbane. She holds degrees in Arts and Theology and has worked as a high school teacher, editor and secretary, as well as in local church ministry. Jo-Anne is passionate about touching hearts and lives through both the written and spoken word. She is the author of six published novels and one non-fiction work, Soul Friend: the story of a shared spiritual journey. Jo-Anne is married to a retired minister and has three grown-up children and four grandchildren. For more information, please visit www.jo-anneberthelsen.com.

Writing a Biography - by Marion Andrews

[It's a delight to welcome my long-time friend Marion Andrews to our ACW blog today to share from her own experience of writing her father's biography, 'My China Mystery' (Even Before Publishing, 2012). Thank you for sharing with us, Marion. Jo-Anne Berthelsen]

Whose biography do you want to write? Is it someone famous you don’t actually know? I asked a famous politician once and received a kind but firm reply in the negative.  So how do you choose a subject?

It seems to me there are three possibilities.

1. The person you write about has to be famous enough for people to want to read about them. 
2. Another option is to write so well that celebrities desire your attention and publishers line up to take your work.
3. If these opportunities do not come your way, look for such a remarkable life story that people will be pleased to read it.  

As a Christian, I prayed about these options and received answers to my prayers. Without divine intervention that was too remarkable to be coincidence, I would never have found my story. You’ll find details of my own personal search in My China Mystery. It started with a book of inscribed photos and a bundle of old letters that told me more than I ever expected to know about my parents’ years in China.

Perhaps there is a half-formed mystery hiding in the back of your mind. Perhaps you have questions that are too vague to put into words. Perhaps the pointers are there and you just have to step down the path. For me, it was making contact with the Gurkha Museum in Winchester, UK.

The thing to do is to start looking. Start with the mundane, the facts about your character. Gather your papers, photos, documents, books. Decide on your time and space frame: that is, rule up a time line and draw a map. Search the internet for historical and genealogical information. Read history within your time frame; in the world, the country and the locality of your setting to determine what would affect your character. Love and hate, war and peace, birth and death are compelling themes in any story.

When your facts are in order, find out all you can about the person’s character. Even if this is someone very close to you, like a parent, get to know them all over again through other people’s eyes. You need to be emotionally engaged as well as objective.

I wrote my parents’ China story little by little, over about six months, each week including another instalment in my family letter. I work best by reaching regular deadlines. You may be different and achieve your goal in a continuous burst of white heat like George Frideric Handel writing The Messiah.

If you have a great story to tell, but are not confident of your writing and reporting skills, take a course in journalism. I am thankful that I was able to study journalism via the internet. You need research and reporting skills, as well as the ability to sift essential from peripheral information.

If your story is incomplete, start looking and see where the path leads you. I got to know my father as a young man, before the horrors of war scarred him. My search led me to Buckingham Palace via Inland China! No one is more surprised and pleased than I am.

I have loved expressing myself and communicating through writing since childhood; letters, school compositions, club contributions and the odd story. In a life-time of ministry, I have had ample opportunity to write for local congregations as well as the wider church. I have written columns on parenting edited a newsletter for ministers’ wives. I wrote “Recover the Family”; the results of a questionnaire from 70 Australian Christian families; as well as various desk-top published family and church histories.

I longed to write a book about my parents. The catalyst that defined my task was a bundle of old letters that my cousins sent me. These told me more than I ever expected to know about my parents’ China years. Together with my mother’s memoirs and many old China photos I put together an account of their China years. Then I started looking for information about my father’s war service. That was when my information exploded. The Lord God gave me the desire of my heart and before long I had a story worth sharing.