Why I Started Writing Fiction

I'm writing these words on New Years Day 2014, an overcast afternoon here in central Indiana, just a couple of hours before a Winter Storm Watch is due to begin. So it's a good time to sit by my window and reflect on the turn of the year.

January takes its name from the Roman god of doors, Janus, depicted as a two-faced fellow who looks into the future and the past at the same time. I usually spend New Years thinking about the future, but there's just as much to gain by looking back to learn how I got to this place in my life, which brought me to the question I've been mulling this afternoon: Why did I start writing fiction?

I've been a journalist for most of my adult life. My first job was as a cub reporter for the Herald & Tribune, a county-seat weekly in Jonesborough, TN. I worked as a copy boy at the Herald Bulletin while attending Anderson College, then as editor of the campus newspaper and news editor for Vital Christianity, our denomination's semi-monthly magazine. Eventually, I began editing reference books and textbooks. I seemed to be obsessed with getting the facts straight and getting them down on paper. So why did I start writing fiction?

I didn't do it to engage in stealthy preaching. The public sees right through that. I agree with the hard-bitten Hollywood film magnate who told his producers, "If you want to send a message, use Western Union."

I wasn't trying to demolish cultural stereotypes of naive evangelical Christians, though I certainly wish we could do away them. And even though fiction can take me away from the painful realities of family feuds, job stress, and health problems, I don't write fiction for escapism. However, as soon as I started pondering that possibility this afternoon, the real answer became apparent:

I write fiction because life's truths are bigger than life's facts.

The truth about global hunger is far bigger than all the statistics that UNESCO has compiled. The truth about human trafficking is bigger than the latest report about the breakup of an immigrant smuggling ring. The truth about terrorism is bigger than the horrific photos of bomb victims coming out of Russia, Iran, and Afghanistan. We grasp the truth about these human problems by hearing stories of people like ourselves, caught up in these problems.

For example, we understand prejudice when Scout Finch tells us the story of Boo Radley in To Kill a Mockingbird. We understand community when Clarence Odbody tells George Bailey how his story might have turned out differently in It's a Wonderful Life. We understand shame and guilt when an ancient Hebrew narrator tells us the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden.

("Wait!" you may say. "Adam and Eve's story is not fiction!" But few Bible readers care about that question. Whether it's factual or fictional, they know the Eden story is true.)

So I believe that's why I started writing fiction. "The writer's job is to tell the truth," Hemingway famously said, and I agree. Though it's much more difficult than gathering statistics for a news article, it's also more likely to confront readers with the truth about themselves, their world, and their Maker.

__________________

Joe Allison and his wife, Judy, live in Anderson IN, where Joe serves as Coordinator of Publishing for Church of God Ministries, Inc. Joe has several nonfiction books in print, including Swords and Whetstones: A Guide to Christian Bible Study Resources. He's currently writing a trilogy of Christian historical novels set in the Great Depression.

Visit Joe's blog at http://hoosierwriter.wordpress.com

Interview With Amy Wallace

  by Jeff Reynolds

  I had the honor of interviewing my favorite author last month – Randy Singer for those who missed it. This month, I have the honor interviewing another author who's in my top three (with Allistair MacLean being the other, but I'd have to conduct a séance to interview him, and most of you would frown at that.) This author is Amy Wallace, who wrote the excellent Defenders of Hope series, and has released the second book last fall of her latest series, Place of Refuge.

Jeff Reynolds: Welcome, Amy. I've noticed you have a bachelor's degree in Counseling and Guidance from the University of Louisville , and also are a graduate of the Gwinnett County Citizen's Police Academy . Where does your writing journey coincide with these degrees? How has your education affected your writing and your Christian life?

Amy Wallace: I graduated from U of L ( GO CARDS!) ages ago and the Citizen's Police Academy about nine years ago, both a fantastic experience. I attended the CPA, a volunteer, sixteen week, behind the scenes look at the police department, when I was working on my first suspense series about FBI Crimes Against Children agents. I wanted to better understand and honor the law enforcement professionals I highlighted in my novels.

My counseling degree has served me well in life and writing, to better understand human nature and observe in the real world what I write about in my stories. Not only that, but also to see how vital healing is to a healthy, loving relationship with God and others.

JR: If asked what my favorite fiction series is, your Defenders of Hope trilogy would be towards the top. I'm now reading Hiding In Plain Sight, the first in the Place of Refuge Series. Could you tell us about the series, and if you approached the writing any different between the two?

AW: Thank you very much for that high compliment!

The Defenders of Hope series is a suspense series about the FBI Crimes Against Children Unit in DC that focuses on hope and healing amid life’s most challenging storms. The Place of Refuge series is a Mennonite romantic suspense series focusing on a small town police officer protecting her loved ones, her town, and the surrounding Mennonite community from uncharacteristic violence in Hiding in Plain Sight, and, in Nowhere to Run, a stalker who forces Ashley to put happily ever after on hold to protect and defend those she loves.

Writing these two very different series included tons of research, interviewing FBI and other law enforcement officers, and plenty of editing! I tried a few new things with plotting in the Place of Refuge series after having read James Scott Bell’s Plot and Structure. But the biggest writing difference between the two series came in dealing with theme.

For Ransomed Dreams, Healing Promises, and Enduring Justice, theme grew as I wrote the stories. Ransomed Dreams' theme of healing through forgiveness became a deeper life lesson that forgiveness unlocks the future. For Healing Promises, the theme began as healing and hope amid life-shattering circumstances. The story grew out of a question I asked a Secret Service Agent: What would an FBI agent do with a cancer diagnosis? The theme grew and became Faith Under Fire and tackled the questions: Where is God when life hurts? Can God be trusted? For Enduring Justice, the theme deepened from healing from past abuse to secrets can’t last forever. Justice isn’t enough. Healing is.

The themes for the Place of Refuge books began with a simple theme and stayed pretty true to the original ideas. Hiding in Plain Sight’s theme is control. Who is in control? Can He be trusted? Nowhere to Run is about protection. Is God powerful enough to protect His children?

JR: In October, 2011, you taught a course on Plotting. Does this mean you're a committed plotter? Or do you ever try Seat of the Pants writing? After all, you have done great plot twists in your story that I didn't see coming.

AW: I’m what James Scott Bell calls a Borg plotter. I'm a full time homeschooling mom, my first and favorite career, so I don't have time to just sit down and see where the story takes me. Which, according to my pantser friends, requires plenty of rewriting. I love doing the research and character charts and outlines that help me know my characters and story so well that when I sit down to write, I have a good idea where I'm going. Plus, to honor law enforcement officers who serve us well and many of whom have been a fantastic help to me with each of my stories, I feel compelled to get my facts and twists and suspense plot right and reasonable before I sit down to write. And even with all the plotting I do, there are always surprises along the way, which keeps the journey fun.

JR: Your books are full of heart-warming, feel-good topics like losing one's family, child-killing, cancer, and racism. What reaction have you had both from the publisher/editor end and from the readers?

AW: While my novels do hit on hard topics, the focus is always on healing. I believe to show the light and hope that are ours in Christ, we have to acknowledge the darkness where He shines brightest.

The reactions from publishers and readers have been overwhelmingly positive. In large part because my stories aren't just high intensity suspense, but because they are full of flawed, searching, real characters who connect with readers, and I pray lead them closer to Christ and the healing possible in Him.

JR: One thing all your books have is a set of discussion questions. Was this your idea or your publishers? Any response from people who used those questions you'd like to share?

AW: The discussion questions were something I wanted to include to help readers and book clubs connect even more to the story. One of my favorite responses was a long letter from a reader of Ransomed Dreams that detailed how this story helped her forgive her father and begin the painful process of reconciliation with someone who had abandoned her as a child. It made me cry to read how my characters and the theme of the novel touched this woman's heart to the point her life was changed for good and a vital relationship began to heal.

JR: Besides your fiction, you've been a contributor to Writing Inspirational Fiction, God Answers Mom's Prayers, and Chicken Soup for the Soul Healthy Living Series: Diabetes. (I'm not much for chicken soup -- I'm waiting for the Supreme Pizza with Jalapenos and Anchovies For The Soul books to come out.) What was that like?

AW: Pizza is awesome soul food, but nothing beats chicken soup when you're under the weather. ;-)

I began my writing journey in creative non-fiction and learned how to write well in less than two thousand words. That's tough! I credit my first editors with teaching me how to make every word count and paint a picture.

JR: What do you have planned this year? I'm sure the second installment of Place of Refuge is coming out -- could you give us a preview? Also, am I correct that you'll be teaching a course on the ACFW Course Loop this year?

AW: I’m working on a new suspense series set both in current day Louisville , KY , and in Cold War Berlin , two places I love and miss terribly.

Yes, I’m teaching on the ACFW Course Loop about the gift of words and lessons learned in the writing trenches.

The second book in the Place of Refuge series, Nowhere to Run, came out in October 2012.

Someone’s out there…

Police Officer Ashley Walters is ready to leave behind the nightmares and embrace the future ahead of her. Along with her best friend, Margo, and her fiancé, Patrick, Ashley is planning the wedding of her dreams.

But happily-ever-after is put on hold when Ashley’s worst fears are confirmed: A stalker is watching her, and he’s ready to strike. Forced to flee for her own safety and the protection of those she loves, Ashley finds refuge in a gentle Mennonite community in Shipshewana , Indiana . But danger lurks even there, and Ashley must face the greatest question of all: Is God powerful enough to protect His children? 

JR: Besides writing, you also are a homeschool mom of three, a Bible study leader, a women's group speaker, a co-leader of a young writer's group, and a chocoholic. My guess is your spare time hobbies are eating and sleeping. How do these activities help with your writing, and how does your writing help with these activities?

AW: Yes, eating and sleeping are important to fit into my homeschooling, writing, and teaching schedule. So are reading, running, time with friends, Star Trek, and mom and daughter dates with my precious kiddos. All of those things together make life a joy and gift.

It really helps that I love writing and I love teaching! Teaching is one of my top two spiritual gifts, and I feel alive when I can share what God has taught me. Chocolate of course helps with all of life's difficult tasks. ;-) Teaching also inspires me to write better and understand how I do what I do. I began teaching a high school creative writing course this year and I love it! My students challenge me to write and teach my absolute best.

All of life helps with writing, making me sensitive to emotions, struggles, joys, and triumphs that bring fiction to life. And fiction helps me understand life. I work out my salvation and my wrestling matches with God at my computer.

JR: Thank you for your time. Could you tell us about your very creative website, and anything else we might be interested in?

AW: Thank you for having me on your blog! Thanks too for the kind words about my website~ Dark Chocolate Suspense (www.amywallace.com). It's a fun, interactive site that includes information about my books, about keeping kids safe, Bible studies, tips for writers, and fun quizzes about my stories. Please come and have some chocolate inspired fun and leave me a note in the guestbook! I love hearing from readers!

I Love to Tell the Story

by Rachael Phillips

Not everyone appreciates a good storyteller.

I learned this early as a missionary kid, when my parents attempted to return to the United States after ministry in Mexico--not easy, with still-limited Spanish and less money, driving a rickety car full of preschoolers who needed to pee. The fussy month-old baby, born in Mexico, did not have a visa. As we wide-eyed chidlren sat in the back seat, uniformed officials ordered our mother and father out of the car and searched it.

My little sister clung to me. I urged her to take courage, cross her legs and join me in keeping surveillance on these evil secret agents, who obviously plannned to smuggle diamonds in our teddy bears. Silent and sinister, they also fit my perfect profile of kidnappers. I readied my teeth. If they dared touch my baby brother. . . . But they didn't. I survived to share this terrifying ordeal with the world. But no accolades rewarded my storytelling efforts. Instead, scorn and ridicule--mostly from my prosaic six-year-old brother--greeted me.

Perhaps you, a fellow fiction writer, suffered similar persecution at home or school when your alternative reality, far more interesting than 2 + 2 = 4, did not fit the boring facts. An excellent imagination also came in handy when I was a teen. In fact, I preferred my fictional planet, where every Friday night, a handsome prince, sans Clearasil, swept a Barbie-shaped me away from narrow-minded parents, algebra and hostile driver's ed teachers.

Attending a secular university, however, brought a fresh realization of the value of truth, especially when it came to Jesus. If the Bible's account was fiction, then He rated as just another dead guy who, cast in concrete, looked great in a park flower bed. I chose to believe--and now understand more than ever--Jesus is the resurrected Way, the Truth and the Life.

Still, the Gospel record also assures us this Master of Truth was also a Master Storyteller. He told parables about salt with no taste, exploding wine bottles and a friend who, in the dead of night, dragged his ex-friend out of bed. His audiences heard stories about a prodigal son and a Good Samaritan--fictional characters who have caused millions of readers the past two thousand years to scratch their heads, search their hearts and turn the pages, making the Bible the all-time best seller.

We can attend every writer's conference in Shaw's Guide. We can accumulate Writer's Digest books until we have to move out. We can stalk writing celebrities and mug mentors for tips. Yet we fiction writers can't hope to affect our audiences the way Jesus did. But He has given us words and desire and His infinite, creative Spirit in order to offer Christians and non-Christians alike bite-sized portions of His truth--attractive, nourishing morsels that will help them "taste and see the Lord is good."

Still, not everyone will appreciate the stories we tell. Like my brother.

But Jesus does.

"Just" Cause

I've been a member of ACFW for nearly two years now, but I need to come clean with all of you. You see, I have a little secret that sometimes comes to the surface and I just need to spill it once and for all. I'm not a fiction writer. There. I've said it. Whew!

You see, even though this is the first group I joined when I jumped feet first into this writing gig, most of the writing I do is non-fiction. I write devotionals, journalistic pieces, magazine articles, literary non-fiction, and newsletters. My fiction writing is limited to several short stories and lots of ideas. But since I started writing, it's all I can do to keep up with the assignments in the non-fiction realm. I faithfully read the loop and I've learned so much about writing--both fiction and non-fiction--from ACFW. But I feel like I'm still in soak-up-all-you-can mode when it comes to writing fiction.

I've celebrated with those members acquiring agents, signing contracts, and finalling in the Genesis and mourned with each one of you who has experienced rejection, lost manuscripts, and got yucky judges comments. I get so caught up in the dream of seeing a fiction book in print that I forget that I've already done something a lot of people can't say--I've been published.

This summer I attended a writer's conference that offered workshops for both fiction and non-fiction writers. My friend Christa and I settled in at a table for a break. After a few pleasantries and answering the favorite question of all writers--What do you write?--one woman asked me if I was published. I answered, "Yes, but just in non-fiction."

Christa looked at me, her eyebrows arching toward her hairline and said, "Did you say just?"  Chagrined, I promptly rephrased my answer. But that got me thinking.

I realized that because of my involvement with ACFW, I had inadvertently told myself that since I was a writer, but not an author, I hadn't yet arrived. Let me be clear that no one in ACFW ever expressed this attitude to me, it was all my own doing. Not only had I discounted the accomplishments I'd made, but I'd short-changed the gift God had so generously given to me in the form of a blossoming freelance career.

That made me wonder what other things I saw with a just attitude. Did I discount my role as care-taker to my children, reasoning that I'm just  a mother? Do I down-play the abilities God's given me to minister to His body by brushing aside compliments, saying I'm just  a teacher, or just  an encourager, or just an administrator? In the face of thanks from a friend or church member for helping in their time of need, do I shrug and chalk it up to just prayer?

When I put that little word in front of any good thing given to me by God or any good things He does through me, I discount the blessings He bestows and the sacrifices He's made. I'm determined to get rid of that four-letter word and rejoice in the way God is using me now. You see, my goal is not to change my title from "writer" to "author". My goal is not to publish in fiction. My goal is to be obedient to God and to glorify Him with my life.

How about you? What things are you just doing? What blessings do you approach with a just  attitude?

One True Book

Do you prefer reading fiction or nonfiction? 

Me? I like to read both. I just finished reading two novels by David Bunn and Jeanette Oke set in first-century Jerusalem (The Centurion's Wife and its sequel The Hidden Flame). I enjoyed both because they snatched me out of this century and plopped me down in the dusty streets of Zion shortly after the crucifixion. Among the pages I met the Centurion whose servant the Savior healed, the Apostle Peter, deacon Stephen, Martha, Mary, Pontius Pilate, Caiaphas, Herod, and many others. I learned so much.

From those who claim to prefer nonfiction I hear, "Why would you waste your time on a story? How can you say you learned a lot, when those are made-up tales, born from writers with vivid imaginations? Give me the truth." 

The coin has two sides.

Children often come up to me after I've told a far-flung tale and say, "Was that story true?"

"There's truth in every one of my stories," I tell them. "It's up to you to find it." 

There is truth in every good work of fiction, including fantasy, sci-fi, and other speculative works. Can you almost predict what a particular character will say or do in a given situation because you've known someone like that? The author probably patterned that character after a real person or a composite of real people. That's truth. Have you read something in a historical novel that sent you searching to see if it was as the author described, only to find out that, indeed, the author was right? That's truth. For science fiction to be believable, the author must know the science reality, the physical laws involved. That's truth.

On the other side of the coin is nonfiction. All truth. Nothing but the facts. Right?

During my nine years with two small newspapers, I was a reporter and a feature writer. There is a difference. When I was in reporter mode, I tried to be objective, telling what I observed and heard without emotion or bias. 

I could be more subjective as a feature writer. I took it as a compliment when readers would say, "Your features read like fiction." We call it creative non-fiction now.

Despite my efforts to be factual, truthful, and honest, there was error in every piece I wrote. Perhaps I didn't get the quotation perfect. Maybe the interviewee was wrong. Possibly my background research was faulty. Suddenly nonfiction becomes fiction.

The nonfiction section of libraries and bookstores is large, taking up more floor space than the fiction stacks. But it's a lie. Actually, it's all fiction.

Except for one true book: the Holy Bible. The Author has perfect memory and perfect integrity. Since He cannot lie, every word is true.

The Case of the Hidden Memoir

Seems like everyone is writing a memoir these days. It used to be that the only ones who wrote them for publication were people in high places--movie stars, politicians, sports heroes, authors of best-sellers--those types. But now everyone and her pedicurist is eager to tell all, and then some.

Even Writer's Digest (July/August 2010) acknowledges the trend by dedicating the current issue to the topic. What's the motivation for the proliferation of the genre? Jessica Strawser, in her "Editor's Letter" for the issue, says:

For some of us, we hope that a lesson we've learned the hard way might spare others pain, or help them feel like they're not alone in coping with a similar problem. For others, we've led interesting lives that people we meet genuinely seem to like hearing about--maybe we've even been told that we ought to write a book.

All right. I confess. More than one person has told me I should write a memoir. "Not everyone has had an attempt made on their life," they argue, or "Most people don't grow up in such a household," or "You should definitely tell about the time the hospital misplaced your newborn." While I appreciate such comments, I have absolutely no intentions of writing a memoir (so those of you who would be in it can take a deep breath and relax. Oprah won't be calling you. . . that I know of).

On the other hand, I happen to believe that all good writing contains memoir, albeit, covertly. Our own life experiences serve as tools to accomplish deep POV. How can we possibly know that character's emotions, thoughts, or intents unless we have experienced the same thing on some level. Even when we engage our imaginations to grasp a situation we have not lived personally, it must connect to something we have gone through. (Excuse me, but is my Stanislavski training showing?) If my character's sister dies, to understand her emotions, I need only to think back to when a sister-in-the-Lord passed away, for example.

My manuscript for Up the Rutted Road, a work of middle-grade fiction, includes some people and situations that would be mentioned in my memoir, were I to write one. The protagonist, ten-year-old Camie, is based on me. Aunt Charlene and Uncle Glen were real people. My story is true to the character of my aunt, but I greatly romanticized my uncle, writing him as I believed him to be when I was a child--not as the abusive alcoholic he actually was. A mountain hermit figures greatly in the story. I really did meet a hermit on a visit to my aunt and uncle's sharecropping farm, but had minimal contact with him. Like my main character, I wanted to know more about him.

Those are obvious bits of "memoir," but others that are not quite so overt pop up in most of my work--fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. If the reader is a mystery lover, she may try to discern fiction from fact. I hope my writing is good enough that she can't easily tell.


Write a memoir? Me? Never! Always!


Dear fellow writer, how does your own "memoir" work its way into your writing? Is it intentional, or does it just sneak in? Are you writing a memoir, or do you intend to do so?

Sharon Kirk Clifton

Quit Messing With My Magic!

I just finished a great book, Kate Jacobs’ The Friday Night Knitting Club. I read her Comfort Food and knew I needed to go back and read her first novel, too. And it was a horking good read. Until I got to the end. And found the seemingly obligatory, and all-the-rage, “Study Questions.”

If the book hadn’t been a library book, I would have torn those pages out then and there.

Where has this nonsense come from? And how can we make it go away?

It's not just TV, the Internet, or social media that cause 60 percent of people never to read a book after high school or college. It's the stuff they're forced to read, and analyze, for grades. It's books with agendas, "themes," and "universal" messages, books full of allegory and satire and symbolism and metaphor and parallel universes and metaphysics and...
I don't blame people for never wanting to read again after that!

A few of us, of course, still read anyway, being too stubborn to let "education" take that fun away. And then, we go to our bookstores to stock up on some good fiction…only to find it suddenly bearing a striking resemblance to textbooks in the end.

WHY?

Note to publishers: I read fiction for pleasure. If there’s deep meaning for me in a book, I’ll find it myself. If it’s not there for me, it’s not there, and your putting in “hints” at the end of a book that I may want to go back and “find it” is pure arrogance.

I hate this trend for another reason besides its arrogance, though—and that is, that it absolutely ruins the end-of-book experience. I can't tell you how many times I've finished a story, and then looked on the next page and seen SUGGESTED QUESTIONS FOR STUDY right after that beautiful, sigh-producing, satisfying ending.

Do you know what that does to your story, people? It reduces it back to print again. It takes the magic and dumps cold water on it.

And you want to yank your reader back out of the book that fast…WHY?

Yes, I know some of these things were designed for book clubs. But the people I know who belong to book clubs are pretty smart. They can think up their own questions. And they do. So, once again…WHY does a publisher feel this need to manipulate a reader this way?

My future publishers, please take note—this is the only study question I want in my books:

“In however many words you like, if you like, write down what the best part of this book was for you. The part that made you laugh, made you cry, or touched you in any way. Then sign it, put it in an envelope, and mail it to the author. You’ll make her day.”

If you insist on more, write them yourselves, and put them on a website, separate from the book. A place people can go to when they’re ready. When they've already closed the book and eased back into reality, and if and when they want to think about it further.

But put those things on page 601 after I've spun a beautiful tale for 600 pages, and you've just robbed both me and my reader of magic I sweated blood to create. If you feel the need to do that...how much do you really love fiction—or, in fact, get it at all?

Cantankerously yours,
Janny