Reliably Write

The first weekend in June heralded WordFest Toowoomba 2022. Hosted at “The Lighthouse”, a fabulous initiative by local Toowoomba “Child Writes” creative, Emma McTaggart, a wintery blast met exhibitors and attendees alike, sending hands diving for pockets of thick jackets and scarves winding tight about necks. All over, it was a modest but enthusiastic gathering.

The second year of the event offered an array of workshops catering to writers and readers across a range of genres. Other familiar faces were also in attendance (Nola Passmore and Jessica Kate). I was thrilled to be on the “Knowing your YA audience” panel with author Verity Croker and chair, Ben Tupas.

This cosy conversation explored (amongst other things) our written works, creative processes, and the topic of the moment: how to know and connect with a young adult audience in a way that is relevant and authentic. (Since, as Ben kindly highlighted, we were not exactly “young adults” anymore. 🤔🤨)

At the close of the session attendees were invited to ask questions. This led to a discussion about narration viewpoints and character/reader perceptions in the context of young, perhaps naïve, protagonists. In essence, an “unreliable narrator”.

“An unreliable narrator is a storyteller whose perspective isn’t totally reliable if we want to get the full picture or the whole truth.” ~ Kaelyn Barron

The unreliable narrator is an interesting concept and a well-used literary device. My personal leaning is that no viewpoint is ever truly reliable, and I too have made use of this technique in my stories to create tension between reader insights and the protagonist’s view of their life, values, goals and the realities they are yet to perceive, whilst challenging the reader’s own.

“Fiction that makes us question our own perceptions can be powerful. An unreliable narrator can create a lot of grey areas and blur the lines of reality, allowing us to come to our own conclusions.” ~ reedsyblog

Interestingly, this concept of “unreliable narration” lingered in my mind into the week—and not in the context of writing.

As Christians, we readily reference scripture and songs that remind us of who we are in Christ. But is it just me, or are there times when you also find yourself engaging the world in a way that conflicts with the new identity that has been placed upon us as redeemed children of Almighty God?

The longer I reflected on this, the more I was reminded of the importance of realigning our “self-narration” with our identity in Christ. For as anyone who has been a believer for more than five seconds knows, some days this is not at all how reality plays out. Just like our written characters, we can narrate our world with horrible unreliability.

In the face of rejection, we don’t always feel or act “beloved”. In the face of massive mess ups, we don’t necessarily feel “chosen”, “forgiven” or “the righteousness of Christ”. In the face of brutal failure, we may seem the opposite of “an overcomer”. When we’re hit with a gut-punch betrayal or loss, we don’t necessarily feel “unforsaken”. And yet all these things, and so much more, are still true when we place our hope in Christ and step into relationship with Him.

Because of Jesus’ life, sacrifice and resurrection, our identity in Him has already been validated. Yet so often we can wrestle with speaking, acting, and even thinking, in accordance with who HE says we are. The importance of spending time in the Word and prayer and building relationships with others who will encourage us in these truths becomes vital in this context. For as we grow in who we’re truly called to be and our self-perceptions become more aligned with our identity in Christ, this will allow us to “narrate” our identity in our world with increasing reliability.

Queensland author Adele Jones writes young adult fringe and near-science fiction exploring the underbelly of bioethics and confronting teen issues that include disability, self-worth, loss, domestic conflict, and more. She also writes historical fiction, poetry, inspirational non-fiction and short fictional works, with themes of social justice, humanity, faith, natural beauty and meaning in life’s journey. Adele’s first YA novel Integrate (book one of the Blaine Colton Trilogy) was awarded the 2013 CALEB Prize for unpublished manuscript. As a speaker she seeks to present a practical and encouraging message by drawing on themes from her writing. For more visit www.adelejonesauthor.com or contact@adelejonesauthor.com

Write Amidst the Storm

 I need not remind Australians that for the majority of us, the past eighteen months have been a period unlike any other in our lives. That includes writers. Bookstores have been shut, many never to reopen. Sales have been down. Libraries have been closed, so no PLR. Publishers have been hit hard. Events have been cancelled, and re-cancelled. Gatherings have been forbidden by government edicts. Homes with children usually at school have been thrust into the realm of home schooling, and a pandemic of fear has seen panic buying and frenzied behaviour uncharacteristic of our usually “laid back” Aussie culture.

What’s a writer to do?

I know for a fact people have been very creative in their responses to this. Many have established online groups, often expanding their reach in innovative ways. (I’m talking to you, Tamika Spaulding, and your Tassie crew!) Others have managed to use this opportunity to get writing done and release more books. (I’ll confess a twinge of envy.) Others have got stuck into making promotional book videos (Meredith Resce). The list is impressively lengthy.

For myself, in addition to the whole “close the country” down thingy, I had my own “shut down” of sorts. This wasn’t as dramatic as it sounds and without boring you with details, essentially I had to pull back from pretty much everything I’d been involved with to that point—which was already reduced due to a crazy-busy three years preceding that. I’ve been gradually crawling out of my hole, but my productivity was downright lousy for most of 2020.

What can we do when writing gets hard? Here are a few tips from my “Top Ten Block Busters” presentation, shared at a recent visit with the Rose City Writers:

1) Embrace the season and cut yourself some slack:

Frustration is unhelpful and takes a lot of energy. Even social media can be exhausting during such periods, which makes promotion an even bigger mountain. Our goals might look completely unattainable. It’s okay to cut ourselves some slack and let things slide on occasion, but don’t give up the ideas that will occasionally filter in. Jot them down for another time, for seasons come and go. Swings and roundabouts, as my significant other would say.

2) Do what you can to keep the creative muscle alive:

It just happened that when this conundrum hit, a couple of Quirky Quills (our local writing group), Kirsten Hart and Nola Passmore, and I were regularly meeting to work through online writing development courses. Although things struck a bit of a snag, I already had accountability and something I could focus on to keep things creeping forward. Even when our meetings were sporadic and my motivation negative ten, we were still able to set little goals that were feeding our inner creative capabilities. And out of that, when an opportunity for a short story did arise, I was able to apply what we’d been working on and submit a short story to the recent “Crossed Spaces Anthology” released by Rhiza Edge Press.

Crossed Spaces Anthology, Rhiza Edge Press

 3) Something is better than nothing:

You’ve heard me say it before, but it’s true. Even ten minutes once a week will see you write more than nothing. And when those swings and roundabouts turn, you’ll have something to keep going with. This also gives you a chance to celebrate a little win here and there. And who knows, it might just turn into a submission opportunity when you least expect it.

So even if it your writing productivity currently feels like you’re swimming in a pond of slowly solidifying craft glue, be encouraged: seasons change and opportunity comes to us all. Eventually.

Queensland author Adele Jones writes young adult near-science fiction (that is, until reality catches up with her stories!) exploring the underbelly of bioethics and confronting teen issues that include disability, self-worth, loss, domestic conflict, and more. She also writes historical fiction, poetry, inspirational non-fiction and short fictional works, with themes of social justice, humanity, faith, natural beauty and meaning in life’s journey. Adele’s first YA novel Integrate (book one of the Blaine Colton Trilogy) was awarded the 2013 CALEB Prize for unpublished manuscript. As a speaker she seeks to present a practical and encouraging message by drawing on themes from her writing. For more visit www.adelejonesauthor.com or contact@adelejonesauthor.com

CWD Member Interview – TP Hogan

Each Thursday we will be interviewing one of the members of Christian Writers Downunder – to find out a little bit more about them and their writing/editing goals.

Today interview TP Hogan

Question 1: Tells us three things about who you are and where you come from. 

1. I’m Australian born and bred and have lived all of my life up and down the eastern states of the country. Most recently I’ve moved the to beautiful Atherton Tablelands near Cairns.
   
2. I never thought I’d be an author. My year 11 teacher did. At the end of that year, she asked for my signature on one of my assignments because she wanted my first ever autograph. It was still, even years after that, when I started writing in earnest, and considering I might actually have what it takes to be an author.
   
3. I’m the eldest of a set of twins. Fraternal. No swap-me-for-you shenanigans in our childhood…unfortunately. There were a few of my maths classes, I’m sure I would have loved her taking for me. (Fair is fair. I would have offered to take her English classes. Honest.)

Question 2: Tell us about your writing (or editing/illustrating etc).  What do you write and why?

Why do I write? To stop the voices in my head, mostly.

What do I write? I write Speculative Fiction. That’s an umbrella term which covers Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Paranormal, Steampunk, Science Fiction and Horror. I have a Paranormal Romance (Shattered), an Urban Fantasy series (Nephilim Code), and the start of another Urban Fantasy series (Therianthrope Series) published. Currently I’m working on book two of the Therianthrope Series and an Anthology of Fractured Fairy Tales.

Why do I write what I write? When I first started writing, I thought I wanted to write Romance. I had contact / networks with other romance writers, and they were fantastic mentors, but I didn’t want to write a romance where the characters were great in the bedroom, but nothing else was strong about their relationship. So, I wrote Shattered. How do you ensure your characters can’t jump into the physical side of the relationship straight away? Curse him into a mirror.

After Shattered was published, I stared at a blank page and realised I didn’t want to write romance, at least not the romance my author friends were writing. I sat down and had a good hard think about what I liked to read and watch on TV. Without realising it at the time, I had written it into Shattered. I love things where there is a ‘hidden world’. Where the way things appear on the surface is not the reality of what is going on. That’s when I found Speculative Fiction was a thing, and I haven’t looked back.

This is also why the slogan for my stories is – Escape…and explore hidden worlds. 

Question 3: Who has read your work? Who would you like to read it?

I’d love for everyone to read my work. Doesn’t every author? 

I’ve had feedback emails from thirteen-year olds through to retirees who have read and enjoyed my stories. While they are classified as Young Adult, they seem they appeal to a wide audience. They wouldn’t appeal to anyone who enjoys gritty, hard-hitting, in your face stories, but I’ve been told they are great, easy-to-read stories, to wile away a Sunday afternoon. 

Question 4: Tell us something about your process. What challenges do you face? What helps you the most?

My writing process has changed over the last few months. I’ve actually outlined my next story. 

When I first wrote, I had no idea ‘outlining’ was a thing. I simply wrote as the story came into my head, and jotted bullet points for the story threads I wanted to follow. That was easy for Shattered. Not quite so easy for Nephilim Code. Zeph (book #3 Nephilim Code) needed nearly a complete re-write because nothing was plotted. I determined I didn’t want to do that again, so looked for ways to help not re-write so much…and came across outlining. I researched and attempted so many outlining methods. Oh, my gosh that was a struggle. Nothing seemed to get me knowing the next scene. I knew it had to be a better way, but I simply couldn’t get my head around it. It nearly took the joy out of writing. 

Then I came across Sarra Cannon. She has a Youtube channel called Heart Breathings where she has an outlining series of videos (not sponsored by her, just happy to recommend the outlining series) where she goes through her outlining process. For some reason, maybe the way she explained it, her method clicked with me. Using that, I’ve actually outlined book two of the Therianthrope Series and feeling confident about it. 

That’s the process and challenges answered, as for what helps the most? I’d say community. Having people you can talk to about writing – the craft and the motivation needed to get words on a page; talking about characters, about story threads, plot lines, backgrounds, the whole kit-and-kaboodle. 

When it is just you with a blank page, writing can seem to be a lonely and daunting challenge. Finding a community of like-minded people is perhaps the most helpful thing a writer can do.

Question 5: What is your favourite Writing Craft Book and why? 

It’s a series of Writing Craft books by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi. I call them the ‘Writing Thesauruses’. I’m not sure if the series actually has a ‘series’ name. It is a collection of writing guides teaching show-don’t-tell description within various situations. 

The Occupation Thesaurus

The Character Trait Thesaurus

The Emotion Thesaurus

The Emotional Wound Thesaurus

The Positive Trait Thesaurus

The Negative Trait Thesaurus

I’m sure there’s more but they are the ones I can remember. And no, I don’t own them all…but I want to.

Question 6: If you were to give a shout-out to a CWD author, writer, editor or illustrator – who would they be?

Adele Jones. 

I first met Adele at an author event in 2014 (2015?) where I had attended as a ‘reader’ even though I had a book published and met the criteria of attending as an Author. Truth was, I was so lacking in confidence as an author, I didn’t think I was good enough to attend a – gasp – actual author event. 

I was wondering around looking at tables and taking notes of the things I’d need if I were to attend as an author (Stands, signage etc.) and attempting to ask authors questions about attend author events. Most of the authors there, when I spoke to them, told me…’sure, you’ll love attending as an author, go for it’, but were more interested in ‘spruiking’ their books.

 

When I walked up to her table, Adele seemed to instinctually know (or maybe it was simply her generous nature) I needed more than casual assurances. She spoke to me about her process, why she was attending as an author, what benefits she was experiencing, some of the ‘could-be-improved’ situations, what she’d do the same next time, and what she’d change. Also, in a sea of Erotic Romance Authors, she was an unabashedly Christian author who wrote Young Adult Science Fiction. And she didn’t ‘spruik’ her books once in the entire conversation.

About six months before the next Author Event was due, she contacted me to encouraged me to attend as an author. A few months later, she contacted me to see how my preparations for the author event was going. When I got there, she made sure to come over to my table to say ‘hi’, and that she was proud of me. Then when things got stressful (my assistant got food poisoning and I was at my table on my own – for my first event) she made sure I was okay, and met up for lunch with me to check in.

Since then we’ve kept a friendship. We live in different towns, and possibly don’t catch up as often as either one of us would like, but when we do…it’s like it’s only been a few days since we’ve met.  

(By the way, I have since purchased and read her Blaine Colton series, and I’m happy to ‘spruik’ them for her. You should go and check them out.)

Question 7: What are your writing goals for 2021? How will you achieve them?

I am currently writing the fifth story of a five book Fractured Fairy-tale Short Story Anthology. These stories will be published at the second half of 2021. (Yes, five books in one year – after a nearly two-year writing hiatus, let’s do this). I also have it scheduled to finish writing the second book of the Therianthrope Series, this year, for release early 2022.

Therianthorpe Series: Book 1

Question 8: How does your faith impact and shape your writing?

Without God, I wouldn’t be writing. It’s as simple as that. 

I don’t write overtly Christian stories (though some of my characters have a Christian faith or influences in their lives), but each of my stories has at least one ‘biblical truth’ as one of its themes. Some have more than one. To me, those themes are ‘seeds’ within the story. Some people may read the story, and not notice them. Some may read and notice, but take no further action. Some may read, notice, and be responsive. God is in charge of that. Not me. I don’t need to see ‘growth’ or a ‘harvest’ as a result of my stories. All I need to do is ensure I sow the seeds. He’ll take care of the rest. 

Twice stolen by Susanne Timpani

Are you Aboriginal?

This is the most common question I am asked after describing my novel. 

Twice stolen is a work of Inspirational Fiction. The main character, Dimitri, discovers he may have Aboriginal heritage. The story provides just enough historical and cultural information to pique the readers' curiosity to go away and discover more for themselves. 

I am not an Indigenous Australian and this novel reflects the journey I have undertaken to learn more. Dimitri grew up with as much - or little - knowledge as the average Australian child. When faced with the question of his identity, he is forced to look and learn. Regardless of the outcome of his search, the richness it brings to his life is invaluable.

The first book launch I ever attended was the autobiography of Aboriginal author Doris Kartinyeri, with Kick the Tin. Doris was stolen from her crib in a SA country hospital when she was less than one month old. The launch was held on the empty grounds of the Children's Home where she grew up. The Home had gone and the land returned to its natural scrub, protected as national park. In my spirit I heard the children's laughter. And felt their pain.

I felt shame at my ignorance of our nation's dark history. As an Australian writer, I needed to know more, and I needed to write about what I found.

As well as personal research, I have been blessed by Aboriginal people willing to share snippets of their and their families' life story. 

I wish to acknowledge the generosity of Lyn Lovegrove Niemz, award-winning Ngarrindjeri artist, in painting the stunning border on the front cover of Twice stolen. Like myself, Lyn works in the health and welfare field and I treasure the insights she has allowed me to have into her world and the world of her people.

I have taken a risk in writing this story. As a non-Aboriginal some may say it is not my story to tell. But I have listened to my heart. If just one reader learns something new and gains deeper respect for the resilience and commitment of Aboriginal people to overcome our nation's dark past, the risk has been worthwhile.

The characters in the genre of Inspirational Fiction face life's challenges through the eyes of their Christian faith. Dimitri and Leah fall in love with the biblical Song of Songs (or Solomon). A Blog post with 

Adele Jones tomorrow explores this perspective of Twice stolen.

Twice stolen won the CALEB prize for an unpublished manuscript. It is due for release on Valentine's Day weekend in South Australia. The book is published by Armour Books and Susanne will have the honour of the publisher, Annie Hamilton, travel to SA to launch the book.

Books can be purchased from:
https://www.booksinstock.com.au/twice-stolen.html

Further information on Susanne's website: http://www.susannetimpani.com.au/
or Goodreads