The Fresh and the Familiar

One of the first assignments in my creative writing course involved a set of four poems.  I fancied myself as a bit of a poet, so I was pretty confident I’d nailed it.  The lecturer rang to give me feedback and was very positive about two of the poems.  However, the other two were not as original as they could have been.  As he explained what he meant, I realised that I had used some well-worn phrases and ideas (e.g., God lavishing grace on us and people wearing emotional masks to hide how they really feel).  He encouraged me to look for the original thread that would take them out of the ordinary.  After revision, one of them was published in an American poetry journal.  I’ve never forgotten that advice and try to inject it into all of my writing projects.  I don’t always hit the mark, but I know that when I do strike that chord of originality, the whole piece sings.

After using parables to teach his disciples, Jesus said that “every teacher of the law who has become a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old” (Matthew 13:52, NIV).  In the Amplified Bible, that last phrase is translated “the fresh as well as the familiar”.  What a great goal for Christian writers. 

So how do we inject originality into our writing? 

• Read, read, read.  One problem with that poetry assignment was that I had hardly read any poetry since leaving school, which was … ahem … a long time ago.  I didn’t know what people were writing, I didn’t know how styles had changed, and I didn’t know where to send material. If you read more in the genre that you’re writing, you not only find out what’s already been done, but you also pick up great tips for improving your own writing.

• Look for a fresh angle or perspective.  One trick I’ve used in poetry is to write from the point of view of a different character.  I’ve had poems published from the perspectives of Rahab, Barabbas, Sapphira, Joseph the father of Jesus, and the woman who touched Jesus’ cloak.  I’m sure I’m not the first person to have written poetry about these people, but by taking a different angle, it automatically puts your work into a smaller pool and hopefully brings fresh insights to a familiar story.

• Chart new territory.  In some ways, “there is nothing new under the sun” (Ecc. 1:9), but we can look for new ways of expressing it.  For example, if you’re writing a crime novel, we already know that there will be a variety of suspects and a swag of red herrings before the murderer is revealed at the end.  What can you do to make the journey through that path more interesting?  What if your sleuth isn’t a detective, an FBI agent or a forensic pathologist, but a precocious 11-year-old amateur chemist who lives on the crumbling estate of Buckshaw in 1950s England?  Alan Bradley did that to great effect in his highly original Flavia de Luce series.  What will be your novel’s unique mark?

• Pray and spend time in the Word.  Although I’ve left it until last, this is the most important point.  God is the master of originality.  If He created the world, surely He can give us great ideas and insights for our own writing.  As you spend time in the scriptures, ask Him to show you a fresh angle for a devotion, an original way of progressing your novel or an interesting theme for a poem.  After all, He’s never out of ideas.

 

Nola Passmore is a freelance writer who has had more than 90 short pieces published in various magazines, journals, and anthologies (including true stories, devotions, poetry and short fiction). She has a passion for writing about what God has done in her life and encouraging others to do the same. (Some call it "nagging", but she calls it "encouragement").

The Lure of Stained Glass

A few weekends ago my husband and I went to the Scarecrow Festival at Milton. All the shops have scarecrows on display outside them according to the theme for the year. The time we went last the theme was fairy tales. This time it was horror. As well as the scarecrows, footpaths and parks are filled with markets, stalls and entertainers dancing and singing, a petting zoo and jumping castle for kids and lots of other things.

We were interested to see a church with its doors open inviting people in for a time of quiet, to pray or just to take a look around. We went in and up near the altar were some traditional stained glass windows. Anyone who knows me knows I love leadlight and stained glass. I love the richness of colours and the way light shines through making them look like jewels.  Here is more info about the historic church for anyone interested. http://www.ohta.org.au/organs/organs/MiltonAng.html

Then we turned around and I was immediately taken by the leadlight window at the back of the church.

From a resident of the area we found out it had only been installed about five years ago. While the other traditional stained glass windows were beautiful, it was the newer window that mesmerised me. It showed the dove symbolising the Holy Spirit and the light shining down from the dove onto the Great Southern Land of Australia, right to the spot of Milton.

It made me think of how the ways of doing things has changed over the years. The style of this newer stained glass window was very different to the traditional stained glass windows, while still retaining the richness of the older craft. Both were beautiful but probably appealed to different people and in different ways. I saw one lady look at the newer window and dismiss it before turning back to the older windows, whereas my husband and I were riveted by the newer window. I thought it’s a bit like the change in publishing these days from traditional publishing to the innovative E publishing.  

Some people prefer to stick with the tried and true while others eagerly embrace the new initiative. I admit to being one who has resited this change for a while but recently all that changed. In an effort to bring Streets on a Map to the attention of more readers, those who like to read on Kindle and perhaps those who do not have the money to shell out for a paperback, Streets on

a Map is now published as an E Book.

Like anything new, I am still finding my way around the whole E book revolution but at least I have made a start. And I’m enjoying hearing from people who have read the opening chapter and then proceeded to buy it. Of course the more we open ourselves up to new readers, the more positive feedback, word of mouth and reviews I hope it will engender. Or of course it could also be that thorny kind mentioned in a recent post. But either way my novel is now readily available to more people. I hope and pray it will reach them at a deeper level, causing them to think about where they stand with God and the choices they make in their lives.