Writing life stories by Ruth Bonetti

What more precious gift to relatives and future generations than to write a family history or memoir? Do it now, before stories and insights are lost to dementia and coffins.

But first consider: for whom do you write?            
                                                                                    Photo 1890: Ruth's grandfather stands front left.

• Will you circulate amongst family some copies produced at the local print shop? 
• Or might your stories resonate with Everyman and Everywoman? 

That challenging option, with good marketing and distribution, can reach more readers.

• Will you present facts as a historical document, with diligent footnotes and bibliography? 
• Or through creative nonfiction put flesh on bones, words in mouths, and look under the surface to the motivations that drove actions?                                                           

If so, one writes with relatives peering over the shoulder, while wondering what flak the finished book might draw. They caution: “Change the names, write a novel, and avoid offence.”
Kate Grenville took this path with The Secret River.

My attempts to novelise felt stilted. Why waste my treasure trove of archival letters and diminish a great story? Let the characters speak for themselves. Narrative nonfiction morphed into memoir as I discovered and interpreted stories. Accepting my role as storyteller unlocked the cage to write more freely.

Others might write different books, equally valid.

Dare to share?

Fact checking early drafts might elicit useful information–or invite criticism. Steel yourself for unsolicited advice: “Don't include aspects that dishonour ancestors…”

Memorise a short but gracious mantra:
"Thank you. I hear what you say. I’ll choose appropriate content with care and prayer."

Clamp your mouth on justifications.

Black versus white sheep?

Some families draft ancestors into pens of white and black sheep, with little variegation between. What demons drove the reprobate to that more interesting story? Avoiding all conflict makes for dull reading and robs readers of the opportunities to learn from generational patterns.

Shame on the family!

What family tree doesn’t sprout illegitimate twigs? Recent generations shrug but Great Aunt Flossie concealed scandals with hushed euphemisms for 90 years. She threatens legal action if her family name is besmirched. Living relatives cannot sue on behalf of “defamed” deceased. The defamation twins are libel (written words) and slander (spoken) false or malicious statements that damage someone’s reputation. Avoid pitfalls with nonjudgmental, factual reporting. Australian Society of Authors membership includes legal aid if needed.

If you choose narrative nonfiction, cover yourself with upfront disclaimers:  “This is my interpretation...” and intersperse “I imagine that…” and “perhaps...” throughout. Endnotes can delineate fact from elaboration and acknowledge sources.

What is truth?

Contradictions are inevitable when sifting truths from myths of oral history.

Relatives view my many-faceted Grandfather from varied kaleidoscope angles to mine. This is the paradox of history; the events of World War 1 written by people from Germany, France, England or Australia would differ, even contradict in some details.

Relatives who share letters, documents, information and memories may envisage the book they would write and recoil if your version departs from their preconceptions.

My preferred style is life writing, to look under the surface of dates, events and facts and find the persons beneath. What drove two brothers to flee their native Finland to settle at the far end of the earth? Did they struggle, away from the security of the nest? 

After a decade of research, countless drafts and edits, Burn My Letters: Midnight Sun to Southern Cross I'm exploring publication options. I hope it fulfils the calling of Psalm 102:18.

Let this be recorded for a generation to come, so that a people yet unborn may praise the LORD. (RSV)

Trailer and Q & A

Want to hear when it’s published? Email

Ruth Bonetti co-founded Omega Writers in 1991. She is author/editor of 12 publications through Oxford University Press and her imprint Words and Music. These and her presentations seek to empower those who present through Words and Music.

http://www.ruthbonetti.com

Ruth's books: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00ISFNMG8

Let's Make it Happen

by Mazzy Adams

The early strains of my authorial inclinations arrived twenty-eight years ago, as song lyrics. Words to worship the living God rode the wings of melody straight into my spirit. Was that exciting, or what! Each new song shone with possibility. I scribbled them down, determined which chords supported the melodies, and typed up my treasures with their chords hovering happily above them: C, B^b, F^#, Am, C⁷dim etc. Dainty letters and symbols, aren’t they? And any musician worth their salt would have no trouble knowing what chords to play. But knowing when to play them? Or what tune to sing the words to? That was a problem. You see, although I could compose the tunes, and even understand the harmonies, I had never learned to play a musical instrument (beyond a wooden recorder), nor had I developed any fluency in writing musical notation. The music might have been within me, but my ability to communicate it to others was limited.

Mind you, I wasn’t completely without options. I managed to produce music scores using computer programs, but the gap between my expertise and that needed to produce a finished article good enough to get those songs ‘out there’ seemed too wide to bridge on the budget I had. I leaned towards compromise; I told myself that even if nobody else ever heard or sang those songs, it was okay, because God heard them. He received my personal expressions of praise and worship every time I sang them, and at least He and I were blessed. And that was true. It also gave me an easy way out, especially once I heard a pastor suggest that, if our plans, or the operation of our gifts and talents, faced huge obstacles, or seemed to be thwarted by circumstances, we should probably ‘put those things on the shelf, and leave it to God to make them happen’. Hmm. Really?

All these years later, I am convinced that the pastor’s advice, albeit well-meaning, was dubious, if not downright flawed. Why? Because that kind of advice made it easy to give up, and easier to blame ‘God’s will’ for anything and everything that could’ve, should’ve, would’ve but didn’t happen. Thankfully, at about that time, the Holy Spirit highlighted some verses from Psalm 68 in the Amplified Bible (yes, he made it loud and clear) to me, including:

• Verse 11:       ‘The Lord gives the word [of power]; the women who bear and publish [the news] are a great host.’ Yes, that’s how it is, punctuation and emphasis included!
• Verse 19:       ‘Blessed be the Lord, Who bears our burdens and carries us day by day, even the God Who is our salvation! Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]! I did ‘Selah’. Then I wrote a song based on that verse as a consequence of my meditation.
• Verse 28:       ‘Your God has commanded your strength [your might in His service and impenetrable hardness to temptation]; O God, display Your might and strengthen what You have wrought for us! Was I tempted to give up? Yep. But just look at the order of that verse. First, God commands our strength. Then the psalmist implores God to strengthen what He has wrought for us. I figured, if it was good enough for King David …
• Verse 35:       ‘O God, awe-inspiring, profoundly impressive, and terrible are You out of Your holy places; the God of Israel Himself gives strength and fullness of might to His people. Blessed be God!’

I decided it was risky to shelve something difficult or challenging in the hope (or presumption) that, if God wanted to, He’d make it happen. I decided it was better to trust Him to strengthen me and help me make it happen. As a consequence, I’ve learned to maintain a very large ‘pending’ file, and check it regularly. Had my stubborn and tenacious streak not underpinned my decision to persevere, in spite of many obstacles, I may never have been surprised (and delighted) to hear a congregation singing one of my songs at a church I visited just a couple of years ago – some twenty-three years after I wrote the song. 

While none of my songs were ‘published’ in the traditional sense, over the years a number of them were heard, and sung, by a wider audience than just me and God. What’s more, writing those songs seeded my passion for writing poetry and lyric essays, which I have had traditionally published. In fact, two of my poems are being published today, in the Glimpses of Light anthology. I love the spirit behind the following comment from the anthology’s acknowledgement page:

‘Glimpses of Light began as an inkling of an idea last year … 

At first we put it in the ‘too hard basket’, but the idea just wouldn’t go away.’

Wouldn’t it? It might have, if our dedicated Editors, Jeanette O’Hagan and Nola L Passmore had shelved the idea before it got off the ground. But they didn’t. It might have, if the many authors who have contributed stories and poems had buried their creative talents at the back of a shelf and left them there. But they didn’t. It might have, without the encouragement and effort of everyone who helped to make this project happen. But encourage and help they did. It might have, if the enemy’s plans to prevent these ‘stories and poems of imagination and hope’ from reaching the hearts that will be inspired and healed by them had succeeded. They haven’t so far. (Let’s keep it that way by spreading the word far and wide.) And finally, it might have, if God had not answered our many prayers for wisdom, guidance, strength, and protection, time and again. But He did. And guess what? Glimpses of Light has HAPPENED!

Now, the music of hope fills the pages of an anthology. And our ability to pass it on to the world is only limited by … the good intentions we shelve and the actions we don’t take. Will you add your abilities to the mix now? Help us get this gem of good news and encouragement out to as many people as possible? Yes? Thank you so very much. May God strengthen you as you do, just as He has already strengthened what He has wrought for us. And may He give you the encouragement and strength you need to move your projects, your gems, off the shelf, out of the ‘too hard’ and/or ‘pending’ baskets and on to a world that is waiting to see them shine.

Need a little more persuasion? Perhaps the words from Jeremiah 50:2a (Amplified Version) may help to convince you, as they once did me: ‘Declare it among the nations and publish it and set up a signal [to spread the news] – publish and conceal it not; say, Babylon has been taken.’

   

Why, I’ll even give you some links, to make your task of acquiring and promoting the Glimpses of Light anthology easy. ;)

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0994398921?keywords=Glimpses+of+Light&qid=1450240465&ref_=sr_1_2&sr=8-2

Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28116465-glimpses-of-light

Finally, why not re-establish a link with some of your own projects that have languished on the shelf, or in the too hard basket? At the very least, relocate them to a pending file, at least in your mind. Then trust God to strengthen you, to help you see them through. As they say, nothing ventured, nothing gained. What have you got to lose, other than a shelf full of clutter?

Mazzy Adams is an Australian wife, mother, grandmother, creative and academic writing tutor and published author with a passion for words, pictures and the positive potential in people 
Website: www.mazzyadams.com  
Email: maz@mazzyadams.com

Create, Cultivate, Collaborate

The English language is amazing. I fell in love with it as a young child, wondering at the plethora of words that could be constructed from 26 letters. The different sounds that flowed as consonants and vowels worked together seemed incredible to my young mind. I have never lost that sense of wonder and still love to weave letters and words together in such a way as to touch those who read them.

Create

As writers, we take words and by combining them, tell stories, set scenes and build atmosphere. As our words flow into readers’ minds, they create an inner world that they can escape to as they read our stories. I always pray when I write, asking God to help me with fresh ideas that will resonate with my audience. In the case of my latest novel, Broken Shells, the whole story-line unfolded on a road trip. I was driving along the East Coast of the South Island of New Zealand, past neat rows of grape vines, turquoise seas and grey beaches and in my mind this became the backdrop to the story of Taylor and Logan.

Cultivate

Once the creative spark has been ignited, I work on cultivating it. With Broken Shells, I wrote several pages of notes about my characters. I developed a soft spot for Donny, a young man with Down Syndrome and from a small role at the beginning of the story, he ended up being a significant part of the book. Logan and Taylor also developed over the weeks and by the time the story was done, I knew far more about them than was ever revealed in the book. By cultivating this type of knowledge, our characters come out as flesh and blood, real and believable. Take time to cultivate them and bring them to life.

Collaborate

I learned many years ago that writing the story is just the beginning. For it to reach its full potential, it needs input. This is where collaboration comes in. I have beta readers who read the competed manuscript and comment on it. These are not professionals, but rather people who love reading. Broken Shells went to several such people before I submitted it to the Rose & Crown New Novel Competition 2012. To my joy it placed first in the contest but the initial report back was that there were areas that needed to be rewritten. Fast forward to late 2015 when it was undergoing the editing process. Two editors went through the manuscript and marked errors, things that didn’t tie up, and weaknesses in my writing. Back and forward it went until we were satisfied it was the best it could be. It then went to another person who checked it for accuracy, dates, time line and other such details. Only then was it ready to go to print. While it remained my story and work, I was able to improve it greatly by collaborating with others. 

Learning to write well is a lifelong process and as I look back over the decades, I see how the stages of creativity, cultivation and collaboration have improved my work. Twenty six letters, countless words, God’s touch, and help from people around us. What a wonderful way to bring life and inspiration to our world. 

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This is fun!

This past week, I started sending out my Christmas cards. Yes, I do email a Christmas newsletter to many of our friends. But there are still those who prefer to receive that card containing a personal, handwritten note, along with a hard copy of our newsletter. As I began composing those little messages, I found myself thinking, ‘I’m enjoying this! I’m loving the feel of my hand moving across this card, filling up that white space and expressing what I want to say to these special friends. This is fun!’

Now why was this, I wondered. After all, it was no novelty for me to write something in longhand, because, for most of this year, I have kept a daily handwritten journal, as I have made my way through a particular book of reflections on Scripture. Besides, I scribble notes to myself all the time and leave them in strategic spots, so I won’t forget things!

In the end, I realised that, as I wrote those few personal greetings on each card, I was picturing those who would receive them and being extra careful about what I chose to write. My whole self was engaged in the task—body, mind, heart and spirit. My hand was moving across that white surface as I wrote. My mind was thinking of how best to express what I wanted to say. My heart was reaching out to these people, some of whom have undergone huge changes in their lives this year or are in difficult positions right now. And my spirit was searching and praying for the right words of comfort and hope from God for each one of them.

There is much debate on the internet about the benefits of writing by hand rather than using a computer. Some experts maintain that writing longhand employs a different set of skills from those used when typing and tends to activate that more creative side of our brain. Perhaps it is partly that the actual forming of those letters causes us to engage more with the words and concepts we write. Others highlight the many practical advantages in using a keyboard. Still others point out the distractions in doing so—that internet is never far away! But, in the end, is it obvious to those who read our books whether we have jotted down our initial thoughts on paper, perhaps even writing that whole first draft by hand, or whether we have headed straight for our keyboard?

Some years ago, I attended a week-long writing course where we were encouraged to write by hand. That week, my thoughts flowed ... and flowed ... and flowed. The whole experience was so fulfilling for me and the end result was several pages of handwritten story that eventually became the first chapter of my most recent novel, The Inheritance. However, I remember how others in that course were irked by the whole process and were not backward in criticising the presenter publicly.

We are all so different in how we approach our writing. What works for some might not work for others. But how about you? Have you found some benefit in hand writing those stories or poems you create first? Or does that feel like a waste of time to you?

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.

That Elusive Creative Spark (Sue Jeffrey)

Amber, my own petulant cat,
and resident 'mews'.

I recently read through a wonderful series of mystery/crime thrillers by Canadian author, Louise Penny. Her Chief Inspector Gamache books are unusual in that the main character isn’t full of angst. He doesn’t drink to excess, smoke or sabotage every relationship he comes across. In fact he’s well adjusted, loves his wife and recites poetry, although this doesn’t stop his whole world from collapsing on occasion. The books are fabulous. But I digress.

I read three of the series while scrambling to complete NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) the goal of which is to write 50 000 words in one month. Now Nano (as it’s affectionately called) doesn't tend to allow time for reading. Usually the pile of books beside the bed, or in my case the line up on my Kindle, grows or at least remains static, as every ounce of energy is pressed into writing copious amounts of prose. 

But … I was stuck.

I’d spent the lead-up to Nano on another project. I had a vague idea in mind and thought I’d try out the pantser rather then the plotter approach. I began okay. I wrote a few thousand words but then they dried up. I felt as if I was writing rubbish and I hated it. I tried starting in a different point of the narrative. Yes, I could write pretty prose but my sense of story had deserted me. I panicked and jumped into another project and it flowed for a few thousand words but again my inspiration vanished. Throw in a flare of a chronic illness and I was not a happy writer.

My muse had deserted me – rotten thing – just when I needed it most.

Now I don’t personally think that The Muses, in the classical form of nine Greek goddesses, inspire the arts and sciences. As a Christian I believe that my ultimate muse is the Holy Spirit and he never leaves me. But for whatever reason my creative spark had been extinguished and I couldn’t figure out how to reignite the pilot light.

Now each time I’ve attempted Nano, it’s been more about my writing process than completing a usable novel in the time period. I’ve learned a lot about what helps and hinders my creative process. This time was no exception.

One friend suggested that I should think of my muse as a petulant cat. You can’t make a cat do anything. You have to cajole them and rub them around the ears and tickle their tummy. Then they might comply. So I tried to relax, put my feet up, do a bit of reading, which happened to include Louise Penny’s, The Long Way Home.

Essentially the plot follows a search for an artist, Peter Morrow, who is missing. As the detectives, Peter’s wife, and some friends look for him it becomes apparent that he has been on a quest in search of his muse, the creative spark that will set his work apart.

I won’t tell you the ending as it would spoil it and I highly recommend you read the whole series from the beginning as knowing the people (um, I mean the characters) well adds depth to the story. But the book made me think about my creative process. Peter was searching for a way out of his stuck-ness and essentially that involved deconstructing his perfectionist technique and finding the heart and emotion in his work.

I certainly struggle with perfectionism in my writing. I have an overactive inner editor who wants me to ‘get it right’ or not do it at all. I find it difficult to embrace the freedom that allows me to write a chaotic, messy first draft. But I believe it’s important to find that freedom. In fact I think it’s mandatory if our writing is to have the creative flair that sets it apart from a thousand other well-written stories.

This, for me, is the value of NaNoWriMo. You can try things you wouldn't normally try. 

In the midst of my stuck-ness I found that I had 8000 words to write and two days to go. I thought it was impossible.

‘Can’t do it,’ the inner editor said. ‘Just watch the cricket and be done with it.’

But something happened. I locked the fiend in a soundproofed cage and wrote. Even if I thought it was rubbish, I wrote. The result was a new approach to a story and a much more original main character. And I made the words easily. Whodathunk?

NaNoWriMo might not be your thing but I’d like to know how you tame your inner editor. What strategies do you use to silence her/him when writing a first draft? How do you ignite that elusive creative spark?

Sue Jeffrey was born in Scotland but moved to Brisbane, Australia with her family when she was just a wee lass. After a childhood spent reading, drawing and accumulating stray animals, Sue studied veterinary science and later moved to Adelaide where she worked as both a vet and a pastor. After a sojourn of several years in the Australian Capital Territory, Sue returned to Adelaide with two dogs, a very nice husband, and a deep desire to write. Sue has a MA in creative writing and her short stories and poems have appeared in several anthologies including Tales of the Upper Room, and Something in the Blood: Vampire Stories With a Christian Bite. Her e-book Ruthless The Killer: A Short Story is available on Amazon.com. Sue also paints animal portraits.

From the Archives ...SHEDDING THOSE EXTRA KILOS by Anusha Atukorala

A few weeks ago, I had the special joy of whizzing off to Sri Lanka to spend ten enchanting days with my beloved Mum. After I’d packed for my trip, I discovered to my dismay, that the combined weight of clothes, gifts and other necessities, came to a hefty 35 kilos. Oh ohhhh! My bag allowance was only 20 kilos. Something had to go.

After some huffing and puffing, unpacking and repacking, sorting through, taking out, throwing out, putting in, pulling out and shoving back, I was finally only 5 kilos over. Whew! Much better. I wrote to Mum and my sisters telling them of a doctor’s visit that day and added a post script.

PS. I’m still trying to get rid of a few kilos. Alas, I’m 5 kilos overweight.

Mum replied at once. “Don’t worry about shedding those 5 kilos while you’re on holiday, Anu. You can think about it when you return home."

My sister Sal was on the ball. ‘Mama, I’m sure Anu means her bags and not her own weight.’ If you heard peals of laughter going off in three different homes on three different continents, that was us.

My reply? “As for my own weight, that would be a good 10 kilos over. “

My beautiful Mama responded as only she would.
"Don’t worry Anu. You and your 10 extra kilos are all welcome. Waiting for you." When I reached Sri Lanka a few days later, we had a hearty laugh together about those extra kilos.

Extra baggage—we all have it in some form, don’t we? I’d love to shed 10 kilos from my person but the older I get the harder it is to lose them. Know what I mean? What about our work? A diarrhoea of words is usually a sign of bad writing, isn't it? I don’t know how it is with you—but I struggle with being economical enough with my words. And then, the problem of too much stuff applies to us disciples of Jesus too, doesn't it?

What kind of ‘weight’ need I shed today? Of recent months, God’s been challenging me about my character. Have I allowed His Holy Spirit to work in me? God desires that I become holy and blameless. The truth is that God calls me to be more than a Christian Writer. He calls me to be a woman after His own heart. How else can I communicate His truth to others? I need to be ‘walking the walk’ so I can ‘talk the talk’.

There’ve been many kinds of gear that have needed to come off my own life at different points in my journey. Selfishness, pride, unforgiveness. Laziness, greed, indifference. Anxiety, self centeredness, slander. Disobedience, fear, rebellion. And more. Much more. As I look back, I am very grateful to the Holy Spirit who gently nudges me along the way and refines me step by step into what He's called me to be.

Editing myself is a very painful exercise, but one that's needed throughout my life. Hebrews 12:14 informs me that holiness is an essential part of my walk with Jesus. 1 Peter 2:9 reminds me that we, the body of Christ are saved so we could fulfill His purposes for His world. “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”

It would bless God's heart I know, if you and I would conform to the image of Jesus. So one beautiful day, our Amazing One and Only Designer-Creator- Editor , He who crafts the stories of our lives, would lay down His heavenly pen with flourish, gaze at us Christian writers with a joyful smile, the love-light glowing in His eyes, and say to us, "Well done thou good and faithful Image-bearers. You are precious in my eyes and exactly as I planned you to become. Enter into the joy of my Kingdom."

Wouldn’t that be worth striving for?

Anusha Atukorala is a writer who is a work in progress. She delights in many things including life, love, family, friends, reading and writing. Her first book Enjoying the Journey contains 75 little life lessons drawn out of her experiences of God's amazing love and goodness. Do drop in to say G'day at her website: Dancing in the Rain.
She would love to connect with you.