Disaster, Hope and Heroes - by Marc Z Jeffrey

 

Will Eisner (pencils) and Lou Fine (inks), uploaded by Roygbiv666 / Public domain

We all want to write words that inspire hope or bring life, but how can we frame our words in light of current events – such as the recent bushfires, floods and now the threat of serious disease – so that they hit home?

Coronavirus, COVID-19 to be precise, is here. And the predictions are scary. The Australian government may implement extreme measures to slow its spread. Businesses are likely to be impacted by disruptions to the supply chain, downturns in demand, or by workforces being compromised by infection or by needing to care for loved ones. So, unless workers can work from home, this could also flow on as severe personal financial hardship, a result multiplied across the land.  Nationally, that could push us toward deep recession. However you look at it, this virus could be disastrous news.

But, of course, we all hope and pray for a quick and effective solution without pain.

Besides the disease itself, the worst may well be the enforced isolation including the cancellation of community and sporting events to stop the spread. How will that affect us as a community?

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Nick-D Canbera 28 Jan, 2020

Community is what makes disasters recoverable. It is also what characterises Australians when there is an emergency. Just think of the role communities played in the recent national bushfire crisis. There was story after story of people backing each other up, pitching in to help with extraordinary offers, often in the face of unfathomable disaster.

But a community isolated from itself. Who survives that? Where do we draw the courage to fight on with true grit?

In the Great Depression and the Second World War, it was creative people that came to the fore with printed comic stories which rapidly gained popularity during the war years. The hallmark of these stories involved ordinary but very brave individuals turning extraordinary and overcoming great difficulties with the acquisition of great powers. The first of this genre featured Superman (in 1938), but other stories followed, including Batman (1939), Captain Marvel (1939), Wonder Woman (1941) and Captain America (1941).

Such a diversion was precisely what the population supporting the allied forces (which included the US and the UK and by extension, Australia) needed during the dark days of the Second World War. As in most wars, travel and freedoms were limited, work was often dangerous and communication heavily censored. Not only did the fictional comic stories provide a diversion from the dark reality of war and the constant threat of death and destruction, but the population could start believing again that the present reality could be overcome and peace could resume. The personas and achievements of these superheroes were, in many ways, a panacea.

This superhero comic book genre came to the fore and enjoyed strong popularity till a few years after the conclusion of World War II, in what became known as the golden age of comics. Some years after that, cinematography revived the waning genre to become the hit it is today.

Australia has not had a nationwide threat like COVID-19 for quite a time. Unlike in the bushfire emergency, we don’t really know where the safer places are – where we flee to when the out-of-control wildfire is approaching. We knew what to do then, but many people lost their homes, businesses and in some cases their lives anyway. This time it’s different. We don’t know well yet where the threat may come from and exactly how we should react when it does. It feels dark.

But do not be discouraged in these times of threat. We can rise above it and be a light, by our writing pointing to the love of our God who knows all things – love that bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Creative writers again have a part to play doing, in essence, what those 1940s comic writers did. Supported by electronic media we can enthral, encourage and point upward. By creating content that reaches above the threats and hidden dangers, we can be the community that helps our fellow Australians through tough times, by helping them believe.

So, what type of stories bring you hope? What memes inspire you to rise up above fear and the threat of the unknown?

Marc Z Jeffrey works for the Australian public service, but loves to write suspense and thrillers and the occasional whimsical dragon story. He loves editing fiction and can spot an errant apostrophe at a thousand paces.

 

CWD Member Interview – Eric Skattebo

Most Thursdays this year 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’s interview: Eric Skattebo

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

1. I love stories!  Especially, stories of faith and how God helps us overcome challenges of life.  And that’s why I love interviewing people about their faith on the radio programs, “The Story” & “Real Faith” on Vision Christian Radio.
2. I am married to my wonderful wife, Jean, who is from St Lucia in the Caribbean.
3. I am from Milwaukee, Wisconsin – the Dairy State – and am proud to be known as a “Cheesehead.”  ☺

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

As a full time radio producer, the hardest part of my job is writing the radio scripts (i.e. introductions, conclusions etc.)  It is a challenge to write for the ear and try to capture listeners’ attention so they want to “lean in” to the radio and hear more.

Who has read your work? Who would you like to read it?

Technically, nobody “reads” my work (except for the program descriptions on the website – www.realfaith.org.au ).  But, hopefully, many people hear what I write.  I would like as many people as possible to hear what I write and be intrigued to want to hear the guest’s story and how God has worked in their life.  

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

I view myself as a “Packager.”  That is, someone who takes an experience of how God has worked in a person’s life and tries to “Package” them with words that make it as attractive as possible for a listener.  Hopefully, in doing this, the listener is inspired to want to know God more and get closer to Him.  The challenge is to write for another person and still make it sound conversational and comfortable, rather than formal and stilted.  I try my best to put myself in the listener’s place and ask if I would be able to understand it and enjoy it.

What are your writing goals for this year? How will you achieve them?

My goals for this year is to continue to capture listeners’ attention with compelling introductions and content.  Also, at the end of “The Story,” I write a mini-devotional to wrap up the program and give a Bible verse or spiritual truth for the listener to dwell on as the program closes.  My goal is to take this to the next level with spiritual insights that go beyond the cliché or the most popular verses.

How does your faith impact and shape your writing?

Well, as you can see above, bringing glory to God and nudging listeners’ hearts toward God is really central to everything I do.  I trust that God will bring me the right guests with the right information/testimonies that people need to hear to inspire them to take that next step in their spiritual journey to the Lord.  Obviously, I can’t do anything unless God works in peoples’ lives in amazing ways and we have something to make a program about.  The Good News, of course, is that the Lord never ceases to do amazing things in peoples’ lives and my cup runs over with fantastic guests with wonderful stories!

Eric is originally from Milwaukee, Wisconsin and became a Christian in high school when he attended a retreat led be international Christian speaker Ravi Zacharias. Shortly after graduating in 1983, Eric went to the West Indian island of St. Lucia to visit his brother serving in the Peace Corps and met his future wife Jean.

Jean had become a Christian when she was twelve years old. She was involved in her local church where Eric’s brother attended.

After their marriage in 1987, Eric finished his bachelor’s degree in Mass Communications – Radio and TV and they began to serve as missionaries at the radio ministry Jean had grown up listening to: WIVV FM located on in Puerto Rico. Jean and Eric served there for a year and a half and Eric hosted the afternoon children’s program, “Club BMJ with Uncle Eric.”

Later, Jean and Eric attended New Tribes Bible Institute in Waukesha, Wisconsin and this exposed them to missionaries from all over the world while learning God’s Word. After graduation, they served as radio missionaries with HCJB World Radio (Now Reach Beyond) in Quito, Ecuador before eventually relocating to Melbourne, Australia in 2003.

They have since served at various radio and family ministries – hosting and producing Christian radio programs heard on stations throughout Australia and internationally on short-wave radio.