As the season of Easter wanes and the season of spring surges ahead, it’s a time when I often ponder the
role we play on earth. Is that the spiritual part of my soul or my writer's soul at work? Or both.....?
As writers, I believe we have a responsibility to think about the role we play in the world of words and thought. Is it merely to entertain—which is certainly motivation enough to write—or is it also to impart
something significant to our readers?
It has to be acknowledged, that whether it’s "truth" or a reflection of
the truth, or the desire to move the hearts of those who take in our
stories—there is something quite powerful about the written word.
The following passage came to me in an email this week and it struck
me as true for us, as writers, not just because it is a spiritual truth, but because it raises a
practical and ethical or moral question, too:
“A man’s [or woman's] self shall be filled with the fruit of his
mouth; and with the consequence of his words he must be satisfied [whether good
or evil].” ~ Proverbs 18: 20
I decided to post the quote on my desktop and so have been glancing at it all week. Last night I decided that even the most trivial story carries an element of something deeper, or does it? Are we satisfied with the words we select and with the stories and/or
themes we portray? Is it any accident that certain stories resonate with us and demand to be heard?
Do we write about redemption? Vengeance, and the consequences of it? The battle between what our characters want or need? Do we write about love—lost, forgotten, stolen, recovered? Or about a time in history when people thought not about the consequences of their actions—eg; how we've destroyed or tormented or conquered? History is full of these stories and as I look through our own Prairie Rose titles, I'm struck by how many of us seem to incorporate them into our writing, as well.
Clearly, themes are important to most of us. I know they are to me. Even as a young person reading (and I have always loved historicals, biographies, autobiographies, and history), I often looked to stories for insight into the human heart or soul, or into the conflicts that ripped brother against brother or nation against nation...As a teacher of history, these themes came up in my teaching all the time, too. I wanted my students to dig deeper into the "facts" and find the human story, whether good or bad.
Do we write about redemption? Vengeance, and the consequences of it? The battle between what our characters want or need? Do we write about love—lost, forgotten, stolen, recovered? Or about a time in history when people thought not about the consequences of their actions—eg; how we've destroyed or tormented or conquered? History is full of these stories and as I look through our own Prairie Rose titles, I'm struck by how many of us seem to incorporate them into our writing, as well.
Clearly, themes are important to most of us. I know they are to me. Even as a young person reading (and I have always loved historicals, biographies, autobiographies, and history), I often looked to stories for insight into the human heart or soul, or into the conflicts that ripped brother against brother or nation against nation...As a teacher of history, these themes came up in my teaching all the time, too. I wanted my students to dig deeper into the "facts" and find the human story, whether good or bad.
Thus, authors, through their stories, are empowered to share what it takes to survive, how men AND women can overcome the odds..... Or how, sometimes, we are crippled by or left bare by the devastation that people have suffered through history.
Perhaps that's why we carry the "burden" of speaking to the hearts and minds of our readers, hoping that they derive more than just a good story from our words!
In my first novel, ACROSS THE SWEET GRASS HILLS, several of my characters (Red Eagle, Liza, Crying Wind, Liza’s father) are involved in their personal journeys of discovering not only what they need, but also in recovering that which was lost: an unknown past; a connection to a people torn apart by violence and prejudice and war; a love that was almost lost, then found; and a people who overcame what was taken from them. It was also a story of how hate and bigotry can tear apart the soul and the flesh...
In part, these very themes were what drew me "into the
original story." After doing an enormous amount of research with the intent of writing
nonfiction, I found myself thinking about what each of these people had to lose or gain by the events that led to the infamous and tragic Marias
Massacre of the Blackfeet in Montana. A rarely shared event that left 173 innocent people dead in the middle of a bitterly cold January morning...
Those questions provided the impetus to turn the mass of facts I had collected into historical fiction.
Those questions provided the impetus to turn the mass of facts I had collected into historical fiction.
It became imperative that I communicate more
than just the facts. It became imperative that I build characters that were
aching or searching to know more, to find more, to overcome....even to love more. To find wholeness in the face of death and pain and loss...Perhaps, in truth, to be reborn.
Gail L. Jenner is the author of the WILLA Award-winning novel, ACROSS THE SWEET GRASS HILLS, republished by Prairie Rose Publishing, as well as the author of several short stories, the historical novel, BLACK BART: THE POET BANDIT, and 5 nonfiction regional histories.
I agree with you completely, Gail, that words are powerful and they are a reflection of who we are personally. We may be relating a fictional story, but inside it, is our own truth. When a writer attaches their truth to a story, now that's powerful. We hold up a mirror to the human condition, both good and bad. I certainly wouldn't want to throw out a hollow story with nothing meaningful inside it, but sadly, I have read stories that contained nothing but sex scenes and the idea that only beauty was worthy of honor. I like a story that has some heart and soul in it.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Gail, for reminding us of the power of our words and to write from our hearts and conscience. Beautiful blog.
Thanks for stopping by, Sarah! I think the few books I've read that, like you said, were empty of theme and deep character have been the ones I end up not finishing or hating....the ones that end up in the donation box!!
DeleteWell said Gail. I've also felt that it is the personal part of history that makes the stories compelling. Names and dates are important, but it is the people who created the events that are most fascinating and therefore the most remembered to me. People allow us to relate, and to me that is where we as authors give the world our gifts. Doris
ReplyDeleteHi Doris-
DeleteYes, I so agree! I guess that's why I could never figure out why people say they don't enjoy history. Wow!? People facing dilemmas and issues and major events....caught up in the ultimate human dramas!! As an author that's what makes writing a story so challenging, too.
I think as authors we can take a piece of true history and mix in a few characters who lived through these troubled times and make the situation come alive to our readers. Yesterday as I sat down to Easter Dinner with my daughter's family my grandson Dalton said "Grandma I have to give a speech on the holocaust, the cause and effect it had on people." This is a delicate subject at their home since my son-in-law Sebastian is from Germany. What I told my grandson was simple. People just want to love their families and friends. Governments are who set the precedence for wars. The people of Germany are no more responsible for the holocaust than the people of today are for slavery here in the States. I told him he has the unique ability to speak to his grandmother who is still alive and was a child during the war and get her information of sacrifices made by her family during war time. And then do his research of the Jewish people. To put a human face on his speech. The written word is truly powerful and perhaps his speech will put a different perspective on the Holocaust for his classmates.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great opportunity. Don't you love it when you hear kids wanting to know more? Two of my grandsons LOVE history -- and I make sure to buy them books that expand their horizons. It's been a great opportunity to talk to them about people. I so love it! Thanks for sharing, Barbara. Let us know how he does with his speech :-)
DeleteGreat post, Gail. I do think we have a responsibility as writers to not only entertain, but to dig as deep as we can. But I also believe that we have to trust our God-given talents. We each have a lens through which we filter a tale, a unique perspective, and that is the gift we're meant to share. Our job then is to learn the craft as best we can--and that includes the words we choose and the stories we explore. Write on!
ReplyDeleteHi Kristy -- I love the idea of a "lens" through which we see our stories and history. It's so true. The old adage that even witnesses to a crime do not see it in the same way really applies to writers. We do not see events or storylines similarly at all -- and that's why so many stories can be told and each one resonates with a different POV and effect. Maybe that's why I can't seem to buy enough books on history (esp. regional or American history these days!). Before I finished ACROSS THE SWEET GRASS HILLS, I ended up with no fewer than 30 books on Native American history, language, wars, tribes, etc...... :-)
DeleteGail,
ReplyDeleteYou wrote, "...I wanted my students to dig deeper into the "facts" and find the human story, whether good or bad". This reminded me of Paul Harvey and his NPR radio broadcasts of "Now you know the rest of the story". I grew up listening to his radio show, and I continued listening as an adult--I was intrigued and hooked. He had such a marvelous storytelling ability. He took a familiar topic and found the personal, the human-ness, the *thing* that touched our hearts. He made the mundane or ordinary topic special by bringing the backstories and histories to life.
The "rest of the story" that has stayed with me all these years is about the author J.M. Barrie and how he dressed in his deceased brother's clothes in an effort to please his mother. Now that is a powerful story.
(On a side note, I was coming up empty for a topic to write about for my PRP blogging day this month until I read your post today. You helped me brainstorm. - thanks ) *grin*
Thank you for your post. I remember Paul Harvey, too, which makes me think of my dad who also loved his broadcasts. That is quite a story about J.M. Barrie --
DeleteI'm truly curious about what you'll be posting!!! Great tease :-)
Gail, what a wonderful, thought-provoking post. I have always loved history--it was my minor, and I can think of nothing that would have pleased me more than to have taught it--but it wasn't in the cards in my life. I think that's why I write about it. I love modern stories, too, but the historical ones are the ones that really hold my heart, my thoughts, and my excitement in writing.
ReplyDeleteFinding the best way to tell a story and keep the reader's interest, get the point across in the most succinct way, and make them hold that book to their chest when they're finished and say, "I didn't want it to end!" is the most difficult thing, but the most rewarding thing for us as writers.
This post of yours really made me think. I will come back to it and re-read it when I need a "shot in the arm". Thank you!
Cheryl
Thank you, Cheryl! If we can make people/readers think, it's so satisfying and rewarding --- just like you said. :-) I have read a lot of books that didn't hold me, but those that did and have are so memorable. And powerful. That gives me motivation to keep on keeping on!!!
DeleteSomeone said that words carry freight...and so they do. They carry us along on tracks and then when we skip those tracks to make new trails, they carry the weight of those journeys, too. Great thoughts and thanks for sharing them today!
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by, Jane! I like that image -- of carrying the "weight" or "freight." Very powerful....I love metaphor and imagery.
Delete