Thursday, September 11, 2014

'Eek! Is that how I should have written it?'--by Jo-Anne Berthelsen

In recent weeks, I have spent many hours re-reading various books about writing. A friend had asked me about an issue she had encountered in creating her own novel and I wanted to do my best to help her. In the end, I chose some of my favourites to lend her—Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott, Revision and Self-Editing and also The Art of War for Writers by James Scott Bell, as well as Writing 21st Century Fiction by Donald Maass.

But there was a second reason for my jaunt into reading these books. During the weekend of 24-26 October, I will be presenting a workshop on memoir writing at the Christian Writers’ Conference in Victoria here in Australia. Yes, it is about writing memoir, but I also plan to include several books on novel writing in my suggested reading list. In writing my first memoir, Soul Friend, after having produced six novels, I realised how helpful it was to have already come to grips with the process involved in telling a good story. I already knew to think about such things as the structure of my book and its narrative arc, what aspects I would include in my ‘plot’, how I would portray my characters, how I would keep my readers hopefully turning those pages and so many other matters important for novelists to remember.

And, of course, I have also read or re-read books specifically on memoir writing, not only in preparation for my upcoming workshop but also to help me personally in creating my second memoir, Coming Home to Myself, which I have just completed. I love Australian author Patti Miller’s The Memoir Book, but have also enjoyed Natalie Goldberg’s book Old Friends from Far Away: The Practice of Writing Memoir, as well as Handling the Truth by Beth Kephart.

As a result of all this reading, there is so much excellent information running around in my head. But another less positive result has been that solid dose of self-questioning and self-doubt I have experienced at times about my own ability to write well. Often, I have caught myself thinking along the lines of ‘Oh, I didn’t realise that when writing my novels’ or ‘Goodness me, I’m sure I never did that when I wrote my earlier books at least’ or ‘Eek—is that how I should have gone about my last book? How did I write Soul Friend and not know all that about memoir writing?’

Reading books about writing, I have discovered, can turn out to be informative, enjoyable, interesting, challenging and overwhelming all at the same time.  It is an essential part of the whole process for aspiring and even established authors, I believe. Yet, unless we are careful, the whole process can also be a little hazardous to our emotional health and wellbeing. How blessed we are then, as Christian authors, to know God’s reassuring presence with us, whatever we are reading, and to be able to listen the Spirit’s encouraging voice even as we discover old habits we need to get rid of and new things we need to put in their place! Yes, we might have made those mistakes in our writing—but we are learning and moving forward with God in it all. And that is what matters.


Jo-Anne Berthelsen lives in Sydney, Australia. 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.

6 comments:

  1. Hi Jo-Anne,
    I'm looking forward to catching up with you in person on that weekend. It will be a great conference. Thanks for the tips on these books. I've read several, and jotted down the names of those I haven't. And I still think 'Soul Friend' is one of my favourite memoirs I've read.

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    1. Yes, it will be great to see you again at the conference, Paula--and I'm sure it will be a great weekend all round. And thanks for your lovely comment about 'Soul Friend'--that's really encouraging.

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  2. I find it so invigorating to read or reread books on writing. I always take away something new because my current WIP makes me see it in a new way.

    As an Aussie, you may be interested in Betting on a Certainty, the memoir of an Aussie missionary to South Africa. Ann Brown is witty and very honest. (Disclaimer: I was the editor, but I was so proud of the job Ann did.]

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    1. Yes, I agree, LeAnne, there are always new insights to be gained with each book we write, for sure, and in reflecting on those books about writing as we do.

      And thanks for letting us know about 'Betting on a Certainty'--it sounds really interesting and I have added it to my 'wish list' of books for Christmas!

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  3. Oh, there's a lot of research needed in a memoir. That is scratching around in the memory box to recall all the good times besides the difficult situations we all face. I have often thought of the strange, funny, and awful situations I've found myself in in my ministry travels.

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  4. Rita, I'm sure you could write an excellent memoir, as I think I said to you once before! Maybe that can be your next project? Yes, there is much research and remembering and organising involved in writing memoir but I'm sure once you started, those memories would bubble up to the surface one after the other. Now--what would the title of that memoir be?

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