The Joy of Reading by Sandi Somers

I'm a voracious reader and have always been. When I was young, I became so absorbed in my reading that Mom said, “The house could fall down, and you wouldn’t even know it.” 

I experienced what CS Lewis said, that through stories, we can step into other worlds, to “see with other eyes, to imagine with other imaginations, to feel with other hearts.” He went on to write that “Literature enlarges our being by admitting us to experiences not our own. They may be beautiful, terrible, awe-inspiring, exhilarating, pathetic, comic, or merely piquant….In reading great Literature...I see with a thousand eyes…I transcend myself.”[i] 

This month’s reflective topic brings to the fore our exhilarating reading experiences, our choices, what we’ve absorbed, and how reading impacts our writing.   

The variety of genres I read in my early days developed and reflected some of my key interests:

·       Thornton Wilder books from my earliest reading days enhanced my love of nature                                  

·       Fairy and folk tales expanded my imagination, including the love of the three Billy goats trip, trapping across the bridge

·       Children’s Bible stories heightened my love and understanding of Scriptures

·       Elementary readers brought the world to me with their true stories, including the Yangtse River flood of 1931, and “Dale of the Mounties”, how a Mounties’ dog discovered Eileen Simpson, a young lost girl sleeping in a grain field (a story from my own area of Alberta)

·       Missionary biographies from our church library developed my love of both missions and biography

·       The history of scientific and medical inventors such as Einstein and Pasteur stretched my thinking into different disciplines

·       Fiction in high school, including Tale of Two Cities, Swiss Family Robinson, and Tolstoy’s stories, expanded my love of literature 

Today, I read books from our InScribe writers, picking them up at Fall Conference or ordering online. Friends loan me their favourites or suggest books and genres they’ve enjoyed. I place many on hold from our Calgary Public Library, or from the nearby Ambrose University library—so as to keep my expenses down. Then we have several “Little Free Libraries” in our neighbourhood, and I’ve enjoyed reading books I wouldn’t have chosen otherwise. I have too many favourite authors to enumerate. 

Currently I’m reading—or have just finished most of Terrie Todd’s books, including Even if We Cry; Karen Stiller's The Minister’s Wife; and Jacob: The Wrestler, by Liz Chua, (Liz belongs to my InScribe local writers’ group.) Can you believe I also just finished two Nancy Drew books from a “Little Free Library”? 

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And now comes the question: How does reading impact my writing? Let me count some ways (riffed thanks to Elizabeth Barrett Browning). I read: 

For absorbing genres that I write. Memoirs, personal essays, devotions, and Biblical fiction. Annie Dillard said, “[The writer] is careful of what he reads, for that is what he will write. He is careful of what he learns, because that is what he will know.”[i]

For giving me specific writing strategies, through writing “how-to” books.

For ideas.  Many ideas crop up as I read my Bible and meditate on how the Lord has spoken to me through that day’s scripture.  

For style, phrasing and vivid description. As I read, I often place a check mark in the margins where I discover beautiful writing or a thoughtful quote. From there, I return with relish to copy in my “quotes” journal. Most recently these books have inspired me with their beautiful language: A Surgeon in the Village: An American Doctor Teaches Brain Surgery in Africa by Tony Bartelme, and All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr.

For research and background material. Sometimes the Lord brings to mind a book I own. Scanning through the Table of Contents, a topic leaps out. There, I find what I need and what our Lord wants me to process and write.

For instructing others. Last year I taught homeschooling kids from Grades 6 to 9 and used the wonderful book, Fiction Writer’s Workshop, by Josip Novakovich. Though aimed at fiction, it has excellent strategies for nonfiction, too.

For keeping in touch with other InScribe writers, in our InScribe Writers Online blog, our Professional Blog, and FellowScript.

How satisfying is a reading life! I conclude with Annie Dillard who summarized: “a life spent reading—that is a good life.”[iii]

Image: Word on Fire from Unsplash

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[i] https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justin-taylor/lewis-on-why-we-enjoy-reading/

[ii] Annie Dillard, The Writing Life, https://bookriot.com/annie-dillard-quotes/)

[iii] Annie Dillard, The Writing Life, https://bookriot.com/annie-dillard-quotes/)

My Path to Revision by Sandi Somers

 

In this month’s prompt, Lorrie Orr asked us to write about our revising and editing process. Her prompt has given me a lot of thought. I’ve written on revising, but don't think I've ever written a “how I write” article. It’s a new sub-genre for me.

Formulating a work. I usually start with a personal story that leads into a reflection. I first ask the Lord for clear and integrated ideas. The more clarity I have, the easier the revision process becomes.

However, if my ideas aren't solidified or are scattered, revision turns out to be more complex. For this post, it was difficult to discover that entry point, and it took several tries to find one.

Discovering the structure. Structuring doesn’t always come easy for me. I relate to what Annie Dillard wrote in The Writing Life:

“A work in progress quickly becomes feral. It reverts to a wild state overnight…It is a lion you cage in your study. As the work grows, it gets harder to control; it is a lion growing in strength. You must visit it every day and reassert your mastery over it.”

One key I’ve learned is that each piece of writing is unique, needing to be organized and developed according to its purpose and meaning. I often follow the wisdom of the Estonian Proverb, “The work will teach you how to do it.” I learn as I go along.

What does this developmental process entail? Cutting away extraneous ideas. Filling in black holes. Rearranging sequence to make it flow. Sharpening the intro. Clarifying ideas. Discovering a satisfying, uplifting conclusion.

Refining. Once I have the basic structure sorted out, I can better visualize the whole article. I know I’m well on my way to polishing it. However, every revision needs several reworkings. I write and revise, write and revise. I’m no different from other writers. It has been said that Billy Graham revised his sermons up to twelve times. Ernest Hemingway once said that he revised the ending of one of his books 39 times. Someone asked him why. “To get the words right,” he answered.

Refining means reshaping my thoughts, adding the five senses to make it come alive, reworking sentences, and developing insights that add depth and meaning (and for me, attacking my nemesis—repeating the same words). Fact checking is necessary where needed. Setting it aside for a few days or weeks, if possible, brings a new freshness to my words. Throughout the whole process, I’ve started using my “Read aloud” link to smooth over unexpected ruts.

Finishing. Vaclav Havel, the once-playwright who became president of the Czech Republic, summarized the revision process beautifully:

... how to make it more precise, what to add, how to balance it, how to enrich it, and how to give it greater stylistic elegance.

Coming to the place where an item “sings” gives me great joy. Then pressing “Send” is, as one writer said, like delivering a baby. The work is finished. My prayers go out to my future readers.

Relying on the Lord’s guidance. I’ve often thought of how some authors say they saturate their writing with prayers. This post has brought to the fore how much more I need to ask the Lord for specific guidance at each step, for each day’s tasks. His structure. His refinement. His message to my readers. He is faithful and will do it.

Sandi Somers writes mostly nonfiction—essays, devotions, and inspirational articles. Her purpose is to encourage and inspire her readers to become devoted followers of Jesus. She writes from her home in Calgary.

An Author’s First Book by Sandi Somers

Many people have dreamed of writing a book.

Author Madeleine L’Engle said she wrote her first book when she was five years old, a book called, “Gurl.” 

Margaret Atwood’ first was a book of poems, Double Persephone, written when she was twenty-one. She hand-bound copies and sold the books herself, winning the E. J. Pratt Medal. (Recently I checked Amazon to see if any copies were still available: a signed copy was listed at US $4,000, or $5,136 Canadian.)

 I began my dream in high school, with as-yet unformed ideas about what to write and how I would go about it.

Then in my twenties I was ministry support teacher in Colombia. I kept a journal and copies of my letters to family, supporters and friends, with the intent to someday write my memoir.

Some years later I selected a highlight—an extended trip through Colombia--and wrote a small book. It was modest; I photocopied it for my mom, a few close friends and my missionary companion that Christmas. (Success!!)

Still later I attempted writing the whole memoir.

I started well, with chapters of God’s confirmation to go, my first days, the culture shock. But then I got bogged down.

I got bogged down with complexities and interpersonal difficulties I saw on our mission station. How could I bring in realism but show compassion and understanding—or could I even write about them? Then I read about myself as a timid young woman facing tough issues (some issues that in retrospect have obvious solutions). How could I expose my vulnerabilities?  Or could I?

Annie Dillard, an American Pulitzer Prize winner, said that, “a work in progress quickly becomes feral. It reverts to a wild state overnight.” How true!

When you cannot go on, she said, you’ve discovered a fatal flaw.

Perhaps it’s the structure, or perhaps the logic has a hairline fracture that will shortly split up the middle. “If you pursue your present course, the book will explode or collapse.”

The book collapsed and I stopped writing.

So.

What would I do if I were to pick up and complete that book? (Writing this blog post has been a wonderful diagnosis!)

Decide on a focus. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, the Russian literary giant,  put it so clearly: “What is the question that this book asks?” In other words, what is the focus, the theme? I had so many new and different experiences in Colombia; I would need to narrow my story to bring in unity.

Ask: Who is my audience? Answering that question would help to clarify my focus. My family? People wanting to gain an understanding of living cross-culturally? Those wanting to understand a young woman’s psychological and spiritual journey? Those wanting to understand missionary life?

Choose the sharpest and most essential events, Solzhenitsyn said. Of course! They’re the highlights within the focus. Some memoir instructors said to start with ten highlights, and the structure will gradually take place.

Edit and revise what I’ve written. As an unknown author said, “Just take one article and begin again.”

Get feedback: from beta readers, from my writing group, from writers in residences, from contest critiques. Perhaps I could still benefit by taking an online course in writing memoirs.

Publish some chapters. (Which I’ve begun doing). Some chapters can stand alone, and publishing would be a great incentive to keep going.

Be patient and persistent. A number of authors have said that it takes two to ten years to complete a book. The gift of determined plodding would be an asset here.

Will I ever complete that book? I don’t know. But this summer I’m taking time to pray and wait before God for His way forward in my writing.

          “We can make our plans, but the LORD determines our steps”

                                (Proverbs 16:9 NLT).

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Now it’s your turn.

Tell us about your first book. Was it a childhood project like Madeleine L’Engle’s? Was it a book you published, and if so, what success did it bring you?  On the other hand, maybe your first book is in folders in your computer. Or sitting in a closet under a pile of other items. Or in a landfill. Perhaps your first book is still a dream.  Or maybe you haven’t dared to dream—yet.

      Whatever your story, tell us about it.