With Gratitude to Henryk Sienkiewicz - Ramona Heikel

My mom and dad inspired me to write when I was young, but I really had to think about which author inspired me to write novels of the Christian faith.  Francine Rivers had a huge impact on me, because she wove elements of faith into her original secular historical novels.  But as I thought back as far as I could about all the novels I've read, I made a beautiful, and somewhat timely, discovery.

I became a follower of Christ when I was fifteen years old, while attending a high school Campus Life meeting.  A year later my Latin teacher, Mr. Albery, gave me a parting gift of the classic novel, Quo Vadis.  It was written in 1896 by Henryk Sienkiewicz, and on the front page my teacher signed his name with the message, "Ad multos annos (to many years)."

Quo Vadis is a novel set in the time of the Christian persecutions in Rome during the reign of Nero, and tells the story of Lygia, a young woman who is pursued romantically by an unbelieving and volatile Roman noble.  This new believer is already being challenged to make life and death decisions based on her Christian principals.  The title of the book is Latin for "Where are you going?"

After I read this extraordinary book, I wondered if it might also have been my teacher's way of preparing me for my own important decisions in life, where I, too, would have to take risks and make sacrifices in order to stand firm in my faith.  I've always felt that Mr. Albery knew I was a new believer, like Lygia, and the only Christian in my family.  Perhaps this was his way of telling me that we were in the same family of faith, and it was his way to encourage me in my walk with the Lord. I feel certain that it was God who wanted me to read it because some aspects of Lygia's life and personality paralleled my own.

Although my creative pursuits at that time were more focused on drawing than writing, I believe that this book planted the first seeds of inspiration to write my own novels of faith by showing me first-hand how fiction can guide a person's view of life, and evoke courage and conviction.

As I write this, I am on a plane to my high school reunion.  In a few hours I will be at my school, and I would be overjoyed to see Mr. Alberry there!

By Ramona Heikel
Happilywriting.com

Allowing God to Redeem Our Writing – Ramona Heikel

As writers, we brainstorm, draft, edit, ask for feedback, take courses, attend conferences, follow talented writers online, work harder and practice, practice, practice. All of this is intended to make us the best writers we can be.

As Christians, we are well aware of our limitations. We are human beings who fail and sin, and we can get on the trying-harder track in our quest to be better. But, especially at this time of year so close to Easter, we realize that we are incapable of making ourselves good in our own strength, wisdom and willpower. So we trust our Redeemer, Christ Jesus, to transform our hearts and lives by his power.

This month, if we’ve never done so before, maybe we can make a point to ask the Lord to redeem our writing. Or perhaps we can remind ourselves (and God) of a prior commitment to submit our writing skills and success to the one who can infuse divine power and influence into what we write.

Beloved Christian fiction author Francine Rivers is my hero in this aspect of relinquishing her writing to God. (I know, I’ve mentioned her before, but I just can’t seem to shake her!) I first discovered a book of hers in the endless racks of romance novels at the public library in 1992. It wasn’t labeled as a novel of faith or published by a Christian publisher, but the description on the back cover led me to believe it was written from a Christian perspective. That book moved me so deeply that I tried to find other novels she’d written, and it was easy because she’d written 13 of them (which sold roughly 3 million copies!).

But none of the older books could compare in Biblical truths to her latest, and some of them were actually too harsh for my liking. I soon found out why. As I read in an article in the May/June 1995 issue of Today’s Christian Woman, Francine Rivers became a Christian in 1986 and soon after, she stopped writing. She didn’t want to stop writing, but for four years nothing that she wrote worked or made sense. During that time, though, God did a wonderful work in her marriage and she grew to know Him through studying his Word.

While her Bible study group was delving into the book of Hosea, she realized that she wanted to write about the kind of love that could make a prostitute want to change her ways—God’s kind of redeeming love. That became the title of her first novel written as a follower of Jesus, and Redeeming Love was that first novel of hers that I “happened upon” at the library (published by Bantam, re-published later by Multnomah).

Ever since I read about that four year gap in her writing, I’ve been fascinated by the idea that God could—and would decide to—temporarily remove a writer’s skill and success for his own purposes. I so admire how she submitted herself to whatever He was doing during that time. She may have wondered if she would ever write again. How would that feel? But the Lord wanted her to write his words, and when she eventually started writing again, he gave her great success as he used her books for eternal purposes.

My prayer is that we all will experience the Lord’s redeeming power, see His words in our manuscripts and recognize his fingerprints on our lives.

Posted by Ramona
www.happilywriting.com

The Longing to Belong - Ramona Heikel

Forgiveness and belonging.  I’ve noticed these two recurring themes in my writing over the years.  Of everything I’ve written, my three (unpublished) novels show these themes most obviously, I think because I put my heart into my fiction more than anything else I write.

I want my stories, devotions and blog posts to say please join us, feel welcome, we like you, different is okay, you are the same as me, you are forgiven and acceptable , we are not better than you.  As I stop to analyze why it’s so important to me that readers get this message, I remember the words of one of my favorite authors, Francine Rivers, in a response to a letter I wrote to her.  “Write what you need to read,” she said.

I haven’t intentionally set out to do that, but I’m sure that sub-consciously I’ve ended up writing what I need to read, and maybe more so writing what I need to hear coming from the lips of others.  I have probably felt this way all my life, but recently more than ever, I sense a longing to belong.

Just yesterday I finished reading a novel that’s been on my shelf for a long time, A Delirious Summer, by Ray Blackston.  I couldn’t always relate to the escapades of the twenty-something characters, but I found myself envying their little summer community.  When there was a crisis with two of their missionary friends, several in the group even formed an emergency short-term mission.  So whether vacationing at a beach, or facing the challenges of the jungle, they still had their “peeps” surrounding them and providing support.

Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t remember growing up with a focus on group activities like I see in my kids’ friends and my young co-workers.  Maybe I’ve always been too determined to be independent.  But now I’m starting to gravitate in the direction of community and belonging, and I notice other people who feel that same need.

I hope that my writing will help some of the people in the world who may feel  ignored, unimportant or left behind to see how valuable they are, and also know that they can belong to the always-accessible family of believers.  I cherish the blessing at the end of Francine Rivers’ letter:

“May the Lord use you in bringing light and love to others.”

Posted by Ramona

www.happilywriting.com

Being a Member of the Writer Family – Ramona Heikel

I grew up noticing that my personality seemed a little “off” from others, and I wasn’t quite sure where I fit in to the world. No one else seemed to think the way I did, or have the same perspective that I had. It was like being brown-eyed and brown-haired but everyone else in your family was blonde and blue-eyed. Where did I belong?

I always loved to write and one day I went to the library and checked out some books on writing. Then the most remarkable thing happened: I found distant relations that looked like me! Kathryn Lindskoog, in her 1989 book Creative Writing for People who Can’t Not Write, described the typical personality traits of a writer. Wide-eyed, I realized that someone who had never met me was describing me and all my quirks as though they’d lived with me all my life. This feeling of coming home has constantly boosted my enthusiasm for writing, and given me the sense that I was born to write.

Vinita Hampton Wright also wrote a book about writing, entitled The Soul Tells a Story. Since I’d adored her award-winning novel Velma Still Cooks in Leeway, I figured I could find a gold mine of advice that would help me develop fascinating characters and plots. But instead of revealing writing techniques, she revealed herself, and I found a kindred spirit. This helped me to further understand myself: my creativity, moods, habits, choices of jobs, sensitivity, and my reactions to people and to the world in general. I realized that some of the feelings that made me lonely at times could be the very things that could help me create gripping stories like hers that change a reader for life. Her words were so sisterly, comforting and encouraging.

I’ve always felt a strong connection with the authors of the books that transform me, both as a human and as a writer. When I wrote to Francine Rivers about the religious themes in her secular romances, she replied with a warm letter telling me about her life and faith. I also sent a card via snail mail to the U.K. to thank Rosamunde Pilcher for all the joy her warm, wholesome characters gave me. And having Jane Kirkpatrick at an Inscribe conference point out the harpies on my shoulder (whining like Woody Allen) made the distance between the admired and the admirer shrink to the closeness of a mom and daughter.

Not long ago, I discovered Madeleine L’Engle and learned that we shared an enjoyment of science and a similar approach to our faith in Christ. In the June 2002 The Writer magazine, Madeleine L’Engle quotes Jean Rhys as saying, “All of writing is a huge lake. There are great rivers that feed the lake, like Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky. And there are mere trickles, like Jean Rhys. All that matters is feeding the lake. I don’t matter. The lake matters. You must keep feeding the lake.”

I read those words as, “We writers are a family unit. Writing is in our genes and it’s what we’re on this earth to do.” Now where’s my pen and paper? I think I feel a trickle coming on.

Posted by Ramona

Happilywriting.com