Today, The Writing Sisters, Betsy Duffey and Laurie Myers, talk about a unique way in which they researched their novel. -- Sandy
Betsy and Laurie: During our research we discovered that Psalm 23 is the most
tattooed Bible verse. We wanted to write a story about a woman in a tattoo
parlor and show how an encounter with Psalm 23 could change her life. We’ve
done a lot of crazy things in the name of art - ridden roller coasters and gone
SCUBA diving with sharks - but we didn’t want to add getting a tattoo to the list. So how could we get the details? We sat down
with a friend who has multiple tattoos, who later became a reader for that
story.
When we use readers, we can send the story or scene to them
and they write back their thoughts, or we discuss the scene with them over the
phone. This time the tattoo chapter was
finished and we read it aloud to the friend in person line by line, discussing
the story as we went. What does it smell like? What do you hear? What would the
tattoo artist do first? What would he
say? What would be on the wall? We sat with her writing in the details that
would make the story rich and believable.
In The Shepherd’s Song, a copy of Psalm 23 travels around
the world impacting people of different cultures. We wanted the book to be true
in the details of each culture. For that truth we used many different readers. One
story was about a young Moslem girl, encountering Psalm 23 as she and her
family fled to Turkey. We wanted to be
accurate. We sent the story to a man we
know who lives in Lebanon. He and his
brother were refugees, and he understood the culture. He validated the story
and gave helpful tips about how the father would act toward his daughter.
Neither of us has visited China, yet one of our stories
take place in Chongqing, featuring a Chinese medical student. Again we met
with a young man who worked for ten years in China with university students. He
added valuable cultural details to the first draft of our story, and then read
the finished story for an additional cultural critique.
A veteran who had served in the Middle East, a man from a
large Italian family, a friend who is a flight attendant, a local doctor, a
dental student from Kenya. A cast of readers added depth and accuracy to The
Shepherd’s Song’s many stories.
Readers add authenticity to stories and make the details
richer and accurate. They expand our worlds and our ability to connect with
readers. Sometimes they even save us from getting tattoos.
Have you ever run your story by readers who have experience with something you don't? What is the oddest thing you've researched?
~~~~~
Follow the incredible journey of one piece of paper—a copy of Psalm 23—as it travels around the world, linking lives and hearts with its simple but beautiful message.
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures…
Shortly before a tragic car accident, Kate McConnell wrote down the powerful words of Psalm 23 on a piece of paper for her wayward son. Just before she loses consciousness, Kate wonders if she’s done enough with her life and prays, “Please, let my life count.”
Unbeknownst to Kate, her handwritten copy of Psalm 23 soon begins a remarkable journey around the world. From a lonely dry cleaning employee to a soldier wounded in Iraq, to a young Kurdish girl fleeing her country, to a Kenyan runner in the Rome Invitational marathon, this humble message forever changes the lives of twelve very different people. Eventually, Kate’s paper makes it back to its starting place, and she discovers the unexpected ways that God changes lives, even through the smallest gestures.
You can connect with Laurie and Betsy on their monthly newsletter where they send out updates and their popular free devotional books. Contact them at WritingSisters.com and find them on Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest.
Grab your copy of The Shepherd’s Song here.
