Writing about Tragedy: Voyage of the Titanic by Janice Hanna Thompson

My agent asked me to put together a story idea focused on the Titanic. I’m usually a comedic writer, (and he happened to catch me on my way home from the theater, where I direct musicals), so I quipped: “Only if I can throw in a song and dance number involving an iceberg!” He laughed and responded with, “No, we have to play this one straight.” At first I wasn’t sure if I could come up with a serious plotline, but 24-hours later I had the story idea and the first chapter. My editors at Summerside (Rachel Meisel and Susan Downs) read the idea and loved it. When they saw me at the ACFW conference I got the news: “We’re going to publish your novel!” I was especially thrilled to hear that my book would be among the first to release in the new line. What a privilege!

Writing historically accurate novels take a lot of research. I spend months researching Titanic’s story (reading every available book and watching every conceivable documentary), I also drove from Houston to Branson Missouri to the Titanic museum. Talk about an eye-opener! The exhibit covers everything you could imagine, and includes all sorts of artifacts from the ship. When you write about an event such as this, particularly one that has been so well documented in movies and books, you need to get your facts right. Even the “little” things (like, how long did it take to load everyone onto the ship) can bog the writer down. Dozens and dozens of times I would stop writing just to look something up. And don’t even get me started on the clothing and hats! I created a board on Pinterest to study 1910 fashion!

Why are people still interested in the Titanic? I think it’s the “unknown variable” that makes it all so interesting. It’s the fact that we can only speculate: Who were those people? What were they feeling? What were their hopes and dreams? What were they feeling before the ship set sail? After? How strongly did they feel it? Who did they feel it with? These are the questions that motivate us. As I sat to write this story, I envisioned people from every walk of life, all converged in one small world for a brief moment in history. Together, in that place, emotions surely ran the gamut (from exhilaration to distress and grief). Placing a love story in the middle of all of that emotion just made sense.

Several of my characters (primarily Tessa) face their own destiny. They come to grips with the brevity (and value) of life. They see first-hand what’s truly important and what isn’t. In my story, Tessa learns that her picture of God has been skewed (since childhood). She discovers a relationship with Him while onboard the ship, but that relationship is tested the night the ship goes down.

This year marked the 100th anniversary of the Titanic. It’s such a tragic story, and one that affected thousands of people. Meeting Cathy Peeling really put this in perspective for me. Her uncle passed away that night. This completely changed the make-up of her family. And she’s just one person out of thousands. Generations of people were affected by this tragedy. And so many feel a connection. Ship builders. Dress designers. Modern-day cruisers. The rich. The poor. The dreamers. Those who long to travel. We can all envision ourselves aboard Titanic on that fateful journey. Perhaps the greatest lesson to be learned from Titanic is this: We cannot put our trust/confidence in man-made things; only in the Lord.

Janice is passionate about her faith and does all she can to share the joy of the Lord with others, which is why she particularly enjoys writing. Her tagline, “Love, Laughter, and Happily Ever Afters!” sums up her take on life.

She lives in Spring, Texas, where she leads a rich life with her family, a host of writing friends, and two mischievous dachshunds. She does her best to keep the Lord at the center of it all. You can find out more about Janice at www.janiceathompson.com or www.freelancewritingcourses.com.

Book trailer for Janice's book about the Titanic, Queen of the Waves: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlLeB8tiZbQ&feature=share

Life and Writing Lessons from the Titanic by Cathy Gohlike

The Titanic and the stories associated with the ship have fascinated people since its sinking. But have you ever applied what happened on that disastrous night to your own life? Enjoy this thought-provoking article by author Cathy Gohlike. Be challenged and encouraged.

~ Dawn

Life and Writing Lessons from the Titanic

by Cathy Gohlike

In two days the world will commemorate the 100th anniversary of the sinking of Titanic. In the months leading to this we’ve been mesmerized by the re-release of James Cameron’s film “Titanic,” now in 3-D version. We’ve watched documentaries and dramas (old and new), witnessed the opening of countless musicals and the release of a number of books (fiction and nonfiction) highlighting every possible connection to the ship and her famous, and sometimes infamous, passengers and crew. And, still, we crave more. What is it about Titanic that haunts us so, and what can we, particularly as writers, take away from the tragedy?

Surely we’re fascinated with the Edwardian era—so unlike our own. We wonder why Titanic sank and if that foundering could have been avoided, if the passengers and crew aboard her could have been saved. We still debate why so many from first and so few from third class were given seats in lifeboats, and what those frightening last minutes were like for each of them.

But I wonder, might it be that we ask what we would have done that fateful night? Would we have sacrificially stepped aside and offered another our seat in the lifeboat? Would we have gladly, thankfully taken a seat offered us, or would we have ostentatiously stepped aside only to sneak into an overcrowded lifeboat at the last possible moment, forever lamenting our cowardice?

I think that question haunts us most. Few of us will ever be called upon to make such a decision, such a choice, in such a moment.

And yet, each day, we are offered the choice of how we will use our time, energy, finances and gifts. As Christians we know we’ve been called to be salt and light in the world. As writers we know we’ve been gifted with the power of story, the ability to paint in words a portrait of fierce struggle with conflict to the point of climax, and finally offer a resolution that makes better sense of the world through the telling of our tale.

We can use our gifts to tell any kind of story, relate any kind of tale for any purpose. But, if we use our gifts of writing to point to and glorify the Creator who gave them and to be salt and light to a dying world, it changes everything we think, everything we purpose, and everything we write.

Writing is our opportunity to provide a lifeline to others, a lifeboat in the midst of a dark sea. Not that we save others through our words—but we are privileged to be a vehicle to help transport, and a shining light to make the journey clearer for readers on their way to the One Who saves. For those who already walk beside Him, we can provide the encouragement and comfort of like-minded companions—the reminder that neither they, nor we, walk alone.

As writers, what greater calling could we have? For writers, what greater lesson could there be?

Cathy Gohlke is the two-time Christy Award-winning author of William Henry is a Fine Name and I Have Seen Him in the Watchfires. Her second novel also won the Carol Award and was chosen by Library Journal as one of the Best Books of 2008. Promise Me This is available now and Band of Sisters will release September 2012 from Tyndale House Publishers. Cathy, her husband, and dog, Reilly, live on the banks of the Laurel Run in Elkton, Maryland.

To find out more about Cathy and her books, please visit: www.cathygohlke.com