Switching Strides from Fiction to Non-Fiction by Christine Lindsay

Every fiction writer writes a certain amount of non-fiction on a regular basis. The two exercises can be like the proverbial apples and oranges. Today, author Christine Lindsay gives her experience in going from fiction to writing a memoir. -- Sandy

Christine: A dozen or so years—well into the stride of writing fiction—my publisher offered me the contract to write my memoirs. I thought that ship had long sailed, but suddenly the opportunity had reappeared on my horizon.

Most of us fiction writers consider ourselves quite capable of switching from novel writing to writing non-fiction articles in promotion of “said” novels, but memoirs presented a whole different playing field.

In novels, we are adept at showing and not telling. In writing non-fiction articles, we acknowledge that we mostly tell to convey important information, and that in those articles we show only a little.

As I started the fresh draft of my memoirs I thought my ability as a fiction writer would easily make my non-fiction come alive. Little did I know that an all new shifting of gears would be required. There was so much to TELL; a lifetime of journals that expressed exactly how I felt at those moments when I discovered I was pregnant (and unmarried), when I first made the heart-tearing choice to relinquish my baby to adoption, and 20 years later to the renewed heartache of meeting my birth-daughter in our adoption reunion.

But as I started writing, I don’t know how many times my critique partner emailed me back with attempts to pry open that deep well of my psyche.

“Go deeper,” she would say. “You’re holding back.”

“How did you really feel in that moment?”

“Can you put this in fresher language so it doesn’t sound like a transcript from your journal?”

My task of showing and not telling had slipped into the accelerated challenge of a bicyclist facing a steep mountainside. I simply couldn’t say what I really wanted to say.

Somehow it’s easier to talk through our fictional characters, easier to let them lose their tempers, easier to let them fail, easier to let them say whatever they please, to convey the truth we want to share. But in real life? How does one do that without hurting real people in the here and now?

I simply could not write a memoir worth reading unless I had on board all those people who were part of the true-life story. Not so easy when one of the most crucial individuals was my birth-daughter’s adoptive mom. This dear woman and I shared so much: The daughter we both named Sarah, my first-born/her first child, the girl we both jealousy hungered for as our own, especially since to this day it is difficult for her to even converse with me.

In addition to that was the fact that the reunion between my birth-daughter and I had not gone well, and that developing a relationship with her was an uphill battle, that I despaired would never happen. For much of our journey I was at odds with the very people I yearned to know and have a relationship with.

In a fictional novel those are great obstacles to have. In a memoir those obstacles bring real and raw pain.

It took almost 17 years for the Lord to soften the path, so that I could approach my birth-daughter and her adoptive mom to share our combined story. I also shared openly and transparently with them everything that I wrote, allowing them to suggest changes. This gave them some ownership of my story as well as their own.

One might think this would take away from my portion of the story. Instead, I found the ownership I granted them enabled me to write more honestly, than if I simply presented them with the fait accompli. Allowing my birth-daughter and her adoptive mom the freedom to say how they honestly felt about me, opened the door for me to go as deep as my critique partner wanted me to go.

Here is an excerpt of some of that raw honesty in Finding Sarah Finding Me:

My counselor’s smile diminishes a little. “Christine, I know you were hoping that Sarah’s mom and dad would be here today.”

“Yes,” I say on a suspended breath. Something deep within me shudders.

“I’ve been on the phone to Hans and Anne quite a bit, trying to encourage them to come today. Don’t take this the wrong way, but they’re not coming. They’re…well they’re quite upset…finding the reunion very hard emotionally. Sarah’s dad especially doesn’t understand why you want to meet Sarah…or them.”

My heart stops. The day I’ve prayed for all these years, and they’re upset…finding it…hard? They don’t understand? The world tilts on its axis. I’m falling off, into the ether, untethered to float forever. I can’t breathe.

David’s hand touches my knee. “Chris? Honey?” He’s reaching across from his chair to mine.

I turn slowly to lock gazes with my husband. Secure in his love, I gulp down some air. Bob and David peer at me where I’m still sitting upright on my chair. Have been all along. I manage to croak through a constricted throat.

“I never wanted to hurt anyone.” But my mind screams, They don’t want to meet me! Why? All these years I thought they’d want to meet me as much as I wanted to meet them. And most of all—I gave them my child! 

Brutally honest but with the compliance of my birth-daughter and her mom, I think we’ve written a memoir drenched in real hope that just might help others struggling with:

· Adoption issues

· Infertility

· Being unmarried, pregnant and afraid

· Facing the scary option of adoption reunion.

What kind of adjustments have you experienced when switching gears from fiction to non-fiction, or vice versa? When have you needed to be brutally honest in your writing--whether fiction or non-fiction? 

 

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Finding Sarah Finding Me

Sometimes it is only through giving up our hearts that we learn to trust the Lord.

Adoption. It’s something that touches one in three people today, a word that will conjure different emotions in those people touched by it. A word that might represent the greatest hope…the greatest question…the greatest sacrifice. But most of all, it’s a word that represents God’s immense love for his people.

Join birth mother Christine Lindsay as she shares the heartaches, hopes, and epiphanies of her journey to reunion with the daughter she gave up...and to understanding her true identity in Christ along the way.

Through her story and glimpses into the lives of other families in the adoption triad, readers will see the beauty of our broken families, broken hearts, and broken dreams when we entrust them to our loving God.

Read Chapter One of Finding Sarah Finding Me: Click HERE


Christine Lindsay is the author of multi-award-winning Christian fiction with complex emotional and psychological truth, who always promises a happy ending. Tales of her Irish ancestors who served in the British Cavalry in Colonial India inspired her multi-award-winning series Twilight of the British Raj, Book 1 Shadowed in Silk, Book 2 Captured by Moonlight, and explosive finale Veiled at Midnight.

Christine’s Irish wit and use of setting as a character is evident in her contemporary and historical romances Londonderry Dreaming and Sofi’s Bridge.

A busy writer and speaker, Christine, and her husband live on the west coast of Canada, and she has just released her non-fiction book Finding Sarah—Finding Me: A Birthmother’s Story.

Please drop by Christine’s website www.ChristineLindsay.org or follow her on Amazon on Twitter. Subscribe to her quarterly newsletter, and be her friend on Pinterest , Facebook, and Goodreads

Purchase links for Finding Sarah Finding Me:

Amazon (Paperback and Kindle)

Barnes and Noble

 

Stretching the Benefits of Our God-Given Gifts by Zoe M. McCarthy

I gathered my checkbook and pre-stamped envelopes and opened up my worksheet for my quarterly giving. I hate diseases, the effects of wars, and anything that hurts people. I want to use the monetary gifts God has given me to help people, but I’m convinced that help without the Gospel is sadly only temporary assistance. So my quarterly checks travel to organizations I trust, are committed to helping people in their current circumstances, and offer Christ to benefit their eternal situations.

Zoe M. McCarthy

One of my spiritual gifts is teaching. Besides teaching the Community Bible Study, I write stories. Many people who love to read are hurting. They often read to lose themselves in a story. If I write to simply entertain them, my help is temporary. But if I write from a Christian worldview and offer Christ in a way I hope piques interest instead of anger, I believe I may potentially plant seeds that God will use to save some beyond their current pain.

Recently, a woman clicked on an ad for my book and sent me a message. She said: “Sadly, as much as I read, I tend to shy away from "Christian" romance. I read for the story. In Christian romances, the Christianity often overwhelms the story.”

I wrote back: “I hear you, XXXX. In American Christian Fiction Writers, we often talk about what you brought up. Story is important, and we don't need to hammer readers over the head with the Gospel. We can write from a Christian worldview, but if it's fiction, then the story has to delight and satisfy the reader. Thanks for taking the time to write, XXXX.

She responded: “It is always about the story in any writing. Thank you for your response.”

I praise God for this woman. She didn’t read my book, but she took the time to write what was on her mind. And she could have been rude. Instead, this woman, who loves to read, shared what bothers her about Christian romance stories.

On the other side, my book received a review from a woman who doesn’t read Christian romances. She admitted she liked to read racier stories. She read my book before she realized it was Christian, but said she was glad she did. And why was that? Story. And she recommended the book.

I will still depict heroines and heroes overcoming life’s hurts. I will still write with humor and tenderness. I will still share Christ, but I will work hard to write stories readers, Christian or not, will enjoy and remember.

How about you? What are your thoughts about using your gifts to help people bearing life’s hurts—now and eternally?

About the Author

Zoe M. McCarthy believes the little-known fact that opposites distract. Thus, she spins Christian contemporary romances entangling extreme opposites. Her tagline is: Distraction to Attraction, Magnetic Romances Between Opposites. Christian Fiction Online Magazine published two of her short stories. Zoe self-published two books of contemporary Christian short stories. She’s a member of American Christian Fiction Writers. She enjoys leading workshops on the craft of writing; speaking about her faith; planning fun events for her 5 grandchildren; and exploring the Blue Ridge Mountains, where she lives with her husband, John.
Learn more about Zoe M. McCarthy at her website: http://zoemmccarthy.com.

Calculated Risk

What happens when an analytical numbers man meets a mercurial marketing Rep? Romance is a calculated risk…

Calculated Risk
by Zoe M. McCarthy

Jilted by the latest of her father’s choices of “real men,” Cisney Baldwin rashly accepts an invitation to spend Thanksgiving weekend with a sympathetic colleague and his family. Nick LeCrone is a man too much her opposite to interest her and too mild-mannered to make her overbearing father’s “list.” Now, Cisney fears Nick wants to take advantage of her vulnerable state over the holiday. Boy, is she wrong.

Nick wants little to do with Cisney. She drives him crazy with all her sticky notes and quirks. He extended an invitation because he felt sorry for her. Now he’s stuck, and to make matters worse, his family thinks she’s his perfect match. He’ll do what he can to keep his distance, but there’s just one problem—he’s starting to believe Cisney’s magnetism is stronger than he can resist.

Purchase links for Calculated Risk: http://zoemmccarthy.com/books

Sigh—He's in a Mood by Peter Leavell

The best part of writing is writing.

The worst part of writing? There's no one to give you a participation trophy. But if you win, people tell you exactly what they think of your work.

The swings are atrocious, and you know them well. Five minutes writing a sentence, we ohhhh, argh, blah, eh, hurl, YES!, awwww, sniff, hmmmm, and thump thump thump our heads on the desk.

Our (undiagnosed?) ADHD/OCD and caffeine fuel the fire, no doubt. But beyond that, why do we write? What makes us subject ourselves to the pain?

Two words—we hate math.

Or maybe we hate accounting. Perhaps a strong dislike for boredom (that’s me). Perhaps your timid body has the heart of a lion, and writing is the way you can express yourself, like T.S. Eliot. Anyway, does it matter? You don’t choose writing. Writing chooses you.

Moods—moods—moods. Ah, yes. Wrestling a mood into some semblance of control is harder than asking a toddler not to get out his toys for the day because company is coming. You can’t change the fact you have a toddler. Or that company is coming. You might toss the toys, but I don’t recommend it. The moods are coming. The writing is here to stay. And hiding the keyboard won’t keep you from writing for long. It’s best to let the company come inside and step on a Lego. Let the moods come.

Working through moods is an act of will.

The not liking our own writing mood is a weakness that can be our greatest strength. Use the mood to read books on how to write. Pick up the masters and study a particular passage where the voice is strong. Emulate. Work until your mood changes in three minutes. Remember the feeling is just a mood and doesn’t reflect real life, no matter how much you’ll try to convince me.

Don’t give up on your dream. I didn’t let moods stop me (they slowed me down, however) over ten years of writing practice. But the persistence paid off!

Peter Leavell

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Peter Leavell, a 2007 graduate of Boise State University with a degree in history, was the 2011 winner of Christian Writers Guild's Operation First Novel contest, and 2013 Christian Retailing's Best award for First-Time Author. Peter and his family live in Boise, Idaho. Learn more about Peter's books, research, and family adventures at www.peterleavell.com.

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When Roadblocks Stand in the Way of Publication by Dawn Kinzer

Dawn Kinzer

Sometimes we fail to reach our goals because no matter how hard we try, roadblocks keep standing in our way. We may wonder why God isn’t clearing the trail for us to reach our destination.  After all, we’ve prayed. We’ve worked hard. We believe that God placed those desires in us—he gave us the gifts that seemed to lead us down a certain path. Why aren’t things working out the way we want them to? It’s not only frustrating, it’s painful.

But a roadblock isn’t an excuse for giving up on the journey.

My husband, Sonny, is a linear thinker—that’s just how he’s made. His normal thought process is that to go from Point A to Point D, you must first go through B and C, in that order. But he’s learning that you can still reach D by taking a route that curves around, goes under, or goes above. There may be several ways to reach the same place. But if we get fixated on only one, we may find ourselves stuck in front of a roadblock or possibly turning around, feeling defeated.

I belong to the Northwest Christian Writers Association. At each monthly meeting, opportunities are given for writers to share news about their projects. Some talk about books or articles being accepted for publication, and we celebrate with them. But others talk about the rejections they’ve received. Only we don’t call them rejections; we use the term “redirections.”  We celebrate those too! Why? Because they were brave enough to submit their work to publishers, and through rejections, they can possibly learn what to do better next time. They may also decide to try something different in pursuit of their publishing goals.

There’s another type of roadblock—one that’s familiar to most of us. It may be different where you live, but every summer, we have to deal with a lot of road construction. It seems no matter which direction we take, we’re forced to pay attention to signs telling us to stop, drive slowly, or take a detour. It’s easy to grow weary of the hassle. So, I try to focus on the end result of having nicer roads, which will help make travel—and my life—more pleasant.

Like dealing with road construction, the journey to fulfilling our dreams may be bumpy, and it may take us a long time to get there. But we need to avoid giving up. If roadblocks stand in our way, let’s either find a way to move them—or redirect and be willing to take a detour.

Arriving will be worth it!

What roadblocks are standing in the way of you fulfilling your dreams? If you were to redirect and take a different approach, what steps would you need to take?

Hope’s Design

Hope’s Design

In 1904, Hope Andrews, an aspiring fashion designer, struggles with leaving New York City. But with no job, her parents leaving the country, and an abusive ex-fiancé refusing to accept their broken engagement, Hope doesn’t have much choice but to give in to her parents’ wishes that she move far away and live with her cousin indefinitely.

Talented Benjamin Greene can’t deny his passion for painting, but guilt over a painful incident in his past keeps him from sharing his gift. Instead, he devotes much of his days to helping his younger sibling rebuild a farm inherited from a great-uncle. Only his brother is aware that Ben spends his spare time in a studio on their property.

In the small rural town of Riverton, Wisconsin, Hope and Ben can’t help but be thrown together. But as feelings for each other deepen, tension thickens over how talent should be used. Their mutual passion for art brings them together, but will it also drive them apart?

Dawn Kinzer is a freelance editor, and her own work has been has been published in the Christian Fiction Online Magazine, Backyard Friends, The One Year Life Verse Devotional, A Joyful Heart: Experiencing the Light of His Love, and featured numerous times on the radio ministry, The Heartbeat of the Home.  She co-hosts and writes for Seriously Write. Her personal blog, The Garden of Dreams, focuses on encouraging women to find purpose and pursue their dreams in the different seasons of their lives. Sarah’s Smile, Book 1 in the historical romance series The Daughters of Riverton was released in October 2016. Hope’s Design, Book 2, will be available November 11, 2016.

A mother and grandmother, Dawn lives with her husband in the beautiful Pacific Northwest. Favorite things include dark chocolate, strong coffee, the mountains, family time, and Masterpiece Theatre.

You can connect and learn more about Dawn and her work by visiting these online sites: Author Website, Dawn’s Blog, Goodreads, Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram.