Blogger: Michelle Ule
Location: Books & Such Main Office, Santa Rosa, Calif.
During the Great Depression of the 1930s, the most popular film stars were Shirley Temple, Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Astaire and Rogers, in particular, danced through spectaculars, filled with music and beautiful people. The Thin Man series also enjoyed success–clever amateur detectives in beautiful clothing, mingling with wealthy people in glamorous places and drinking an awful lot of gin.
Why? The theory has been people wanted to escape their troubles and to be entertained–they didn’t want to be reminded of the difficulties currently facing them.
Or did they?
Shirley Temple rarely seemed to have a mother, and more than once she was either kidnapped or witnessed an auto accident. Ginger Rogers frequently was out of work when she stumbled on the agile Astaire–though dancing with him usually carried her away to a brighter future. And for Nick and Nora Charles–well, murder, mayhem, police and thugs often were the order of the day.
I think of these storylines as I read queries about child abuse, vampires, Mafia tales, spousal abuse, forced abortions and mental illness. Frankly, it hurts to read some of the nonfiction projects that reveal terrible experiences people have endured. I’m amazed by their courage and ability to overcome horrific odds to write their stories. Some days, I want to weep at man’s inhumanity to man as described in these manuscripts.
These stories are important, but I have to read through the filter of a book buyer. Why would I want to read this manuscript? What can I take away from it? Who would benefit from this story? Is this a good time–American-psyche-wise–to tell this tale? How can this story be told in a way that entertains without preaching?
Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote a novel that “ignited” a war: Uncle Tom’s Cabin. But the main reason it succeeded was she took a timely tragedy–slavery–and built a story around it that touched readers’ hearts.
If you’re a writer with a difficult subject, how can you write about it in a way that sheds light without discouraging the reader? Do you know of any other books that do a good job in this vein?
Christians like to pretend that all Christians are good…that we’ve had great lives…that we make no mistakes. We like to pretend that God promised a tomorrow with no strife, even though He actually promised otherwise. I think we need books to be honest There is a difference between discretion and false reality.
Great topic and definitely one worth considering on a deeper level.
Unwind is a shining example of taking on the pro-life versus pro-choice war.
Written for teens, it is a book that anyone with an opinion on the subject should read. From geneticists to social workers to parents.
It delves into politics, humanity, social conscience, religion and more.
Michelle, all those actors and actresses and the characters they portrayed had an “unsinkableness” to them that a viewer can’t help but admire. Despite the circumtances, you knew they would triumph.
I believe when we can capture that same spirit, we have characters who readers can walk beside and come out still believing in mans ability to rise above circumstances.
I’ve been thinking about The Diary of Anne Frank since reading about the passing of Miep Gies this week. It’s especially interesting since Anne never intended her book to be published. In her personal diary, she did not preach or pound political messages. The subject is extremely difficult, and the book does not end happily ever after. But Anne’s perspective was distinctly Jewish, unselfconsciously innocent. She simply told her story–the echo of a whisper–but the impact is more profound than if she had shouted.
Thanks for the suggestion for Unwind; I’m a long-time volunteer for a pregnancy counseling center. I’d like to read something insightful and emotionally touching that will appeal to both sides.
And great observation about Anne Frank, Lynn. Raw emotion, in her case, brought the truth so close to readers. As Lorna said, great characters we care about take us through difficult stories in a growing way. I’ve just read Sara Zarr’s novels about lonely young adults and feel I can understand my own teenager better.
I think it is probably easier for optimists to do this (me, for instance LOL). I have found that when I am in the midst of high stress and tragedy, that the little rays of hope you see (even if they are false hope!), help get me through. And I think we as writers, especially as Christian writers who believe that everything is God-orchestrated, can show that same thing, without pouring on the saccharine.
One novel that always stood out to me is The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night, and part of the reason I think it is so well done is because the author stays so firmly in the head of the (autistic) main character. While some pretty terrible things happen around him, the emotional distance provides an inherent filter to see the story shine.
There are many heart-breaking stories in this world. And I wouldn’t want to discredit anyone that has faced the many terrible experiences you mentioned (or others) but I often think that the force of these stories is most often not in the tragic details but in the hope/courage/purpose they find in the face of or in spite of such difficult times.
When they can share that, their story moves from tragedy to triumph. Life is gritty and even fiction needs to acknowledge that but I always look for resilience or hope or determination in characters, even while the grit grinds. Those are the stories I will read. Just like I know Fred & Ginger will dance their way out of their dilemma, any story that has “shows the way out” offers hope, relief and hopefully an awareness of how to be sensitive to someone that might have faced the same things – all within the context of engaging writing, and even without a happy ending. Otherwise, there is little to distinguish it from a newspaper article or a police report.
I don’t consider myself “a Christian” writer, but hope the words I write inspire children and their parents to be more than what they are before they read my words. I am a Christian, but don’t currently belong to a church. As I “chatted” with former students tonight on facebook, I realized that if I never get published, I still made a difference. I’m writing my first YA. It tells of my truths mixed with fiction. Coming from a divorced family, moving to another country, (worse off here than the country I came from) books and teachers saved me….I went to college married my college sweetheart and he is now President of a company that a LARGE company owns…I credit God for giving us the abilities we have and the work ethic we have…Faith and hard work, that’s what it takes.
Michelle,
I’ve been a human rights activist since my teens (which were some time ago), and my historical fiction projects deal with topics like Soviet Gulags, the Chinese occupation of Tibet, and child slavery in 19th century Australia.
In the process of research, I’ve read stories that will haunt me for the rest of my life. I’ve also concluded that tragedy cannot be published simply for its own sake. There is just too much of it. If you wade in it for too long, it will warp your mind.
Still, tragedy is real, just as hope and miracles are real. I’ve put together a few simple guidelines for myself in telling these stories, and I’m sure I’ll add to the list as I go along.
Here they are:
1) There must be hope and there must be meaning.
Not all my protagonists live. In the second novel of my Russian trilogy, two of them are executed in a labor camp. But their lives had meaning, and their deaths are not random. Through them and other characters, hope remains a part of the story.
2) You can’t deal honestly with tragedy unless you recognize that it’s not all-encompassing.
Funny things happened in labor camps, right in the middle of soul-ripping awfulness. Miracles came along. People survived and were released who should never have survived. No matter how dark your palette is, not every spot of paint you’ll use is black. Not if you tell the truth.
3) Avoid the splatter effect, and don’t get into the gory details where implication will do.
There is actually a psychological process by which trauma can be inflicted third-hand. The act of listening to someone else tell about a tragedy they’ve witnessed, or reading someone’s account of one, can quite literally harm the person receiving the information.
Fortunately, implication is a powerful tool when properly used. And it should be used, since harrowing the reader until they put down your book is counterproductive, not to mention unnecessary.
4) Any character suffering a tragedy must be treated with dignity by the author.
Characters cannot be singled out for random acts of authorial violence. They can’t die just because you need them to die. Their suffering has to be necessary to the story, and they must be developed, three-dimensional people.
5) Did I mention there must be hope?
Actually, there has to be a lot of it.
Thank you for sharing your insights, everyone.
Lucy, your list is terrific. In addition, it seems to emphasize the hallmark of work written from a Christian world view. Thank you.
I read The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night while undergoing outpatient surgery–I laughed all the way into the surgical theater and reached for the book when I came out. When I later played it on tape for my family, however, the vulgarities made us turn off the book. Curious, indeed, that you can read over rude language and it hits you altogether differently in the ears.
You’re correct, staying in the protagonist’s head with his Aspbergers gave us enough distance to read through the horrors.
I’ve not seen the movie Life is Beautiful, but I understand it does similar things–including adding the touch of pathos and humor to the death camps.
Lucy – those are fantastic things to keep in mind. Thank you for sharing them.
Lucy’s post is one of the most profound things I’ve ever read about writing.
Excellent thought-provoking today. Thanks!
Also, The Blind Side currently in theaters seems to be such a work as described above.
My own work begins with abuse but definitely shows there is hope. This is borne out throughout the rest of the book.
I’m also a Christian but seek to include principles subtly … It’s really for all readers and offers hope where there was none.
And now I’m going to re-read the MS, keeping in mind these points made above. It will help me make it even better.
Thank you all so much.
Thanks to all. This has been a useful exchange. I expect someone will be writing a story with current events in Haiti. I hope it has hope and not just horror.