from The Gift of
Family Writing
By Jill Novak
In April of 1998, I wrote my first editorial
for The Girlhood Home Companion. I wanted to encourage others to draw
near to the Lord. I had a means of expression that needed words, but I
really didn’t understand how to use them. I was astounded at how much time
and thought went into writing.
There were many changes in our lives that year. Our
fourth child Nicholas died, I became pregnant with our fifth child Anna, my
husband changed jobs, we sold our home and moved to a farm. During this
time of transition I began to see a connection between the topics we covered
and the circumstances we were experiencing. I realized that God was teaching
us about His grace and mercy—one life-lesson at a time.
I used the personal essay as a container to hold
all the new discoveries I was making. A personal essay is just
that—personal. I was able to share my experiences on an intimate level with
my readers as if they were sitting at my kitchen table. I invited them to
join me in witnessing God’s faithfulness in the midst of adversity as He
orchestrated life’s everyday teachable moments.
Now you may be thinking, I could never write about my life like
that. I could never tell my story in a concise way. Nobody would want to
read about my experiences anyway or I have a lot to say, but I sure don’t
know how to write. Well, let me encourage you that writing is a journey for
all of us. Some know from an early age that they'll be writers when they
grow up, but there are others, like me, who started writing later in life. No
matter where you’re at, don’t be intimidated by other people’s writing,
learn from it instead! If God wants to use you, He’ll equip you. Pray and
ask Him to make you a communicator of His truth.
Draw from Your Personal
Experience
When you write a personal essay you begin to see your
world in a new way. Suddenly your eyes are opened, and the smallest details
are magnified. You see the truth of your experience and it is that
truth that you want to share with others. Normal events like the first
snowstorm of winter or priming the old red farm pump—when studied in
relation to God’s word, give deep spiritual insight.
Find the Truth of Your
Experience
Many people write, but not all have the ability
to convey the truth of their experience. You have to look for “windows of
the soul” to find God’s truth in the midst of everyday moments.
In Ken Gire's book Windows of the Soul the author says, “We long for the
companionship of God. We long for the assurance that we are not taking this
journey alone. That He is walking with us and talking with us and intimately
involved in our lives…It may be a word telling us who we are and why we are
here and what is required of us at this particular junction of our
journey... Windows of the soul are where we hear those words (pages 11-12)."
I described this process of discovering the truth of my experience in an
editorial I wrote for an issue on patience for The Girlhood Home
Companion.
From Patience Primes the Pump
“…One day as I walked past the butcher block in
my kitchen, I glanced at the old red farm pump that I had bought at a garage
sale. The Lord spoke to my heart and said, ‘Patience primes the pump!’ I
wonder what that means, I thought to my self. At church we were challenged
to memorize 1 Corinthians 13:4-8. I knew that the beginning of this
Scripture started with patience. Was there more significance to this than I
realized?
The definition of patience is: “to suffer long,
to be long-suffering.” In Hebrews 6:15, makrothumia is a Hebrew word used to
describe Abraham's long-suffering toward God under the pressure of trying
circumstances. This was my window to the soul, the connection the Lord was
trying to show me. When I’m patient towards God and others, I can accept any
trial He allows in my life, knowing that it will produce fruit and bring
glory to Him. How easily we become confused when our foot falters and we
fall! How desperately we long to skip—yes even run from one point to another—on our journey. Our hopes dashed, we lie in a crumpled heap in the middle
of the road, while others more blessed pass us by. Do we shake our fist at
God and ask, “Why did you let me stumble?” Do we curse the rock in the road
that caused us to trip? Do we try to grab the coattails of those running on
ahead? Or do we suffer long toward our heavenly Father and thank Him that in
the midst of our circumstances, He is causing all things to work together
for our good?”
How to Begin – Method One
You may want to do a cluster exercise about your
experience as found on page 71. Fill the page with descriptive phrases and
write down what comes into your head about the person, place or thing you
want to write about. Or do what my friend Wanda does. She listens to the
words and phrases that the Lord brings to mind and makes lists. Try some
different methods for organizing your thoughts and use the one that works
best for you. For additional help in categorizing information read the book
Graphic Organizers: Visual Strategies for Active Learning. New York:
Scholastic, Inc.
Freewriting – Method Two
Simply write about your subject. You don’t have to know
where your essay is heading, just write. If you get stuck, get up and
stretch your legs, throw a load of laundry in the washing machine, or make
dinner. While your hands are engaged in another activity, your mind may find
the connection it’s waiting for.
There is really no form to the personal essay other
than a chronological chain of events. Sometimes it can be hard to remember
everything that was said or the order in which it happened. That’s why it’s
good to write freeform until the order emerges. You can give shape to your
experience later through a series of rewrites, so enjoy the process of
discovery that freewriting generates.
Descriptive Language
Descriptive language is the hallmark of the personal
essay. Include dialog and metaphors, but most importantly use language with
a lot of sensory detail in the freewriting stage. Essentially a personal
essay is a story about how you view your world, so you want to use
descriptive language that draws your reader into your experience. By
painting word pictures with your five senses, you invite your audience to
find the truth about your experience, feel your struggles, and share your
victories. The ordinary becomes extraordinary when you bring it to life on
the page through descriptive language.
From The Girlhood Home Companion
Forgiveness—What is It and Where Did it Go?
“I awoke this morning to our first good snow. Big
flakes are cascading down from a limitless gray sky. As they find their way
to cracks and crevices, the bare branches and stubby remainders of
cornstalks are softened by their gentle accumulation. A quiet hush has
fallen over the farm as ever-so-silently the snow begins to gather and
drift. All day long it will come down in the same unhurried manner, filling
the now-barren landscape with the glittering white of winter's mantle.
Yes, the tranquility of winter has arrived in an onslaught of ice crystals.
The forgiving snow muffles the cruel blast of arctic cold that promises to
be with us for the next four or five months. Such is life in the Midwest,
where each seasonal change has a marked beginning and end. I’ve come to
savor the distinct characteristics of each season….”
Rewriting
Once you start to understand the truth or “aha” of your
experience, you can rewrite events or “beef” them up to bring out the
meaning to its fullest. You may think you know the truth, but as you rewrite
and dig deeper, more truth is revealed. Through writing, and
rewriting, and good editing, a personal essay tells a story that your
audience can relate to, and one that may even change their lives.
