…sharing resources for Catholic writers.

Anne Faye recently shared ideas on how to prepare for the upcoming National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) in November. With this in mind, I’d like to share some additional novel ideas.

Juliann Barclay, a Catholic friend of mine and first time NaNoWriMo participant, wrote her book titled Wilde Side during the 2009 challenge (currently under review by agents). She says she wrote with “100% literary abandon” during this time and she offers advice for others on the “dreaded writer’s block.”

“ One piece of advice I have in regards to that is to take the literary elements and pick at least one or two that are somewhat familiar that you can use in your writing so…you can go back to something you know to break through that block. For instance, in Wilde Side, I had just recently returned from a trip to Ireland prior to doing NaNoWriMo. The setting of Wilde Side takes place in the West of Ireland so I used images, smells, tastes, etc. that I experienced to help bring life to my words and take the reader to Ireland. I also re-tooled a few very colorful characters I had met in the West and made them into characters within my novel.”

While writer’s block may be one hurdle, discovering a purposeful theme for the story may be yet another.  Father Charlie Gordon C.S.C. is a professor of theology at The University of Portland and is featured in the autumn issue of Portland Magazine (2011). In a segment of his article, “Why I’m a Priest,” he addresses the fundamental characterisic of Catholic literature (something all aspiring novelists should consider in relation to theme):

“… I teach a course about the Catholic novel. For years I have been telling my students that … there are two questions that can be fruitfully discussed in relation to any Catholic novel. The first is, what is the good news that the novel holds out? No matter how bleakly the human condition may be depicted in a Catholic novel, there will invariably be some element of hope on offer. The second question is whether the main character is ultimately saved. This fundamental theme in Catholic writing goes back at least as far as Everyman and the other morality plays of the fifteenth century. Whether the protagonist lives or dies is a secondary issue. The condition of his or her soul is what really matters.” Profound, don’t you think?

If NaNoWriMo with a Catholic twist is your crazy-November thing, making a study of good Catholic literature is likely an ongoing part of your world. On a final note, I am eager to share an extensive website collection of Catholic novel titles prepared by  Father Gary Coulter, a parish priest for St. Mary’s Church in Ashland, Nebraska. Put this on your favorites to visit before and after the NaNoWriMo challenge (no worries — we know you’ll be fasting from reading in November!).

Happy writing!
–Sally Drendel

4 Replies to “SHARED INK”

  1. To answer Reviewer11, I would say that you can always find characters in your daily life. It takes more effort because you might not pay the same kind of attention that you pay during a trip, but they are there. As for images, when I wanted to write about Palestine I (accidentally) found a book about it!

  2. I would like to try it but after a quick glance at the website, it says to meet others in person. What if I can't travel? 🙁

  3. Thank you Kathy. I also find it enlightening as a reader. I've always enjoyed reading because I study characters, but I think hope and salvation are at the root of my analysis. I want to watch how the protagonist struggles with his/her conflict, but more importantly, I want it to present a worthy life-long lesson for the audience. What greater message than hope and salvation?! The lesson is eternal. I appreciate your post.

  4. I like what the priest said. In my novel-in-progress there is good news, and the main character IS saved! So I must be doing something right! 🙂 And I agree- it is profound.
    I'd like to do NaNo, but the Holy Spirit is calling me to do EDITING instead. I find original writing much more fun!

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