Monday, October 26, 2020

Why Write Fiction?


by Ane Mulligan @AneMulligan

Maggie’s husband died. The stock market crashed. Her little boy was kidnapped by his grandfather. How can she find the strength of faith to go on? 

That’s from my novel, In High Cotton. I drew on my life’s darkest moments for Maggie’s emotions. I interviewed friends for their hardest time of trusting God. A mother whose twenty-one-year-old son was leaving for a three-month missionarytour went fishing with his father a couple of hours, before he had to board his plane. He slipped on a rock, hit his head, and drowned in three inches of water. Where was God?

Hindsight is 20/20

As each story unfolded, one thread was common to all. God showed up in the form of good friends to help them through. When we look back at our darkest times, we see how God brought people alongside us to help—to be our Aaron and hold up our arms, when we had no strength left.

What about your heart's desire?

We can trust God with our heart’s desire. All my life, I wanted sisters. My brother and I were both adopted. While our childhood was idyllic, for some reason, I longed for sisters. When I was sixty-two years old, I discovered my birth sisters. I won’t go into that whole story here. You can read it on my website. The point is God showed up. He was faithful with my dreams when I left them at His feet.

When my friend sees what came after her son died, she can praise God. At his funeral, fourteen teenagers gave their hearts to Jesus. Since then, scores have found God through her book—many more than would have been saved had he gone on that 3-month missionary trip.

Showing God in Fiction

People let down their guard when they think they're being entertained. We bring stories to life before their eyes. Then when they least expect it, our words reach out, touch hearts, and change lives.

In my story of Maggie, she didn’t see God stop the bad things. When she wondered where He was, she only needed to look at those “angels” closest to her. He surrounded her with four strong women to help her. 

That's why I write fiction.

TWEETABLE


Southern women may look as delicate as flowers, but there’s iron in their veins.

While the rest of the world has been roaring through the 1920s, times are hardscrabble in rural South Georgia. Widow Maggie Parker is barely surviving while raising her young son alone. Then as banks begin to fail, her father-in-law threatens to take her son and sell off her livelihood—the grocery store her husband left her. Can five Southern women band together, using their wisdom and wiles to stop him and survive the Great Depression?

Ane Mulligan has been a voracious reader ever since her mom instilled within her a love of reading at age three, escaping into worlds otherwise unknown. But when Ane saw PETER PAN on stage, she was struck with a fever from which she never recovered—stage fever. She submerged herself in drama through high school and college. One day, her two loves collided, and a bestselling, award-winning novelist emerged. She lives in Sugar Hill, GA, with her artist husband and a rascally Rottweiler. Find Ane on her website, Amazon Author page, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and The Write Conversation.

15 comments:

  1. So true, beauty from ashes. Only God can bring good out of heartbreak. I’m reading your book and enjoying it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Sherri. It’s true snd God never leaves the ashes. Not once ever.

      Delete
  2. These powerful words of yours struck a chord with me, Ane: "People let down their guard when they think they're being entertained. We bring stories to life before their eyes. Then when they least expect it, our words reach out, touch hearts, and change lives." Yes and Amen! Jesus told stories to convey deep truths. May we do the same by His power and grace. Thank you so much for your inspiring post.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Exactly!! I’ve seen it in church dramas and on fiction. Thank you!

      Delete
  3. Thanks for your inspiring posts. I'll keep writing fiction as long as it touches lives.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. And it does, more than we realize. Most people don’t let the author know, but God knows. ❤️

      Delete
  4. As I am learning Ms. Ane, good clean fiction has a way of speaking truths into our lives. Thank you for all your inspiration and encouragement. One of these days, with God's guidance and a few wonderfully supportive friends, I may just have to try my hand at fiction. I used to make up great stories to escape reality when I was a little boy. :-) God's blessings ma'am.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, J.D. I have a feeling you'd have some great adventure stories!!

      Delete
  5. Ane, this is a good word of encouragement for me today. I've been writing a NF historical MS, based on artifacts in my own attic about my grandmother's life in the Andaman Islands in India (1920s-1930s). I first finished the MS as a biography with her actual letters, but it lacked zip. Next I played with narrative/creative NF. But that's still a bit limiting. I've really want to bring out Gladys's emotions and thoughts. Some of her letters home to her mother about tragic events were so stoically written, while she must have experienced painful emotions. So I'm now trying fiction, based on real life, which feels most freeing. I was excited to learn my research need not go to waste; apparently it's common to include endnotes even in a historical fiction. Many notes I feel are important to the historical record; Gma was the only American there at that time. Also fiction seems to offer more potential for a book series and/or screenplay option. Thanks for writing about the benefits of fiction! It's learning curve for me as I've always written nonfiction.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Laurie, my first series was based on a number of things form my life. As long as you feel the freedom, it's wonderful!! I prayed god's blessings on you writing.

      Delete
  6. Ane, Thanks for this inspiring message. I write fiction and I love creating a world, populating it with characters who grow and change as they experience life. I think of it as the "non" in my fiction.

    Btw, I love your t-shirt!

    Kay DiBianca

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I like that idea - the "non" in your fiction. It makes the story leap off the page. And thanks on the shirt! I love it too.

      Delete
  7. Thank you for this wisdom. God has used your words to answer my question. I'm weeping and touched so deeply.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, Elizabeth, I'm so glad! I had another post scheduled and felt God's nudge to write this one. Now I know why. It was for you! Praise God!

      Delete