By Rose Johnson
Remember that line from “You’ve Got Mail?” Kathleen Kelly, played by Meg Ryan, is
responding to Joe Fox’s (Tom Hanks) assertion that it’s not personal, it’s
business.
“What is that supposed to mean?” said Kathleen Kelly. “I
am so sick of that. All that means is that it wasn't personal to you. But it
was personal to me. It's “personal” to a
lot of people. And what's so wrong with being personal, anyway?
“Uh, nothing,” said Joe Fox.
“Whatever else anything is, it ought to begin by being personal.”
I
thought about that statement, and how it might apply to writing, when the first
two reviews for my devotional journal, God,Me, & Sweet Iced Tea, noted that my writing was “personal” and
“relevant.” After some reflection, I decided that perhaps those are qualities
which draw us into any story. Someone
puts into words a story which breaks into our lives, grips our imaginations, touches
our hearts, and thus, resonates in our souls.
I
know I love those moments of clarity and courage when the written word
perfectly communicates something inside of me that I’ve felt but been unable to
articulate. I think everyone loves those “yes, yes, I know what you mean”
moments. When a message connects with
that common thread in us, in reality it is a universal theme which ties us all
together. We can take what we need from
it, draw strength, find peace, encouragement, and, most of all, validation. By
making my writing personal, I make it uniquely mine, yet universally human.
In
fiction writing, part of the “personal” is through word choice and voice. As I perfect my style, I learn to be true to
myself. I must let my words be my
words. I must string them together like
I would string them together in real life.
Eva
Marie Everson commented on a novel I’m writing.
“I love your voice,” she said.
But as she got further into the novel, she halted at a scene and said,
“What have you done here? You’ve lost
your voice.” And she didn’t mean
laryngitis. I had to rewrite and find my voice again. The personal needs to
ring true in order for the reader to connect.
As a
Southern girl, when I read something authentically southern, like Eva Marie
Everson’s Waiting for Sunrise, or
Rick Bragg’s All Over But the Shoutin’,
I feel like I’m home. For me, it’s like
hearing the sound of a train’s whistle.
Growing up by the railroad tracks, that sound is indelibly impressed
upon my soul. Even now, when I hear the
train, I close my eyes and I’m back on the screened porch, sipping sweet iced
tea with Mama and Daddy, sitting in the front porch swing. That sound has the power to conjure up my
childhood, to transport me to a different time and place. Words have that power too when they are
personal to us.
And
what’s so wrong with that anyway?
Uh,
nothing at all.
____________________________________________________________________
Rose Chandler Johnson’s devotional
journal, God, Me, and Sweet Iced Tea:Finding God in the Midst of Everyday Moments was released in June
2013. Her devotions, poems, and articles
have appeared in numerous Christian publications. She enjoys writing for her
popular blog, Write Moments with God, and
engaging with its readers. Rose enjoys
baking, gardening, French, and spending time with her large family. She is the mother of six children. Blog: http://www.writemomentswithgod.blogspot.com
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