When a Novelist Writes a Biography

What happens when a novelist writes a biography?

I can’t speak for other biographers or novelists, I can only describe my challenges and joys.

Here are four.

Stick to the facts, ma’am

When I began writing the biography of Mrs. Oswald Chambers, I already had written a novel in which Biddy is a character.

My novel A Poppy in Remembrance is about a woman who attended Oswald Chambers’ Bible Training College.

There, she interacts with Oswald, Biddy, Eva Spink, Kathleen Chambers and others.

I planted dialogue in the mouths of real people. (Note: I paid special attention, however, to what they would have said).

In writing the biography, I couldn’t do that.

I caught myself frequently and had to return to straight facts.

Often, however, I “painted” a scene taken directly from Oswald Chambers: His Life and Works.

To do so, I relied on photographs, the stories Biddy compiled about her husband, and the memories of others.

I did include fictional scenes in the biography–but they are used to set the stage for documented facts.

Keep track of your sources

All writers need to keep track of the books and articles they use.

On a biography, however, the need is imperative.

If someone challenges you on a fact, you have to be able to explain where you got it.

As a genealogist, I’m used to citing my references, so I noted them in the first draft of Mrs. Oswald Chambers, and transferred them to end notes later.

Others will have an opinion

Knowing others had an opinion about Biddy was both good and bad.

They could provide insight I lacked or didn’t know.

Sometimes their facts were wrong and I had to gently correct.

Other times, they didn’t want me to tell some of their stories.

It took far more diplomacy to write a biography than I expected.

In a biography, you can’t control your characters

A novelist often can’t control her character either, but that’s part of the fun and creativity.

In a biography, you’re stuck with the good, the bad, the ugly and the inexplicable.

If you’re lucky, you might be able to find someone who can explain why your heroine did what she did.

But more likely, you have to think, pray, consider, look and conjecture the why.

Biddy did several things I’d like to ask her about (maybe I will if she looks me up in heaven), I had to guess why.

End notes helped me explain the conclusions I reached.

So, how was it writing a biography?

My junior high history teacher, Mrs. Julie Klocki, admonished us one day:

“I don’t know why you waste your time reading fiction. History is not even more unbelievable, but it’s also true!”

I still love to read and write fiction.

But I love reading, writing and studying history.

Memoir and biography are among my favorite genres.

I am so thankful, humbled and pleased to have written Biddy Chambers’ biography.

Tweetables

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What did a novelist learn while writing Mrs. Oswald Chambers? Click to Tweet

In the meantime, here’s the first chapter for A Poppy in Remembrance: A Poppy – Chapter One