May 06 2008
At the Podium: Julia Sweeney
Letting Go of God is a CD by Julia Sweeney. She reveals her journey from a believer to an atheist.
She does it in such a comedic way that the majority of believers can laugh and take in her story with little judgment (or at least that is my hope).
As writers, when we write on a subject that is controversial or uncomfortable for others to hear, it is part of our “job” to make the story palatable. This doesn’t mean that we have to use humor as a tool (though, you may), but we do have to find a way to put sentences together that encourage readers to turn the page. We have to pace the story so that readers aren’t bombarded with negativity. It’s important to let the reader breath.
This is where subplots come in handy. Wiki defines subplots as follows: subplots are distinguished from the main plot by taking up less of the action, having less significant events occur, with less impact on the ‘world’ of the work, and occurring to less important characters.
Though I’m not actively editing Mija (the novel I finished last month), editing ideas to creep into my little brain when I don’t even know I’m thinking about the book. But subconsciously, Mija is always with me.
Yesterday, out of nowhere, I began to panic because my subplot may be too “heavy” of a topic. I want to dive in and start editing. But I will resist the temptation. Mija has to sit for at least two months before revisions. Why two months? I think that’s the amount of time I will need to separate my emotions from the writing. Originally I thought 30 days was even, and if may be for future works, but not for Mija.
(Below is a video that is funny as hell. An atheist goes door to door to convert mormons. Julia Sweeney and the atheist host sure have a way about them. Enjoy!)
oh what shiny moment in my day today!!!!! i laughed out and cooood almost wet my pants ok i did get a little on my panty liner!!!! i live about 5 minutes away from the jordan temple of the LDS, not being LDS my self i found all the humor in this!!!!
MY older brother when we were growing up his favorite saying was no thank you i’m athiest(thank god) we’ll it’s that karma thing no one is safe?????? don’t know when it happened but they got to him and he’s a member now married in that temple and has a real select memory of life before the church!!!!! but still love and i see the real him once in a while!!!! best part is when the jahova witness knock on his door te he!!!!! he’s really havin a hard time with all this FLDS stuff goin on in texas as you might have guessed we both know warren jeff i graduated with him and his 4 sisters in my class of 73 but then we were told it’s none of our business???? what a mess now huh thanks for lettin me share bionic marsh
She did a one woman play on Broadway. I love her.
I don’t believe there’s any such thing as too heavy a subplot. Seriously–let your story sit for the two months and then come back and look at it. Don’t let temptation get the better of you!
Those were hysterical. I like the hiatus that you’ve taken to become less emotionally attached to Mija. That sounds like a great idea for non-fiction writers as well. Great post.