A Merger of Equals
Behind every copywriter, that I know anyway, is a novel waiting to be written. And behind every one of those novels, there’s an excuse behind its non-existence. It’s typically an asinine excuse that is, in fact, easily surmountable – to everyone but Us.
I actually have a few of these excuses, but one of them goes like this: my book is either a memoir or a work of fiction based on the memoir material, and I get stuck on both sides. If it’s a memoir, I’ll be outing people and places, and gasp! myself. If it’s a work of fiction based on the memoir material, how do I change things enough to be unrecognized, but not so much that the story loses its authenticity.
Heavy, right? So heavy that I’ve been standing behind it trying unsuccessfully to move that block out of the way for years.
But, enough psychoanalyzing. I’ve found some inspiration recently.
Her name is Debra Snider. Not only is she a total ball-buster. Not only has she become a friend and colleague over the Twitter/Blog-waves. Not only is she a Champion for women, children and non-profits. Not only is her sense of self and who she is in this world phenomenal. BUT, she also wrote a stunning, can’t-talk-to-you-now-honey-I’m-reading, book, A Merger of Equals, that manages to take her life experience and send it out, fully charged, without getting her hands dirty and while maintaining total integrity.
I’m going to tell you to read this novel because it’s fantastic…but also because it holds that magic balance of fiction and reality supremely. The ‘merger of equals’ for me goes beyond the characters in the book – it’s a brilliant merger of the truth and the story.
So go! Check out Debra and her 3 books (2 non-fiction) and her blog and her everything. She’s a kick in the pants, I tell ya. And, I’m thrilled to know her…
test Filed under How To, Myth or Reality, News | Tags: creative writing, debra snider, Julie Roads, social media, Writing, writing novels, Writing Roads | Comments (5)5 Responses to “A Merger of Equals”
Leave a Reply
OMG, OMG, OMG! What a thrill to look at my blog list this morning & see my book title on your blog, then to come over here and read this glorious post. I’m honored & flattered & excited & delighted – and totally touched, too! Every writer loves to see her work through readers’ eyes, and I could not be happier with what you saw & what you took from Merger.
It’s truly a privilege to know you, Julie. Thank you!
Debra you have every right to be proud! This is a ball-bustingly excellent review! Debra has been a real inspiration to me and helped me keep going. She’s a wonderful cheerleader.
And Julie, I’m sorry I haven’t been commenting! A great review ~ thank you.
I’ll definitely check out the book because I know Debra too and she’s just as great as you say. Because I live under a rock, I didn’t know about her book. Can’t wait to check it out.
As for you: be brave girl. Just write it as it happened. Then worry about what you can and can’t say later. It might not be as bad to out yourself as you might think.
Thank you, Alisa. Really – your words mean so much.
I just wanted to say that I loved the fact that you used ‘asinine’ and ‘ball-buster’ in the same post. It’s what makes you real, and me coming back :).
On another note, there was a literary rep at Blissdom and I caught the tail end of that session but she had advice about ‘outing’ people and not to be too worried…ask Allison Worthington or @BarbaraJones if they have contact info.