If the names Father Tim, Cynthia, Miss Sady, Billy, Dooley and Barnabas are familiar to you, then you just might be a Jan Karon fan. Karon is the author of the famous Mitford series. She was delighted to make it to the number two spot on the New York Times’ best seller list some years back. Karon happily stated that she was thrilled to take the second seat, right next to British author Jim Grant’s Jack Reacher series. In this post, we’re taking you down memory lane to an interview Jan Karon gave some nine years (or so) ago. In it, Ms. Karon provides several pearls of wisdom for Christian writers, as well as their readers.
Before becoming one of the world’s best-selling Christian writers, Jan Karon worked in advertising. She finally decided to spread her wings and follow her life-long dream to become a novelist. Karon penned her first work of fiction (which, she says was only 14 pages long) at age 10. Throughout her now-prolific writing career, she has held fast to certain habits and practices that, she believes, has propelled her to success.
Christian writers may benefit from Karon’s experience
Here’s an interview with Jan Karon that was posted online. It’s logical to assume that Christian writers pray before and during the process of writing a novel. However, Karon stresses the point by saying that her books are “God’s books.” When the host asks her to explain her thoughts, she says her consistent habit in writing the Mitford series and other books is to “pray and write, then write and pray.”
Karon says readers have shared extraordinary stories with her of how her books have saved a marriage or brought other blessings to their lives. The author says she herself is not capable of doing any of these things, so she knows God has had a hand in it all.
Allow characters to pass when it is their time
Karon shared how she grieved the loss of a few of her characters when they passed away during the Mitford series. She says readers questioned her more than once, asking why, if she was going to miss them so much, did she write them out of the story? Karon’s answer was simple: It was their time to go.
She went on to explain that a good series has a natural flow to it. She basically said she has always felt the need to allow characters to pass when it felt as though that’s what would be happening in real life.
Writing stories is like music
Jan Karon likens her writing to music, saying that she listens for melodic tones and chooses wording accordingly. For example, she said she heard music when she considered the title “Somewhere Safe with Somebody Good.” Karon added that if she were to change even one word, such as choosing “someone” over “somebody,” the title loses its melodic tempo. She believes her stories are successful because she listens to hear the music in everything she writes.
Karon also said that she thinks authors need to be trustworthy. Her readers, for instance, feel safe knowing that nothing immoral or shocking is going to hijack their experience when they open a new Mitford book. She says she likes being someone they can trust. She added that various authors produce works that appeal to specific audiences, and she thinks success comes when an author is consistent, and readers know ahead of time what they can expect.
