The Future of the "Mormon Novel"

Nephi Anderson forged the path of the Mormon Novel with Added Upon. While the work was revolutionary in it's own right, it soon gave way to works of more palpable aesthetic and further creativity such as Mountains Between Us and Will Wonders Never Cease.

I certainly hope the pioneering will not end with these works. Instead, I hope we will continue to improving and expanding the tradition, particularly in the following areas:

Mormon-inspired National Market Novels:

Should LDS literature only be for LDS people? 

Maybe not.

Can people outside our culture still appreciate and understand the experiences and feelings of Mormons? 

I think yes. Mormons have a lot to offer. 

I appreciated, in words of Luisa Perkins, novels that are "profoundly LDS, but not overtly LDS." Since authors in general are (obviously) inspired by what they personally see and experience, it makes perfect sense for LDS authors take the peculiar aspects of their rebellion, lives, and cultures ro inspire novels. Orson Scott Card used our LDS heritage to inspire Seventh Son. Our beliefs in Joseph Smith and restoration are intriguing and spectacular--what else goes in a novel-writing formula?
Going along the same vein, Luisa Perkins explored the possibilities tied with our beliefs in body and spirits and took creative libertiesto complicate and push ideas of spirit and body further. Perkins published her novel with a LDS Publishing company, but like Card, she wrote a Mormon-inspired story that didn't require a Mormon reader.

Mormon Characters for General Audiences
Even better, I recently read LDS author Emily Wing Smith's Back When You Were Easier to Love published by Penguin Group. This book feature an LDS girl, struggling to fit in with Mormon culture in Utah, but it was written to a wider audience (as obvious by the publisher). This book was more masterfully written than many of the other Mormon novels I've read this semester, and I have no doubt a non-LDS reader would enjoy it just as much as an LDS one.

Along the same lines, A.E. Cannon wrote a successful historical fiction novel featuring a newly-converted LDS girl traveling from England to Utah to join the saints. Though I've yet to read it, I know the novel focuses her experiences on her voyage, caring for a baby who's mother died on board. Doesn't that sound appealing to more audiences than the LDS one? I'd hope for more of this kind of novel. If there's books about Jews and Catholics and Muslims enjoyed by people of all faiths, why not Mormons too?

National Market Worthy Novels for LDS Audiences:
Now, it does make sense that some explorations would be bogged down with Mormon culture explanations and are therefore best written for a specifically LDS audience. I don't think there's anything wrong with this genre, and it some cases it might be prefered. However, I can't stress enough that wish the stylistic crafting will continue to reach higher standards. As someone interested in publishing YA, I've taken classes severally creative writing classes from nationally published authors and read as much as I can to become a better YA writer.

Of course, I've still got a long way to go (hoping to find an agent for my first novel by December), but even with my small experience, I can recognize the major writing flaws in many of the books we have read (see my Jenny Proctor post for more specifics). While I liked each book, I couldn't fully enjoy the majority of them because of the rookie mistakes that I've trained to see and correct.And even though other people not as interesting in publishing may not be able to name the problems coming up in these novels, they still affect the how they feel about the novel.

It's not that these authors are bad writers, but in my maybe-not-humble-enough opinion, they are not ready to publish. They need to hone their craft further: mastering show don't tell, developing character, trimming wordiness, correcting unnatural dialogue, etc.

Why wouldn't we want future Mormon authors can write to skill level of nationally-published authors?

Jer3miah: Lots of Action

The webseries The Book of Jer3miah follows a college Freshman as is so-far very normal life becomes shrouded in mystery and racked with action and suspense. However, the interesting part of adventurous plot is that it's presented in clips of under five minutes. Therefore, the creators of The Book of Jer3miah had the challenge of making each clip entertaining and suspenseful.

Since I viewed several episodes one right after another, I'm not sure I got the full webseries effect. When watching these tiny episodes altogether it almost seems silly when something outrageous happens every 2 and half minutes. A project like this should be enjoyed as it was intended.

That being said, I noticed many areas in which the creators were successful.

The tight plot introduces several characters, but keeps them involved enough that the viewer wouldn't forget them from week to week. In one of the earlier episodes, a girl name Claire introduces herself to Jeremiah, and I love story develops between them even though Jeremiah is often absent, busy speaking with mysterious men and getting beat up every other time he opens a door.

The creators trust the viewers to piece things together. For instance, when Jeremiah's parents die the camera shows smoke while Jeremiah screams there names. The audience figures out for ourselves that they are dead, and that's enough until a conversation reveals further information (that his parents were hit my a semi) in a later episode.

While plot intensifies, the viewers are reminded of the normal everyday occurrences still  happening. Sometimes books and movies (and presumably webseries) seem to imply that the world stops when one of their character is facing challenges, but in Jer3miah, the insertion of Mormon activities such as ward pray and family home evening lessons into the plot grounds this over-the-top story in some reality.

Overall, I seem to be one of the few of my demographic who has not caught on to webseries in general (Lizzie Bennett Diaries, anyone?). I can't seem myself being interested enough in a story to wait a week to catch another 3 minute segment, but if I wait for the whole series then I face the problem that they were not really meant to watched fluidly. So, for me and my friends at the old folks home, webseries in general aren't for us, but all you smart phone users and YouTube enthusiasts out there should probably give this series a try.

Are records the universal ice-breaker?

A heavy theme running through the Book of Mormon refers back to the medium of the scripture itself: records. From Nephi to Moroni the authors repeatedly remind us of the importance of their record, but they also reveal the importance of records within their own culture in a variety of ways.

 For instance, Kin Benjamin takes a long time telling his sons about the advantages of their records; they preserve the language of the Egyptains, teach them the mysteries of God, give them good examples to learn from, and prevent them from suffering from ignorance (Mosiah 1).

However, the importance of records and taking histories was not only practiced by the the righteous. In the book of Mosiah, a group of corrupt Nephite priests join the Lamanites. Amulon, the leader of the group, gains a teaching position for himself and his companions by finding favor with the king. With their new found power  and the lack of religious tradition on the Lamanites part, Amulon's men has freedom to teach as they want to.

The priests did not teach them the words of Abinadi or the law of Moses. They fail to teach them about God at all. Taking this under consideration, we can fully appreciate the weight of one thing Amulon and the priests do choose to teach: "They taught them that [the Lamanites] should keep record, and that they should write one to another" (Mosiah 24:6).

Fast forwarding to the present, we see the emphasis on sharing our personal records with social media of all kinds. These modern day records come from Latter-day Saints and atheists and everyone in between. They allow all these people—who may not otherwise connect so easily with each other—to interact as they share experiences, daily life, and beliefs. Other forms of record keeping have been significant as well. Think of Anne Frank. Hundreds of thousands of teenagers across America have connected to a young German girl who died almost a century ago because of her compelling diary. The examples of this could go on forever.

Perhaps the authors of the Book of Mormon understood the power of their record keeping and the ability it has to communicate to others on a personal level. Seeing how big a priority records were to this people make the offering of the Book of Mormon that much more compelling.

Book of Mormon Contrasts: Revised

Sometimes the Book of Mormon seems to contradict itself. On one hand it's saying that the righteous will be happy and the unrighteous will be unhappy, but then it shows various stories of bad guys beating up good guys, and one starts to wonder.

Of course, we should be righteous for righteousness sake and because we love God. But are they are any perks to being righteous? And what about our promised blessings?


In Mosiah in the Book of Mormon, it seems like there's no advantage to being righteous. Two groups of people have a parallel story. While the People of Zeniff get in trouble for  unwise choices, the bravely righteous People of Alma seem to fall into exactly the same hardship.

Zeniff's people aren't terribly wicked but are overzealous and leave themselves to be taken over by the Lamanites. They bear grievous burdens, essentially enslaved by the Lamanites. Not many years later, Alma's people risk their lives to follow God, but also get captured by the Lamanites, who force them to bear hard burdens like slaves.

So it seems bad choices bring on hard consequences, and good choices...also bring on hard consequences?


Mormon explains that Alma's people endure bondage because because "the Lord sees fit...to trieth their patience and their faith" Mosiah 23:21. In other words, good people need to experience the bad to learn and grow, but that doesn't mean the promised blessing for the righteous are not fulfilled.

By focusing on the few differences between these two almost-identical situations, we see certain blessings that make the same trial more bearable for those who didn't bring it on themselves. During the People of Alma's bondage their "burdens were made light" (Mosiah 24:15).  Which maybe doesn't mean easy, but means easier, and even though both peoples escaped by slipping away at night, they means to do so was different for each. For instance,  Zeniff's people had to drug the Lamanites to escape, devising their own plan and providing wine from their own resources, yet the Lord gives Alma's people more heavenly aid and takes care of the drugging Himself, "[causing] a deep sleep to come upon the Lamanites" (Mosiah 24:19).

In the midst of hardship, like the People of Alma's bondage, it can be difficult to see that we are blessed.  While we must go through trials to gain experience and faith, trials are inherently easier for those who obey God because they don't have to relearn how to follow Him to fix the problem.

In the Book of Mormon, good and evil can seem so black and white, but we see that all people experience the same things, making us dependent on God's grace, but our righteous efforts are not in vain. They never are.

Mormon Diversity at AML

I attended the award ceremony for the Association for Mormon Letters because I wanted a taste of everything, and the ceremony included readings of novels, drama, poetry, comics, and picture books. However, the thing that stood out to me before I heard the specific writing of the Mormon participants, was the diversity of the individuals themselves.

It's easy to stereotype Mormons.

It's easier to stereotype Mormons living Utah.

But as I sat and watched people filter in at the beginning of the conference, I was amazed at how many of the people in dress and grooming or manners or both, did not fit these stereotypes. I saw three BYU professors there (including our own Dr. Burton), but it was clear these authors came from different walks of life. While sharing the same faith and a love for writing, everyone there was there own person.

This individuality was reflected in the writing as well. I recognized the award for Chris Crowe's was given to his novel Death Coming Up the Hill which is not an overtly "Mormon book," and yet it won an award next to a comic book based on Alma.
I felt the diversity of the presented works summarizes the discussion we've come back to over and over.

What is Mormon literature?
What do we call a works of literature by Mormons that aren't just for Mormons?
Who is a Mormon author trying to reach and what are they're trying to say?

Every reading I heard was written by a Mormon. The novel written about a returned missionary was a Mormon work, but so was the Pride and Prejudice play adaptation. The answers to our questions are not simple because Mormons are not simple.

We have a lot of things to say. And a lot of ways to say them.

Book of Mormon Contrasts

It's a basic doctrine: Opposition in all things. We can't appreciate the sweet without knowing the bitter. Good can't exist without evil. Light is meaningless without dark.
In theory this is all well in good, but in practice it can be confusing and discouraging. Because besides the rule of opposition, I'm taught other basics as well such as wickedness never was happiness and the righteous are blessed for their righteous works. How do I reconcile these two truths? Especially when life seems wrought with unbearable trials despite all my righteous efforts. One such trial was post-partum depression which turned into a reoccurring challenge. When grappling with depression, I often feel a loss of agency. My ability to make choices, especially in regards to my emotions, diminishes.

In the midst of these feelings, I feel as out of control as someone who has surrendered their agency and positive emotion for drugs, alcohol, or other unrighteous behaviors that started with their own deliberate action. How is this fair? Why am I punished with this affliction when it's not a consequence of some evil doing?

The Mosiah in the Book of Mormon, there's another case of parallelism between those who made unwise choices (People of Zeniff) and those you are doing their best to be righteous (People of Alma). 

Zeniff's people weren't terribly wicked, but overzealous and left themselves to be taken over by the Lamanites. They bore grievous burdens and were essentially slaves to the Lamanites.
On the other hand, Alma's people risk their lives to follow God, but also got captured by the Lamanites and forced to bear hard burdens.

Mormon tells us that Alma's people endure this because because "the Lord sees fit...to trieth their patience and their faith." Mosiah 23:21. The whole opposition idea that even the righteous have to endure hard things. But hey now, where are those blessings the righteous are promised?

Fathers

"Mary." My voice comes out rough and strained, like the squawks we hear from turtledoves at the temple. Mary looks up from the pot of oil, listening.
    "We need to tell Jeshua."
      The creases deepen around Mary's eyes. "But Joseph, he's still a child. How will he understand when we barely do?"
        I reach for her hands with my rough, weathered ones. Hers are used to labor too, yet somehow still soft. "Mary, I know he's young. But I cannot run the risk of misleading him. For one second confusing his true lineage and putting me above Father."
        Mary squeezes my fingers and nods. "You're right. Kneel with me?"
        Mary bows her head while I speak. My words to the Father, to Jeshua's Father, seem to float around the rafters above us, feeble and unsure. But Father sends that warm feeling to my heart as he often does, and Mary's breathing relaxes, so I know she feels the same.
        Hand in hand, we go toward Jeshua and Leah, playing under the shade of the Cypress trees. Jeshua's laughter rings through the early morning air that already beats down on the dry, hardened earth.
        "Teep going Baby 'Eah! You tan do it!" Jeshua claps his hands as Leah tries again to take a step toward him. The bright happiness in his face when watching his sister rivals the harsh sunlight.
        "Jeshua, son, Mother and I need to speak with you." Mary pulls Leah into her lap while I pat the ground for Jeshua to come sit.
        "All right. Speat to me." Jeshua kneels on his chubby legs, eyes wide, expectant, and trained on me.
       "Well," I struggle for words and glance at Mary for help.
       "We want to talk to you about Heavenly Father."
       "Yes, Jeshua. You remember that angels told us about you before you were born?'
       Jeshua nods and sifts through the sand. "Angels, angels, angels," he sings.
       "They also told us important things about your father. It's important to know that your Father in Heaven is your father for earth too. For Leah, I am her earthly father, but for you...I'm not."
       The joy that had been etched to every chubby crease on Jeshua's face leaks out. "You're not my father?"
       "He is, Jeshua, in a way" Mary says, her voice as gentle as Leah's coos. "But he joined me after Heavenly Father created you..."
       I shake my head in my frustration. Jeshua's face wrinkles, ready for tears. How can I explain this to my--no His--child.
       "Father in Heaven is letting me take care of you. And I always will.  So in a way, I am your earthly father. But..." I feel defeated. "But just remember that Heavenly Father is your most important father. Always listen to him first and foremost."
       Jeshua wraps his arms around me. "I will 'isten. But you're important too, Papa." Jeshua kisses my stubbled cheek and wanders back toward Leah, who Mary has released. The two toddle off together, Jeshua holding her tiny hands. I sigh, inadequancy and confusion mixing in my blood.
       Mary comes to my side and lays her arm on my shoulders. "I don't get it Mary. I was so sure, but you were right. He's too young. And it's too complicated. I don't even grasp everything."
       "Joseph. You weren't wrong because he doesn't understand it all right now. He'll learn. So will we." She raises me from the ground and walks me toward house with confident, faithful steps. The warm feeling from earlier seeps back into my heart. 
       Yes, so will we.

The Last Shall Be First

Kenny Kemp did a masterful job of intertwining three of Christ's parables into real story lines with real characters that Jeshua (who is Christ) observes. While adding love and emotion into already loved and rich parables, Kenny Kemp captured the spirit of Christ for me. With the obvious themes of love and forgiveness, I enjoyed the example of meekness and humility from Jeshua.

As do other Christians, Latter-day Saints work out to follow the example of our Messiah, but sometimes his perfection can be overwhelming standard to reach. However, seeing Christ in this context, before his ministry, brought a great perspective on what Christ is asking us to do. We live in a competitive world, and our small efforts hardly seem important, but those make all the difference.

I cannot walk on water, but I can work hard. 
Jeshua put all his effort into the door he was making, and it wasn't just physical. He had the insight to have the door swing open to welcome love into the prodigal's son's family home. One door may not seem important in the scheme of things, but Jeshua did his best despite the "menial" nature of it.

I cannot feed 5,000, but I can love those around me.
Jeshua was very aware of those he interacted with. He invites a poor servant boy, Arah, to be his apprentice. Not only sharing skills with him, but love and comfort and truth.

I may not be prestigious in the eyes of other, but I can still be grateful.
One small detail in the story really struck me. Jeshua was not even allowed to enter the yard without permission, but he still was joyous and grateful for something as insignificant as the smell of fresh wood. In fact "he would consider how lucky he was to enjoy the pungent smell of worked wood."* Lucky to smell wood! I think we could all use an attitude adjustment.

The list could go on. It's obvious to me that Kenny Kemp did not believe that Christ's perfection started with his ministry, after these imagined happenings. Kemp is presenting these moments of humility as perfection. And of course, Jesus' humility is seen always in the New Testament, even during his great miracles, but I appreciated this small reminder that Christ isn't asking me to walk on water. My simple baby steps on the hard ground are a great start.




*Kemp, Kenny (2012-11-10). The Welcoming Door (Parables of the Carpenter) (p. 45). Alta Films  Press. Kindle Edition.

Putting More Trust in You Reader

I appreciated the characters and plot of Jenny Proctor's Mountains Between Us. In fact, I probably liked it better than any of the other novels we've read so far. I especially appreciated the real-life circumstances of this story. Though my family life is a lot calmer and quieter than those of Henry (jailbird father and resulting abandonment issues) and Eliza (dead father, rehabilitated mother, alcoholic sister), all the experiences were realistic and showed two normal people addressing their individual challenges.

However, like the other novels we've read so far, I feel like this book could have used a couple more rounds of substantive editing because some elements of her writing style made me CRINGE. And it's not just Jenny Proctor. The authors Disprited, Will Wonders Never Cease, and even Seventh Son suffered from some of the same issues. You see, while I believe clarity is important, I think spoon feeding the reader lowers the quality of the novel. This idea may take getting used to for some readers or writers (and I'm not one to talk, being currently unpublished), but bear with me. Here's some examples:


Original: 
After Eliza mentions she was baptized when she was seventeen: Henry turned to Eliza. He’d never thought to ask about her membership in the Church and was curious to hear how it came about. “Seventeen— that’s not very old.”

Problem? It's overstated. The quotation “Seventeen— that’s not very old” implies that he is curious. The reader is smart enough to realize this. The author doesn't need to tell us outright.

Fix:
Henry turned to Eliza. “Seventeen— that’s not very old.”

 Good rule of thumb. If you don't need it, chop it.  

Original: 
After Henry says he has to be careful reconnecting with his father because of AJ:
Henry made a very valid point. He did have to think about AJ, and that was reason enough to be extremely cautious.

Problem? He just made a point, Eliza thought it was valid, and then they restated the point. Overdone. The reader knows what the "point" is.

Fix:
Henry made a very valid point.

Here's some no brainers:

Original:

....but Henry couldn’t help feeling like there was a giant elephant in the room— something they both wanted to talk about but wouldn’t.

Problem: The reader should know what the expression means. Explaining it takes out all it's pizazz.
Fix: Don't rob an elephant its pizazz!

Original: She shrugged. Apparently she didn’t know what this pertained to either.

Problem: Shrugging = "I don't know" 

Fix: Chop the explanation on why she shrugged

I like Jenny Proctor's novel, but at times the tone and voice became very amateur because of her tendency to overdo it. Less is more, especially in high emotional scenes. Her novel would have been elevated to the next level if she had let the emotions show what's going on.

Proctor, Jenny (2014-09-01). Mountains Between Us (Kindle Locations 1042-1043). Covenant Communications Inc.. Kindle Edition.