The Power of Story: A Visit with Carolyn Haines

Carolyn Haines is no stranger to Femmes readers. The USA Today-bestselling author has shared her insights on writing with us before. This week she is launching a new (well, not completely new) venture in her publishing career. For a number of years, she wrote a series of romantic mysteries with a feline hero, Fear Familiar. These books were published under the Caroline Burnes byline. Recently Carolyn decided to bring Familiar back by republishing a few of his adventures and making them available again. In addition Carolyn, along with some writer friends of hers, are going to be chronicling the adventures of Trouble, Familiar's son -- who manages to get into mysteries just like his father.

Carolyn, besides being a critically acclaimed, prolific writer, has also been a teacher of writing. She has always stressed the importance of "story" in writing, and I couldn't agree more. But here's what Carolyn herself has to say on the subject.

THE POWER OF STORY

            I believe that stories have the power to change the heart -- and the reality -- of a reader. It’s a staggering possibility, isn’t it? That someone skilled at storytelling could sway the heart and mind of another person. It’s a skill that politicians envy and writers hone. All great teachers and leaders use stories to motivate their audiences. Preachers too. We all know the power of a great orator, but at the root of great oratory and communication skills there is always story. A string of facts never has the power of one great anecdote or story that exemplifies those facts. Humans respond to story.

            As writers and readers, I think we have to give this idea a lot of thought. Because what we write can impact people for good or for bad. And we also have to think about an audience’s willingness to be swayed in one direction or another.

            I think back to the first story that marked me greatly. BAMBI. I was seriously upset by this story of a fawn whose mother is shot by hunters. To this day I have no use for hunting of any kind. I have no comprehension of hunting for sport or pleasure. Did BAMBI turn me into an anti-hunter, or was I affected so deeply by the story (as a three-year-old) because I already understood, deep down, that hunting—to me—is morally reprehensible?

            OLD YELLER, THE YEARLING, CALL OF THE WILD—these were all books that marked me with a deeper consciousness of the intelligence of animals and the bond of responsibility between humans and animals. These stories broke my heart, but they also engaged an animal activism in me that continues to be a huge part of my life.

BLACK BEAUTY, KING OF THE WIND, NATIONAL VELVET, are responsible for the person I am today.

            I can think of a number of other hallmark books that changed my view of life. Leon Uris’s TRINITY brought home the struggles in Ireland in a visceral way. And the movie RYAN’S DAUGHTER also had a huge impact on me on that same subject. David Lean’s cinematography was incredible.

            Charlaine Harris’s Sookie Stackhouse books made me see vampires in the light of the racial discrimination that has infected our society. In Sookie’s world, vampires suffer the same prejudice that blacks and others have often faced.

In fact, most of my major beliefs have been shaped and bolstered by fiction. Not facts, but fiction. Because fiction allows me to feel so that the facts become personal experience.

I can know all the facts about something, but it isn’t until I understand it emotionally that it becomes woven into the fabric of who I am.

            I read GONE WITH THE WIND, the epic historical novel, when I was in high school. I fell in love with the story on the first page. At that time, it had never really occurred to me that a person (Scarlett) could spend her life loving the wrong man—and bring such misery to everyone around her because she failed to understand who she truly was.         

It’s a theme that comes back to me again and again. Know what you want. Know what you need. Know who you are. While many view Scarlett as a fascinating character set in a sweeping novel, my relationship with her is much deeper. I learned a great deal from her. I was able to take her experiences and mistakes and look at my life through them.

            All of this goes back to the stories we tell ourselves. My younger brother and I shared the same experience, but we both have different stories about what occurred and how it applies to our individual lives. Reality through the filter of emotion and the need to believe certain things is a fascinating subject. Law enforcement officials and prosecutors will tell you, if they are being honest, that an eye witness to an event is not always a reliable source. People sometimes see what they want to see or expect to see.

The remarkable thing about a book is that thousands of people can share the same experience, shaped by the author’s skillful hand. When an author is able to connect a story so powerfully that it changes a person’s world view—just one single person--that is an extraordinary power.

The pen is mightier than the sword, if the pen is wielded by a skillful hand and someone with something important to say.

Have you been affected by a book (or movie)? Have you read or experienced a situation through a story that has profoundly impacted you? Let me know the books that changed your world view. I think this power is always worth discussing and celebrating.

 

Comments

[Charlaine Harris]

Honored to be mentioned in your thought-provoking blog, Carolyn. There have been many books which have affected me profoundly, some of which I could not bear to read again (like "Cry, the Beloved Country" by Alan Paton). The emotional stupidity of Scarlett -- and the gritty survivor instinct -- had a big impression on me, too. And the Jane Austen books taught me that the details of social interaction are very, very, important.

[Dean James]

The first book that affected me deeply was "Charlotte's Web." I was ten years old, and Charlotte's death broke my heart. That's how I learned that books could have a huge emotional impact. Later on, in grad school, I had to read books on the Holocaust for a seminar. Again, total emotional devastation over the sheer evil that human beings are capable of. And in junior high, in English class, listening to the audio version of Poe's "The Telltale Heart," I learned how stories can terrify you. And "Little Women," when Beth dies... so many books to wring the heart and touch the mind.

[cj petterson]

Thanks again, Carolyn, for wonderful insights that cause me to take another hard look at my writing efforts. Best wishes for great future successes. Marilyn Johnston (aka "cj")

[Carolyn Haines]

You are all writers--and so you have a deep connection with the things you read. I think we are writers BECAUSE of that deep connection. As to "Charlotte's Web," I had been warned what it was about--and I avoided the book for years. But wouldn't you know my great-niece was cast as Charlotte in a stage version and I had to go see it. And it was just as upsetting as I feared it would be! Sometimes those great stories lie in way for us, don't they?

[Mark]

I agree that story has great power for good and evil. However, when authors get on their soap box, I wind up feeling preached at instead of entertained. That will actually turn me off to the cause more than anything else.

[Carolyn Haines]

There's a big difference between writing from the heart and attempting to manipulate. Changing a reader's heart or POV has to be an unexpected bonus. Telling a good story should always be the first order of business.

[Laura DiSilverio]

As a novelist, I occasionally wonder if what I'm doing is worthwhile. Should I be working instead at a nonprofit that feeds the homeless or running a company that makes prosthetics for injured people? Thanks for the reminder that what writers do, what all artists do, is important.

[Carolyn Haines]

In a world topsy turvy with stimuli and feedback, a good book or song to retreat into is vital. I've had more people tell me that while they were sick, the humor in the Bones books made them feel better. Laugher, too, is a powerful force.

[Elaine Viets]

Welcome back to the Femmes, Carolyn. Mark Twain and Agatha Christie were two writers who made a lasting impression on me. Twain's humor and crisp writing are still relevent, and Dame Agatha's descriptions of characters stick in my mind. Congratulations on your new venture.

[Carolyn Haines]

Thanks, Elaine. I agree with both of your choices. I love both of those authors.