“Empathy is connection; it’s the ladder out of the same hole.”
~Brené Brown
Writing comes in many forms — copy, speeches, lecture notes, newspaper articles, to name a few. But, perhaps, one cannot truly write literature in its very essence if they don’t feel emotions strongly. Creative writing is very personal that we often think of our works as our ‘babies’ — a very special creation by us that we hope others will equally enjoy.
Such is a belief shared by longtime writer and author Murray Kibblewhite when it comes to writing powerful stories. Any writer, he says, should be passionate about his subject. Sure, you can have a good story unravelling in those pages and it might be resonating with the readers too. You can be impressed by the intricate plot you have woven and thought a lot about its structure, characters and thrilling bits, but if you do not feel about your subject and what you do with it, nothing else will matter.
You have to be in love with your subject in a way that you will pursue it with your heart pounding if it’s to be any good.
As a teacher, Murray has heard many stories that astounded him and made him wonder why they happened. His thoughts brought him to the realization that every person has their own story to tell, experiencing life differently from everyone else. But why?
“Then I made another connection — each person has a different life on this planet so as to learn a lesson or lessons. Some of these lessons are painful to learn and some are pleasant. Once the lesson is learnt a person does not have to experience it again. The problem goes away and a new challenge comes. Rather like a person changing jobs because they are bored and want a new challenge,” he says, sharing his epiphany that served as a foundation for his most recent work, the book series Your Life Can Be Better. Secret Stories of Hope .
“I started writing down the stories I heard [many are based on different Asian female students I have taught], initially as posts to my Now I Know blog and then into longer stories as I heard more from my students,” Murray continues, clarifying that he has not used any real names to protect his students’ privacy. “Usually I have expressed the story in a dramatic way and introduced other issues to emphasize the main theme of the story. So they are fiction based upon true events,” he adds.
With the book’s overall theme being “inspiration through self-discovery and spiritual lessons learnt from experiences,” he ended up completing 15 stories, which have been published in five volumes, with three short stories based on real people whom he has met or know about. Many of the subjects are females simply because there were more of them than males. However, their age varies ranging from as young as 17 to as mature as 30. All stories lead to a conclusion that tries to answer one important question: What has been the learning?
Writing process
A self-confessed loner, Murray is also author of the eco-thriller The Minke Connection which deals with the issue of Japanese killing whales in the Southern Ocean. The idea for the book came to him “after reading a lot of thrillers like those from Robert Ludlam and took me four years to write”. He describes John Daraux, the book’s protagonist, as the ’green’ version of James Bond. Does he think the story is still relevant today?
“Interestingly, last year the Japanese broke the ban on non-commercial whaling after 30 years, so the message is even more important today. In fact, I have in my mind to produce at least five novels of the same genre. The second one I have started. It is about the destruction of the Amazon rainforests and has the same protagonist Daraux,” he reveals.
His writing process starts with him picturing in his mind — confirmed by written or typed notes — the story with its beginning, middle and ending. He, then, breaks the story down into sections (for him that usually means four sections) then the sections into chapters for the novels.
He continues, “Once the overall story is in my head I consider the events and situations chapter by chapter and then finally the characters.” He uses an effective technique when writing novels: “I have a page of A4 paper folded lengthwise on which there are preprinted questions that ensure all aspects of a scene are adequately and properly covered. Finally, I use SpeechNotes app to ‘write’ (talk into the app) the book as my typing is not good. It’s also easier to correct my SpeechNotes which I email to myself.” Then starts the endless rounds of writing and re-writing or as it is better known in the publishing industry: editing.
With the current state of the world in the time of pandemic, coping with the issues arising from it has been generally positive for Murray, perhaps because he draws strength a lot from his spirituality. As many writers are, he is a lover of books by other authors, swearing by the profoundness of such works as Soul Psychology (Joshua David Stone), The Seat of the Soul (Gary Zukav) and Ramtha (J.Z. Knight), all of which he also describes as under-appreciated.
“When you reach my age and discover you are a heyoka empath, then the enjoyment of living on my own with minimum assets, intermittent fasting, eating as a vegan, exercising daily, living without the restrictions of a partner or family and doing the things I like such as writing and being a business mentor — life is wonderful,” he notes.
Heyoka is a Native American word that means ‘sacred clown’ or ‘fool’. According to the website Learning Mind, “it describes the way Heyoka use light humorous energies to open people’s minds and to heal…They understand that sometimes the only way shift people’s thinking is to startle them out of it. They do this by showing them a completely different way of looking at things, often the complete opposite way.”
Seeing the good in all things, Murray summarizes his 2020: “This year has been the best in my life especially as I have started working with Stampa Global to get my short stories published.”
He knows that wonderful things can be achieved where there is teamwork and collaboration, so he’s looking to work with other groups to promote his Project LEL short stories Your Life Can Be Better. Secret Stories of Hope. “For example, a church or community group may choose to sell a ‘customized’ version to their members. In such a case the learnings for each story would be selected by the pastor or group leader to suit their congregation or organization. Telling stories is a very powerful way of teaching,” he ends.
FAST TALK WITH MURRAY KIBBLEWHITE
Stampa: You’ve been in this industry for quite some time with many of your books getting published independently. What was your first self-published work? Has your self-publishing experience changed your process of writing?
M.K.: While I had a number of small self-help type books privately published, it was not until I had completed The Minke Connection that I tried unsuccessfully to get a traditional publisher involved. Their concern was that the original work was too long at 194,000 words. Even when I reduced the number of words it was still too long. So the learning here is to know what is the maximum number of words you can submit and plan not to exceed that limit.
S: How has it been working with Stampa compared to other publishers? Do you think you have found your ‘publishing partner-for-life’?
M.K.: My association with Stampa is very short so I am not able to give a definitive view. However, Stampa have been very helpful and professional in their dealings with me and the level of their production is very high. The most important point is that Stampa believes in me which is wonderful.
S: What do you think of online book launches that have become popular now given the physical distancing restrictions of COVID-19?
M.K.: In my eyes, one of the positive outcomes of the COVID-19 outbreak has been the move away from physical meetings for business and education. As a teacher of many years, the ‘classroom’ concept is now out of date. So online launches are now the new norm.
S: What’s the best advice you can give to independent authors like you?
M.K.: Realize that while you will or should write about something you are knowledgeable or passionate about, that is only half the job. The other 50% is getting your book published and sold. This is the real hard part for most authors so you need to employ a publicist or marketing agent.
S: How many unpublished and half-finished books do you have? Will we see them published soon?
M.K.: In my eyes I see my writings in four categories.
- Eco Thriller Novels – The second novel about the Amazon rainforests will be published in 2021. The third novel of The Minke Connection series about rising water levels is in the planning stage.
- Project LEL (Your Life Can Be Better series) – is on track to publish a book each month. However, the style of the stories might change and I hope to work with other organizations as outlined previously.
- Now I Know (theme-based self-selection series) – I have written over 150 short articles which have been posted on my Facebook I’m thinking of reformatting them and have them listed on my website (when it is completed) under five main themes so readers can choose which are sent to them as a personalized self-selected ebook.
- Lifestyle Journal – For the past seven years I have been keeping a Success Journal which I fill in daily. This year I will have written over 100 pages which I want to review and analyze the main themes of my life, particularly through the COVID-19 pandemic. We are fortunate in New Zealand to have the virus under control — at the moment! As I am very fit and healthy, my observations could be helpful to others.