Thursday, December 26, 2019

Writing from the Middle: Chris Manion,


Writing from the Middle:

The Inside Story of Writing My Memoir

by Chris Manion



Before I began writing my memoir, everything was going great. My marriage was happy; my children were healthy and strong in spirit and faith; my home-based business continued to outperform its previous year’s achievements. I had carved out time for Bible study as well as church choir and teaching Sunday school.

How My Memoir Got Started
Have you noticed how parenting children causes most people to fall on their knees for one reason or another? I found myself praying more than usual in the early years of being responsible for our two little ones. Somewhere in that Bible studying and prayer time, I noticed God wooing me like a suitor. I found my prayer time changing, deepening in response to what I only knew as an inner longing. God started to act like an impatient child attempting to get her mother’s attention as she spoke to someone else.

He got my attention all right with some breath-taking experiences, what Thomas Keating O.S.C.O. calls “divine intimacy.” I wrote an article about the first experience, hearing the voice of God. As He tapped me on the shoulder again and again in my early forties, I received the message He wanted me to write about the experience, to use one of the talents He gave me.

That’s how the memoir began. A persistent inner knowing.  I understood I had received a calling to share the experiences because I knew how to write and others needed the encouragement. Others needed to know it was Him tapping their shoulders. Too many of us treated Him like spam callers on our phones, resisting answering the call, unsure who was calling. Too many don’t recognize the Caller.

How My Memoir Got Finished
After I got the experiences written, it occurred to me I needed to fill in some background story since most readers didn’t know me. I had to figure out when I first noticed God asking me for a “date,” a little quiet time together. After that, I realized what I’d written consisted of the middle of the story. It needed a beginning and end.

I wish I’d known about James Scott Bell, author of “Writing from the Middle: A New Approach for Plotters, Pantsers and everyone inBetween” while I wrote mine. I discovered him after publication; nevertheless, it made me feel better knowing others used my seat-of-the-pants approach too. According to Bell, writing from the middle did not necessarily reflect a novice writer’s ignorance of the craft. Phew!

After I had everything in chronological order, another realization hit me. The hook in the memoir came far too late in the book. I needed to move it from page 150 to page 1. Making that move changed many chapters and confused me. What did the reader now know by moving two chapters forward that he didn’t know in the previous draft? To end my confusion, I re-outlined the 33 chapters. A laborious task, but the chapter shuffle made the book far more readable and probably contributed to earning its two CPAs (Catholic Press awards). The turmoil would continue in the process of publishing, but that’s another story.

The middle can be a great way to start a book or a sandwich. All that’s left is to choose a great roll, slice it, and fill it up with the perfect combo of condiments and characters.

Taste the first two chapters free at www/tinyurl.com/Godispatient. God’s Patient Pursuit of My Soul talks about divine experiences many people have no words for and therefore cannot talk about. Not talking to one another about “God-incidences” makes the devil happy. One goal of my book is to disturb his happiness and increase God’s delight in us.

Before I began writing my memoir, the devil didn’t bother me much. I understand spiritual warfare better now and I’m okay with getting that kind of attention. I’m happy to be one of God’s authors and delighted to be one of the whispers in purple.


Book Blurb
When high achiever, direct-selling superstar, Chris Manion encountered the idea that Jesus could be her best friend, she sat stunned. The possibility followed this inspirational leader and award-winning catechist on a winding path of spiritual discovery that would change her life.

God’s Patient Pursuit of My Soul addresses spiritual matters common to many of us that we don't talk about publicly; sacred matters we have no vocabulary for; the importance of sharing moments of divine intimacy. This vulnerable story of one woman's response to God compels readers not only through the pages of this book, but their own inner discoveries in their lives and careers as well.



Chris Manion received her BA in Communication Arts with honors from the University of Dayton. With her honky laugh, and love for God and chocolate, Chris delights crowds with faith-filled stories grounded in authenticity and vulnerability. Known as a leadership expert and mentor, Chris uses the skills she developed in building her $20 million sales organization to teach how God calls us. Chris’s writing and speaking focus on her mission to nurture the tender relationship between God and all souls. Chris lives with her husband of forty-plus years in Florida ‘s panhandle where she kayaks and photographs the Gulf coast’s natural beauty. She is a grandmother of five little angels, an award-winning catechist from Chicago, a stringer and blogger for Northwest Florida Daily News and her website ChrisManion.com.

It makes her happy to serve and foster the development of Christian writers. She feels close to the apostles in their early years of discipleship. Like them, she joins writers who’ve been given a heavenly mission to go out and use their talents and the art of storytelling/writing. She works and prays about how to do that, how to please our Lord. It is a holy quest.


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1 comment:

  1. Thank you so much for being my guest, Chris. I've never given a single thought to writing a memoir, but if I ever do, I'll know who to contact! LOL

    ReplyDelete