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Communicating Truth Through Story

by

Brad Burke

Write! Canada Workshop June 16, 2007

(Quotes with page #’s from Robert McKee’s hardcover book, Story (Regan Books, 1997)

A) Why use Story to Communicate Truth?

1) Everybody loves stories!
- Movies, novels, plays, that’s why you’re here.
2) Truth for Dummies
- Beauty of stories
- Stepping stones analogy: While knowledge focuses on the facts (the stepping stones) understanding involves adding more stepping stones and rearranging them to help get the reader across the raging river (a tough question).
- God is kind, just, righteous (Jer. 9:24)

3) Less space, more filling

4) Humour (or Humor for our American friends)
- Balance of humour/ heart wrenching story

5) God does it
- Story of Joseph or Moses
- We are living in one big story

B) How to Use Story: What Stories Generally Work Best? (in descending order)

1) Bible Stories (true stories)*
2) True Stories from the Author’s life
3) True Stories you’ve stolen … ok, borrowed…
i. Research: magazines, newspapers, books, personal friends
4) Created Stories
i. Good fictional story can trump a boring real life story
5) Avoid Too-unbelievable-to-be-true stories in circulating emails. Internet Stories

Rule-of-thumb: The more basic the truth, the shorter the story.

Pet Peeve #1: Longs stories that communicate simple facts. Remember that 50 trees have to die just to print one page of your book in the publishing process. (just kidding) Don’t waste space or ink! Don’t just tell a story that says, “God is love” Tell us a heart-wrenching story that communicates the depth of God’s love. Don’t just tell a story that says, “God is a God of grace.” Tell us a powerful story that communicates the depth or extent of God’s grace.

C) Substance of Story:

(Whether true or fictional; need to understand when writing or editing your stories. What to leave in, what to cut out.)

“The Quest”

“For better or worse, an event throws a character’s life out of balance, arousing in him the conscious and/ or unconscious desire for that which he feels will restore balance, launching him on a Quest for his Object of Desire against forces of antagonism (inner, personal, extra personal). He may or may not achieve it. This is story in a nutshell.” (McKee p. 196-7)

1) Inciting Event: What launches the main character’s life out of balance? (Joseph is sold as a slave by his brothers)
2) Protagonist
a. Motivation and desire (no passive characters) Joseph thrown into Jail was thinking of a way to get out when he told the cup-bearer, “Don’t forget about me when you get out.” Joseph’s actions had consequences. His actions led to a series of events that eventually sent him to prison.
b. Fascinating & believable
i. “If I were this character in these circumstances, what would I do?” (McKee, p. 153) All part of “Writing from the inside out.” We have to really connect with the main character on an emotional level and if we can’t do that you’ve lost your reader to the TV or washing the toilets, whatever’s more exciting.

3) forces of antagonism
i. 3 Levels of Conflict:
1. Inner conflicts (novels**) Joseph must fight off the demons of lust, anger, and revenge as a slave
2. Personal conflicts (plays**) Between Joseph and his brothers and Potiphar’s wife
3. Extra-personal conflicts (movies**) Joseph must use his wisdom to save a country from famine.

4) Subplots: Wishful thinking in most short stories. Good subplots that repeatedly and meaningfully connect with the main storyline are difficult to pull off in a short amount of space.
a. Jacob’s grief of losing one son, how his life changes, then it’s deja vu when Joseph asks that Benjamin be sent to Egypt.

5) Set up & payoff: “To set up means to layer in knowledge; to pay off means to close the gap by delivering that knowledge to the audience.” (McKee p. 238) (i.e. Joseph and his dreams, father and brothers bowing down to him) When writing about the truth of God, you toss out the stepping stones, and then the payoff is when you help the reader arrange them.

6) Crisis (“True Dilemma”)
a. “This dilemma confronts the protagonist who, when face-to-face with the most powerful and focused forces of antagonism in his life, must make a decision to take one action or another in a last effort to achieve his Object of Desire.” (McKee, p. 304 see also p. 375)
b. Joseph: Confronts his “inner demons,” revenge vs. love. Crisis: How was he going to respond to his brothers who sold him as a slave approximately 13 years earlier?

7) Climax & Resolution
a. Climax: When Joseph tells his brothers who he is.

D) Secrets used by Hollywood Screenwriters: (used by novelists too, but perfected by the top screenwriters in Hollywood.)

1. Dialogue: Short, to the point but not “on the nose”
a. Pack maximum punch into every word
b. Bad news: writing great dialogue for the big screen is difficult; good news: can get away with poor or average dialogue in books—that’s what separates a screenwriter from a novelist.
c. Think about what you want to say, then say it differently—put a spin on it. Pack maximum punch into every word.

2. Tell Stories where the main character has a lot to lose. (Mckee p. 339)
a. Because we can’t really get into the head of the main character like you can in a novel, we want to see the characters risk it all – careers, relationships, dreams, reputations, money, etc. (also helps in putting together a great ending)

3. Character Arc: must be change; what does the character learn through it all? More important in screenplays than novels because it’s such a short timeframe. In your average-sized novel tend to forget how the main character was in the beginning. Screenwriters also have to dramatize, and since actions speak louder than words, the change is usually more visible—more powerful in a film that is brilliantly crafted.
a. Emphasize motivation and character arc—particularly in Bible stories

4. Things come in threes
a. Catchy phrases, motifs (recurring subject, themes, objects, shapes, etc.)
i. At least once in each “act” but don’t overdo it.
ii. Use variations
b. Maintains the feeling that we’re in the same story.
i. Non-fiction books – carry the terminology, motifs, and examples of the story throughout your book—long after the story is over.

5. Keep ‘em guessing
a. Make the reader ask, “Where are you going? When audience has it all figured out you’re in big trouble
i. (I.e. overdoing the story of Father losing son on earth to demonstrate God the fathers’ love.) Sproul: How hard it was for him to have to plan putting his family dog down; how hard it must have been for Abraham to tie Isaac to the altar; how hard it must have been for God to plan the murder of His Son.
ii. “You do not keep the audience’s interest by giving it information, but by withholding information, except that which is absolutely necessary for comprehension.” (McKee p. 336)

6. Give ‘em what they want
a. William Goldman: “The key to all story endings is to give the audience what it wants, but not the way it expects.”
b. Robert McKee: “So we give the audience the experience we’ve promised, but not in the way it expects.” P. 311
i. Set up for an up-ending, or a down-ending.
c. What audience wants is emotional satisfaction. Set-up and payoff. See pg 311. ** Look at your favourite movies.
d. Story of Joseph: we wanted Joseph reunited with family, but would never have expected it would be that way. God created “maximal punch,” maximal dramatic effect in the climax. We’re on the edge of our seats; waiting for Joseph to tell his brothers (the ones who betrayed him) that he is their brother. God is the greatest story-teller of all.

7. Let the reader (audience) lay the last stepping stone down. Let the reader think they figured it out on their own. The point you are trying to make will be much more powerful if the reader uncovers it on their own, than if you state it or explain it.

All of this packs maximum punch into your stories.

E) Which story do I use to communicate truth?

Might say, great, now I know the basics about writing story. But how do I go about assembling all the stepping stones to help my reader understand a difficult-to-understand truth?

A) Pray!

B) Focus!
a. What question is my reader asking? (What raging river am I going to tackle?)
b. What truth do I want my reader to understand to cross the river? (How are my stepping stones going to look at the end of the book?)
c. How can I best help my readers arrange their stepping stones? Through story? Rhetorical discourse? Pictures? Cross-word puzzles?

C) Brainstorm!
a. If not, then create a story.
i. How? Ask the question, what do I need? What type of protagonist, antagonist, conflict, motifs, and thematic elements do I need in my “simple world” that will allow me to communicate a complex truth.
b. Is there a true story in the Bible, from my life experiences, or elsewhere that I can use to communicate truth?

D) Write like your hair is on fire!

The thinking process I went through to create the story, “What About My Mangos?” in the book, Why Doesn’t God Stop Evil?

a. What question is my reader asking?
i. Why does God sometimes allow the wicked to prosper and the righteous to flounder? (The raging river)

b. What truth do I want my reader to understand to cross the river? Answer: The magnitude of God’s grace is displayed much more when he gives it to those who deserve it the least.

c. Is there a story in the Bible, or in my life that would help my reader assemble the stepping stones across this

d. How can I best help my readers arrange their stepping stones? Answer: Story

A) I needed a protagonist (similar to God) who was generous, relatively wealthy, and had the power of life and death in his or her hands.
B) I needed a recipient (antagonist) of this generosity (similar to us) who were poor, dying, sinful, and didn’t understand the concept of grace.
C) I needed some conflict
D) I needed a motif (something tangible) that would symbolize God’s grace.
E) It had to be related to medicine (as per my editor)

(C) 2007 Brad Burke

On October 12, 2006 I was interviewed on 100 Huntley Street.

If you missed it, but would like to watch the TV interview now, click on the following link, then choose the air date of Thursday October 12th:

www.crossroads.ca

There is a short promotional segment at the beginning, then my 25 minute interview starts half way through the program.

If you missed my interview on Listen UP TV click on following link, then click on the October 1, 2006 air date of “Sick & Tired.”

My 6 minute interview is about three quarters of the way through the program.

www.listenuptv.com

For your reading convenience I’ve place a condensed version of the Q & A session, as printed on the Listen Up TV website, below.

Q & A WITH DR. BRAD BURKE

“Does God still do miracles of physical healing?”
(more…)

On September 9, 2006 Dr. Brad Burke and his wife Erin were present for a book signing at Indigo Books in Lakeshore, Ontario.
(more…)

‘A Reader Writes’ is a regular feature of www.bradburke.com

Dr Brad,

Hey, I just finished reading your book, “Does God Still Do Miracles,” and I would like to say, “wow.” This book has been so relevant to me. I was a Pentecostal for many years, and began to get suspicious completely on my own concerning the way we approached miraculous healings. Even without any medical training whatsoever, I could see noticeable trends in the healing claims that our church was making. I actually began studying the subject of faith healing on my own - taking notes in faith healing services, and talking to the owners of websites on which healing claims were made. It is really interesting for me to read books like yours, which confirm exactly what I myself concluded. I also happened to read Dr. Nolen’s book just before I read yours, so that was pretty cool to see you discussing his book also. If anybody asks my view on miraculous healing, I’m going to tell them that it is perfectly summed up by your book. I’d like to mention a few testimonies of note that I came across.

A Pentecostal faith healer claimed that a woman with no bones in her hands had the bones miraculously regrown inside her hands. He gave the video as evidence, which showed her opening and closing her fist, to the applause of the audience. When I asked this man how he knew she didn’t have any bones in her fingers, and if he had seen any X-rays of her hands before and after the miracle, he conceded he had not, and that she had just told him she was missing some bones. Another Pentecostal website I came across, had a testimony of a woman who had begun prayer to be healed of hepatitis after getting a false positive on a test. When she finally got a negative, the church celebrated her healing as if she’d been healed of hepatitis! I also came across a healing claim in which a young boy was miraculously healed of a scratched cornea. The testimony mentions a strange liquid that the doctor put on the boy’s eye before applying an eye patch, which the boy had to wear for a week. After a week, when the boys scratched cornea was better, his eye patch was removed. Neither the family of the boy, nor the church celebrating the miracle were aware that the strange liquid was a topical steroid!

Miracles are possible, just not nearly as common as we’d like. We can create the illusion that miracles are occurring on the same scale as those recorded in the Book of Acts by broadening the definition of miracle, and just giving a wink and a nod at the testimonies that don’t quite tell the whole truth, but I think we just end up hurting people. I read an article recently that said that parents of terminally ill children who have an intellectual and emotional realization that their child is dying experience depression for a shorter length of time after the death of their child than than do parents who do not make that realization. Better said, “short emotional awareness time puts fathers at increased risk of long-term depression.” I do know of cases in which Pentecostals held onto faith that God would heal their child, despite being given a “close to zero” chance of that child’s survival by their doctors. At the same time, I find myself very much sympathetic to them for not wanting to lose their child. Sometimes the subject of healing is very difficult. Even knowing what I know, I find myself wanting God to “let this be the big one,” so to speak.

Anyway, I just wanted to say thanks for the hard work you put into writing your book. I can tell you first-hand that it has been an incredibly significant read, and I look forward to reading your other books.

God bless you,

Gabriel L.

Another Reader recently wrote this very encouraging letter:

Hello Dr. Brad,

I live in Joinville, State of Santa Catarina, in the South of Brazil. I work as an English teacher and a translator. I’ve already come across a lot of materials on suffering but yours is really interesting, especially for the medical insights you propose.

I am writing to congratulate you for the amazing work you did on “Why does God Allow Suffering?” and “Does God Still do Miracles?” I belong to a Charismatic Church (Vineyard) but I tend to align with the Conservatives in many issues. I don’t believe in general, absolute healing, all over, all the time, for anyone. I believe God has a purpose and a plan, not always revealed to us.

Your book has been particularly helpful to me as I have just lost my wife (who had a boyfriend) and a house, and the presence of my two kids, for most of the time. Apparently the only thing I did to deserve this was “preaching the gospel, and moving from work, to house, from house to church.”

At the moment God is working in my heart that I should give up all my “demands”. I tended to “demand” special treatment for being a “good boy”… I am reading “Shattered Dreams” by Larry Crabb, and I recommend you examine this book too. I think it might enrich your perception in the line you’ve already got.

Feel free to keep in touch, if you have time, I know you might be a very busy person.

God bless, brother,

M. G.

Another reader wrote:

Hi Brad!

As you can see, I have logged into your website and even entered the contest, but actually, because I am working at Harmony House, our Bible bookstore, I was very excited to hear that you were publishing four books, and we did order the books in. And my intention is to buy the set!! Dave and I and our family were away most of the summer, and the very day I got back to work, we received our (Harmony House’s) shipment of the books. I wanted to first read the book on miracles, and had set it aside. Mark, our son, was visiting, and when he came by the store, he saw it and bought it!! I think Stephanie read it when Mark took it home, and said it was excellent. You have done an excellent job on these books, and I find it very interesting reading and it is sound doctrine …. That is something which is very hard to find these days. I see a lot of books come across the counter and get ordered and there are not a lot of them that say much or that constitute Biblical truth. Congratulations on this accomplishment, no doubt with the Lord’s help.

We appreciated what you wrote to us in 2003 to try to help us with our daughter, Hannah’s abdominal illness. We appreciated very much your help in this … You probably wonder how she is doing now. The Lord has done a work of healing (a real miracle) in her life, and it was through a doctor in Hamilton … Dr. Forest. He saw her, heard about the many tests which proved unproductive and treatments which were unhelpful. He decided to treat the pain, going in through the back and freezing the celiac plexus bundle of nerves which he believed were causing much of her pain. He did a treatment in May of 2005 and then a second one in August of the same year. She has had NO PAIN since! I wrote Dr. Forrest a note of appreciation and I guess because of the effectiveness of the treatment, the health science department wished to write an article on Hannah and on her prognosis. In the interview Hannah did share how the Lord had worked in this situation and how so many were praying.

Thanks so much for your willingness to help us at that time, Brad.

Congratulations again on your wedding, marriage (Hi Erin!!) and your books. Also, great website!!

Sincerely,

Becky & Dave
(Porcupine, Ontario, Canada)

————————————————————————-

Another Reader writes:

This particular ‘conversation’ between reader and author is also an excerpt from Brad Burke’s recently published book, “An MD Examines: Does God Still Do Miracles?”

I received the following e-mail from a reader who read a modified excerpt (taken from this book) in Focus on the Family’s magazine publication, Physician (March/April 2004)

Hello,

I would like to begin by saying that I appreciate Dr. Burke’s concern for patients who might be misled by false claims of miraculous interventions…

I would like to point out, though, what I perceive to be a wrong way of thinking about this (more…)