The Makeover of James Orville Wickenbee by Anya Bateman

But in trying to succeed, she puts her career before her family, and eventually before God. She decides to revisit the dreams she set aside and takes on a job as a ghostwriter for a successful tech entrepreneur. When she runs into an old college classmate who is wealthy and successful, Lindy questions the direction she has taken in her life. The story follows Lindy, the second daughter, and explores the relationships within her family and among her friends. No, it’s not perfect and I already know a lot of changes I want to make, but I like this family and I like where they’re going. Only 55 days late.ĭespite the frustrations of not meeting my goals, I love the story that came out. My recent pregnancy made writing difficult for me, so instead of a 50,000-word goal, I made a 25,000-word goal for November, with the ultimate goal of finishing the first draft by the end of December. Talking it over with Brett, we decided this would be my project for National Novel Writing Month in November.

The youngest daughter is a widow, torn between grief and thoughts of moving on with her life. The next daughter is single and feels like she’s in a rut professionally and relationally. The only son and his wife have been married for eight years and struggle with infertility. Her husband is physically present but mentally absent. The oldest daughter has five children and is pregnant with her sixth. What challenges do the children of this family face?

It started with a quirky family: a drama teacher father and English professor mother who named their four children after characters from Shakespeare plays. So, after reading Bruce Clark’s article, I asked myself, What would a compelling Latter-day Saint story look like?ĭreaming up this story occupied my bedtime hours for the next few nights. Those Latter-day Saint authors who have found success have not found it with Latter-day Saint characters and stories. If you asked me which books in the LDS fiction category I like, the only one I would name is The Makeover of James Orville Wickenbee by Anya Bateman. The stories I should be able to relate to the most are unrelatable to me. The characters’ reactions to those dilemmas? Perfect. For the most part, I find them overly sweet. I’ll confess: I don’t often read books from Latter-day Saint writers. In it, Clark states the importance of staying true to our standards when writing, while also showing the realities of life as members of the Church. What amazed me the most was how applicable this article is almost five decades later. Clark, titled “Creative Writing in the Church: A Challenge to Young Writers.” I wasn’t looking for an article for members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints dealing with writing, but I’m glad I found it. A few months ago, I came across an article from 1973 by a man named Bruce B.