Digging out the Essence of a Story

I love the Biblical story of Gideon. The humour of a young man threshing in the enclosed space of a winepress being greeted as ‘mighty warrior’. Gideon’s reaction when the test he set for God comes back and he wonders if maybe fleece is always wet with dew in the mornings and he’s just never noticed. The crazy methods used to decide which soldiers to keep and which to send home. But Gideon’s story is not just an amusing tale. Underpinning it is a clear message about never giving up; about what it means to trust God and his power even when things seem hopeless. About how God can use the most unlikely of people.

Important lessons. But if I am summarising the gospel for a non-Christian, I’m not talking about Gideon. The Bible tells us how a loving and holy God relates to the people he created. Jesus is the vital part of that tale, Gideon is not. He’s an example.

Many moons ago, I spent 3 years studying for a degree in history. Every week in term-time, I would work my way down a long reading list and then convert my reading and ideas into an essay. 10 books skim read and condensed into 30 odd pages of notes, to produce an essay 4-5 pages long.

I tell you this, because one of the most useful skills I learnt from my degree was how to summarise. How to distill the key points from 3 days of reading and then re-phrase them in my own words.

But ask me to tell you what the book I’ve written is all about and I’m floundering!

I am the only one who would rather write 10 more chapters than attempt a 100 word pitch, or even worse, a synopsis?

Summarising someone else’s words is so much easier than summarising characters and a story that I have lived with for months or years. I love all elements of the characters, know them intimately and it’s hard to step back and isolate only what’s essential. Sometimes the best-loved parts of a story reveal character but aren’t vital to the plot and so can’t be in a summary.

It’s a constant tussle, and I don’t enjoy it all. But I have learnt that this stage is actually really helpful, especially as someone who’s writing is more organic than planned. As I struggle my way to a 750 word synopsis, I step away from the minutiae and detail and start to understand the overall story better. I realise sections that I can trim, other parts that need to be developed, so that the whole is tightly focused.

And it gives me a chance to check that the story is a window onto a deeper truth, a window that allows God's love to shine through.