My review of Almost Heaven noted briefly that Chris Fabry based his story on a real person who he didn’t know. In his Afterword he explained how he became aware of the man Billy Allman, how that person touched his heart and made him feel like he really did know him. He couldn’t shake thinking about him nor could he ignore some of the similarities he shared with Billy. The story had to be written, and Chris elected to use first person point of view for both the character Billy and his assigned angel Malachi.
Chris’s style in his last two novels differ slightly from his first adult novel Dogwood. Both June Bug and Almost Heaven use a little less sophisticated language because June Bug is told primarily from a young girl’s perspective, and Almost Heaven is told from a “hillbilly genius” point of view. Malachi’s voice and thoughts are more profound, ethereal, as he struggles with his assignment.
My point here concerns the methodology used to tell a story. Chris Fabry was compelled to write a story about a person he never knew but somehow felt a certain regard, respect, and/or kinship to him. He crawled inside the inspiration and took on what fit like the man’s skin to create a story. Why this is so interesting to me is because it’s the same thing I did in The Famous One. The Lord put a real actor on my heart so heavily, I couldn’t escape from this man even if I’d wanted to do so. The burden for his salvation was palpable and with me every single moment of every day. People can disregard this factor, call it fanaticism, do the proverbial eye roll, or whatever they please. It’s all factual.
The methodology and style of our two novels took different courses. As I said, Chris used first person POV contrasting the less-sophisticated language with the more profound depending on who was reciting the events. I "chose" the omniscient POV for the first part of the story and slowly morphed into third person POV. I used a lot of the vernacular in keeping with the lifestyle of the main character Joey Parr.
Almost Heaven contained three parts or divisions (with chapters), and originally I wrote The Famous One without chapters but divided into sections of Joey’s life. Some styles end up unacceptable to readers and are abandoned in the editing process. I kept the divisions but added chapters.
It might interest you to know I had no intention of using the omniscient POV. It just happened that way as my novel became much like a fictional biography. Almost Heaven is similar in that regard because the story begins as Billy’s about to celebrate his 11th birthday and takes us through his life story dropping us off before it concludes.
I love different methods of storytelling, styles, and voices. Creating with the written word is a joy to experience and to share. When it comes to reading stories, I’ll give the author a lot of room to move. Who wants to read the same thing time after time? Hmm. Apparently there are many who do. Not this writer.
Father, please keep providing the inspiration for your authors. Give them daring and defiance and determination to write for your glory. Help us all to be the ones you desire us to be. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.