Annual Writers Symposium at the Sea attracted noted journalists

Gay Talese and historical novelist Susan Vreeland were among the speakers

       Writers in a variety of styles but all “writing for their life” headlined PLNU’s recent 13^th annual Writer’s Symposium by the Sea, co-sponsored by the San Diego SPJ chapter. The guest list included famed “new journalist” Gay Talese, Chinese-American novelist Anchee Min, local resident and best-selling historical novelist Susan Vreeland and popular Christian author Philip Yancey. Interviews conducted by Dean Nelson, founder and director of the symposium and of the journalism program at PLNU, are airing on UCSD-TV.

For Susan Vreeland, historical fiction exists when “the novel reflects the period so well, that it couldn’t have occurred at any other time.” Her most recent work, “Luncheon of the Boating Party,” based on Renoir’s painting of that name, took her three years to write. The first six months she dedicated solely to research. Vreeland likes to open a novel “at the moment that the yearning comes to the surface. Something must be at stake in that yearning and have inner magnitude.” Then “each chapter must have a new element contributing to advance the story in some deeply significant way.”

          With the passion of an escapee from Communist China and the enthusiasm of a natural entertainer, Anchee Min described how she learned English from Sesame Street, Mr. Rogers and Oprah Winfrey. Her memoir “Red Azalea” and novels like “Becoming Madame Mao” and “Empress Orchid” have been banned in China because they tell uncomfortable truths. “The best thing you can give is your honest self,” she said.

            Former New York Times reporter, Gay Talese said the problem with most journalism is that it is too goal-oriented and “forces everyone to overlook the little details that make journalism readable and life worth living,” ideas he expands on in his recent “A Writer’s Life.” About style, he said, “Serendipitously you come upon things that are wonderful. The wrong turns get you into an obscure, wondrous place.”

            Award-winning author Philip Yancey doesn’t find writing any easier after 20 books like “What’s So Amazing about Grace,” “Disappointment with God” and the recent “Rumors of Another World.” “I don’t know of anything harder,” he said. “Don’t do it alone. Get a group and get some feedback. [Writers] make a living by connecting to people, not by self-expression.”