Pubspeaks

From Personal to Professional

By Amanda Glensky, Special to WIW

Author Frank Schaeffer discussed how he folds real life into fiction during the November 28 Pubspeak, “Writing as a Means of Confession—Watch out for Angry Family and Friends!”

Author of three critically-acclaimed fiction novels (Portofino, Zermatt and Saving Grandma), Schaeffer discussed how good fiction is influenced by actual people and events, why the words “a novel” are the most freeing in the English language and how his life experiences inspired his new novel Baby Jack.

Schaeffer said Baby Jack is an expression of his worst nightmare, of the sleepless nights he endured after his son John enlisted in the Marine Corps upon graduation from prep school in 1998, and then served in Afghanistan and Iraq.  

Baby Jack is the story of how the Ogden family deals with their son Jack enlisting in the military and how only after his death do they begin to understand his motives for joining. The story is told from alternating points of view—from Jack, his father, mother, sister, girlfriend and God.
 
“The reader marvels at how Schaeffer makes this concise chorus of social conviction moving and memorable by emphasizing emotion over description,” said J. Ford Huffman in a USA Today review of the book. “By no means is Baby Jack another War and Peace. Think War and People instead.”

The book is a metaphor for the relationship between class and military service in American society. As an example, Schaeffer asked the audience what President Bush and the editor of the New York Times have in common. Despite their opposing political stances, said Schaeffer, they both are lacking a portrait of a boot camp graduation ceremony on their desks. “Neither has skin in the game.” Baby Jack is not specifically about the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq; Schaeffer only chose to apply his thesis to this context based on his experience.

Schaeffer amused the audience with a comedic excerpt about 2/3rds into the plot of Baby Jack, when the story is told from God’s point of view. He said that he was surprised that the end of the book turned out funny, because he initially intended for it to be serious.

Schaeffer added that he tried to portray sacrifice as leading to redemption through God in Baby Jack, a theme influenced by his father, the famous American evangelical theologian/evangelist Dr. Francis Schaeffer.

Schaeffer said that this strong influence from his family puts him in an odd position. His father is well-known, like a NASCAR driver is well-known within the NASCAR circuit. While famous within one “circuit” his father wasn’t famous across the board in American society. After writing his book Portofinohe found that he’d angered some in the group of individuals who knew of his family. However, those that didn’t know about Schaeffer’s family found the book to be humorous and light hearted. You can easily anger people by writing something, he said. “It’s either don’t write or write about what you know.”

Schaeffer shared that while he was not the model for Todd Ogden, the father in Baby Jack, Schaeffer’s own life did influence the character of Todd. Like Todd, Schaeffer was an art prodigy. Schaeffer added that before his own son joined the Marine Corps, he was also a “snob” like Todd Ogden, believing that military service was for others—not for his family.

“I tend to fold my own life into my fiction more than nonfiction,” he said, adding that the author exposes more of himself in fiction rather than in nonfiction. In nonfiction, he said, the author is always protecting himself, which is why the words “a novel” are the two most freeing the English language. Of the two, he prefers fiction.

When asked about tips for other authors, Schaeffer said he has difficulty giving writing advice because “it’s like a centipede trying to figure out how he walks.” It is tough to talk about how to write without returning to his work and feeling self conscious, he said.

However, he emphasized the importance of devotion to the manuscript. If the writer has absolute loyalty to the page, the chips will fall where they may, he said, adding that writers have to sacrifice everything, even their own beliefs. Life is about contradicting people and opinions. The page won’t ring true if the characters always mirror the author. Schaeffer added that he would not censor his characters. “When you understand this, it’s freeing.”

Schaeffer said that everyone has their own loyalties, which means there are certain subjects that some authors should refrain from using in their work. For example, if his loyalty to the page would create a serious breach with his wife, Schaeffer said it would absolutely affect what he was willing to share. He would not change his writing to make it acceptable for publishing. Schaeffer said he has shelved projects in the past for that reason. He’d rather remain true to the word, than force a story line in order to keep a family member happy.

Schaeffer plans for his next project to be a memoir. He was born in Switzerland and has since lived in England, South Africa and the U.S. His first job was roadie for Led Zeppelin. At the age of 17, he held his first one-man show at the Frisch Gallery in New York, which was followed by successful shows in London and Geneva. Mrs. David Rockefeller bought his first painting. After some work in the film industry that Schaeffer claims was unsuccessful, he began to write.

He has written everything from critiques of American right-wing fundamentalism to his experiences as a military parent and novelist. His work has been included in The Huffington Post, USA Today, the Washington Post, Reader’s Digest, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Los Angeles Times and the Baltimore Sun, in addition to a number of other publications. He has also been featured on “Oprah,” National Public Radio, C-SPAN’s “Book-TV,” CNN, and a host of other outlets.

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