{"id":6764,"date":"2019-04-15T18:24:24","date_gmt":"2019-04-15T18:24:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/maiglobal.org\/?p=6764"},"modified":"2019-04-25T02:36:39","modified_gmt":"2019-04-25T02:36:39","slug":"every-writer-is-a-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/maiglobal.org\/ar\/every-writer-is-a-world\/","title":{"rendered":"Every Writer Is a World"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Miriam Adeney received the “Lifetime Training Award” at LittWorld 2018, with MAI President John Maust (left) and MAI Board Chair Dan Elliott (right). Photo by Jeam Wong, Singapore<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

MAI presented its \u201cLifetime Training Award\u201d to author Miriam Adeney at the LittWorld 2018 conference in Singapore. Authors and publishing staff from 52 nations stood and applauded the prolific author for equipping Christian leaders to think and write from a biblical worldview for five decades in dozens of nations. <\/em><\/p>\n

We asked Miriam to describe what prompted her to train writers and to share lessons she has learned. The following article is her response.<\/em><\/p>\n

By Miriam Adeney<\/p>\n

When I stepped into the aroma of pork frying in garlic and the humid heat of my first Philippine assignment, my boss handed me a big pile of papers. \u201cRewrite all this,\u201d he said.\u00a0\u00a0 He was Dr. Isabelo Magalit, head of the Philippine InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. I was a summer volunteer taking a break from my M.A. in magazine journalism at Syracuse University. The \u00a0papers were chapters for a book written by local IVCF staff.<\/p>\n

Not finding a book on student discipleship that was appropriate for their context, the staff had set out to write their own.\u00a0 Bel Magalit had assigned topics:\u00a0 \u201cBert, you\u2019ll write on Bible study.\u00a0 Josie, you write on prayer.\u00a0 Evelinda, you write on sin and temptation.\u00a0 Jonathan, you write on choosing a career.\u00a0 Nancy, you write on witness.\u201d\u00a0 And so on.\u00a0 \u201cBring your writing back a month from today,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

With no training in writing, the results were awful. But Bel faced that mess with the heart of a lion and the tenacity of a bulldog. \u201cEverybody just hand your manuscript to the person on your right. Take it home, rewrite it, and bring it back next month,\u201d he instructed.<\/p>\n

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Miriam encourages a writer at LittWorld 2006, Brazil.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

During that month I arrived, and Bel plopped the pile into my hands.\u00a0 Being young and idealistic, I worked hard to make the manuscript clear, coherent, dynamic and substantive.\u00a0 Bel gave it a final polish.\u00a0 That book, Start Right!<\/em>, went on to serve students in the Philippines, Indonesia and even Africa for decades.<\/p>\n

Why did I start training writers? Bel Magalit prodded me, not only through this project but also by scheduling a session on \u201cHow to Write\u201d at every staff training event and every student camp and conference.\u00a0 A woman named Gladys Jasper influenced me too.\u00a0 She worked in management and business for Alliance Publishers throughout Asia. Indigenous authors matter: both Bel and Gladys believed that passionately.<\/p>\n

I did too. I believed every culture is a unique treasure, a special heritage, a distinctive network of patterns resulting from God\u2019s gift of creativity to a people\u2019s ancestors.\u00a0 When it comes to writing, translations do not fit in as smoothly as local writings. Translators cannot apply the whole counsel of God to a given setting as penetratingly as local authors can.\u00a0 Therefore it is essential to cultivate local writers.<\/p>\n

WHAT HAVE I LEARNED ALONG THE WAY?<\/p>\n

I have learned that writers are amazing.\u00a0 Each one is a world:<\/p>\n