Novelist Elizabeth Berg Relies on the Power of the Unconscious

The Handmaid and the Carpenter

by Elizabeth Berg

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An exclusive Authorlink interview with Elizabeth Berg
Author of The Handmaid and the Carpenter (Random House, 2006)

by Ellen Birkett Morris

November, 2006

Novelist Elizabeth Berg believes in the power of the unconscious. So when she woke up from a deep sleep with the words of a conversation between the biblical characters Mary and Joseph ringing in her head, she went downstairs and wrote them down.

—BERG

Following her own advice, Berg has created an engaging portrait of the birth of Jesus in The Handmaid and the Carpenter. The novel, full of rich details about the time period, portrays the meeting and marriage of Mary and Joseph, Jesus’ birth and Joseph’s death.

Berg offers interesting human portraits of the well-known biblical figures. In her portrayal, Mary is lusty, curious and full of life. Joseph is drawn to tradition and often beset by doubts about the nature of his young wife’s pregnancy.

love and faith does it take

for a man to stand by a

woman that others

want to stone?"

—BERG

Berg began with the idea that she would tell a story that was a radical departure from the common version of the Christmas story. In her version, there was to be a rape. However, when it came time for her to write that scene “the miracle took over.”

“I am not a religious person, but writing this book, and the notion of believing in miracles, gave me such comfort. I hope that people can read it and feel closer to whatever it is that gives them spirituality. The book is escapism, but escapism into love, beauty, dignity and faith in the broadest definition of the word,” said Berg.

She did extensive research into what people of that period wore, how they spoke and what they ate in the hope of humanizing the characters. The result is a vivid portrait of love.

a book a year, it just

happened that way."

—BERG

“I don't set out to do a book a year, it just happened that way. The ideas keep coming–I guess I haven't finished saying what I want to,” said Berg.

Her stories are marked by dialogue that captures the dynamic of male-female communication in an insightful way.

“Observation is vitally important. I think most writers are born with the habit of noticing. “Writers at a party are not the ones dancing. They are standing in the corner taking notes,” said Berg.

While writing, Berg said characters will “show up,” sparked by a bit of overhead dialogue or an idea she had written down earlier. She works without plotting. “I don’t know what will happened from one day to the next. But, I may know my last line or write toward a specific ending,” Berg noted.

about anything but the lure

of the story . . ."

—BERG

While Berg has always written, she first wrote for publication in her mid-30s. “My daughters were four and nine and I wanted a way to work at home,” she explained. She sent personal essays to magazines and got work writing for Parents Magazine. She went on to write for a wide array of women’s magazines.

about writing is to read

good books . . . "

—BERG

When it comes to writing, she is a natural. “You can learn technique and marketing, but you can’t teach someone how to be a good writer. The best way to learn about writing is to read good books,” said Berg. She is a fan of authors Alice Munro, Richard Ford and Anne Tyler.

Berg believes that writers are “born and not made.” “For me, writing is how I come to understand the world,” she added.

When asked if her early work as a freelance writer informed her novel writing, Berg noted that whether you are writing fiction or nonfiction “the onus is on you to point out interesting details and maintain the flow of the story.”

When she was working her first novel, she got the names of several agents from her editor at Parent’s Magazine. She went to New York to meet with the agents and settled on Lisa Bankoff of International Creative Management (ICM). Berg has a multi-book deal with Random House and works with Editor Kate Medina.

and listen more than

you talk."

—BERG

Her advice on writing is to “respect the unconscious, have fun and take risks.” She urges new writers to be less self conscious and not censor themselves as they write a first draft.

“Remember, you are the only one who has to see your work. If you don’t like something you’ve written you can always take it out later,” explained Berg.

She cautioned that publication should be secondary to the love of writing. “When you have something ready to be published, do your research. In the end, good writing wins out. Publishers need writers as much as writers need publishers.”

Her next novel, Dream When You're Feeling Blue, the story of three sisters during World War Two, will hit book stores in May.

Elizabeth Berg is the New York Times bestselling author of many novels. She resides in Chicago.

Ellen Birkett Morris

Ellen Birkett Morris is an award-winning writer whose work has appeared in national print and online publications including The New York Times. She also writes for a number of literary, regional, trade, and business publications, and she has contributed to six published nonfiction books in the trade press. Ellen is a regular contributor to Authorlink, assigned to interview various New York Times bestselling authors and first-time novelists.