Book Talk with Mischa Field

About Mischa Field

Mischa Field is an ordained reverend who has practiced ministry in Brooklyn for 21 years. His writing explores the intersection of Divinity and Humanity: Faith, Identity, Culture, and the Soul. His heart for hurting people and broken institutions fuel his determination to rebuild both.

A graduate of Amherst College and Alliance Theological Seminary, with degrees in film, writing, and urban ministry, and a background in journalism, he finds consistent joy in the mysteries of faith, consistent humility in attempting to practice them, and constant wonder in God’s ability to accomplish perfect things with perfect combinations of imperfect people.

A native of Brattleboro, Vermont, he lives in Queens with Lori, his wife of 15 years. Soul of the Citizen is his first book.

What makes a good story?

A beginning, a middle, and an end? A problem worth solving. Characters the author honors in all their complexity, along with a world they respect. One place you see this fail is episodic tv. So many great shows go sideways because the writers seem to get caught up in the spectacle, instead of honoring what made them great. We get action in place of intrigue or shouting in place of ambivalence because now the lead needs to be a HERO instead of the complex person whose internal conflicts have driven the show. Now we need drama instead of nuance. Three-dimensional characters that become two-dimensional over time are story killers. Characters we are not given time to care about are equally problematic.

What is your writing process? For instance, do you do an outline first? Do you do the chapters first?

It’s different each time. Sometimes there’s an outline. Sometimes there are a few pieces in a puzzle. Often the beginning is the very last thing I write.

What is your writing Kryptonite?

Probably self-consciousness? If I am focused on how I’m doing, I’m not in the moment. If I’m obsessed with a mistake I’ve made, I’m not available to write. If I think I’m killing it, I’m not available to write. If I’m focused on the state of my reputation, or some critic’s gripe, I’m already dead. I learned long ago that I can’t spend much time in the comments. Listening to the wrong critic can make you not want to write anything for 6 months. Or 6 years.

Do you try more to be original or to deliver to readers what they want?

I think “trying to be” anything is death. The only thing I can do is tell my story, share my message, and speak my heart. That’s the only way I can be authentic. Once I start trying, I’ve already lost that. And my audience will know every time. The most exciting things I’ve ever read were often things I didn’t know I wanted until I saw them. Trying to figure out what readers want prevents you from giving them the unique thing that may be stirring in you. So ultimately, it’s a bit of a conundrum. You can’t force originality, but you also mustn’t block it.

If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?

It’s not that serious. Life will be filled with pain and loss that is all too real, but the things I allowed to paralyze me in my youth were mostly inconsequential. The self-absorption I indulged in times of relative peace and prosperity was a waste of time. And anxiety chokes out opportunity. Comics bomb repeatedly on the way to finding their voice. And they continue to bomb after finding it. Failing is not the end of the world. Public embarrassment is not the worst thing in the world. Sometimes, ultimately, it’s the best.

Do you believe in writer’s block?

Sure. Writer’s block paralyzed me for years. I used to allow perfectionism, fear of failure, aversion to process, and a variety of distractions to derail me. Now I am willing to write my way through it, to not fear the junk draft, to not insist the process be uniform. The steps that brought me to my last destination will not necessarily carry me to this one. I also find that allowing a piece to emerge in pieces goes a long way. Some of my best work has started as a series of text messages to a friend. Or to myself. Finding your message, your posture, and your voice involves a degree of mystery. You are discovering something that is buried within you, or in the atmosphere around you. You must be willing to dig.

About the Book

Title: Soul of the Citizen: Prayers For A Divided Nation by Mischa Field
Genre: Christian Nonfiction

Synopsis

Crisis times call for leadership.
Corrupt times call for integrity.
These times call for a move of God, and a move of God calls for you.

Soul of the Citizen: Prayers for a Divided Nation, by Mischa Field, is the cry of a burdened heart refusing to give up on neighbor or neighborhood or nation. It is a collection of prayers for leaders and followers, for parents and children, for shepherds and flocks, and for you and your enemy.

A biblical scribe for modern times, Field offers the reader a word of hope and a call to action. This book is for anyone looking to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with God in a time drowning in accusation and ambiguity.

If you long to protect your peace in times of conflict, this book is for you.
If you long to live ethically and authentically in times of struggle, this book is for you.

If you are moved to pray that God would do a new thing in the life of this nation, this book is for you.

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