Last month, I whinged about the continued need to write about war. Nobody said much. I gathered that was because the subject didn't seem very topical. After all, there wasn't much news about war-related deaths in 2013.

Oh, wait. There was. I wonder why hardly anyone comments on it? It hasn't come up in everyday conversation lately. 'Oh, hey, have you heard? About 5,000 Iraqis have died so far this year. They think the total toll since the invasion is about half a million.' 'Oh, really? Who do you think will go to the Super Bowl this year?'

I guess it's a question of 'for whom the bell tolls'. Maybe it doesn't toll for thee, if thou livest in a more prosperous corner of the world.

While looking up that information, I stumbled across the news that Manfred Rommel had died on 7 November. In case you don't know, Manfred Rommel was Erwin Rommel's son. He was 15 when the Nazis forced his dad to take a cyanide pill, to avoid a show trial and the possible death of his wife and son. The Field Marshal was not a Hitler fan.

Six months later, Manfred deserted from the Luftwaffe and surrendered to the French. After the war, he became a politician, three-time mayor of Stuttgart, and campaigner for peace and reconciliation. He could have been a national figure, but he shied away from the job. Could anyone blame him? He seems to have been a stand-up guy, like his father.

The title of this is, 'Writing Peacefully'. So why am I talking about war? Because I've figured something out, finally – I'm a bit slow on the uptake, as my editors will tell you. They're always urging me to 'build more conflict into the narrative'. Maybe I'm just basically conflict-averse, but that took a long time to sink in. I tend to find eirenic stories quite interesting. Unfortunately, while I'm nattering on about how constructive all this activity is, my readers are yawning their fool heads off. The best way to keep their attention is to throw in a little tension.

It's finally dawned on even this slow-thinking writer: to write about peace, you've got to write about conflict. The trick is to show people how to resolve same.

Finding the Heroes

Lately, I've been trying to write Guide Entries about creative problem-solvers. It's harder than it looks. First, you've got to find these people. Not only are they not exactly thick on the ground – nice guys finish last, and all that – but nobody thinks they're interesting. See the point about conflict, above.

It's kind of like trolling for shells along the shore. You need to be prepared a walk a fair way down the beach, slowly. Enjoy the quiet. Breathe in the day. Be ready to spot that pretty shell out of the corner of your eye. That's the way to find the unobtrusive hero: out of the corner of your eye.

Another way is to look for the anomaly. Do you remember Men in Black? No, I'm not holding those fictional nutcases up as heroes. I'm trying to make a point here, don't interrupt. When Will Smith's character takes a test to see if he's MIB material, they show him a street scene full of cardboard cutouts. All the other wannabes shoot away at monsters. Will takes careful aim, and eliminates an eight-year-old girl in pigtails. His explanation? 'What's she doing out late at night in that neighbourhood? Carrying a physics book? She's up to no good.' Will gets the job.

What's John Rabe doing with that Nazi flag in Nanjing? He's, er, up to some good. What's Oscar Schindler doing, taking over that Krakow factory? The same. What about the woman with the pram in the New York City park, waiting for the air raid wardens in 1960? See what I mean? You've got to look for the anomaly.

I used to get a lot of my reading from the 'remainder piles' at the bookshop. What I want to read is often discarded by others. What works in the peace department is probably not all that attractive to the mainstream. I'm sorry if people find that statement offensive, but it's true. If peace, love, and understanding were popular, everybody would be doing it. It takes a particular kind of cussedness to insist on loving your neighbour. Not everyone's tough enough to be a pacifist.

Have you ever seen Fred Rogers' Testimony Before the Senate in 1969? If you haven't, try to find the time. It's a rather amazing performance. Fred Rogers was a force to be reckoned with. And what a writer! Think the kind of thing he scripted was easy to write? Try it sometime.

Peace is not for sissies. People like John Wayne can't handle it. Peace is for tough guys, like Fred Rogers. Watch that video carefully. It will teach you something about writing.

Notice what Fred did:

1. He got their attention.
2. He got them on the same frequency.
3. He showed them the problem.
4. He walked them through the solution.
5. He illuminated the process.

That's what we need to do, if we're going to write about peace. We've got to walk them through the process. We should do that with every tool at our disposal. Me, all I've got is snarkiness and a penchant for odd factoids. Fred had a wonderful imagination when it came to puppets, and a talent for coming up with great song lyrics. Some writers can make you cry, others laugh. Whatever you've got to work with, make it work for you.

But don't forget: peace is a hard sell. It's much easier to stay mad than to find a way to reconcile. That's because peace is a process. Process takes work. And if you're going to make people work, you've got to motivate them, and reward the journey.

Trust me, it's worth it.

Writing Right with Dmitri Archive

Dmitri Gheorgheni

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