My creative writing includes screenplays and teleplays (some unproduced; the latter produced on The Family Channel – all co-written with my husband, Buzz McLaughlin), as well as a novel (fairly recent – gotta get it published), and radio dramas, which I’m currently involved with. So that’s where I’ll start. They’re written for The Saints project, produced by The Merry Beggars, the entertainment division of Relevant Radio:
THE SAINTS: Radio Dramas
My produced scripts so far include:
You can listen by clicking on these links – and all the other saints (100 of them) can be found at relevantradio.com and thesaintspodcast.com.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
SPEAKING WITH THE SAINTS: AN INTERVIEW WITH KRIS MCLAUGHLIN
(Published here February 23, 2024)
This week, we sat down with Kris McLaughlin, writer of Damien of Molokai, to discuss Saint Damien and her writing process. You can listen to the entire series here.
A Journey to Molokai
Q: What can listeners expect when they tune in to Damien of Molokai?
Hopefully the listeners can expect to be so drawn into Damien’s story that they can’t wait to hear the next episode. His relationship with his brother, who also became a priest, is quite interesting. There are moments of suspense, such as when the ship Damien takes to Hawaii is in danger of capsizing, and then, once he gets there and builds a church, it’s nearly destroyed by an earthquake. Then comes his stay on Molokai and the struggles he has to help the lepers he came to love so much so that he sacrificed his life in order to see their lives improved along with their faith in God.
On the Process of Writing
Q: What was your writing process like?
Whenever I write a series for The Saints, I read as much as I can about that particular person, immersing myself in at least five or six books as well as online sources about them. Once I feel I’ve come to know them, the saint and those around him begin “speaking” to me – sometimes in the middle of the night I’ll get a snatch of a possible scene and will have to get up to jot down the words I’m hearing. Of course, all the writers go through a rigorous process of writing outlines of the story and refining those before we actually get into writing the first draft. This all happens as a team effort with Peter Atkinson, our Producer; Judy Zocchi, Head of Script Development; Buzz McLaughlin, Script Consultant; and Lisa Lickona, our Saints Consultant.
Lessons from Saint Damien
Q: Was there anything you were surprised to learn about St. Damien?
What I was surprised to learn about Damien was how determined he was to get to confession. No other priests were allowed on Molokai because of the danger of contracting leprosy. His Bishop came by steamer ship to hear his confession, but was denied being able to land. Damien got into a small boat, rowed out to the steamer, and shouted up his confession in French when it was learned that only he and the Bishop understood that language! Actually that affected me profoundly – how easy it is for me to get to confession and yet how sometimes eluctant I am to take advantage of this sacrament.
Q: What’s one thing you think listeners can and should learn from St. Damien’s life?
That we should always keep listening for God’s voice and direction in our lives, and never stop trusting that He will provide for all our needs.
Saint Damien of Molokai, Pray for Us!
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
KRIS McLAUGHLIN: WRITING KATHARINE DREXEL
Published here August 29, 2024Hearing the Sounds
Hearing the Sounds
This article is written by TMB contributor Charles Reamsnyder.
I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Kris McLaughlin about Saint Katharine Drexel. McLaughlin, who has written many series for The Saints, spoke to me about the unique challenges and victories in writing St. Katharine Drexel’s story. As always, she begins her process with intense research. “I love doing research on every Saint I write about,” she says, “and I keep researching until I begin ‘hearing’ them speak.” This is something that McLaughlin said was one of her favorite experiences while writing. “I woke up hearing fireworks exploding and Katharine calling out excitedly to her family as she watched them from her bedroom window.” These epiphany moments are key to McLaughin’s writing process.
Reading Material
Before writing the script, McLaughlin had little knowledge of the life of Saint Katharine Drexel. However, the experience of writing helped her discover a new favorite Saint. “I read six books on Katharine Drexel before beginning to write her story… I like to read a lot of books, as there’s always new information in every one of them, and after reading a lot about a particular saint, I get a kind of synoptic view of their life.” For anyone who wishes to read more on Saint Katharine, McLaughlin suggests The Life of Katharine Drexel by Katharine Burton and Katharine Drexel: The Riches to Rags Life Story of an American Catholic Saint by Cheryl Hughes.
Lessons Learned
McLaughlin believes the virtues that Katharine Drexel lived will especially resonate with listeners, as if directly from St. Katharine’s lips. “Katharine’s chief desire was to do whatever God wanted her to do, regardless of her own preferences or choices… Since Katharine was a very dynamic personality, her words and actions guided the story so much that sometimes it was as if she was telling it to me – and I was merely her transcriber.”
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
THE TIME OF VISITATION: A Novel
When I was eight years old, I realized I loved to write. Throughout my life I’ve used my writing skills to earn a living: as a magazine and book editor, as a public relations writer, and as a newspaper columnist. But I always wanted to write a novel. Decades passed, but that didn’t happen. Life happened.
And, even though I wrote several screenplays and TV scripts with my husband, Buzz McLaughlin, and actually got two teleplays produced, I never got what I thought was a good enough idea for a novel.
But one day, the idea finally came….
And now, after years of work and research and writing, I’ve completed a young adult novel titled The Time of Visitation. The first of a proposed trilogy, it’s a narrative told by Gemma Andresen, 16, whose family has managed to survive a Polar Shift by living for two years in an underground house. When Gemma’s brother Will, 15, disappears, her one goal becomes trying to find him. Unexpected aid comes from a mysterious young stranger named Wyn, who amazingly has appeared to her in dreams and whose true, alien nature is gradually revealed. Born on Bareylha, a planet without original sin, Wyn and others from his galaxy are on a mission to help the surviving remnant on Earth. As they journey together to find Will, Wyn helps Gemma in her struggles with fear (“evil feeds on it”) and her lack of trust in God, whom he calls “Aleldoth.”
Physical and spiritual battles are encountered with both seen and unseen forces—the authoritarian government known as the United World Federation or UFed; cyborgs, robots, and the event of The Singularity; beings from a malevolent planet; and what Wyn calls “Iliksos,” otherwise known as angels. Gemma and Wyn’s relationship deepens along the way, although each realizes that, ultimately, because of their vastly different origins, they can never be together.
Meanwhile, on this writing journey, I’m pleased to introduce you to my mentors:
And, most importantly, my script consultant–it really helps to have one handy at all times:
