Over the last couple of months, I’ve been introduced in various ways to several new writers. They all had one thing in common—no idea what they were doing, or what it took to be published. In fact, one woman was complaining to me that she had received several rejections from publishing houses because they didn’t like the way her novel was written, but she didn’t want to change her novel to suit their needs.
Meeting these people took me back many moons ago to when I first decided to take my writing seriously. In July 2006, I had one novel that was about halfway finished. Inspired by a co-worker, I had been working on the novel for about six months, but kind of lost steam after I moved from Kansas to Texas and became a stay-at-home mom. However, with the extra time I had on my hands (in what little spurts the newborn baby slept and I didn’t sleep with her), I decided to finish my novel.
The first thing I did was join a novel workshop group on Writing.Com. The Novel Workshop Group was a large workshop, divided into several genres with their own forums. To have your novel on the board, you had to commit to providing one review of another person’s chapter per week. That was doable for me, so I delved on into the Young Adult workshop.
Boy, was I in for a surprise.
I honestly don’t remember much about my first review, but I will say that the first few that I received were real eye-openers. Apparently there was a lot more to writing a novel than sitting down and pouring your heart out onto a blank page. It seemed there were stuff like rules and guidelines. People expected you to be aware of character arcs, plot development, setting, etc. I didn’t even know half of what they were talking about. So, I swallowed my pride, absorbed each review, and started doing my own research.
I found blogs by writers and agents. I signed up for newsletters. I went to the store (when I could afford to) and bought books on writing and editing. I found out that I had barely scratched the surface of this crazy world we call writing and publishing. I was merely a very small fish in a massive pond.
One of the most important things I learned was that we should always be teachable. We never know it all, especially in the world of publishing where everything is always changing. Reader’s tastes change, which means what the publishers are looking for changes, which means what we are expected to produce changes. Even if those didn’t change, we would still never be perfect. There’s always something to improve upon.
Which brings us back to these new writers and their frustration with not being able to write the way they want. Is it okay for them to ignore the very things we work so hard to learn and channel?
Of course it is.
It becomes an issue of their goal with writing the story. Do they write for themselves? Or do they write to be published? If they write because they just feel that story needs to be told, and the only people who will probably ever see it are friends and family, they can write however they want. And yes, the people that read their story will probably even gush over how wonderful it is. (Yes, generally what your mom says is only about 5% helpful—she’ll love whatever you write.)
But if their goal is to be published—to have a publishing house offer them a book contract with advances and royalties and whatever else—then they have to learn that their way isn’t necessarily the right way. They have to bend to the will of the man! (Or so to speak) This may mean making hard decisions on characters and plot development. It may mean joining an AA group (Adverbs Anonymous), or taking classes on the basics of writing fiction.
So what is your goal? Or what have you learned about the business or about writing that surprised you?
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Mid-February Already?
Where did the time go?
I just glanced at the last entry and realized it was on January 2nd! Craziness! If you want a recap of the past couple of months of my life, you can visit Call to Love to find out.
With all the morning sickness of the last couple of months, I did manage to get some reading done. Not a lot...sleep just seemed so much more important. But, I did read Frank Peretti's This Present Darkness, and let me just say that is potentially a life-changing book (if you haven't read it). The 3rd Person Omni. POV took a little getting used to, but overall, I was very impressed at how he portrays spiritual warfare, both in the every day and in the things that seem so small. I also read Shade by John B. Olson. ANOTHER fabulous book. Both kept me up, and not just because I couldn't put them down. Eek!
I started reading Fire in Fiction by Donald Maas like I said in my previous post, but then my girls lost the book. I found it last week under the entertainment center. Kids. In the meantime, though, I started on Jeff Gerke's The Art and Craft of Writing Christian Fiction. I highly recommend this book, even if you aren't a Christian writer, because Jeff touches on a lot of ideas/principles that will help any writer at any level.
The icing on the cake over the last month, though, was that I had a friend who read through all the chapters I currently have for Dividing Spirits. Being that he is not a Christian, but does like supernatural thrillers, I was anxious to hear his thoughts. And...other than his knack for picking out my favorite words, and a couple of small holes (Dude...where'd her purse go? where'd her car go?), he actually enjoyed the story and is anxious for me to finish. Yay! That may just be enough motivation for me to return to my writing routine asap. What do you think?
I hope you all are doing well so far this year...and that goes double for your resolutions. Keep working hard!
I just glanced at the last entry and realized it was on January 2nd! Craziness! If you want a recap of the past couple of months of my life, you can visit Call to Love to find out.
With all the morning sickness of the last couple of months, I did manage to get some reading done. Not a lot...sleep just seemed so much more important. But, I did read Frank Peretti's This Present Darkness, and let me just say that is potentially a life-changing book (if you haven't read it). The 3rd Person Omni. POV took a little getting used to, but overall, I was very impressed at how he portrays spiritual warfare, both in the every day and in the things that seem so small. I also read Shade by John B. Olson. ANOTHER fabulous book. Both kept me up, and not just because I couldn't put them down. Eek!
I started reading Fire in Fiction by Donald Maas like I said in my previous post, but then my girls lost the book. I found it last week under the entertainment center. Kids. In the meantime, though, I started on Jeff Gerke's The Art and Craft of Writing Christian Fiction. I highly recommend this book, even if you aren't a Christian writer, because Jeff touches on a lot of ideas/principles that will help any writer at any level.
The icing on the cake over the last month, though, was that I had a friend who read through all the chapters I currently have for Dividing Spirits. Being that he is not a Christian, but does like supernatural thrillers, I was anxious to hear his thoughts. And...other than his knack for picking out my favorite words, and a couple of small holes (Dude...where'd her purse go? where'd her car go?), he actually enjoyed the story and is anxious for me to finish. Yay! That may just be enough motivation for me to return to my writing routine asap. What do you think?
I hope you all are doing well so far this year...and that goes double for your resolutions. Keep working hard!
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Writing Goals 2010
It's finally here. 2010 was ushered in by cold weather and warm hearts. It is my desire...my passion...to make this the best year ever. I know that I have so much to look forward to, number one being the precious baby that will make his appearnence sometime in June.
This year will also be a great year for my writing...maybe not in big ways, but with big passion! I'm really going to put myself out there this year, get down and dirty, leave no stone unturned...and maybe I'm getting off track here.
So, without further ado, here are my writing goals for 2010:
1. Write 500 words/day except for Sunday/holidays on either manuscript or blogs so that I can get in the habit of writing even without inspiration. I'll keep track of this on a spreadsheet.
2. Finish DS by the end of February so that I can enter it in the Genesis Contest and submit to MLP (and others).
3. Write the first draft of the sequel to DS by the time the baby comes so I am not stressed about getting it on paper and can relax and edit.
4. Have the sequel finished by the end of the year.
5. Write/submit queries for at least one article/month for the year. This is a good way to break in, and possibly a way to make a little extra money.
6. Go to the ACFW conference.
7. Keep up with my blogs by creating new posts at least three times a week.
8. Read one writing and one non-writing book/month. (This month the writing book is Fire in Fiction by Donald Maas and the non-writing book is This Present Darkness by Frank Peretti.)
Yes, I know...ambitious. But, hey, goals are supposed to push us. Right? You should see the list when I add in my non-writing goals. Sheesh...it's going to be a busy year!
Thank you everyone for joining me in 2009 and inspiring me in all your individual ways. I hope you'll stick with me in 2010 as we take it by storm!
This year will also be a great year for my writing...maybe not in big ways, but with big passion! I'm really going to put myself out there this year, get down and dirty, leave no stone unturned...and maybe I'm getting off track here.
So, without further ado, here are my writing goals for 2010:
1. Write 500 words/day except for Sunday/holidays on either manuscript or blogs so that I can get in the habit of writing even without inspiration. I'll keep track of this on a spreadsheet.
2. Finish DS by the end of February so that I can enter it in the Genesis Contest and submit to MLP (and others).
3. Write the first draft of the sequel to DS by the time the baby comes so I am not stressed about getting it on paper and can relax and edit.
4. Have the sequel finished by the end of the year.
5. Write/submit queries for at least one article/month for the year. This is a good way to break in, and possibly a way to make a little extra money.
6. Go to the ACFW conference.
7. Keep up with my blogs by creating new posts at least three times a week.
8. Read one writing and one non-writing book/month. (This month the writing book is Fire in Fiction by Donald Maas and the non-writing book is This Present Darkness by Frank Peretti.)
Yes, I know...ambitious. But, hey, goals are supposed to push us. Right? You should see the list when I add in my non-writing goals. Sheesh...it's going to be a busy year!
Thank you everyone for joining me in 2009 and inspiring me in all your individual ways. I hope you'll stick with me in 2010 as we take it by storm!
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
5 Ws and H
5Ws and H
I love ushering in the new year. Really, I do. New Year=New Start. I can put all the mistakes and disappointments of the previous year behind me. Several moments are spared to rejoice over successes and to count my many blessings…but then, as with most people, my focus turns to the coming year. What can I do different? What do I want to change about me? About my life? Every year I make several lists of different kinds of resolutions…and every year, about two weeks in, those resolutions fly out the window along with my motivation. Sad, I know.
Ironically, this year one of my resolutions is going to be to keep all my resolutions. Ha ha…we’ll see if that works.
One of the oddest things about letting my resolutions fall through, is I know how to make goals, and I know what I need to do to keep them…I. Just. Don’t. But, as with the other disappointments from last year, I am putting that behind me, and letting my infectious optimism take over.
So, now I look forward to 2010, and consider what I want to accomplish, what I want to change.
In the meantime, let’s consider what a goal/resolution should look like. A goal should be three things: Realistic, Specific, and Measurable. A goal needs to be realistic for your person. While someone may be able to lose 30 pounds in three months, that doesn’t mean you are able to. You know your strengths and weaknesses, and while a goal should push you, it really shouldn’t set you up for failure.
Any goal you make should be able to be measured in some way. If we stick with the 30 pounds in three months, you can break that down by week or month (2.5 lbs/wk, 10 lbs/mo). With a goal like writing 500 words a day, you can keep a spreadsheet where you record your daily word count to keep up with your progress.
And last of all, the more specific your goal, the better idea you have of what you need to do to accomplish it. A good way to achieve this is when writing out your goals, use the 5Ws and H. You remember learning those in elementary school, right?
WHO
WHAT
WHEN
WHERE
WHY
HOW
Who is involved in this goal? Most of the time this is you…but sometimes it could be a family goal or group goal.
What is the goal? Be specific. Lose 30 lbs? Write 500 words a day? Read from your Bible more?
When will this goal be accomplished by? Some goals take less time than others. Like I said earlier, the goal should push you, but not over the edge. Lose that weight in four months? Write so much per day, five days a week? Read every night before bed?
Where will you work on this goal? Now, this one won’t always apply. But, if you’re like me, you work best under certain conditions. I always write better when I’m at my computer desk with a soda and gummy bears. Therefore, I know that I need to set aside time every day to go to that place to get adequate work done.
Why is this goal important? What is your biggest reason for accomplishing this goal? This is important because we discover our passion for this goal. If you don’t care about it, why will it matter? Why will you give it priority?
How will you accomplish this goal? That’s right…an action plan. This is where most people fail at goal setting. We write out our goals, but then we have no clue how we are to go about pursuing them. If we sit down in the beginning and plan it out, we’ll have no excuses later on. Want to lose 30 lbs in four months? How? Are you going to work out three times a week? What kind of workout? Where? Are you going to alternate exercise routines? I’m not saying that the plan has to be complicated, or even thoroughly planned out, but you have to give yourself some sort of jumping off point.
So a goal might look something like this:
I am going to write at least 500 word/day, every day except for Sundays for a grand total of 156,500 words for the year. I am going to set aside at least two hours every night to sit at my computer desk and work on either my novel or blogs, and then record my progress on a spreadsheet I set up on my computer.
So, that’s one of my goals—now you’re turn. What is one of your goals for 2010?
I love ushering in the new year. Really, I do. New Year=New Start. I can put all the mistakes and disappointments of the previous year behind me. Several moments are spared to rejoice over successes and to count my many blessings…but then, as with most people, my focus turns to the coming year. What can I do different? What do I want to change about me? About my life? Every year I make several lists of different kinds of resolutions…and every year, about two weeks in, those resolutions fly out the window along with my motivation. Sad, I know.
Ironically, this year one of my resolutions is going to be to keep all my resolutions. Ha ha…we’ll see if that works.
One of the oddest things about letting my resolutions fall through, is I know how to make goals, and I know what I need to do to keep them…I. Just. Don’t. But, as with the other disappointments from last year, I am putting that behind me, and letting my infectious optimism take over.
So, now I look forward to 2010, and consider what I want to accomplish, what I want to change.
In the meantime, let’s consider what a goal/resolution should look like. A goal should be three things: Realistic, Specific, and Measurable. A goal needs to be realistic for your person. While someone may be able to lose 30 pounds in three months, that doesn’t mean you are able to. You know your strengths and weaknesses, and while a goal should push you, it really shouldn’t set you up for failure.
Any goal you make should be able to be measured in some way. If we stick with the 30 pounds in three months, you can break that down by week or month (2.5 lbs/wk, 10 lbs/mo). With a goal like writing 500 words a day, you can keep a spreadsheet where you record your daily word count to keep up with your progress.
And last of all, the more specific your goal, the better idea you have of what you need to do to accomplish it. A good way to achieve this is when writing out your goals, use the 5Ws and H. You remember learning those in elementary school, right?
WHO
WHAT
WHEN
WHERE
WHY
HOW
Who is involved in this goal? Most of the time this is you…but sometimes it could be a family goal or group goal.
What is the goal? Be specific. Lose 30 lbs? Write 500 words a day? Read from your Bible more?
When will this goal be accomplished by? Some goals take less time than others. Like I said earlier, the goal should push you, but not over the edge. Lose that weight in four months? Write so much per day, five days a week? Read every night before bed?
Where will you work on this goal? Now, this one won’t always apply. But, if you’re like me, you work best under certain conditions. I always write better when I’m at my computer desk with a soda and gummy bears. Therefore, I know that I need to set aside time every day to go to that place to get adequate work done.
Why is this goal important? What is your biggest reason for accomplishing this goal? This is important because we discover our passion for this goal. If you don’t care about it, why will it matter? Why will you give it priority?
How will you accomplish this goal? That’s right…an action plan. This is where most people fail at goal setting. We write out our goals, but then we have no clue how we are to go about pursuing them. If we sit down in the beginning and plan it out, we’ll have no excuses later on. Want to lose 30 lbs in four months? How? Are you going to work out three times a week? What kind of workout? Where? Are you going to alternate exercise routines? I’m not saying that the plan has to be complicated, or even thoroughly planned out, but you have to give yourself some sort of jumping off point.
So a goal might look something like this:
I am going to write at least 500 word/day, every day except for Sundays for a grand total of 156,500 words for the year. I am going to set aside at least two hours every night to sit at my computer desk and work on either my novel or blogs, and then record my progress on a spreadsheet I set up on my computer.
So, that’s one of my goals—now you’re turn. What is one of your goals for 2010?
Monday, December 21, 2009
Lost Mission Winner
Whew! This holiday season finds me behind on just about everything. I finally got around to letting my four-year-old draw a winner for Lost Mission by Athol Dickson.
And the winner is...
Annie!
Congrats to her, I hope she enjoys the book.
And the winner is...
Annie!
Congrats to her, I hope she enjoys the book.
Monday, December 14, 2009
An Award
Mireyah over at Crimson Ink is scared of my whip, so she awarded me with the Superior Scribbler Award. hehehe... I'm honored that she thinks so highly of me.
So, now I'm passing it on to five friends who I think are amazing writers.
1. Cathy over at Word Vessel is my critique partner and an amazing writer. She's very real and insightful. Be looking for her novels on the shelf one day people! In the meantime, check out her blog.
2. Anne over at Building His Body has been truely blessed with the gift of words. She uses them to share her love for the Lord, and what she's learned, insights gained, etc. on her blog. I have been blessed over and over again just by visiting her daily postings.
3. Cindy over at her self-named blog shares a bit of what she's working on every Wednesday, and invites her readers to share what they are working on as well. Reading her short excerpts is always exciting because she has so much talent.
4. Jill over at her blog always has such interesting posts. Lately, we've been enjoying one minute vacations. Click on over and join her!
5. Peg over at Suspense Novelist is a fellow suspense writer (obviously). I love clicking over to see her interesting posts on everything writing, with glimpses of life with Peg.
I enjoy these blogs very much and I highly suggest you all hightail it over to each of them and check them out! Enjoy!
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Lost Mission by Athol Dickson
Often times we pick out a novel to entertain us—whether it is a suspense or romance or action. Sometimes we choose a novel to take us away, an escape from reality. Occasionally we select a novel just because we’re bored. And then again, sometimes that book unexpectedly teaches us far than we ever expected.
That’s how it was for me with Lost Mission by Athol Dickson. I had heard good things about this novel, and when I saw Rachelle Gardner of Wordserve Literary advertising a free book for those who would write a review, I jumped at the chance (who doesn’t love “free” books?).
And let me just say one thing—WOW! It has been a long time since I read a book that forced me to examine, not only myself, but deeper issues, such as the essence of Christianity, and the effect our choices have on ourselves as well as those around us.
Lost Mission parallels the stories of two sets of people—a trio of friars from the 1700s, and a trio of Christians in modern times. The two main characters (one of the friars, and a young woman in Mexico) both answer God’s calling and travel to California (well, in the friar’s time it’s still New Spain) to save souls—and everything goes wrong. Both stories begin with a quest and end in fire. I won’t tell you what kind of fire…you’ll have to read the novel.
Mr. Dickson is a phenomenal storyteller. I will admit that I did have a little trouble with the writing style at first. It had a formality to it that just wouldn’t let me relax. It took me about a week to read the first 40 pages or so. After that, though, I read it in two days. I was stunned by the twists and turns the story took.
I enjoyed the unique way he changed POVs. Each chapter began with the friar’s POV, and when it was time to switch to modern day, instead of a hard break, he took a different approach. He would ease into a sort of narrator speaking, showing how what happened in the friar’s POV reflected what was about to happen in the modern POV. It was all very intriguing.
My favorite thing about this book is the way it has stayed with me, and probably will continue to do so. He shows us how easy it is for Satan to work his way into our lives, even as Christians. It brought to light how fear and grief, as well as desperation can not only render us useless, but can lead us down a frightening path.
I could go on to list the many things I learned, or that I was reminded of, but I think that would take away some of the surprise of the book. Instead, let me offer up the book to one lucky person! Leave a comment and your email address below and a week from today, I’ll draw a winner.
That’s how it was for me with Lost Mission by Athol Dickson. I had heard good things about this novel, and when I saw Rachelle Gardner of Wordserve Literary advertising a free book for those who would write a review, I jumped at the chance (who doesn’t love “free” books?).
And let me just say one thing—WOW! It has been a long time since I read a book that forced me to examine, not only myself, but deeper issues, such as the essence of Christianity, and the effect our choices have on ourselves as well as those around us.
Lost Mission parallels the stories of two sets of people—a trio of friars from the 1700s, and a trio of Christians in modern times. The two main characters (one of the friars, and a young woman in Mexico) both answer God’s calling and travel to California (well, in the friar’s time it’s still New Spain) to save souls—and everything goes wrong. Both stories begin with a quest and end in fire. I won’t tell you what kind of fire…you’ll have to read the novel.
Mr. Dickson is a phenomenal storyteller. I will admit that I did have a little trouble with the writing style at first. It had a formality to it that just wouldn’t let me relax. It took me about a week to read the first 40 pages or so. After that, though, I read it in two days. I was stunned by the twists and turns the story took.
I enjoyed the unique way he changed POVs. Each chapter began with the friar’s POV, and when it was time to switch to modern day, instead of a hard break, he took a different approach. He would ease into a sort of narrator speaking, showing how what happened in the friar’s POV reflected what was about to happen in the modern POV. It was all very intriguing.
My favorite thing about this book is the way it has stayed with me, and probably will continue to do so. He shows us how easy it is for Satan to work his way into our lives, even as Christians. It brought to light how fear and grief, as well as desperation can not only render us useless, but can lead us down a frightening path.
I could go on to list the many things I learned, or that I was reminded of, but I think that would take away some of the surprise of the book. Instead, let me offer up the book to one lucky person! Leave a comment and your email address below and a week from today, I’ll draw a winner.
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