Fiction Matters

Art Actually

2012-01-24T14:17:00.004-06:00

The movie Love Actually opens with Hugh Grant doing a voice over of scenes from Heathrow Airport. People greeting people, smooching, hugging. The monologue ends with him saying, "If you look for it, I've got a sneaking suspicion that love actually. . . is. . . all around."

It's a wonderful bit of cheesy-feel-good and a great way to start a movie that examines love in its many disguises. And call me a cheese-head, but I agree with the statement. And not only about love.

Let me explain.

A number of years ago I was attending university full time, working a quarter time job, while my husband worked three (count 'em) three jobs. Our children were ages one and three and we never used daycare or babysitters. Busy was a gross understatement. It was while I attending a dinner at the university held to connect scholarship recipients with donors that I discovered I wasn't just sleep deprived, I was art deprived too.

I was seated at a table with the elderly couple who supplied the money for the scholarship I had been awarded, and, oddly enough, with the mayor of Camrose, Alberta. After the meal a choir appeared and began to sing (heaven knows what song, but it was lovely whatever it was). I hadn't known there was to be a choir and I suppose you could sum up my reaction to their presence and their song as a jittery woman being ambushed by a robed mob, but there was something deeper at play. Frankly, I wept. No, wept is too delicate a phrase. I bawled. Snotty, bug-eyed mess I was.

My scholarship sponsors noticed. The wife slid some napkins at me under the table. The husband cleared his throat and stared intently at the choir. The mayor noticed and went shifty-eyed. Embarrassing, but I couldn't help myself. There was a voice in my head saying, "When was the last time you experienced beauty? How did life become so devoid of art?"

That night, I began a journey of bringing art into my life, and of looking for it. Keeping my ears open. This has led to a number of changes, even reversals in my life. I'm no longer art deprived. I engage in art daily as a reader and as a writer. Our home is filled with paintings, wall art, words, color. Our children practice piano in the living room, and draw, color, and make all manner of mess on the kitchen table. Music is a friend invited over daily. My husband and I began an artist experience at the church where he pastors. All because one evening a choir made me cry. Taught me a lesson: Look around and find art, and be found by art.

Today I had to make a stop at my children's school to drop something off to my daughter. It was lunch time and the halls and classrooms were empty. The moment I stepped into the school I heard music. I stopped. It was an old Boz Scaggs tune I barely recalled from when I was a kid. Odd choice for an elementary school to play over the sound system, but whatever.

I made my way to my daughter's classroom and I realized the music was getting louder, only now it wasn't just Boz Scaggs playing, it was accompanied by a kazoo. At least it sounded like a kazoo. Except it was keeping perfect time and pitch. There isn't a middle school child alive who can play Boz Scaggs on a kazoo. I slowed my pace and looked around. On my right was the janitor's office. There was no doubt this is where the music was coming from. I slowed my pace even more and looked in. There was the janitor standing in the middle of the room, facing away from me, his karaoke pumping, his lips buzzing on the mouthpiece of his trumpet. Gadzooks! The janitor is a brassman!

I dropped off what my daughter needed and headed back toward the exit. I took my time passing the janitor's office. This time, he was singing along. I don't mean he was mumbling into his janitor cupboard, sneaking a musical moment so as no one would notice. He was belting it out. A Liza Minnelli comeback concert at the Met moment. By the time I reached the exit, I was smiling. More than that, I was laughing. Not at the janitor (who sounded amazing), but from the sheer joy of being jumped by art.

It was another bit of proof I'm collecting along the way. Proof that, art actually. . .is. . .all around.

I bid you good writing.

It's not a poem unless someone calls it a poem, and I'm not calling it that.

2012-01-19T12:34:00.006-06:00

With Thanks to Bill Holm

Words lined up in particular form

bring the mirror to your face,

except

it isn't your reflection as much as it is

the face you thought you'd already forgotten.

I've been taken up by my hapless collar and

pulled through the rake of divorce;

tendons separating from bone.

Bone and marrow finely defined.

Later, I leapt

foolish footing from a cliff's edge I hadn't

noticed, or pretended not to see. I didn't think, only

felt the fall and blessed its decent. The

ragged bits of me weightless in the movement;

fantom limbs.

I forgot

the sensible thing, the priority of self

preservation and gave it up

for a guy with blue eyes, his hapless collar tented at the

back. His raked form lovely to my missing eyes.

All these years

for the sake of the heat of the hand in the middle of the night.

The one that has been there for years. Will be.

The heat that could melt a stone.

(I bid you good writing)

I Wish I Wrote Poetry

2012-01-05T21:02:00.006-06:00

The first poem I read and 'got' was Keats' Autumn. I was young enough to be startled by my ability to grasp its meaning within meaning. I wondered, fleetingly, harrowingly, if I might possess something of the rhapsodist.

I tore off a few poems that I kept hidden at the back of a binder, which I carried with me always (in the loosest sense these could be called poems. In that they were short and had, if not rhyme or meter, at least emotional intent). I hugged them to my person, believing that they were made of my own dark matter. But when I went back and reread them, they were gibberish. Soggy and wrought.

I've shied away from writing poetry since. I doubt, with no measure of false humility, that I am clever enough for it.

Still, I have days I wish hard that I could write the stuff. That the thoughts bonking around my head could find their best exit inside a poem if only I could provide one. Not the thoughts so much as the feelings. That's the bit that clicked for me with Autumn. How the image of swirling leaves could make you press a hand to your throat, how the idea of approaching cold catches you short and makes you nod to yourself even though you've always told yourself that normal people don't stand around nodding to themselves about death.

I should be able to write poetry, don't you think? I'm a writer. I love sassy nouns, the back talking adjective, verbs that break off in the middle. Jukebox words that slide over one another, make you think there will be a crack up, a crash of meaning that veers off course just in time. Playing chicken on a too careful road. Those are the kinds of words I would use in any poem I might write. I think so. I'd make a bed for them, pick out their clothes for the next day, kiss them goodnight, and turn out the light. I'd let them hide out there in the darkness so like the unlit corner of a high school binder. And I'd wait a spell before checking on them again. To see what time might bend them into.

I bid you good writing.

Christmas in this Place.

2011-12-22T10:07:00.003-06:00

The building is long and thin, and after seventeen years still carries the feeling of being a recent renovation. There's a whiff of unsettled conversion. Of not knowing where to put your purse, where to stand before the service starts. Should we sit? Browse the pamphlet table? Oh let's sit and be done with it.

Chairs, not pews. Metal frames, a deep green back and seat. Comfortable rows, but not too many of them. Blue hard covered Bibles dotting the rows. You think they are hymn books, but when you flip through, it's a Bible and you set it aside and wonder why they don't put the scripture up on the power point like everyone else (later you discover they do).

There are no musicians. Not one in the whole place. The singing feels thin with only a guitar, the minister playing better suited to speak than to make music. Old songs, carols, heavens above haven't we sung enough of those this year? Other places have the band play through these old chestnuts double time, then we smile at each other for having sung them, then on with the show.

Why do people come to this long building, this make-do-make-shift place with green chairs and blue bibles and old songs? There are so many other places to go. Large buildings with steeples and stained glass. Parking lots filled to overflowing. Dozens of children poking each other, jittery to get to their classrooms where they can holler out, "Jesus! God!" and get all the answers right. Populous places young people like to go to, like to play in the band, and smile at other young people.

Why the long building with no musicians?

When you look around, you find your answer. The people in this place swim in deep waters. They want to hold their children on their laps and mutter Psalms into their ears. They want to read the Word and hear the pastor say, "Tell me what happened to you as we read those words." They engage in their faith like farmers smelling spring soil.

When the preacher is done preaching he looks at you, at everyone in those green chairs with the blue bibles and says, "I've told you what I think. Now, what do you think?" And it's a shock. He knows that it is at first. To be asked. And they start talking. This group of people thinned, and worn, they start saying what they think, asking, telling, even laughing.

And when someone on the way out says, "Merry Christmas," the words feel dense with purpose. As if Christmas might be something you can do something about. And you leave wondering what could be done.

From our family to yours, Merry Christmas, and a happy New Year.

The Time in Between

2011-12-07T10:35:00.003-06:00

Vacation is a grand thing. A break from it all.

In the weeks since I handed my completed manuscript to my agent, I've had a bit of a relax (pronounced RE-lax). Taken time to unwind, let the story I have written seep from my veins (a difficult thing, really, since I lived in that world for two years and saying goodbye is slow and reluctant), and rest my poor brain.

I've been reading.

Heavens above there are wonderful books out there. So many great books. Anyone who tells you that all the novels being published these days are trash are either 1) reading the wrong books, or 2) a new writer at work on his/her first novel (the one that will 'show 'em all how it's done').

It's been a grand time.

But.

Another story seeps into my veins. I can't hold it back, I don't even try.

So, in the time in between the finishing and the (dear God please) publishing, there is writing. Another story. Another storyworld that forms in the peripheral urging toward creation.

The time in between is the time to pick up the pen.

Books I'm Reading, or that I have Read and Recommend

2011-11-02T16:23:00.003-06:00

A friend recently asked if I ever posted a list of books I'm reading, or ones I read and loved. So, here is a list of current/recent reads I thought were well worth the trip to the library or book store.

Here is what is currently on my bedside table:

Two books by Michael Ondaatje: The Cat's Table (his newest), and Running in the Family (his semi-biography).

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (a great read for the less hard-core literary reader)

A Large Harmonium by Sue Sorensen (new release)

The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman (her newest, I'm about half way through this one now)

Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay

Stories about storytellers : publishing Alice Munro, Robertson Davies, Alistair MacLeod, Pierre Trudeau, and others by Douglas Gibson

Here is a list of books I've read and loved and recommend:

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (read this book. Just do it. Go. Get. It.)

Gilead by Marilynne Robinson (her other two novels are wonderful. If you want to read her novels in order of writing: Housekeeping, Gilead, Home).

Two novels by Ann Patchett: Bel Canto, and State of Wonder (State of Wonder requires some patience on the part of the reader, but the pay off is, in my opinion, worth it).

The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown (a gentle read about three sisters named after Shakespearian characters. It sounds literary, but it's totally accessible reading. You don't have to know Shakespeare cold to enjoy the story).

The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger.

The Book of Dun Cow by Walter Wangerin Jr.

Life of Pi by Yann Martel.

And, for my poetry fix, I often pick up one of the books complied by Garrison Kellior: Good Poems, and Good Poems for Hard Times.

What books do you recommend? There's nothing so fun as to sharing stories that moved us!

I bid you good writing.

What to do When You've Finished a Novel

2011-09-13T09:34:00.003-06:00

Yes, it's true. I finished writing my longtime work-in-process, a novel I've called A GIRL NAMED FISH. The question is, what do I do now? More to the point what should be done when the novel is finished?

1) Avoid calling my agent--if I call her, she will say, Send me the ms! Pronto! But what if I only think I'm done and it turns out that I'm not really, really, really done?

2) Clean the house. Ah, dust bunnies. Mine have organized themselves into a rudimentary republic and now it appears that vacuuming may be a breech of the Geneva Convention.

3) Call my agent, then hang up before she answers (see #1).

4) Eat food that requires cutlery. After more than a year of eating while typing, it will be wonderful to sit down at a table and pick up a fork. Or, if I just want to go for it, a spoon.

5) Re-familiarize myself with the stove. If I want to eat fancy cutlery-required food, I'd better figure out how to cook it. Good thing I have a great cook book (click the link on the left hand side to download a free copy of Novel Matters Cookbook, Novel Tips on Rice: What to cook when you'd rather be writing and vice versa).

6) Call my agent, then disguise my voice and pretend I've dialed the wrong number and hang up quickly (see #1).

7) Go outside. I've seen it through my window, of course, but now it's time to take the step and actually leave the house. I may cling to the door way like an agoraphobic for an hour or so, but I'll get the hang of it. Eventually.

8) Call my agent. Really. For true this time. Honest. I will. Tomorrow.

I bid you good writing.

The Lost Writer

2011-05-02T14:34:00.002-06:00

"Could not a book with just a masterful sliver of God in it carry the fullness of His message to the mind [. . .]?" My dear friend Latayne asked this question on a blog post in Novel Matters. I'm reposting my response to this excellent question here.

My biggest mistakes as a writer have happened in the moments after I decided

I knew the whole story. When I thought I understood where the story must go and why. In those moments I relaxed into cliched phrases, pat answers, short cuts, and the easy way out. When I believed I knew what the story was "about", it was as if I had set a pot on the stove and simmered the contents to reduction. And in the dense mix there was no longer room for characters to speak and act their own truth. There was only slavish devotion to the singular point of my positive message. My desire to impart truth strangled the art of story, drained the mystery out of faith, and delivered a stillborn idea.

I'm learning to approach my writing with fear and trembling. I am a writer with faith, but I do not know the fullness of His mystery. Jesus came to earth, but I have no idea what it is like for God to slip into skin which sweats and burns and callouses. He was betrayed, but what is it to look into the eyes of the man who will sell you yet love him so intensely you will die for him? Jesus sweated blood in Gethsemane, but what is it like to teeter on the edge of spiritual and physical no-man's-land, to forge with your life a trail no one has walked before?

I'm learning to stop fooling myself into believing the life of faith is easily explained. That is can be summed up with a happy ending. That victory looks anything like we think it must.

I'm learning that the moment I believe I know the whole story - novel, or faith - is the moment I need to repent, and go a different way. The way where victory is not easily recognized, where success looks like losing your life, and the happy ending is no longer the point. I must abandon my pot of reductionist ideas, and embrace the vast wilderness of a love that costs us everything.

Let us get so lost as writers, as people, that we are willing to be led through the wilderness.

I bid you good writing.

Archetypes in Fiction

2011-04-30T10:29:00.006-06:00

When it comes time to craft characters for a novel, the perennial advice from writing gurus, rings in our heads: Create characters readers identify with.

But how do we construct relatable characters from the fodder of our imaginations? The answer is, of course, multi-fasciated, but found solidly in the mix is the use of archetypes.

An archetype is a psychological pattern within a person (character) that quickly conveys the status, stature, power, and even morality of a character in a way that is nearly universally understood.

Psychologist and DWM* Carl Jung brought us the term and definition of archetype in his theory of personality. But there is no need for the writer to possess a degree in psychology in order to understand and use archetypes to their advantage in fiction. What the writer truly needs is to understand literature and to be able to recognize archetypal characters in fiction. This isn’t as heady or difficult as it might first appear. To pull from the Dictionary of Biblical Imagery, archetypes are “master images that recur throughout literature and life.” A sort of psychological short hand that aids in deepening our understanding of a character and why she behaves the way she does. All it takes to is a

love of reading, and a keen eye.

So what are they? First, a clarification: Archetypes are not stereotypes. Stereotypes are negative generalizations about populations of people based on any number of outward statistics such as gender, race, skin color, ethnic origin, hair color (blonde joke anyone?), income, education level, etc.

Archetypes, instead, are psychological sketches of human roles which have both positive and negative attributes (Jung referred to negative attributes as “shadow”), and are understood to be neutral, rather than stereotypical. Quick take home point: Stereotype points a finger and attacks the outward appearances. Archetype explains a way of being inside a human role.

So, if you’re writing a slice of life novel about a woman born and raised in the deep south and you describe her as: An outspoken, charming, social climbing, southern woman, you’ve described her in a stereotypical fashion. If, however, you describe her as a southern woman who uses her wits and charm to build an empire, you have described her archetype (Queen).

A surprisingly rich place to find archetypes in story is in the parables Jesus told. Some examples:

Wise man (e.g. Matthew 7:24-27)

Trickster (most commonly seen as a thief or enemy such as in Matthew 13: 24-30)

Father/King (There are many examples of this archetype in Jesus’ parables,

often understood as a metaphor for God the Father. Some examples: Matthew 25:14-30 [an example of a vengeful, or angry master], and of course, The Prodigal Son parable, and also in the numerous parables about the shepherd tending the flocks [e.g. John 10:1-5].

Lover (Matthew 25:1-13 - the parable of the ten virgins)

In each of these stories, Jesus conveys immediate depth of meaning by sketching an archetype - a human role and function - and expounding on in order to teach a universal truth. He uses the universal to teach the universal. In only a few words Jesus was able to create characters each of us can readily identify and relate to.
Notice that these characters were not all sympathetic. That in no way impedes the readers ability to understand and identify with - on some level. We don’t need to like the character, we don’t need to agree with what the character is doing in order to relate to him.

An advanced technique is to take an archetype and give it a twist, giving the reader fresh, even shocking insight into human nature.

The sheep and Goats parable (Matthew 25: 31-46) turns the Father/King archetype on it’s head by depicting the King as hungry, naked, and in prison. This serves to deepen our understanding of God’s connection to humanity - that he

experiences the sorrows of life on earth acutely, suffering along side us.

In the Parable of the Rich Man (Luke 12:16-21), Jesus turns this archetype on it’s head in another way, by depicting the ruler as greedy - a trait that resides in on the shadow side of the King/Father archetype, but then he adds a second, surprising dimension to the King/Father by making him a foolish man.

Jesus took the archetype of the Trickster - someone normally understood as sly, self-serving, and powerful and applied it to the religious, the Pharisees - people who would understand themselves within the role of Wise Men, or even Father.

There are, of course, many other archetypes we find in literature (and in life). Are you game? Can you point to an archetype you’ve noticed in your reading, and give us an example? All comments welcome - this isn’t a pass or fail test, we’re discussing and playing with concepts.

I bid you good writing.

* DWM Dead White Male. While the subject of archetypes is helpful in discussing fiction, it’s important to understand the foundations of modern psychology were far from universal. Psychology was founded by western and/or North American white males, and remains riddled with their prejudices to this day.

The Captivated Idiot

2011-04-25T16:52:00.001-06:00

It’s the most common question a writer is asked, “Where do you get your story ideas?” If you haven’t thought of a response to this, now is the time tocome up with your sound byte answer.

But in truth – well, it’s complicated. At least it has been for me. I have all sorts of ideas swimming in my head. I have weekly story epiphanies. I know you do too. Ideas everywhere.
Inspiration may be everywhere, but how do I know which of the hundreds of bright sparks in my head will turn out to be the long burning kind – a star, rather than a super nova.

There are lots of stories out there. Good ones. But not every story is ‘novel worthy’ – meaning simply because I can take an idea, stretch it across a plot, populate it with characters, and give it a title doesn’t mean it’s truly able to sustain a novel length treatment.

As I said, I’ve learned this the hard way. Hundreds of thousands of words written that will never see the light of day. Stories I thought were terrific, but, when I stretched them over the length of a novel turned threadbare. The wonderful ideas I had spun turned out to be more theme than story, more back story than novel, and I ended up with the kiss of death: Thin narrative. A rice paper novel.

Do I regret writing all those words that will never be read? I’m philosophical about them. Those long mistakes have helped me understand myself and my process better. They have been lessons for me. Still, it’s a path I don’t care to walk again.

Over time I’ve come to understand what needs to happen to those ideas I have so that I know which one is worth writing – which idea is novel worthy. I must become The Captivated Idiot. It goes like this:

The idea – comes out of nowhere. Often when I am in conversation with someone – this happens often, creative conversations blossom the imagination. And I’m captured by the notion of ‘what if’. The “hey wait a second” moment when everything slows down and I stare the idea in the eye, ask, “Who are you?” And wait for an answer. Does it talk back? Do other ideas bunch at its back?

The deepening – I’m staring at the idea. It’s staring back at me. Not the plot, but themes – moral arguments about living well (this is my understanding of theme). I poke at the idea and find it has substance. Now I’m getting excited. I start listing questions, not the who what when where questions of story and plot. Rather, questions like, what’s behind this? What hidden thing might be controlling the actions of others.

The waiting – I’ve learned over time that the next thing I must do is also the hardest thing for me. After I’ve spent time with an idea, made notes, gotten very excited, maybe even researched a few points, I have to walk away. I have to leave the idea alone and let it sit in a dark corner. I have to wait. Only time will tell me if my idea will burn steady like the sun, or if it will implode on itself like a supernova into a black hole. There is no substitute for this step.

The return – After some time has gone by (I know, you want to ask, how much time? The answer is I don’t know. Sometimes it is weeks. There are ideas I have on hold that I have had in mind for more than a year. All I can tell you is when the time is right, you’ll know. You simply know.) But after that right amount of time has gone by, I return to my idea. I read through my notes, I get my head thinking about the themes again. And then the acid test – after the waiting, does this story idea turn me into The Captivated Idiot?

The Captivated Idiot – This is a story that grabs hold of me and won’t let me go. I find myself ruminating about the story the way I daydreamed about boys when I was fourteen, on a nearly unconscious level. I can’t NOT think about this story. I can’t help but plot the novel. The characters show up on their own, shake my hand and take a seat. I’m utterly captivated. There’s no getting away.

But captivation must partner with the second component to be considered novel worthy. Which life question is this story focused on, and do I think I know the answers to this life question? If the answer is yes, then I pass on the story. For me, I need to write stories that explore questions I don’t have the answers to. My approach to fiction is that my story is part of an ongoing discussion about what it means to be human, and therefore I must come to that discussion in all transparency.

I must come to the story as the idiot, not the expert. I write novels about the very things I don’t understand. The things that scare me. At the moment, I’m writing a novel with the theme of community formation. I’m writing it because I am at a place in my life where I admit I don’t have a clue how to begin to build a community. That there is much about love and loneliness for me to explore. I’m not writing A Girl Named Fish because I think I have answers. I’m writing it because the story has turned me into The Captivated Idiot. I can’t NOT write this story, and I have so many questions about the theme in this book that I’m convinced other people have questions about it too. That other people struggle to reach out, wonder if they should, fear they cannot.

What do you think? Do you want to become a captivated idiot? Do you explore your questions in your writing? What is that like for you?

I bid you good writing.

7 Things I've Learned as a Writer

2011-04-12T16:20:00.005-06:00

After nearly a month and a half of what could be politely termed a 'dry spell' writing wise, I've been able to hit that sweet spot between ideas and words and make excellent progress on my WIP. As the words have been flowing, I've been thinking how wonderful it is when several hard won lessons come together at the writing stage (as opposed to being ferreted out by an editor after the novel is completed), and I wanted to share some of these lesson I've learned (have learned, am learning, will learn).

1) Vocation is unshakable. When you are a writer you are possessed with the fact that you are, in fact, a writer. Run from it. Avoid bookstores and libraries. Refuse to so much as sign your name. Nothing revokes the vocation. Not time, not a drawer full of unpublished manuscripts, not the personal decision to stop following this ridiculous dream. Not even the relentless blank page can stop me. I can't get away from writing. Every time I throw my hands in the air in frustration, when I look at them again, they are lined up on my keyboard.

2) Strong nouns matter. For years, writing books and blogs press the importance of strong verbs in writing. The need for precise nouns is as great as the need for active verbs. Not a house, but a cottage. Not a man but a father-figure. Not a car but a Jeep. Constance Hale, the author of Sin and Syntax, taught a writing workshop, the audio of which she shared on her blog. In the workshop she asked writers to describe themselves in three nouns. As I listened, the first words that leaped to mind were adjectives. Also the second words that leaped to mind. It took me awhile to wrap my head around using nouns as descriptives. Once I did, it opened my perspective on nouns in a way no other exercise had before. My nouns? Priest. Lover. Artist.

3) You can't rush story. There can be treadmill like pressure in publishing to produce books as quickly as possible. I've felt that pressure, and discovered that giving in to is dries up creative streams. I ended up pushing out a story like a women in labor rather than allowing the story to come to me and then conduiting it's nuance to the page. In a recent conversation with a fellow writer who is currently running the treadmill (and sometimes it can't be avoided), I suggested she stop trying to write the story, and to simply sit in silence and wait. She took that advice and stayed up until 1:00 AM having the loveliest time with her story. I have made it a regular practice to sit quietly for as long as it takes before I begin my writing day.

4) It's easier to talk about writing than it is to write. Writing is a lonely pursuit. Social media is a handy escape. I've forced myself to madly scale back the number of online sites I frequent, and the amount of time I spend there. When writers hang out (online or in real life) we talk endlessly about writing. Ours, hers, that guy's--any writing. Do that for too long and you'll fool yourself into thinking that talking about writing means you're a writer. Writers write. Unless they are doing #3.

5) Fluff books have a place. In a post called Meaty Fiction on the Plate, I pleaded with readers everywhere to focus on nutritional fiction, and keep the occasional fluff book around for a late night snack. I still think it's good advice. And I do think fluff books have an important role to play in the overall fiction market, but I'm concerned we're over indulging, akin to grocery shopping at the candy counter. Here's the secret I didn't mention in that post: smart fiction makes for smart readers.

6) Voice in fiction isn't worth talking about. It came as a shock to me to learn that the elusive and much sought after Voice isn't all it's cracked up to be. In a Novel Matters post, I confessed my ignorance, and repented. For years, I've taught that Voice is something it's not. My bad. Turns out it's just the latest in a long string of labels used for good writing. My hat is off to Roger Rosenblatt for showing me the way.

7) Story is everything. When I became a public figure (to the miniscule degree that I have done so), I began answering the common question, Why Do You Write? I often defaulted to the common answer of "Because I simply cannot NOT write." But it's not true. I adore writing, but it's not the apex. Story is. In a post entitled Why Do You Write, I said, It isn't writing I can't give up, it's story. Story is the best way I understand life. Maybe the only way. I've thought about this statement a great deal since I wrote it last November. The truth of it deepens each day. I'm hard wired for story -- and I strongly suspect all of us are.

I bid you good writing.

Testimony of the Life of Refining Fire.

2011-03-20T20:09:00.005-06:00

I usually stick to talking about writing on this blog - but the writing life is more than writing. It's actually about story. Everyone has one. Recently, I was asked to tell a part of my story to a local group of women. It was a daunting exercise for me to write my "mini-memoir". I'd like to share it with you.

I’m not very good at testimonies. Testimonies make me nervous. Especially my own. I’m not sure I’ll get it right. Seeing the forest for the trees, and all that. And where to begin? Worse – where to end? I’m not at the end yet, far as I can tell.

But I was asked to give a testimony recently, and in preparing for that evening, it dawned on me that my testimony has little to do with me. It has everything to do with God’s grace. That’s my story – wrestling with grace.

I don’t remember coming to Christ. When I was six I overheard my mother explaining the concept of hell to my older sisters (maybe they had done something terrible? The detail why is lost). When she was done, I went to my room and prayed for Jesus to come into my heart. My prayer went like this, “Please come into my heart, Jesus. I don’t want to go to hell. I don’t want to be anywhere you’re not.” And the Lord spoke to me, “I’m here.” A lovely beginning, don’t you think? It’s the sort of beginning that makes you think, everything’s going to be fine over here. She’s going to have a good life, stable, purposeful, focused, abundant.

Funny thing about abundant life. Jesus tells us He came that we might have abundant life – but it’s never the sort of life you think it should be – rather the abundance that Jesus brings turns out to be a very different kind of life than we think ought to be. And the sufficient grace that sustains that life He brings, turns out to be a very different sort of grace than we hoped it might be.

In his excellent book, When God Interrupts, M. Craig Barnes writes: “We tend to think of grace as the concession of a polite God who says, “Well, that’s alright Sweetheart; please try not to do that again.” Grace is whatever it takes for God to come and get us. It can be confrontational, frightening, disruptive, and demanding, but in the end it saves our life.”

This well describes my encounters with God’s grace. Confrontational. Frightening. Disruptive. Demanding. And I might add – wounding.

And that brings me back to my nervousness about my testimony – you see I don’t have the sort of testimony that tracks the healing salvation brings. From pagan to Pentecost. Rather, I have a testimony that tracks the refining fires of faith. And it isn’t the reassuring testimony that most of us like to hear. Certainly that I like to hear.

Let me preface my story with an excerpt from the story of the bible character I most identify with. Peter. Peter, the big-hearted, big-mouthed screw up of a disciple who talked first and thought second. The guy who, in the course of one afternoon Jesus bestowed the honor of being called The rock on which I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it – and, a few minutes later Jesus says to this same disciple: “Get behind me Satan. You are a stumbling block to me . . . ”
I get this guy – So let me share a passage of Luke that details a conversation between Jesus and Peter has lodged itself in my spine. Let me read you the version of this conversation that plays in my head when I read it.

Luke 22:31-32 We’re in the middle of the Passover supper. Jesus is saying and doing all kinds of confusing things. And he turns to this disciple and says, “Simon, (uh, don’t you mean Peter? The rock?) Simon, (He keeps calling me Simon. Why not Peter? I thought I was Peter now.) Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. (What? Why? Satan? Why are you even listening to Satan? Who cares what he wants?) But I have prayed for you, (Whew. Dodged that bullet. Jesus prayed. I’m home free.) Simon, (Oh uh. Still not calling me Peter) that your faith may not fail. (What kind of a prayer is that? Wouldn’t a better prayer be that Satan isn’t allowed to touch me at all? That his request to sift me like wheat be denied? Wouldn’t that be better than praying for my faith?) And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” (Turned back? Oh Lord, where am I going?)

In the spring of 1998 my husband left me for another woman. He came back to me, then promptly left me for yet another woman. It was a bad year. A bad year that had capped off a bad decade. I was in the middle of losing my marriage. Before that, I had lost my brother to mental illness and suicide. Before that, my son Justin to an irreparable heart condition. I’d lost three babies to miscarriages, and at age 29 my doctors had told me I had lost my ability to have children.

In the spring of 1998, I was feeling very much sifted like wheat.

My life had been stripped to the bone. By the summer of 1998, I would discover my lifesavings had been pilfered by the man who had promised to love me forever. I was broke and homeless. If I were asked to describe myself at that time in one word, the word would be: wounded.

One thing that more than a decade of loss had taught me was that asking why is never a good idea. It’s not a good question – because knowing why never solves the real problem. So when I prayed, I didn’t ask why, I asked where? Oh Lord, where am I going? Where is this terrible grace leading me?

You see, I still had faith. It was banged up, dented, bleeding faith. But faith nonetheless. A gift from this God who gives and takes. I didn’t understand Him, and I didn’t like His ways, but He helped me cling to Him anyway.

The other thing I had, was a small café I owned in an even smaller town. It never made any money – but it forced me to get up everyday and face the world. It forced my damaged faith into encounters with God’s disruptive grace.

I wrote a short story that was published a few years back called The Stuckville Café. I want to read you an excerpt, to give you a flavor of the grace I experienced in the midst of loss. I changed my name to Carol for the sake of the story – so as not to confuse the reader.

*
The town has a real name, but I call it Stuckville. Because boy, oh, boy, I’m stuck here. Plunked down in the middle of nothing-to-write-home-about by a husband who wanted a changed (so we moved here), then wanted a bigger change (so he left me). Now, I’m the soul proprietor of one rinky-dink café right across the street from the train tracks. I sell ice cream, espresso drinks and Mexican food. I know the combination sounds cock-eyed, but most everything about this town is cock-eyed.

Don’t think there aren’t times I think I should cut bait and run. But I suffer from the worst of human maladies – a double whammy of a total lack of a plan and an over-developed sense of responsibility. Like I said: stuck.

Gene’s a regular. When I say ‘regular’ I mean a constant presence. He’s old, like dirt. Or so he says. One day he says, “Carol, I’m old.” Me, diplomatic and tactful like I am, say something like, “Oh Gene, you’re only as old as you feel,” or some such gabber. He looks at me square on and says, “Woman, I’m as old as dirt.” And he pounds his cane on the floor. Now, I’m not old, but I’ve been around long enough to know that when an old man calls you “Woman,” and bangs things on the floor, its best to just smile and nod.

Gene comes in twice a day, after lunch and just before supper. Sure, he likes the coffee, but he’s actually coming to see me for medical treatments. Cancer has chewed away at his ear, and the doctors have taken most of the rest of it. They left a piece though, a ragged, festering gob of flesh that requires a salve to be applied three times a day. Unfortunately, Home Care only comes once a day, and because Gene is half blind, he can’t see to apply it himself. So he walks the block and a half from his house across from the post office to my café twice a day. When the place is devoid of customers, I apply cream to the stump of his ear with a Q-tip and tape new gauze to the wound.

One morning he presents his ear for my inspection and says, “What kind of a God lets an old man get cancer?”

I pull off the blood-encrusted tape and say, “The same one that let you get old as dirt.”

Gene grumbles, but I see a smile pull at the corners of his mouth. He says, “Who says there’s a God? You can’t see him. Can’t know him.”

I squint at the oozing blob of flesh that used to be his ear. It looks bad. Worse than yesterday. “The Bible says you can know God if you are born again in the Spirit. ‘The wind blows wherever it please,’” I quote. “’You hear it’s sound, but you can’t tell where it comes from or where it’s going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.’”

Gene pulls his eyebrows together until they form a V in the middle of his forehead. “Bible says that?”

I dab his ear. It smells terrible. “Yeah, a guy named Jesus said that. Ever heard of him?”

Gene smiles and nods his head like a bobble head.

“Hold still,” I say. “Did the home care nurse say anything about the way your ear looks today?”

“Like what?”

“I don’t know. When you see her tomorrow, you ask her about it, okay?”

Grumble.
*
There were others besides Gene who came into my café looking for ice cream and a friend. After awhile my café resembled a kind of therapy salon. Ragged people sitting in chairs, sipping coffee and asking questions about life that no one had answers to. In time we became a community of question askers, of puzzlers, of troubleshooters. And after awhile I came to see that my sad little café in the middle of a sad little town had become the center point of grace in my life.

I still see God’s grace this way. Much like my café where the door would open and I would never know what was coming in to face me – an opportunity to offer grace, like I did with Gene. Or an opportunity to receive grace from the hands of another. When I think of God’s grace, I think of the door in my café. An unseen hand on the other side, ready to pull it open, and God standing beside me saying, “Be ready for anything.”

Years have gone by since I owed that café. Good things have happened – I met Steve Grove. I married him. As for those babies I was never supposed to have – Our son celebrated his tenth birthday recently – our daughter turned eight a couple of weeks ago. They fill my life with noise and chaos. Each time they holler so loud it raises the roof, I first tell them to pipe down or else – then I thank God for the cacophony that fills my ears and the children who ruined all my plans for my life.

But within the blessings of the past eleven years, there have been terrible losses – again. Still. Life isn’t perfect. And I’m starting to realize that perfect isn’t the point. That it’s not about arriving “home free” where nothing bad can happen.

I’m beginning to see that the only faith worth having is the faith that stands. Against time, questions, loss, doubt, fear. And the only way I could hope to attain that faith is to have it tested – to be sifted like wheat. And all the while, banking on those prayers of Jesus that my faith will not fail, and when I have turned back, strengthen my brothers and sisters.

How to Write a Novel

2011-02-10T14:10:00.002-06:00

I'm reposting this from Novel Matters. I was having a week of doubt and wonder. So I made a list to ensure I had, in fact, done due diligence and followed all the steps it takes to write a novel. Helped immensely. Hope it does you, too.

Step 1:
Please choose one of the following options:
a) Give birth multiple times. (You may also choose to give birth to multiples. Triplets work well)
OR
b) Have all of your body hair waxed off in one afternoon. (It is preferable that you have this preformed by a person who does not speak your language) Repeat weekly for one year.
(This step ensures you have vast experience with pain, AND attempting to reason with characters who are indifferent to your needs.)
Step 2:
Commit acts of Random Bizarre Behavior (RBBs) in public places. Record people’s reactions to your behavior in a purple notebook.
Examples of possible RBBs:
- Enter a crowded elevator and begin singing The Battle Hymn of the Republic at the top of your lungs. Be sure to flail your arms around, especially during the chorus. Interrupt yourself often by asking others in the elevator to give you more room.
- Enter a busy shopping mall. Shake hands with everyone you see and thank them for their excellent customer service.
- Approach a female stranger. Address this stranger as “Aunt Bea”. Demand to see pictures of the new baby.
- If you are approached by a police officer: calmly and patiently explain that you voted for ‘the other guy’. If this fails, claim you are Canadian and don’t know better (this only works if you are in the US).
(This step exposes you to the full range of natural, spontaneous human reactions and emotions needed to create believable characters.)
Step 3:
Invent a perpetual motion machine. Give it a catchy name. Then, hide it in a closet for at least one year. After the appropriate amount of time has past, take the machine out of the closet, tinker with it until it moves at double the speed.
(This step ensures you are able to do the impossible – at least twice.)
Step 4:
Knock on a stranger’s door. Tell the stranger you are the love child they gave up for adoption. Mention you are unemployed. Repeat this several times until you are numb to all rejection.
(This step ensures – well, you know what it ensures.)
Step 5:
Take all of these experiences and divide them into chapters. Give it a plot and a catchy name. If possible, include vampires.

It’s possible to be on more than one step at the same time. So, which step are you on? Do share!

I bid you good writing.

Meaty Fiction on the Plate

2011-01-15T10:05:00.004-06:00

Below is a post I did for a wonderful book club blog called She Reads (a sister blog to Novel Matters). Each quarter, the She Reads book club will offer three current titles as featured selections. Readers have vast differences in taste and for this reason diverse genres and authors will be chosen.

Readers who join She Reads receive a number of benefits, including:

Connection with other readers on the She Reads blog who are passionate about great fiction and uplifting stories.
Information via the She Reads newsletter that will keep readers up to date on their favorite authors, and books, with a few surprises thrown in for fun.
Reviews of newly released titles written by a variety of readers, writers, and industry professionals.
Options to create a She Reads book club or bring an existing club under the She Reads umbrella.
Relationships developed within the intimate setting of a regular book club meeting.
Fun planned study guides with activities and interesting facts developed specifically for the She Reads book club.
Online Community for those who can’t participate in a monthly meeting (or don’t live near an existing club), via the She Reads blog and Facebook group.
Pre-selected novels they can trust and appreciate is an important aspect in today’s economy where every buying decision requires a second thought.
Access to authors they love through print interviews, meet and greets, conference calls, etc. Each selected author will participate in two conference calls with the first 100 guests (per call) who sign up. This will be a free service and a chance for readers to have their questions answered by the authors themselves!
Free books from time to time via contests, giveaways, and publisher promotions.

Meaty Fiction on the Plate

Is fiction an entertaining commodity meant only to be consumed? Or is that too narrow a view of the purpose and value of fiction? If the only function of fiction is to entertain – to be consumed as escape and distraction, then it barely matters what we read. Toss any ol’ story down the gullet of the eyes to fill the gnawing hole of wordy hunger.

But what if fiction has a role in shaping the nature of how we understand culture, both individually and corporately (us, and everyone around us)?

There are novels designed to function solely as entertainment, of course. I have no quibble with these fluffy novels. Sometimes one simply wants a bit of mindless escapism as a way of taking a break. This is a healthy practice in moderation. Too many fluffy books, however, is akin to grocery shopping at the candy counter – a very bad idea indeed.

It’s about here in this discussion where I find at least one well-meaning person who plays the snob card. The snob card argument goes something like this: You (meaning me) are a literary snob. What is fluffy reading to one person is life changing to another.

I doubt this very much. Is one man’s shallow pool another man’s swimming hole? I don’t think it is difficult for anyone to recognize a fluffy novel. And I think we all understand its purpose– fun fluff. And I am no snob. Remember, I’m not against fluffy books. Rather, I am for making rich, meaty books our regular literary diet, and putting fluffy books in their rightful place in our lives: on the dessert cart.

The next time you go looking for a novel to read, ask yourself if what you’re choosing is cotton candy, or meaty stew. If it’s fluff, promise yourself to pick up a meaty novel next time – and the time after that, and the time after that.

A quick checklist of questions to ask yourself when choosing between fluff and substance novels –

Will reading this novel accomplish one or more of the following:

Challenge my current worldview
Help me understand another culture or subculture
Build empathy in me
Help me understand a critical point in history either at home or abroad
Explain the values of others
Cause me to engage in art
Point to a coming change or shift in my culture
Explore the richness of what it means to be human
Cause me to ponder religious and ethical dichotomies
Give voice to movements within cultures that I do not currently know about or understand

This is by no means an exhaustive list, but it’s a good starting point for us as readers. In 2011, challenge yourself to read meaty books. And keep a fluffy book by the bedside for a late night snack.

I bid you good reading.

Writer Goals

2011-01-02T15:01:00.003-06:00

You've noticed it's 2011.

New Years is traditionally a time for looking forward and attempting to avoid the pitfalls of the previous year by planning and resolving. Funny thing about a writer's life - the more you plan the more you realize how much of what you do is utterly out of your hands.

An industry in perpetual flux - so much so that it makes a person wonder why anyone would want to be a writer in the first place. Unless you are a writer. Then you know the answer to that question lies somewhere between calling and insanity.

A writer can sit at her desk and declare to the New Year heavens, "This is the year I'll get an agent!" Or, "get published", or "become a bestseller", or whatever goal springs to mind when one thinks about books and getting those books into people's hands.

But.

Writers have very little control (oh, let's face it: No control) over these kinds goals. They are in fact not goals at all. Hopes. Wishes. Prayers. Fervent, fevered mantras, maybe. But they aren't the writer's goals.

Writers write. They tell stories. They stare unanswerable questions in the eyeball. They strive to become better at telling stories. Better at facing their naked humanity.

The writer's goals need to be true goals - achievable. Something that the writer has a modicum of control over.

Small things.

The work of writing.

Better.

The small things.

Read.

More deeply.

Be faithful in the small things.

Honor the craft.

Become the writer who is faithful in the small things.

I bid you good writing.

Free e-Cookbook from Novel Matters!

2010-12-16T09:08:00.003-06:00

Starting Friday, December 17th, the writers at Novel Matters blog will have a free e-cookbook available for download!

This is our Christmas thank you to all our readers and friends. If you haven't been reading Novel Matters, it's a great time to check it out - and yes, you're still more than welcome to download a copy of the cookbook. It's free, no
strings attached.

It's called Novel Tips on Rice: What to cook when you'd rather be writing and
vice versa.

Full of our personal recipes, fun pictures, writing tips, and generalized fun.

You can download your free copy on Friday at:

Novel Matters
or
She Reads

Thanks!
Merry Christmas!

I bid you cook writing.

In the Time it Takes

2010-11-29T16:10:00.002-06:00

I've often referred to myself as an accidental tourist to this planet. I've stumbled upon careers, backed into higher education, tripped over motherhood, and fell down the rabbit hole of happily married.

And I've lost some things along the way, too. Some of those things I grievously wish I could have back. With others it took years to notice they were gone, and that I had been lugging ghosts around for most of the time, thinking they were real.

That brings us to writing. To me being a writer and doing writerly things such as writing, being published, flying to places where other writers gather and talking about writing. My stark confession is that all of it was as accidental as the rest of my life.

Let's be clear - by accidental I do not mean effortless. I didn't breeze in the doors of publication dreamland. I've worked hard to get where I am (wherever that may be), and to be as good a writer as I am at the moment (to whatever degree that may be). I can't think of a job I have held where I've worked as hard as I do being a writer.

But still, I never intended to be an author. I've always written - a hobby I acquired in my early teens. But being a writer? Isn't the job title preceded with the word "starving"? Happily, I was published quickly (relatively speaking), and found I was well received in certain writing circles. But those successes have led to challenges. Changes. More hard work.

I found that success in publication can often throw an author onto a treadmill of producing a book a year. This is a comfortable pace for some writers, even a bit slow for others who are able to toss off a couple of books a year. I'm not one of these writers. I'm not entirely sure why, though as I've examined the possibilities over the years, I keep coming to the conclusion that I may be in the back of the class when it comes to zippy-fast writing. I've found, no matter how hard I try to let the words fly, I cannot. My words don't fly. They drip. They dribble. They wane, surge, retreat.

Can I write a book a year? Should I try? Why wouldn't I?

It's a challenge I've been pondering.

A friend of mine has asked me to consider signing up for the challenge - 10 years, 10 novels.

I'm weighing it against the reality of who I am, how I write, and my need to write dense novels.

Dense.

Another friend of mine, upon reading a short excerpt from my work-in-progress asked, "How do you pack so much into few words?"

And my answer is, "Slowly."

I can't compromise quality for speed. I mean, I CAN, I'm capable (I think?), but I can't do it.

I haven't stepped off the treadmill entirely - there have been many changes in the past year that I hope to be able to share with you soon. When the time is right.

But.

The New Year is coming, and I'm thinking about what in my life I should resolve. And one of those things is my resolve to commit to the art of fiction writing.

Art for art's sake.

And all the rest?

That takes faith.

I bid you good writing.

Why Do You Write?

2010-11-16T12:31:00.003-06:00

It's one of the most common questions a writer is asked, right up there with Where do you get your ideas?

I'm not sure why this question is so common. I've never felt the urge to ask a painter why she paints, or a musician why he plays. I suppose I've always figured they do so because they can paint or play, and because they cannot NOT paint or play.

But there it is, the persistent question: Why do you write?

In my weaker moments, I wonder if this question is because the asker doubts that I should be writing. That perhaps my time would be better spent elsewhere. That they sense I would be a terrific Wal-mart greeter, for example.

Over the years I've dolled up my answers to this question. Dressed them up in the clothes of my current release, or infused them with inflated purpose as I've hammered out novels that I secretly fear will never measure up.

I've fallen back on the same assumptions I make about painters and musicians: I simply can't NOT write.

This, naturally, is gibberish. I adore writing, but if forced to by some unfathomable, larger than life reason to pitch writing altogether, I would still have purpose in life.

It isn't writing I can't give up. It's story.

Story is the best way I understand life. Maybe the only way.

Story is why I was drawn to counseling. I have no interest in telling people what to do, or how to live. What I love about counseling is the opportunity to walk with a person through an unfolding story. Not as an expert, but as a friend who is willing to seek wisdom alongside you.

And that's the second part of what I can't give up, and why I write.

I can't give up my questions. I have so many, many questions about what it means to be here, alive on the planet. What it means to make friends, to lose things, to break, and to be broken. There is so much I don't understand, and so I pair my questions with story.

And inside the stories I write, I looking for a friend who is willing to seek wisdom alongside me.

I bid you good writing.

Art and Angst - BFFs

2010-10-29T09:53:00.004-06:00

Ever been riddled with angst? Feeling the chill in your bones, wondering if you've got the goods.

I'm writing a new novel at the moment, and I'm looking for the magic. Hoping, when I peer into my bag of literary goodies, I will find it - that truth, that shine, that brilliance. Wondering if it was ever in there in the first place.

But the task is to write, and so write I do. Clacking away, muttering to self and computer, wondering - always wondering - if any of this is of any merit.

I'm comforted by the fact that this deep down doubt is universal in the world of art and artists. Let me introduce you to someone who has poured out this artist's angst in a way I simply adore. Tanya Davis is a Canadian, from Newfoundland (which accounts for her accent - she has a true "Newfie" accent I love [no, I don't sound like that when I speak - I sound exactly like Queen Elizabeth]). Her wonderful accent is the reason I posted the words to the song below. She is a poet, singer, songwriter, and more. I included her website at the bottom of this post in case you want to find out more about this wonderful artist.
I love how she expresses the questions all artists feel, deep in their bones.I wondered what would be the worth of my words in the world
if i write them and then recite them are they worth being heard
just because i like them does that mean i should mic them
and see what might unfurl

i think of the significance of my opinions here
is it significant to be giving them does anybody care
just because i'm into this does that mean i should live like it
and really do i dare

art, art i want you
art you make it pretty hard not to
and my heart is trying hard here to follow you
but i can't always tell if i ought to

so i pondered the point of my art in this life
if i make it will someone take it and think it's genuine
will they be glad that i did 'cause they got something good out of it
will they leave me and be any more inspired

i question the outcome of the outpouring of myself
if i tell everyone my stories will this keep me healthy and well
will it give me purpose, to this world some sort of service
is it worth it, how can i tell

art, art...

Here are my thoughts about self-doubt: better not to dwell on it. Better to write, and keep writing for purposes that are bigger than me, for reasons I don't need to understand.

I bid you good writing

Dat is fantastisch! Talking to the Dead - the Dutch Translation

2010-10-04T13:33:00.003-06:00

Some fun stuff in the mail bag today: The Dutch translation of Talking to the Dead!

Rejection isn't What it Feels Like

2010-09-05T16:00:00.001-06:00

It happens to everyone. You deliver a spot on job interview only to find the position went to the boss's nephew. That feller you've been obsessing about starts dating your best friend. That agent or editor you've pinned your future hopes on turns you down. Ugh. Rejection happens to everyone - and if you are a writer it's something you'll need to come to terms with as quickly as possible if you hope to endure in this industry.
Here is a quick reference list to refer to when your day comes and you're looking at the big hairy, ugly face of literary rejection.

1) It isn't personal.
   Sure, it feels personal. Rejection stings, sometimes hurts a great deal. You spend countless hours, days, weeks, years crafting a novel, and to have someone read it and say no hurts. But that rejection isn't as personal as if feels. The agent or editor said no to the project, they did not reject you as a person. Agents and editors derive no joy from knowing the people they say no to feel rejected and hurt. The reasons for saying no to a project (and that is how books are viewed in publishing -as projects that eat resources, time, money - not to mention affection and attention) are legion. It's a complex of reasons that have everything to do with things that are beyond any writer's control. The economy, the present workload the agent or editor are shouldering, a shift in the types of books needed, personal taste, resources available, a dynamic market always in flux. Notice how none of these reasons are aimed at you and me - the writers?

2) It doesn't mean you are a bad writer
   Not all rejections are created equal. If you are getting feedback from editors and agents who praise your work, yet are still rejecting it, try to understand that this industry is all about two things: Fit and timing. Your book could be fantastic, but that doesn't mean that every publisher is the right fit for your book. Publishing is -heres that word again - complex. There are so many reasons why a good book isn't a fit for a specific publisher, or agent. Because the world of fiction is so subjective, agents and editors ensure they take on projects they are passionate about. They want the opportunity to go to bat for a book they love. It needs to be the whole meal deal in order for them to throw themselves into the fray to represent it.

3) This is no time to panic
   The way you handle today's rejection will play a part in tomorrows acceptance. If you lash out in an angry letter or blog post because you feel certain the agent, editor, or publisher will benefit from a piece of your mind, your actions will be remembered. Not in a good way, but remembered all the same. That negative impression will be difficult, maybe even impossible to overcome. You are entitled to your feelings, of course, but keep your choice words and opinions about the agent or editor confined to your most private places. Kick some boxes, scream into a paper bag - then get ahold of yourself as soon as possible.

4) Get support
   Still feel too depressed to get out of bed even after you've kicked a box and screamed into a paper bag? Time to enlist some support from your inner circle. I've blogged before about the importance of having an inner circle of trusted friends who know you well and will not only support you when you're down, but also won't go blabbing about how badly you handled being rejected.

5) Have a plan B, C, D, E, F and G.
   Most writers have a dream team - a list containing the names of the industry professionals they would sell their little brother in order to work with. The only problem with these lists is they often include the names of industry pros who are also on everyone else's list. I mean, who doesn't want to work with that red hot agent with the Midas touch? Who wouldn't want to be published with that gold standard publisher? But let's go back to point 2 - fit and timing. Your book may not be a fit for that dream agent - but will be a fit for another, equally fantastic agent. It pays to create an open and flexible plan when submitting to agents and editors. The person you think would be best, may not be the best fit for you and your work.

6) Have a concrete plan for improving as a writer.
   The best writers are the ones who understand the road of craft is never ending. But improving as a writer doesn't happen without taking specific, purposeful steps. I understood my need to improve most strongly after I became published. I now dedicate portions of my work week to improving my skills as a writer. At the moment, I'm applying myself to a single book on writing as I would a university course. I'm taking my time, studying deeply and at length. And, because of this, if I read a rejection note, I can buoy myself with the knowledge that I am engaged in concrete steps to improve as a writer. That my dedication to my craft will, in time, pay off. As long as I hang on.

I bid you good writing.

Contest for Writers on Novel Matters

2010-09-03T16:22:00.000-06:00

A great new contest for writers is coming to Novel Matters starting next week! Here's a hint: Brush off your first chapter and synopsis. Need another hint? We'll be talking editing for the next two weeks. . . hmmm. . .Contest. . . editing. . .and Bonnie is posting this on her blog. . . wonder what the connection is. . .

Awards! Awards!

2010-07-18T13:02:00.002-06:00

Summer is a season of disarray, isn't it? The sun shines, we check out of the office for a few weeks vacation (hopefully), the kids are out of school - and things slip through the sandy beach cracks. Like these bits of happy news! Talking to the Dead has had a lovely run lately - starting with The Word Guild Awards held this past June, where it was announced as:
Novel—Contemporary Winner – Bonnie Grove of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, for Talking to the Dead: A Novel (David C. Cook)
In addition to winning the category, Talking to the Dead was named an honorable mention for Book of the Year.

This weekend, finalists for the Carol Awards (formerly ACFW Book of the Year) were announced. Talking to the Dead has finaled in the debut novel category. Hurray!

Below is the full list of finalists:

Finalists for this inaugural year of the Carol Awards (formerly Book of the Year).

Debut Author

Bonnie Grove - Talking to the Dead (David C. Cook Publishing)
Liz Johnson - The Kidnapping of Kenzie Thorn (Steeple Hill)
Kirk Outerbridge - Eternity Falls (Marcher Lord Press)
Jill Eileen Smith - Michal (Revell)
Dan Walsh - The Unfinished Gift (Revell)

Contemporary Novella

6 Finalists due to a tie
Barbara Cameron – One Child (Thomas Nelson)
Barbara Cameron – When Winter Comes (Thomas Nelson)
Debra Clopton – A Mule Hollow Match (Steeple Hill)
Susan May Warren – The Great Christmas Bowl (Tyndale House)
Beth Wiseman – A Change of Heart (Thomas Nelson)
Beth Wiseman – A Choice to Forgive (Thomas Nelson)

Historical Novella

Victoria Bylin – Home Again (Steeple Hill)
Vickie McDonough – A Breed Apart (Barbour Publishing)
Vickie McDonough – Beloved Enemy (Barbour Publishing)
Janet Tronstad - Christmas Bells for Dry Creek (Steeple Hill)
Carrie Turansky - A Shelter in the Storm (Barbour Publishing)

Long Contemporary

6 Finalists due to a tie
Christina Berry - The Familiar Stranger (Moody Publishers)
Mary Ellis - A Widow's Hope (Harvest House Publishers)
Joyce Magnin - The Prayers of Agnes Sparrow (Abingdon Press)
Susan Meissner - White Picket Fences (Waterbrook Press)
Marlo Schalesky- If Tomorrow Never Comes (Multnomah)
Susan May Warren - Nothing But Trouble (Tyndale House)

Long Contemporary Romance

Candace Calvert - Critical Care (Tyndale House)
Denise Hunter - Seaside Letters (Thomas Nelson)
Jenny B. Jones - Just Between You and Me (Thomas Nelson)
Beth Wiseman - Plain Promise (Thomas Nelson)
Cindy Woodmsall - The Hope of Refuge (Waterbrook Press)

Mystery

A.K. Arenz - The Case of the Mystified M.D. (Sheaf House)
Mindy Starns Clark - Under the Cajun Moon (Harvest House Publishers)
Darlene Franklin - A String of Murders (Heartsong Mysteries)
S. Dionne Moore - Polly Dent Loses Grip (Heartsong Mysteries)
Janice Thompson writing as Janice Hanna - Pushing up Daisies (Heartsong Mysteries)

Long Historical

Deeanne Gist - A Bride in the Bargain (Bethany House)
Robin Lee Hatcher - Fit To Be Tied (Zondervan)
Maureen Lang - Look to the East (Tyndale House)
Siri Mitchell - Love's Pursuit (Bethany House)
Allison Pittman - Stealing Home (Multnomah)

Long Historical Romance

8 Finalists due to a tie
Amanda Cabot - Paper Roses (Revell)
Mary Connealy - Cowboy Christmas (Barbour Publishing)
Mary Connealy - Montana Rose (Barbour Publishing)
Laura Frantz - The Frontiersman's Daughter (Revell)
Ann Gabhart - The Believer (Revell)
Julie Lessman - A Passion Denied (Revell)
Janice Thompson writing as Janice Hanna - Love Finds Youin Poetry, Texas (Summerside Press)
Kathleen Y’Barbo - The Confidential Life of Eugenia Cooper (Waterbrook Press)

Short Contemporary

Debra Clopton - His Cowgirl Bride (Steeple Hill)
Myra Johnson - Autumn Rains (Heartsong Presents)
Vickie McDonough - A Wagonload of Trouble (Heartsong Presents)
Mae Nunn - A Texas Ranger's Family (Steeple Hill)
Glynna Sirpless writing as Glynna Kaye - Dreaming of Home (Steeple Hill)

Short Contemporary Suspense

6 Finalists due to a tie
Jill Elizabeth Nelson - Evidence of Murder (Steeple Hill)
Sandra Robbins - Final Warning (Steeple Hill)
Virginia Smith - Murder at Eagle Summit (Steeple Hill)
Virginia Smith - Scent of Murder (Steeple Hill)
Jenness Walker - Double Take (Steeple Hill)
Lenora Worth - Code of Honor (Steeple Hill)

Short Historical

Lyn Cote - Her Patchwork Family (Steeple Hill)
Laurie Alice Eakes - The Glassblower (Heartsong Presents)
Laurie Kingery - The Outlaw's Lady (Steeple Hill)
Lynette Sowell - All That Glitters (Heartsong Presents)
Dan Walsh - The Unfinished Gift (Revell)

Speculative (includes Science Fiction,Fantasy, Allegory)

6 Finalists due to a tie
Kirk Outerbridge - Eternity Falls (Marcher Lord Press)
Donita K. Paul - The Vanishing Sculptor (Waterbrook Press)
Steve Rzasa - The Word Reclaimed (Marcher Lord Press)
Stuart Vaughn Stockton – Starfire (Marcher Lord Press)
Fred Warren - The Muse (Splashdown Books)
Jill Williamson - By Darkness Hid (Marcher Lord Press)

Suspense/Thriller

Terri Blackstock – Intervention (Zondervan)
Colleen Coble - Lonestar Secrets (Thomas Nelson)
Brandilyn Collins – Exposure (Zondervan)
Harry Kraus - Salty Like Blood (Howard/Simon & Schuster)
DiAnn Mills - Breach of Trust (Tyndale House)

Women’s Fiction

7 Finalists due to a tie
Julie Carobini - Sweet Waters (B&H Publishing)
Kathryn Cushman – Leaving Yesterday (Bethany House)
Sara Evans & Rachel Hauck - Sweet By and By (Thomas Nelson)
Rene Gutteridge & Cheryl McKay - Never the Bride (Waterbrook Press)
Deborah Raney - Yesterday's Embers (Howard/Simon & Schuster)
Deborah Raney - Above All Things (Steeple Hill)
Lisa Wingate - The Summer Kitchen (New American Library/Penguin)

Young Adult

Shelley Adina - Who Made You a Princess? (Hachette FaithWords)
Brandilyn & Amberly Collins - Always Watching (Zondervan)
Jenny B. Jones - I'm So Sure (Thomas Nelson)
Jenny B. Jones - So Not Happening (Thomas Nelson)
Booker T. Mattison - Unsigned Hype (Revell)

The Carol Awards will be presented at ACFW's Conference in Indianapolis, September 17-20. There's
still time to register at www.acfw.com/conference.

Congratulations to all finalists!

Spin What you Know

2010-07-04T17:25:00.003-06:00

I posted this over at Novel Matters a few weeks ago. It didn't get the comments I thought it would, but as I revisited this post, I liked it as much as when I first wrote it. So, I'm giving it a second breath on my own blog. I hope you enjoy it, and, as so often happens here, I hope we can have a wonderful conversation about the questions I urge us all to ask about our writing.

How can you take what you know, and spin it into a story that will speak to the world? I'm thinking it begins by asking simple, yet complex questions.

In praise of Colum McCann's novel, Let the Great World Spin,Dave Eggers said, "Leave it to an Irishman to write one of the greatest-ever novels about New York."

I checked the back flap author info, and sure enough, Colum McCann lives in New York City with his family (born in Dublin, a stay in Japan, now in The Apple). McCann knows New York. He lives there - he's familiar with it's nooks, shops those out of the way places. Maybe rides the subways under the city, the elevators above it. It's a classic example of an author writing what he knows.

But that's not the question, here. The question is what makes Let the Great World Spin one of the 'greatest-ever' novels about New York? I can't speak for McCann, but I've made some observations while reading this novel about how McCann took what he knew and put a spin on it. Here are my imaginings of the steps McCann took:

He looked at his city (traveled through it, walking, riding, talking to people) and began to piece together an image of New York City as a whole. New York is a city divided - boroughs aligned with fear and poverty, Harlem, Queens, The Bronx, and addresses that define people more precisely than any adjective could. Park Avenue. Upper East Side. The Village. He knew all this going into the novel, of course. But he took the next step - he did what all great writers must do, he looked closer and asked himself, "What does this mean?"

It means, in part, that New York is a microcosm for American society, a sort of petri dish in which an entire nation can be observed in miniature. And in discovering this meaning, he would have asked himself the question, "How do we continue to live with each other in the face of these polemic divisions?" He would have examined the divisions - the choices and circumstances that leads some people to The Stroll, others to Park Avenue, and still others to the wild party scene, gulping the landscape like some many glasses of champagne, and, unbelievably, to walking on tightrope between the World Trade towers.

After this process, he would have turned his attention to the hinge question, the one on which the whole shooting match either works, or falls apart. He asks, "How does this city connect us to one another?"

And this is the story he tells - a city that, on the surface divides according to income, skin color, education, opportunity. A city with invisible walls that hem people in, and keep others out. But then, he takes up at the threads of the last question "How does this city connect us to one another", and he pulls. He brings the answers to the foreground where we can see them for the first time. It feels like a magic trick - TA-DA! and I can see what was only moments before invisible. I am made aware that the beating heart tucked away in a high-rise in the Bronx, gazing down at the hookers below, is connected to my own beating heart. He opens our eyes to the fact that the stranger we pass is, in reality, nearly related to us. That his existence matters to our own, and that ours matters to him.

And that is what makes it one of the greatest novels about New York. Because, in the end, its a novel about all of us.

This week we've been talking about writing what you know. As you do, ask yourself these simple, difficult questions:

What does this mean?

How does this reality affect us?

How does this reality connect us?

These questions will lead you to other questions - ones tied specifically to your subject matter, your story.

How have you taken what you know, and examined it more closely? Let your assumptions slide, and searched for the invisible threads?

Have you read a novel that has done this?

Lets chat.

I bid you good writing.

There is no Down Time

2010-06-26T11:39:00.005-06:00

Waiting for something? That call from and agent or editor? The go-ahead from a publisher? Are you waiting to hear from a writing client? Waiting. No one likes waiting.

Here is a secret: You should never truly be waiting for anyone. You should be writing.

I hate waiting. I'm very good at it, being forced into it so many times, I've learned to deal. But I still hate it. I hate the feeling that someone else is in control of my choices - of my future yes or no. That I have to wait for an answer before I know if I can move ahead or not. Then I realized I had it all wrong. I shouldn't be waiting. I should be writing.

Publishing revolves around careful decision making. Your brilliant novel (and mine) is no exception. This takes time. Barrels of time. Which leaves you and me - waiting.

So, what's a writer to do with all this built in down time awaiting decision? The answer of course, is WRITE.

Well, says the skeptical writer to herself. Why should I write and write and later find out that my project has been rejected? Or that they are asking for substantial changes? I will have wasted all that time and effort.

Not so. Writing "blind" without expressed direction from an agent, publisher, or editor, is the best way to perfect your voice, craft, and writing vision. You won't get tangled up in another persons suggestions. You'll be blazing your own trail. This is a time to push yourself, challenge yourself to reach the next step. Improve your novel. Tighten your prose. Study novel structure. Take a class on writing. Revise your work. Take a stab at substantive edits. Rethink your ending. You're not waiting - you're working. You're readying yourself. You're improving.

And, when the call comes with all its shock and awe, all its giddy WOO HOOs! and all its provisos, you'll be ready. More ready than you were when you submitted your project.

And what if that call is a no? You're ready for that, too. Because you'll know you've become a better writer, you'll feel only slightly the sting of rejection, and it won't stop you. Not for one minute.

I bid you good writing.

The Super Power of Reading

2010-06-20T13:59:00.004-06:00

Ask any writer their favorite pass time, you won't hear them say, bowling, or cricket. Nor TV. All hobbies pale in the light of reading.

Writers devour books. We haunt libraries, bookstores. When we visit friends, we glance around looking for the bookshelves. We ask people, Whatcha reading? hearts pounding when they tell us about a novel we haven't read yet.

I'm fortunate to have close friendships with fellow writers, and while we do manage to squeeze in other topics, we always, ALWAYS talk books. We exchange lists of who is reading what. We question each other about books we've read. What did you think questions abound. We pour over the themes and literary devices as a stamp collector would pour over the faded lines of a 1901 half cent stamp.

It's fun. And even better - it's a super power.

Now, it's subtle at first. The way it works. You don't notice it at first. You read a classic your Mother told you about (The Fables of John Gay, visit Nathaniel Hawthorne's May-pole). Maybe you're forced into it by a bald-eyed English lit professor who promised to explain Milton's Paradise Lost but never did (at least, not in a way that made any sense), however it began almost doesn't matter - only that it began. You stumbled through dense language, read and reread lines until they made sense - lost the story line, picked it up again, wondered what all the fuss was about. You couldn't feel the super power at work.

Until the next time.

This time you picked up a novel of your own accord. No one made you read it - you decided to take a whack at it. Why not? You liked the movie (Pride and Prejudice, Whuthering Heights, Rebecca). You don't stumble too much this time, the themes present themselves in tidy rows. You see beyond the words, at least sometimes. You finish the novel, set it aside. Think about it sometimes. You feel. . . stronger.

You start talking about books with friends and discover what they are reading. You check a few titles out of the library. You hate some of them - but you hate them for a reason, not simply because you didn't like it. You know WHY you didn't like them. Others, you love and you know why you love them.

You pick up the pen. Not any pen, but the proverbial pen, the one that has you pouring story onto the page. It's terrible. Nothing comes out right. All the characters are over acting, there's no theme, all is disconnected.

Until the next time.

This is where you begin to feel the super power of reading at work. As you craft your story, your brain, under the influence of past reading, pulls together the threads of your work, tying the novel together. You know how to work the parts together, to create a whole because you read. And reading brings understanding. And understanding clarity. And clarity - excellence.

And so I ask you: What are you reading?

I bid you good writing. . . and reading.

YAWP

2010-06-08T09:41:00.003-06:00

Today, I nudge you to another spot I blog; Novel Matters. Kathleen Popa has posted something I believe every fiction writer should read and then practice.

I'm terrified, too. But if you and I hope to produce anything worth anything, it must be done. Nurture the wild creative - for heaven's sake - learn to tap into that wild thing that pulses below the surface.

Here is the link to Kathleen's most fearless post.

I bid you good writing.

5 Tips to Tame the Social Network Monster

2010-05-27T09:30:00.006-06:00

What is UP with social networking? Sure, we're all encouraged (mandated?) to use it in as many varied and creative ways as possible. Authors complain it's a time suck, publishers swear it's the most valuable tool in the box. So how come social networking, when viewed as a whole looks more like a come-as-you-are party than a well oiled machine of effective marketing?

Social networking is the number one topics of author loops. We talk endlessly about the specifics, we ask "how do I. . ." questions, we share our successes, our embarrassing missteps, our horrifying moments. We discuss the appropriate way to express our anger (don't), disappointment (don't), our feelings of failure (don't) and our need to be validated by an increasing larger number of people (heaven help us).

How does and author get off this crazed merry-go-round?

Here are five tips:

1. Develop an inner circle. Book reviews, the number of friends on facebook, your Twitter following, and the number of book signings you've attended have nothing to do with who you are. It's important to develop an inner circle of people to whom you turn when you feel insecure, angry, betrayed, or otherwise upset about your job. Start with your family. Then hand select a very few close friends who love you and support you. These are the people you need to lean on, and who can truly validate. Your Twitter following may be populated with nice folks, but they don't truly know you. When we need to be validated by an increasingly far-flung group of people, we actually begin to devalue the rock solid affection and support of our inner circle. We end up hurting the people who love us most by taking their validation for granted and running after validation somewhere else.

2. Validation is an illusion - stop running after it. Outside of your inner circle (comprised of people who truly know you and love you anyway), there is no such thing as validation from others. But doesn't it mean something that I've written a bestselling book that Oprah can't stop talking about? Only in terms of the publishing industry and your chances of getting another book contract. People's opinions change. Books rise and all too soon become 'so yesterday'. I recently watched a movie about the 1972 Canada vs. Russia hockey series. The series first game was played in Toronto, and then the series made it's way west. But Team Canada didn't trounce the Russians the way the Canadian people expected. By the time the games reached Vancouver, Canadian fans booed their Team Canada when they took the ice. Later, in Russia, Canadians once again cheered for their (suddenly) under-dog team.

3. Stop talking about yourself all the time. Social networking has created a new self-paradigm where in it is acceptable to talk about yourself all day long. Facebook wants you to post how you are feeling, Twitter wants us to post our micro-moments (99.99% of Twitter posts are incredibly dull. Either inane posts about what they ate for breakfast, or spamming posts trying to generate blog traffic). Even if you NEED to social network about yourself all day long, ensure you aren't repeating this behavior in real life. Real life isn't all about you (or me). Talking about yourself all day creates and unhealthy filter by which you begin to view the world as orbiting around you.

4. Nothing matters more than the writing and the story you are telling. We can talk all day about our work, about people's reactions to our work. But if we focus our energy on talking about it, the quality of our work will suffer over time. We will use up our creative and energy resources for the day and have precious little left for our work. Focus on your craft - not talking about your craft. Excellent writers are writers who know they haven't arrived. They know how much more there is to learn and they dedicate themselves to mastery. Do we want to talk about writing? Or do we want to be great writers?

5. Develop a strong sense of self. Creative people have weird needs (as a creative person, I speak with authority). We lose ourselves in our work, we give huge chunks of our minds and emotions over to creating worlds that don't exist until we bring them to life. Depression rates in writers peak when the novel is finished. We die little deaths, we mourn the intangible. The fragile nature of creative people means we need to work harder at understanding ourselves and accepting ourselves for who we are. How do you develop a strong sense of self? Begin by following steps 1-4.

6. Know where you are going, and keep moving toward that goal. Hockey obsessed Canadian's have a saying, "Keep your stick on the ice." It means stay in the game, stay focused, and be ready. Don't confuse what you truly want for what you want in the moment. Develop a strong goal, and work toward it. You can't be an expert about everything. You can't be the go to person for everything. If you would like help developing your goals, I'd shamelessly point you to my non-fiction, Your Best You. It's a strength based approach to discovering your strengths and using them to discover your true goals based on what matters to you most (your values). It's not an easy book (it's a program, developed to help you understand yourself. This means it will take time and effort), but it works. Find a way to define your true goal - then keep moving toward it. Learn to enjoy the journey. Be true to yourself.

I bid you good writing.

Journaling as Writing

2010-05-10T10:06:00.004-06:00

When someone comes to me looking for advice about their current mental health, I often ask if they keep a journal.

When I walk with people who are hoping to discover their true selves, I recommend keeping a journal. Not any sort of journal, but one that captures their specific journey. It's journaling with purpose.

Writing our thoughts down changes our perspective. It brings clarity, forcing our ping-ponging ideas to align, flow down our arm, through the pen, and onto the page.

Two sound pieces of advice for beginning writers are these: Read broadly, and keep a journal.

I've discovered the joy of journalling not only my personal history, but my books as well. Each book I write has its own accompanying journal dedicated to it. I don't write anything else in there, only bits and yawns about the book. I scrawl title ideas, names of characters, plotting and character webs, bits of dialogue, scraps of scenes or even scenery. I plot the book in the journal (yes, I plot long-hand), I lay out the bones of the book in my journal so that I can flip through, find a particular bone and chew on it (Margaret Atwood says all writers are bone chewers. That is what we do for the most part, chew on bones).

I've found a journal to be a helpful friend. I know where all my random floating bits of ideas are. I'm not rifling my desk, I'm calmly flipping pages, confident I've captured my hope somewhere inside the journal.

A journal is also a respite from the clacking keys, the bright screen, the blinking cursor. Picking up a pencil (always in pencil for me - it is a personal metaphor for the impermanence of life, and the permanence of ideas) is a connection, an organic motion that allows me to interact with the images in my mind in a way the blessed computer cannot provide. There is something about reading the raggedly drawn words that breathes life into the thing.

Keeping a journal for each book creates an intimate bond between me and my story that I haven't found when I'm typing on my computer. With a journal, I can tuck myself away somewhere, curl my arm around it and scratch and peck, doodle and draw outside the lines. We've all heard the saying, 'think outside the box'. For me, journalling my books is tangible knowledge that there is no box.

And for fun, here is a link to a gorgeous blog of an artist who journals as art, sent to me by my wonderful friend and fellow writing, Kathleen Popa.

I bid you good writing.

How to Go Crazy Without Trying

2010-04-26T09:35:00.003-06:00

They say publishing is a crazy industry. Always has been. We're in the throes of change (e-books, e-readers, kindle, iPad, e-Zine, indie presses, Google scanning every book under the sun, Amazon poised to take over the world).

IS self-publishing the wave of the future? How DO you make a name for yourself in this biz? Who really decides what gets published and what doesn't? Do I need an agent? What do can a publicist actually do for a novelist? Do I sign with a small publisher, or hold out for a larger one? How can I know how long a publisher's sales reach is? It's enough to make an author's eyes bug out.

Lately, I've found it easy to become bogged down in information overload about publishing, writing, publicity, marketing, self-promotion, and number watching. It's simply too easy to allow discouragement to creep in.

If you feel like I do, then read on. I've come up with a blessedly short list of tips to help us writers stay sane while we press on toward our goal.

1) Understand the industry. Sure, we need to know 'what's happening' out there - but understanding how publishing works is different from analyzing every scrap of data about publishing that gets published on a blog or web site. Instead of fretting over the details (every writer has a unique journey, and what is true for one writer will not necessarily apply to another), have a working understanding of the major players (agents, authors, publishers, etc), and how they work together.

2) Discover what you actually need to know. The publishing world is filled with important details - the good news is, you don't need to know all of them. You need to know about the details that pertain to you, your project, and your vision as a writer. (If you're thinking this means you need a working knowledge of yourself, your vision, and your projects, you're right). If you are looking for an agent, then immerse yourself in the details of agents - looking hard for the right fit. Spend your energy on that step, and keep writing. When you sign with an agent, then move to the next step on your journey.

3) Pay closer attention to your personal journey. Yes, there are tons of blogs about publishing out there - helpful ones. But the best any blogger or industry pro can offer is general advice. What they say may or may not pertain to your specific publishing journey. You'll do better to pay close attention to what is happening to you and your work, then if you run around all over the blog-sphere reading general advice.

4) Relax. Yes, the numbers are stacked against us. Yes, it's difficult to break into publishing. Yes, it's difficult to remain in publishing. Make peace with the truth. Then take a deep breath and continue on your journey. The fastest way to relax? Believe in yourself. Keep the vision in front of you and keep walking. In time, you'll begin to enjoy the journey for what it is, and not fret so much about the destination.

I bid you good writing.

Fiction as Conversation

2010-04-19T10:02:00.003-06:00

I was recently asked, "What message are you trying to get across in your writing?"

I responded, "I'm not trying to get a message across. I'm privileged to contribute to the ongoing conversation, in literary form, of what it means to be human."

The story world - the place where fiction resides - is specially equipped for these conversations. It's a place where we are able to connect out thinking to action through characters and situations that, while fiction, are part of the everyday fabric of who we are and how we became to be this way.

When I gave this response, the person reacted jittery and said, "But don't you write Christian fiction?"

Yes and no. All fiction is spiritual - written out of the paradigm of the author's beliefs (and, hopefully, out of the author's wrestling with those beliefs). And yes, each story has a point, something the author hopes you see and wonder about and ponder along with - but because of the nature of fiction, we, the reader, are allowed to take the meaning and message of the story and do what we will with it.

I'm reading The Help right now, a story about two maids and a young white woman in the 1960s who work together on a book that will prove dangerous to all of them. On the surface it's a novel about civil rights in the southern US (and it is), but it's also a book about women. Our perceived role in society, how we are allowed or disallowed to function. And how difficult it is to change those perceptions It's about how we all have the ability to change all stereotypes and social judgements, if only we decide to. If only we are willing to pay the price for doing it.

How does the author manage to discuss these weighty matters? She doesn't. Instead she does something far more effective - she tells a story. She shows us these intangibles at work though the lives of characters, living out the facts of life in front of us. We are invited into the larger conversation through the avenue of story. Is it a books with message?

No. It's a book with a meaning, and the message is yours to discover, interpret, discuss, and live out.

I bid you good writing.

His Imprint Saskatoon Writer's Conference

2010-04-10T13:33:00.002-06:00

Here's the link to the newspaper article about the upcoming writer's conference to be held in my happy home town, Saskatoon! Would love to see you there.

You can read workshop details here.

I'll be joining the fun in the afternoon, available to chat one on one about your work in progress.

Here we go again. . .

2010-04-08T14:30:00.004-06:00

One idea, I've heard, leads to another. My hand is up, giving testimony to this this axiom. I've been amazed at how ideas have piled up behind my eyebrows since I began this terrifying and exhilerating leap into fiction writing. It feels exactly like a gift.

And, even as I am bouncing in my chair excited about the release of Time and Time Again (which is available for preorder on Christianbook.com, Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, and Amazon.ca), I'm spinning new ideas for a third novel.

All this giddy idea spinning is more fun than I could have hoped to have while working. But my poor family!

I’ve learned through experience that being reflective and contemplative, while immensely helpful in many ways, has a downside. Here is a recent example of how our ruminative practices can interfere with life:

Steve kicks the tire of a sandy brown mini-van. “What do you think?”

I stare at his foot. Moses comes to mind. He struck a rock twice and then wasn’t allowed into the Promised Land.

Steve clears his throat. “Lovely?” (He calls me Lovely)

I shake my head. “Disobedience is tricky, isn’t it? It isn’t a simple case of cause and effect. Do or don’t do. It’s motives, and meanings.” I pull out my note book, start scribbling down words.

Steve straightens his spine as if bracing for a gale. “Is there something you want to tell me, Bonnie?”

I point to the ground with my pen. “Your foot. Reminded me of Moses.”

Pastor Steve needs no further explanation. He switches tactics. “Would Moses buy this mini-van?”

Later, we’re driving home in our new mini-van. From the backseat, Ben hands me a paper from his backpack. “It’s about the penny drive for the school.”

I scan the note. I’m aghast. “You can’t participate in this, Ben!”

Ben and Steve speak as one. “Why not?”

“It’s unethical!” I wave the paper around like a manifesto.

Steve smiles at the traffic. “Mommy has been reading philosophy again.”

I cross my arms in front of me and adopt a schoolteacher voice. “Penny drives are exclusivist. They reward the wealthy simply because they are wealthy. And they punish the poor.”

Heather squeaks from the backseat. “I don’t want to be punished.”

Ben says, “Punished how? Like a spanking?”

Heather holds her breath.

I turn in my seat so I can face my children. “Meritocracy must be challenged at every opportunity.”

“I was wrong,” Steve says. “Mommy is reading sociology, not philosophy.”

I tap Heather’s knee. “Breathe Sweetie, no one is going to punish you.”

Her brown eyes shine. “I didn’t mean to be merry-talk-city.” She turns to Ben. “Did you?”

He shakes his head. “No way! I’m never going to be merry-talk-city.” He thinks for a moment. “Or smoke.”

Heather picks up his cause and points to the heavens. “Smoking is bad!”

Ben hollers, “Smoking must be challenged at every opportunity!”

Steve sighs. “You’re going to have them walking around slapping cigarettes out of people’s hands.”

I turn around and face forward. I stare at the paper in my hand. My voice is small and quiet. “Well, there are worse things they could do.”

That night I kiss my husband goodnight.

He says, “So you are writing about Moses?”

I stare at him as if he’d sprouted a third eye. “Why on earth would you think that? Moses?”

“You were thinking about Moses at the car dealership today. I figured. . .”

I flap my hand at him. “I’m not writing about Moses. Someone else has already done that. It was you kicking the tire that brought up Moses.”

He grins. “Must have been a macho, patriarchal sort of kick, eh?”

I think for a moment. “Are you aware how much early twentieth century Christian literature was misogynic?

Steve turns the light out. “Tell you what,” he says in the dark. “I won’t kick any more tires if you won’t keep me up half the night talking about misogyny and Moses. Deal?”

My mind whirls.

I bid you good ideas.

Discovering the Untamed Imagination

2010-04-01T09:04:00.003-06:00

I've said to family and close friends (so please, count yourself into whichever category of familiarity you feel most comfortable with) that the learning curve I've been on as a novelist has been vertical. There is so much to learn about writing, crafting words, structuring a novel, developing three dimensional characters, voice, oh the list goes on. And I'm enjoying this journey very much. I am nothing much more than a learner.

In the mix of learning my craft, I've been examining my creative process. How my mind works, how I connect ideas to characters, situations to words. This too, has been beneficial to my work as a novelist.

Lately, I've felt a holy urging to look more closely at my imagination. My untamed creative imagination. While not entirely un-tread territory, I'm moving further into the depths, asking questions, talking to other creative people (writers, but no only writers), and taking notes. It's been fascinating and unsettling. It would be lovely if I were able to be coherent and sensible as I communicate some of what I'm learning. Alas, I correctly doubt my ability to do so. I will therefore resort to those most sane looking bullet points that make any and all nonsense appear organized and helpful.

My most wild imagination is laminated to my unanswered questions. I've little doubt this fact is what stops many people from fully embracing their deepest creativity. It is fraught with angst and doubt. It asks questions our minds and experience have no answers for. It invites us to explore the questions with no promise of finding answers. It defies the concrete, the easily understood.
Creativity is raw emotion brought fully alive though story. This follows my first point. If I'm going to muck around in my unanswered questions, there is little doubt this will lead me to poke at some tender emotions. Loss, fear, religious doubt, anger. It will also bring me face to face with the parts of myself I have long been taught were "wrong" or, at least required to be "held in strong check". Passion, fancy, irony, ego. Nothing is untouchable.
Allowing my creativity full control of my writing is a moment to moment act of faith. My fear over what will happen if I simply let the story and ideas swirl and mesh as they will without my controlling action seems - frankly - too artsy fartsy to be useful. Isn't novel about structure, plot, time lines (heaven help me with time lines), and making sense?Yes, in finished form it is. But if I try too hard to craft ideas into what I envision as the finished form, I will miss the meat of the story. I will be in danger of contriving rather than creating.
I believe the story IS the message. My wild creativity doesn't allow me to superimpose a message onto a novel. It demands I go diving into the story for the story's sake. It tells me to trust that meaning and message will be found inside the story. It tells me I am not the one who decides.
I believe that once the story lands in the hands of the reader, it belongs wholly to the reader. It becomes your novel - and your interpretation of the events and their meaning are correct. In a recent Facebook live chat someone asked Yann Martel, "Who was Richard Parker? (the name of the tiger in Life of Pi) His answer resonates with my understanding of how art is completely transferable from artist to beholder. He said, "Who is Richard Parker? He can be what you want him to be: Pi, a part of Pi, God, Fate--or perhaps just a tiger. You decide, you're the reader. I'm just the writer."
It is not my job to tell readers what to think. It is not my job to tell readers how to live out their faith. I am not the author of holy writ. I am one of many writers privileged to contribute to the ongoing conversations of culture and human existence. (This is freeing for me. I don't have to be perfect - I only need to be honest)
The story that emerges from the depths of creativity is unwieldy, difficult. Not necessarily one that has "BESTSELLER" written all over it. I must make peace with the story, not my hope of becoming a bestseller. The wild creative isn't interested in being popular, it is interested in being honest. It is in sharing authentic transparency that the writer finds a multitude of readers who are, after all, fellow travelers on the journey.

I bid you good writing.

Scribble on the walls of life

2010-03-26T11:45:00.002-06:00

A writer friend of mine, Patti Hill, once wrote about an incident in her childhood where her imagination took her to places her Mother would rather they didn't. Ah, the logic of childhood. Remember the freedom you had to play, to become someone else, to transform the landscape (a backyard, living room, bed room, wherever) into a wild raging river, or jungle? Wasn't it grand? When did we stop doing that?

Rather - why did we stop doing that?

I know the bible passage too - 1 Corinthians 13:11 - "When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me." It makes bags of sense, to move out of childhood, into adulthood, leaving childish ways behind us. But where did we get the idea that the application of wild imaginations is childish? Just because it is employed in childhood, doesn’t mean it should be equated with childishness.

As children we used our imaginations to create new worlds – tiny ones, small enough for Barbie and her friends to inhabit, huge ones where all our neighbourhood friends could come and join in. As we imagined and created, we were learning – teaching ourselves the value of things like logical outcomes, fair play, justice, rules, inclusion. We were also fashioning our personal likes and dislikes, giving voice to our true hopes and dreams. We took reality and stretched it to it furthest limits and back again. We were having fun – but we were accomplishing so much more. We were learning how to live in the world by using our imaginations.

As adults, we would do well to remember the imagination of childhood.

I teach seminars based on my non-fiction book, Your Best You. It’s about finding your strengths and using them in all areas of your life. One of my strengths is daydreaming. Another is pretending. I love to daydream. In my daydreams, I’m the star of my own show and nothing happens without my say so. I have lots of fun in my daydreams – but they are more than goofing off. In my daydreams I am working out problems, rehearsing for conversations I’m nervous about, practicing for radio interviews, working out how I feel about a certain topic or issue. I’m having a lovely time, but I’m getting in touch with my real self and exploring a sometimes difficult world from a safe place.

In my pretending and daydreaming, I’m also giving full voice to my creative self. The controls of grown-up rules are less stridently applied. The world of “what if” opens at my feet and I’m free to follow the rabbit trails without fear of “making a mistake” or “getting it wrong”. There is no wrong in the realm of imagination. There is only discovery.

Pretending strengthens my faith too. Anyone who has written a novel can tell you, stories take faith. Writing without a net is the only way to go. Ray Bradbury said it perfectly when he admonished writers to “jump off the cliff and build your wings on the way down”. That is the faith of imagination – knowing with all your heart that when you jump off the cliff, you will, at some point, begin to soar. When I am thinking about a story idea, I spend lots of time thinking about what could go wrong for my characters – what challenges they will face. I never bother to think about how I will get them out of trouble. Pretending has taught me that my characters will find their own way out.

The imagination is a wild place – filled with untamed ideas. But it is not childish. It is a place the storyteller feels at home. It is the place where anything can happen – and should. Let’s embrace our forgotten creativity of childhood and bring it into our lives today. Let’s dance in our underwear, sing a song we just made up, giggle at our thoughts, mentally rearrange our landscape, create places only we know how to get to. Let’s give ourselves full, unbridled permission to play, imagine, daydream, pretend, and scribble on the walls of life.

Writer's Conferences - How to Play Nice with Others

2010-03-22T09:34:00.002-06:00

It's March already! Many writers from beginners to multi-published are sifting through information from various writer's conferences trying to decide which one(s) to attend (and a few of us have already attended a few this year!).

Wondering if you should invest in a writer's conference? Which one? How do you choose? I've assembled a quick checklist for you!

Playing Nice with People Who Intimidate You - or, how to not just survive, but thrive at a writer's conference.

Da Rules:

1) Align the conference you want to attend to writing goals This rule assumes a great deal of forethought prior to registering for a conference. As a writer, you are the CEO of your small business - an entrepreneur. It's important to have clear goals for what you want to accomplish as a writer and how you plan to accomplish them. Are you just starting out? You're in luck. Most conferences offer workshops for beginner writers - but ensure you sign up for the workshops that best fit with what you hope to accomplish. A workshop on writing Amish Memoirs may well be fascinating, but if you hope to write devotional books for computer nerds - you shouldn't waste time in the memoir workshop. The short version of this rule: Writer, know thyself.

2) Don't keep going to the same conference year after year out of habit. Routine and habit are fine for housework and memorizing the multiplication table, but creative types require fresh thought, stimulation, and adventure to keep the writing pipes running. I know, it's so great to get together with a gang of ol' writing buddies and catch up, but returning year after year to the same ol' same ol' does nothing to boost your creative effort. Are you looking to raise the bar on your writing? Check out some of the conferences you've been over looking all these years and take a chance. The short version of this rule: Think outside the box.

3) Stalking a specific editor or agent because God told you they will publish/represent you is always a bad idea. Conferences have systems in place that put writers and industry professionals together. Do everything you can to work within the system that is set up (e.g. fifteen minute appointments you can sign up for. Or submitting your ms ahead of time to a specific editor/agent in hopes they will want to talk to you about it during the conference). But even if the system isn't working for you and you can't get in to see that one person God TOLD you is THE one for you - don't lose heart. And don't follow them into the washroom. Relax. Be professional (no one wants to work with a writer who goes to extremes to get noticed). And remember - if God told you that you will be working with Agent-Amazing, you have nothing to worry about. He'll make it happen in His time. The short version of this rule: Have faith; be a pro.

4) Realize that pitching your book will feel weird - and get over it. You will only have a short time to talk to any single industry pro, and while it may feel strange to launch into a spiel straight away - it's actually helpful for the editor/agent/publisher you're talking to. Be professional - Sit down, shake hands and say, "I'm Joe Blow. I've written a 75,000 word Women's fiction titled There Goes Joe Blow. It's the Ya Ya Sisterhood meets The Stepford Wives." Give 'em what they want - the goods on your book. It will feel weird for about three seconds, then the editor/agent/publisher will say something back to you and you'll go - whew! I did it! I can do this! (But PLEASE don't say you wrote a fictional novel. Can't tell you how many times I've heard a new writer refer to her masterpiece as a fictional novel. No, no, no). Short version of this rule: Shoot from the hip.

5) If you get stars in your eyes, give them a rub and keep your agenda in mind. Some conferences are packed with multi-published authors we all gush over. It's fun to rub elbows with the likes of them - but remember, you aren't a tourist, you're on a journey to become a multi-published author yourself. Avoid gushing. It's actually awkward for the author or whoever it is you are gushing over. A smile, or handshake and a quick, "I enjoy your books. It's a pleasure to meet you" or words to that effect are perfect. Short version of this rule: Act like you belong (because you do!)

6) Multi-published authors want to help you, but they are not information cows to be milked. I attended a conference last year and was approached by an unpublished, but hopeful writer. She asked me for my professional contacts. I declined (I didn't know her, hadn't read her work). She asked again. I declined again. Later, she approached again and told me if I were really a Christian writer, I would share my professional contacts. Again, I declined. The exchange was uncomfortable, but I would do the same thing again. Publishing is about developing relationships. This takes time, but the rewards are lasting - and I don't just mean sharing contacts. The short version of this rule: Relationships first.

Now you: What's your question about attending a writer's conference? Do you have a tip to share? Leave a comment!

Figuring it out - Writing as a Journey

2010-03-04T09:33:00.006-06:00

With the bulk of the work on my next novel behind me, I'm looking up from my computer screen, stretching, and reflecting on the experience I've come through writing Time and Time Again.

I was talking to my fab-o editor, Nicci Jordan Hubert (otherwise known as the best editor a fiction writer could hope for), and I told her that this novel felt as if it has been ripped from my spinal cord. Writing it was a personal journey of creative self-discovery. I literally learned as I wrote - sometimes creating prose I was proud of, other times. . . not so much. In the end, it came together into a novel I'm proud to have written and excited to share with readers. And as difficult as the process was, I wouldn't change a single thing about it.

Being published doesn't mean you've figured everything out. In fact, I've learned that being on the happy side of published simply means you are presented with a new, previously unknown, learning curve. Every part of my journey has been about me figuring it out.

As I reflect on writing Time and Time Again, I have discovered some wonderful things about myself. The biggest discovery is how much I've yet to learn. I'm not daunted by the fact that I've so much ahead of me to learn. I've become comfortable enjoying the process. I wanted to share with you some of the things I've learned in hopes that some of them might help you as you're figuring it out as well.

1. Creative thinking is different. I'm a person of logic. Thinking in a straight line has helped me get through university, jobs in counseling and program development. It's helped me write a non-fiction book on how to discover and develop your strengths. I'm a straight ahead thinker - except when it comes to writing fiction. My creative thinking works circularly - not linear. I can't move from logical plot point to logical plot point in a straight line when I am creating fiction. Instead, I need to hover over and around an idea for a long stretch - breathing life and dimension into it until it stands on it's own feet. Then I can move on to the next part.

2. I don't think inside of timelines. A funny realization for someone who wrote a novel called Time and Time Again - but for me, story rises above time, outside of time. My brain is Brigadoon rising from the mists every few hundred years - it carries on, irrespective of time. This isn't the only reason I need a great editor to nail my feet to the floor, but it's a good one. Regardless of my good intentions, I never write enough time cues into my novels. Why? I think sequentially - but not in terms of time. This happens, then that happens. That's good enough for my creative mind. But it isn't good enough when I hope to bring readers along for the ride. I have a note on my computer screen reminding me to include time cues at the beginning of scenes.

3. I create fiction within a specific, tightly framed time frame. Okay, I just said I don't think in terms of time lines. True enough, but that hasn't stopped me from seeing a time pattern within my writing. My stories (thus far) take place between late spring and early fall. I'm a summertime gal! These months hold fascination for me. I'm Canadian, so winter often means a sort of semi-hibernation. Summer is where the action is. As I've reflected about this, I've come to discover that my most idealistic hopes, my favorite memories are in summer. Life happens in seasons - seasons of joy, sadness, wellness, loss, striving, or blessing (to name a few). It seems I am drawn to a literal season in which to tell my stories.

4. Blind faith works. I simply believe. I believe in my story. In my ability to tell it. In the reality of the novel finished and on the shelf. Even when the words come out cockeyed, or worse, don't come at all. I've wrested with the issue of writing fiction (anyone who has sat alone for a long period of time talking only to imaginary characters will understand the need to be absolutely sold out to the idea that what you are doing is important) as I wrote Time and Time Again. I had long talks with God about if this is what he truly wants me to be doing. I was willing to accept his answer whatever it may have been. And all the while, I wrote. Some good words. Some bad words. Edit, edit. Pray, pray. And I kept writing. Because inside my questions and doubt, I had faith.

5. I know my team is behind me. My teams begins with my family. My husband is the primary reason I'm able to stay at home and write. He believes in me. My kids, too. My "in the industry" team is behind me - and there is nothing like knowing the people who agent, edit, and publish you believe you will create something special. My publisher has sent surprise e-mails simply to say, "I'm a fan, and I'm praying for you." My editor has talks to me frequently, reinforcing her faith in our partnership. Having a team of people who care about me as a person has made all the difference. Boosted my faith, brightened my disposition, and helped me finish the novel. Everyone needs a team who believes in them!

How about you? What have you learned about yourself as you've journeyed into the world of fiction writing? How is the "figuring it out" process going? I'd love to hear your insights!

Novel Matters Opens Second Annual Audience with an Agent Contest!

2010-02-01T07:35:00.001-06:00

It's HERE! We are excited to announce the second annual Audience with an Agent Contest on Novel Matters! Our last contest yielded fantastic results with two authors seeing their manuscripts requested by Wendy Lawton.

This time around literary agent Janet Grant will be reading the top submissions.

Here are the official rules:

Our new Audience with an Agent Contest begins February 1, 2010. Submissions must be received at Novel Matters by April 15.
Finalists will be announced on May 15, and Janet Grant of Books & Such Literary Agency will announce a winner from the finalists on June 15.

You won't want to miss this remarkable opportunity. We look forward to your submissions. Please follow carefully the Guidelines below.

Guidelines:

Open to US and Canadian fiction writers
1 submission per person, fiction only
1 chapter, up to 20 pages, plus 1-2 page synopsis
1" margins, double spaced, Times New Roman 12 (synopsis may be single spaced)
Pages should be numbered and your last name and title should appear in the top left hand corner of every page.
Books & Such Guidelines apply
e-mail your submission to novelmatters@gmail.com. In the subject line, type: Audience with an Agent Submission
Attach your submission as a single file as Word document (one file containing BOTH your synopsis and first chapter)
Six submissions will be selected and sent to Janet Grant. Being selected does not guarantee offer of a contract for representation

POP - Making Copy Sing

2010-01-15T09:16:00.003-06:00

I'm in the oh so fun stages of my next book - the editing, the book cover (my publisher is wonderful about allowing me into the process), back copy, acknowledgements, finding endorsements. In other words, it's so much fun because it's the home stretch.

Funny thing about the home stretch - it's a tricky time. You can see the finish line, but you aren't there yet. It takes an extra burst of creative focus and effort to reach the end.

It's like going to the office the day before you leave for vacation. You arrive full of good intentions to clean off your desk, tie up loose ends, but mentally you are already frolicking on the beach. How much work actually gets done? Not so much.

Writing copy (the blurbs for back cover, media, catalogs, etc) is part of the home stretch experiences. Again, my publisher is awesome about inviting me into the process of creating the book - the copy is no exception. As the words flow between myself and the publisher, I'm aware how much effort it takes, on my part, to keep my head in the game. I'm close to the end of this book, but not yet finished. The details that happen now are every bit as important as every other step of the journey - bad copy translates all the way down the line and makes everyone's job more difficult.

Think about the sales team, working to sell a book to a retailer or distributor. With a good, well written, clear copy, they can get excited about the book. Bad copy means the sales team has to work harder, explaining the copy, assuring the customer it really IS a good book. It makes their lives miserable! No author wants to make salespeople's work more difficult than it already is.

That said, how do you ensure copy that sings? Some thoughts:

1) Keep your head in the game. Forget the finish line. Publishing is a marathon - not a sprint. It might feel like a finish line because you have completed the actual writing - but it isn't. Writing a book is one station on the marathon - there are miles to go, still.

2) Buddy up. Whenever possible, work with your publisher in creating copy. I said WITH them - don't fight them. Changes are your publisher has been writing copy for a long time and knows which elements need to be included and which don't. Ideally, you will have several people working on the copy - including your editor. Don't invite your Aunt Marge into the mix. Stick with the professionals and play nice.

3) Call on your muse. You're a writer. Get funky with your muse while writing copy. It is as much a creative act as writing the novel. I've been amazed over the past few years how many writers I've met who don't think and act creatively outside of writing a novel. Don't tell yourself to "think outside the box". You are a writer. There is no box.

4) Remember your high concept idea. Time tested novels have easy, universal high concept ideas which can be stated in one sentence. Yep. One. Short. Sentence. Now, some will say high concept = commercial (read: low brow), and sure, pop novels employ high concept. But that doesn't mean you should avoid using high concept just because you are writing fallooting literary works of the highest cerebral standard. If it takes you twenty minutes to tell me what your book is about, chances are I've fallen asleep standing up. Use your high concept idea as a guide in writing copy that speaks to the reader.

Now, I'm off to take my own advice! Writing is an adventure - keep your head in the game.

I bid you good writing.

Write Now. A View of Tomorrow

2010-01-01T20:32:00.002-06:00

We have a new year before us. There's something clean and hopeful about a new year. Fresh starts and all that jazz. Traditionally, it's a time for making resolutions. A more recent tradition is to poo-poo the idea of making resolutions this time of year.

To make or not to make resolutions - that is not the question. Either way, it can't be denied, we have a front row seat for tomorrow, and an opportunity to dream.

For the writer, the new year can mean an opportunity to stretch himself. The chance to write something difficult, daring, or cinematic. My hope for each of you is that 2010 is a year of intentional living. A year of examining what you do and why you do it in order to bring meaning and purpose to your life- and your writing.

And while I fall well within the camp that poo-poos making New Year resolutions, I want to share with you my intentional living goals for 2010.

1) Pray on a step-by-step basis about this roller coaster of an industry called publishing. This is about keeping short accounts with God this year - of keeping it real in my relationship with Him in order to serve His purposes (whatever they may be) and not my own.

2) Check my ego at the door. I've learned over the years that my life has very little to do with me. I gave my life away a long time ago, and I'm learning to hand it over to God in increasingly larger chunks as the years go by. I love writing fiction, I love learning the craft and pushing myself to improve as a writer and storyteller - but at the end of the day, it isn't about me. Galatians 6:14 is my verse in this matter.

3) Say no. Ugh. So hard to do. There are so many things that need doing - important things. How am I going to know what to say no to? See number 1. Then I have to pray for the ability to actually say no. So many appealing ideas and opportunities can come down the pike. But I'm only one person, and I can only do so many things before my eyes spin and my ankles wobble and my brain falls out my left ear. Ya know?

4) Relax. Anyone who works from home knows it's difficult to maintain the barrier between work and family life. I've noticed many times in 2009 when I missed opportunities to be fully present with my family (especially my gaffers) because of busy brain disease. I'll be using positive self talk, prayer, and family support to help me with this one.

5) Be a better writer. I've learned I'm a lousy multi-tasker. But I'm very good at taking one topic, going deep, and learning as much as there is to learn about it. That is my approach to improving my writing skills in 2010. I'll be focusing on specific aspects of novel writing, and going deep, learning as much as I can, and then putting it into practice. It may not be the fastest way to learn, but it's the way that works for me.

What about you? Have you a list for intentional living? What is on your top 5 of things you want to live out in 2010? I'd love to hear it!

Merry Christmas

2009-12-24T13:55:00.003-06:00

I'm no magi. I haven't wandered the better half of a year searching for unattained brightness.

My hands are empty - I bring no worthy gift for the child. I'm not one who has been called to participated in witnessing the fact of his flesh.

I stand at a distance, peering over the shoulders of the faithful - knowing I don't belong and yet compelled to remain. Oddly invited - hoping.

I have no gift. I have nothing to offer the child. Yet I am called to come close.

And I do. My cupped hands overflow with life that drips like myrrh and scents the air.

Merry Christmas to you and yours.

Best Moments of 2009

2009-12-18T09:48:00.005-06:00

What a year!

I've been reflecting on 2009 lately - a year end tradition for many of us, I'm sure. There is so much to be thankful for - here is my short list of fab moments:

January: Blog Novel Matters goes live. As life-changing relationships go, my friendship with these five authors is right near the top. The blog enriches my life, educates me, challenges me as a writer. The friendships of Sharon K. Souza, Kathleen Popa, Latayne C. Scott, Patti Hill, and Debbie Fuller Thomas are answers to prayer.

February: Party month: Heather turned six, Ben turned eight, Steve turned forty-six, and we partied like crazy.

March: Your Best You: Discovering and Developing the Strengths God Gave You releases. To celebrate, I hold a one day seminar in Saskatoon - a life-changing event for all of us. It was a privilege to be in the room and witness the things God was doing in the lives of the women present.

April: Travel to California to attend the career track at Mount Hermon. All six Novel Matters women attended. We inhabited two cabins, held nightly late night chats and readings (I LOVED listening to the authors read from their current works. Amazing!), and reveled in each other's company. Pure joy from start to finish.

May: Advance copies of Talking to the Dead arrive at my home. I hold a copy of my first novel and feel at a loss for words (always a problem for a writer). The words, "Thank you, God" are spoken often.

June: Talking to the Dead releases. Interviews, blog tours, radio, signings - a flurry of activity and fun. Reviews pile up - I'm overwhelmed with gratitude by the positive response to the novel. It had the joy of spending time with my amazing publisher Don Pape, and my editor, Nicci Jordan Hubert. We hung out in Ontario, ate great food, laughed, dreamed a little, laughed some more. Definitely a highlight!

Later that month Steve is ordained in a ceremony in Calgary - I kiss The Reverend.

July: Promotion for Talking to the Dead takes over life and limb - it is fun and fantastic. It is also the coldest July EVER and gaffers nearly freeze at swimming lessons at outdoor pool. Proud Mom moment: Ben learns to ride a two wheeler in one long (sometimes tearful) day. Way to go, Ben!

August: Talking to the Dead goes into third printing. New ideas/proposals for novels make their way to the page as I work on the outline for my next novel (coming 2010!). Hubby celebrates my birthday by giving me a framed cover of Talking to the Dead with a card signed by everyone at David C. Cook.

September: Heather starts grade one (Ben grade three) and I suddenly have full days in which to work! We take a road trip to Alberta where I teach at a writer's conference and present a two day seminar for Your Best You.

Talking to the Dead is chosen as a winter pick for She Reads - my introductory post spurs a heartfelt host of comments - 170 comments by the time we are done!

October: A Saskatchewan Your Best You seminar and the start of a seven week Your Best You small group helps women make a fresh start. Plans to take Your Best You to the inner city develop (we start Your Best You in the downtown core of Saskatoon January 29th!).

November: My first royalty cheque arrives! Much blinking and blinking, and thankfulness to everyone who bought a copy of Talking to the Dead. I'm amazed, humbled, and grateful to each of you!

Complete manuscript for new novel - Title? Time and Time Again (details to come early 2010)

Novel Matters and She Reads announce a partnership between blogs that will knit together the communities of writers and readers.

December: Ten thousand Christmas concerts/dinners/recitals for gaffers. They sing, dance, play piano, wear sparkly tinsel, memorize lines - and perform with aplomb (Mommy watches it all with teary eyes and a heart bursting with joy and pride). Talking to the Dead is listed in Rachelle Gardner's Favorite Fiction in 2009.

Yes, it's been an amazing, and sometimes exhausting year. You have been a huge part of making 2009 fantastic!

I bid you Merry Christmas, and good writing!

Fictional Faith

2009-12-09T14:08:00.005-06:00

I'm slung deep in my chair, an open bible at my elbow (the study version, large and serious looking - enough bulk to make me feel clever and knowledgeable), keyboard in my lap (cordless - I often type with my feet up. Sorry Mavis Beacon), and I'm thinking. And thinking almost always gets me in trouble. But. . .

It's a favorite past time. Daydreaming. Spinning ideas. But today, there is relish, today I'm thinking in one of my favorite ways to think - deeply, searching for the backdoor, tripping over potted plants as I skirt around the corner of thought only to be confronted with yet another intriguing question. I don't mind dead ends, I don't mind dark alleys, the questions too impossible for me to answer. I embrace it all and revel in the experience of the search, in the luxury of looking around my brain and the resources available to me to see what I can come up with - whale or sardine.

I'm thinking about a question my fabulous editor, Nicci Jordan Hubert asked me yesterday. We were discussing a character I have created, a fine fellow who features in my next novel. He is a Christian, this character of mine, and my editor asked me if I could explain why.

She said it, just like that. "Why is he a Christian? Why, with all he suffers, does he cling to faith?"

It's simply the best question I've ever been asked as a writer. And while it might be tempting to reach for the quick answers about faith being irresistible, and experiencing divine love being unarguable (and it is), it's always better for a writer to stop, breathe, and look closely at the question before attempting to answer.

This is what I have done - and this is how I find myself hunkered over my study bible reading the sparse details of OT theophany and NT incarnation (and yes, NT theophany too - they are in there!). Questions about faith drive me to my bible - they begin and end with God, assuredly - but writing fiction requires I open the pages of my bible without a preconceived idea of the answers. I must approach with an attitude that says, "Show me" rather than one that says, "Prove me right".

I write fiction, stories that are not true, in order to help all of us (including me - especially me) find courage to explore the facets of faith, the unfathomable depths of God, the mystery of union, the fierceness of love.

I don't write novels because I have the answers - but because I have questions, ones I think you might have too. Good questions worth exploring, confronting. I ask them, not with a fist to God's face, but with open, dirty palms of hope. I ask because I want to understand more about the God I can never fully comprehend. I know He is not afraid of my wondering, not cowered by my doubts, not changed by my wavering understanding. I write fictional faith in order to help me understand my own, very real faith.

In doing so, I've come to see scripture in new ways. I've come to appreciate (rather than overlook, or worse, dismiss) the mysteries I find inside God's word. As much as His Spirit illuminates, He also points to deep things - groaning things - unseen things caped within God's character. It is an invitation into places He knows I cannot fully understand, but He longs to share with me, with all of us. It is an invitation for all of us to enter in and explore the fullness of freedom that is found in Christ.

So I contemplate my editor's question. I give it long attention. I apply the brakes to my easy answers, my insta-knowledge, and contemplate, snoop, poke, and most of all ask questions. In writing fictional faith, I find my faith can be transformed.

I bid you good writing.

Great Day In The Morning. . .

2009-12-01T09:17:00.002-06:00

. . . as my Mother would say.

Yesterday was a slamming good day!

I FINISHED writing the new book. Wow! So cool, so exciting to write a book I love, but I have to say, that feeling when I have written a book I love is pretty great!

AND: We have a title. I'm very excited because I LOVE this title. It's just perfect. What is it? Ahh, soon and very soon, my friends, I will be able to share with you ALL - the title, the back copy (the little blurb on the back of a book) AND the cover. Yep, we are diving right in and starting work on creating a cover. I'm very excited about this - the same creative, brilliant people who created the cover for Talking to the Dead will be at work on this cover. It promises to be wonderful.

Another amazing great thing about yesterday was that over on Novel Matters, we announced a brand new partnership between Novel Matters and the wonderful book club blog She Reads. Hop on over and read all the details. There is definitely a place for you to join in with your thoughts, ideas, experiences - whether you are a reader or a writer (or both!).

I bid you good writing.

It's only because I love you

2009-11-25T18:15:00.003-06:00

Love makes us do wacky things.

Like avoid the blog and the readers I cherish -

You see, I'm writing a novel - my second novel, which releases in 2010. I'm at the tippy-tippy end, finishing up this story - and it's because I love you all so much that I'm neglecting you in order to finish the new novel which I hope you'll love.

Isn't love funny?

Know what's worse? I can't talk about the new novel for a few weeks until we get some details hammered out - like a title (titling is fun work, but it can be time consuming to get that perfect title. Lots of brainstorming with smart people).

Here is what I can tell you - it isn't a sequel to Talking to the Dead. Many of you have asked if there will be a sequel. The answer is: not so far. I've mapped out ideas on the next several books I'd like to work on, and a sequel to Talking isn't among them. But I've learned long ago to never say never. So I won't.

Some other bits I can share with you about the new book: It has alternating POV between two main characters - a man and a woman. Do you smell a love story? Hmm... hard to say. What is love, anyway?

The story is different from Talking to the Dead - but the emotional landscape is as rich and poignant. We'll cover some deep ground together in the new book - an experience I hope you will find meaningful, entertaining, thought provoking, and above all - a good read.

Happy Thanksgiving to all my American friends!

I bid you good writing.

Proverbs 31 Ministries and She Reads - Win an iPod nano!

2009-11-17T10:39:00.003-06:00

It was my privilege to write a devotion for Proverbs 31 as the feature author of She Reads.

I invite you to read the devotion, and I hope it is a blessing to you.

Leave a comment on the She Reads blog for a chance to win an iPod nano - loaded with cool goodies like the soundtrack to Talking to the Dead, a personal message from me, and whatever other cool and crazy thing I can think of.

I bid you good writing.

Booking Signing and Reading

2009-11-07T18:29:00.009-06:00

I had my first book signing and reading event right here in my home town of Saskatoon, at McNally Robinson Booksellers.

They do a wonderful job of setting up and welcoming the author. The book table was set up before I arrived and everything was in place, all we had to do was find a seat and enjoy the time together. It was lovely! My thanks to Nicole who set it up, did a wonderful intro and made me feel right at home.

Fun stuff, I thought I would share with you!

SheReads Winter Selections - Talking to the Dead!

2009-11-03T11:10:00.005-06:00

I'm thrilled to announce Talking to the Dead has been chosen as a winter selection of She Reads! This wonderful book club is passionate about connecting readers with fiction they will love. It is an honor to have my novel chosen as one of three winter selections. You are invited to learn more about She Reads (info below is from their website), and, of course, you are invited to join the She Reads book club and get connected to great fiction, authors, and readers! It's about making the most of your reading experience! Here is more info:

She Reads exists to honor Christ by connecting readers with novels that:

inspire through excellent writing
explore deep issues of faith
initiate change in the reader’s life

Each quarter, the She Reads book club will offer three current titles as featured selections. Readers have vast differences in taste and for this reason diverse genres and authors will be chosen, with a total of twelve books per year.

Why should I join She Reads?

Readers who join She Reads receive a number of benefits, including:

Connection with other readers on the She Reads blog who are passionate about great fiction and uplifting stories.
Information via the She Reads newsletter that will keep readers up to date on their favorite authors, and books, with a few surprises thrown in for fun.
Reviews of newly released titles written by a variety of readers, writers, and industry professionals.
Options to create a She Reads book club or bring an existing club under the She Reads umbrella.
Relationships developed within the intimate setting of a regular book club meeting.
Fun planned study guides with activities and interesting facts developed specifically for the She Reads book club.
Online Community for those who can’t participate in a monthly meeting (or don’t live near an existing club), via the She Reads blog and Facebook group.
Pre-selected novels they can trust and appreciate – an important aspect in today’s economy where every buying decision requires a second thought.
Access to authors they love through print interviews, meet and greets, conference calls, etc. Each selected author will participate in two conference calls with the first 100 guests (per call) who sign up. This will be a free service and a chance for readers to have their questions answered by the authors themselves!
Free books from time to time via contests, giveaways, and publisher promotions.

Who is running this thing anyway?

She Reads is an offshoot of Proverbs 31 Ministries, helping bring God’s peace, perspective, and purpose to today’s busy woman. As an organization, Proverbs provides leadership and technical support.

Literary Friendships

2009-11-01T16:57:00.006-06:00

Garrison Keillor began a web site dedicated to literary friendships. The introduction (and perhaps justifying statement) to the site reads thus:

"Writing is solitary, obsessive, and prickly, and that makes literary friendships all the sweeter. Here is a new series that celebrates affection and loyalty between solitudes."

I recommend Garrison's site to you if you are, like me, the type who enjoys a peak behind the drapes.

And while my name may not top bookstore marquees everywhere, and I am not bosom chums with Margaret Atwood, nor have I gone bowling with Alice Munro, I am a writer, and I know my life is improved by the company of other writers. I've talked before of my friendship with the five other authors of Novel Matters. I can't imagine my journey without them - they are mentors, cattle prods, cheerleaders, shoulders to cry on, friends in need, and secret keepers. When I am with them, I am understood.

Just this past weekend, my husband and I attended Story & Song with Adrian Plass and Glen Soderholm (an event put on by World Vision featuring Adrian reading and sharing stories to have you rolling under your seat with laughter and Glen playing his original, folksy, wonderful music). Prior to the event, hubby and I sat down to dinner with Adrian and Glen. I should have been nervous considering I've been a massive fan of Adrian Plass for ages - not only admiring and enjoying his books, but him, his ideas, his fearlessness, his depth of creativity. Yes, I should have been a quivering bag of fanatic groupie. But as we sat down at the table all four of us seemed to feel the same thing - that we were old friends who by some mistake hadn't met until just then and were glad to be catching up.

I have many wonderful memories of the conversation we shared over dinner, but one thing stands out for me - the writer. Adrian and I were standing to one side of the parking lot while my husband backed out of a tight parking spot. Adrian said, "I love so many things I do, but if I had to give them all up but one, writing would be the thing I would keep."

I said, "Really?"

He said, "Absolutely. I love writing. I love speaking too, and all the other things I get to do. But I love writing first."

I said, "Thank you, Adrian. I needed to hear that. This is a crazy industry-"

"I'll say," he interrupted.

We smiled.

I said, "But to hear you say you'd keep writing over anything else - well - I guess I'm not crazy after all."

He shrugged. "You might be completely insane, but not about that."

It's presumptuous to assume that one shared meal equates lasting friendship, but it is a wonderful start.

Oh and he said I am the best writer in North America (an important distinction for him to make, given he is from the UK). Don't believe me? I offer you proof! (The book is Adrian's latest, Looking Good, Being Bad: The Subtle Art of Churchmanship)

I bid you good writing.

Go Dave Go!

2009-10-28T08:52:00.002-06:00

David C. Cook is my innovative, forward thinking, culturally relevant publisher. I'm beyond proud and thrilled to be partnered with Cook.

From the moment I signed on with them, I was welcomed not just into the fold, but into the family. They took a Canadian prairies writer, clacking away on the frozen frontier, and gave her a sense of belonging, of being cared for.

Here is a video explaining yet another wonderful fact about this progressive publisher:

How to Say What You Mean and Mean What You Say - Word Choice for the Fussy Writer

2009-10-14T09:52:00.005-06:00

Today, I'm posting the second workshop I taught at a recent writer's conference. This one on the writer's favorite friend - words. Here, we revisit our old buddies and learn to sharpen our writing without dulling our sensibilities. Enjoy!

In our first fiction workshop we talked about concepts involved in crafting a novel – deep POV and subtext – related to showing vs. telling.

In this works

hop we’ll be looking at the building blocks of all fiction – words.

Writing is a competitive industry. It’s difficult to break into, and difficult to stay in after you’ve been published.

One of the best ways to grab the attention of an agent or editor is to be interesting. That may seem obvious, but you might be surprised how many hopeful novelists forget this rule. Today, I’m going to take you beyond grammatical sentences, beyond correct phrasing, beyond simple words, into the realm of “attention grabbing interesting” through the use of word choice.

I said this morning that all writing concepts are really large ideas crammed full of the concepts that comprise them – we talked about bubbles inside of bubbles. This holds true with word choice. Two bubbles that are, if not one inside the other, are at least stuck together and over lapping are word choice and voice.

I’m not doing a workshop on voice today – but it’s important to understand word choice in fiction as being germane to your voice as a fiction writer and to your characters. The words you choose to tell you story need to be words that fit with the voice of the characters, the era, the setting, and above all, with your voice.

But let’s not get all in a ball about that today. I throw it out there as a kind of beacon – as you grow as a writer, find your voice and practice fearless word choice, you’ll develop into the kind of writer editors and agents say yes to.

Two pieces of advice about words: Continually add to your vocabulary. Bring words into your stable often. Not just words you know the definitions of and can pronounce correctly if need be, but words that expand your everyday language. Words you reach for when writing need to be words you reach for when speaking. Improving your vocabulary will improve your writing.

Trust your muse. An industry has been built around teaching people how to write. This has been helpful to many, but more often it has been confusing. The new writer is left quivering in the corner uncertain which error he has committee (but he is certain he has committed an error) that means certain death of his beloved story. We’re a bit tied up in knots when it comes to the rules of writing. In learning the rules we’ve become bound by them. My strong advice is to learn the rules so that you and your muse can successfully bend them, and, at times, even break them. There is a huge difference between a writer unintentionally breaking a rule and doing so with purpose. And the reader always knows the difference.

If that advice makes your insides do the happy dance, may I suggest a writing book that will really get your belly in a polka. Spunk & Bite: A Writer’s guide to punchier, more engaging language & style by Arthur Plotnik. It's a wonderful book that will help you get your writer's funk on.

There are nearly endless choices of focus for a workshop on word choice, but I’m focusing on my top three:

Verbs and adverbs

Word crutches

My second favorite Trope

The goal of this workshop is to free your mind, and hopefully your creative muse, enough to take some writerly risks when it comes to word choice. I’m hoping to take the lid off the jar – allowing us to have some creative fun.

Verbs and adverbs – We’ve heard all sorts of rules about verbs and adverbs in our writing journey. What are some of them?

Passive verbs

Adverbs are evil

Two iron clad rules; Verbs – make them strong. Adverbs –don’t use them.

The reasoning is sound – strong verbs convey greater meaning and do not require help from a descriptive adverb, and adverbs do little shore up weak verbs. They aren’t as helpful as we might like them to be.

First things first – let’s talk verbs. Two major issues with verbs are “passive verbs” and “weak verbs”. We’ll start with passive verbs.

Passive verbs: What are passive verbs? What are passive verbs? How can we identify them?

A trick to finding passive verbs in your work:

1. Take a highlighter to your work and underscore each use of the verb “to be”: am, are, is, was, were, will be, has been, have been, had been, etc.

2. When you find a “to be” verb in a sentence – look for the subject of the sentence. Often, weak verbs happen because the subject of the sentence is misplaced within the sentence, or is missing from the sentence. The subject of the sentence is the thing that performs the action. It is the person responsible for the verb.

An example of a sentence containing a misplaced subject: The child was bitten by the dog.

The passive verb “was bitten” is our red flag. Then we look for the subject of the sentence, which is, of course, the dog. The dog is the subject because the dog did the biting – not the child. The subject must appear before the verb. Placing the object in front of the verb renders weak verbs.

This seems simple, but it can get tricky fast. Let’s look at the sentence I just gave you, that I hope you jotted down – if you didn’t, jot it down now. “Placing the object in front of the verb renders weak verbs.” Where is the object of this sentence? The object is the word “object” because is the thing the verb is acting on.

Where is the subject?

The subject is missing. The subject has been omitted from the sentence. The correct sentence would read something like, “If you (the subject) place (the verb) the object (the object) in front of the verb (the indirect object), you (subject) render (verb) weak verbs (object).

So a second thing to look for when you’ve discovered a weak verb in your manuscript, is an AWOL subject.

Sometimes, when I am crafting a compound sentence I will write the simple sentence first, and then add in the complexities I want. This keeps me on the active verb straight and narrow.

I don’t intent to cut the ends off your creativity by insisting you format every sentence you write following every rule of grammar all the time. What I am suggesting is you master this rule of strong verbs, so that while you are crafting creative sentences you don’t risk losing your reader with passive verbs. Most of us have heard the saying, said tongue in cheek, “Mistakes were made”. The verb is passive, the subject is missing – but it’s funny precisely because it is a vague non-admission of guilt. You can see parents coming home after an evening at the opera, only to find the main floor trashed by their teenage son and his friends. The boy turns to his shocked parents and says, “Mistakes were made.”

It breaks the rules – but it does it on purpose and it works.

For those of you hard core learners - check out this link that talks about a specific system regarding passive/vague verbs:

Okay, that was a glance at passive verbs. Now we’ll look briefly at weak verbs – don’t panic – remember, I’m posting this workshop on my blog later. You’ll be able to read through it at your leisure. For now, we are getting our hands dirty, working with these concepts, which will help you when you revisit the workshop later. Okay! Weak verbs.

We can weed passive verbs out of our manuscripts and still be left with weak verbs. What makes a verb “weak”? I’ve done a fair amount of reading about weak verbs – and while there are technical answers rooted in grammar, for the writer, the answer can be distilled to this: weak verbs are general in nature, strong verbs are specific in nature.

Some examples:

The nurse hurried down the hall.

“hurried” is vague. It doesn’t help us picture the nurse as she moves down the hall. It isn’t technically incorrect – it isn’t “wrong” to say she hurried, but there are sharper verbs we could use. Verbs more specific to the manner in which the nurse hurried down the hall.

If I said “The nurse smashed down the hall” – it paints a brighter picture, both of the action and of the nurse. I’m picturing a wide set woman in whites, elephanting her way toward the double doors at the end of the hall. It adds specificity of action and character.

If I say, “The nurse trotted down the hall” – it conveys a less harried situation, she’s moving more quickly than walking, but it drains the sentence of tense, urgent movement. The specificity of the verb tells the reader how to feel about the scene.

When I post this workshop on my blog – I’ll include exercises for you to try. For the sake of time, we need to press on to the next verb related category:

Adverbs are words that describe the verb, they are easy to spot because they most often sport an –ly ending.

We’re told to expunge our work of –ly words. This is solid advice. For those of you who took this mornings fiction workshop, use of adverbs often translates into a form of “telling” rather than showing. In general, the overuse of adverbs is frowned upon in the industry.

I emphatically suggest you review your work and omit almost all –ly words from your manuscript. Strong verbs – which we’ve just talked about – do not require a descriptive – in fact, paring an adverb and strong verb weakens the verb. Editors often refer to this as “padding a sentence”.

Let’s revisit our nurse sentence with a strong verb:

The nurse lumbered down the hall.

The verb lumbered is strong – it’s visual, packed with meaning.

If I added an adverb: The nurse lumbered heavily down the hall – how important is the contribution of the adverb to the meaning of lumbered?

It isn’t. Lumbered carries within it the meaning “heavy” – the reader doesn’t need it underlined.

When you omit adverbs from your manuscript, you’ll often need to replace your verb with a strong verb – a verb that is specific in it’s meaning.

Remember: Strong verb = strong meaning.

However! While gunning for adverbs can be a writer’s sport, the rule against using them can feel confining. Some of us may feel it dampens our muse. Here is a trick taken from Art Plotnik’s Spunk & Bite which helps us make peace with our –ly friends.

“Take a forceful adjective, add –ly to make it an adverb, combine it with the target word, and voila!

The example in the book is this: the strong adjective: withering. Add an –ly. Combine it with a target word, say cute – and you’ve created a “burst of wry wit, a mini-statement. Witheringly cute.

Practice by choosing one or two of these strong adjectives and pairing it/them with a target word of your choice:

Lavish

obnoxious

scrawny

wounding

thundering

My examples: “Lavishly exclusive” “Obnoxiously kind” “Scrawnily intelligent” “Woundingly beautiful” “Thunderingly scant”

Omitting adverbs is a good rule, but don’t sacrifice your muse on the alter of correctness. Learn how to bend the rules to create memorable writing that works. Loosen up and have some fun sometimes. Adverbs, used sparingly and with expertise can add oomph and interest to your work.

Leaving the world of verbs – let’s talk about another bugaboo that plagues the pages of every writer’s novel:

Word crutches: Writers have words and phrases they use repeatedly – these are referred to as word crutches. In her article, Targeting Enemy Words, Sandra Miller defines crutch words as:

“words that you fall back on when you can't find a better one--or when you are hoping to dilute the force of what you are really saying. Crutch words are especially likely to come out when you write about a subject that you fear will upset your readers. Every writer has different crutch words they rely on.”

Some of my crutch words are “bit” as is, 'she felt a bit suicidal', and I have a few weak verbs that are word crutches for me: “took”- when I edit my day’s writing, it’s not unusual for me to find my characters tooking all over the place. They took steps toward things, then took more steps away, they took things away, took things to heart, took control, took a break – blah blah blah – too much tooking. “Went” is another crutch word I expunge regularly – “she went to the sink, stripped and went to the backyard.” Too much wenting to be interesting reading.

Everyone’s crutch words will be different. If you do the work of cleaning up your manuscript by cutting passive verbs, replacing weak verbs and executing 99% of adverbs – it will be much easier to spot your crutch words – you won’t be wading through thick jungles of wordiness.

To find your crutch words read your manuscript and highlight words that appear frequently, especially in the same paragraph. Make a list of words that you use often. This will serve as a reminder as you’re writing, not to fall back on old friends, but to reach for clarity of meaning by using the appropriate word for the circumstance.

Repeating words stand out to a reader. I’ve read novels I loved, but found word crutches that stood out. In one YA fantasy novel I read recently the word “thrummed” appeared too often for comfort. It’s a stand out word, not often used in modern speech, so it’s use stood out. In another book I read by a favorite author, I couldn’t help notice the word “black” used over and over. Granted, it may have stood out more to me because use of the word black is used less often in recent years and the book I was reading was dated, but the author used the word a few too many times – and it became a word crutch.

Also look for phrases or actions that repeat too often. If you are writing a tear-jerker, for example, you may find yourself with characters who are constantly tearing up, shedding tears, choking back tears, spilling tears, jabbing at tears with a tissue, wiping away tears – see how repetitive it becomes?

Writer’s need to reach around the words, phrases, and verbs that sit at the front of our imaginative shelf. We need to reach for fresh, interesting words and phrases that tell the story and make the reader sigh with joy.

Discovering your word crutches can be eye opening, but it must be done – and it must be done for each manuscript you write. Just because the words: dangerous, never, and alarmed were crutch words in your last novel about a fairy from the underworld on a murderous spree in modern Chicago, doesn’t mean they will be crutch words in your new novel about an expatriate Russian princess turned arms dealer in the Cold War era. They might be the same, but I guarantee you’ll find new ones with each story you tell.

Speaking of fresh and interesting phrases – we’ve arrived at our last category -

Tropes: A literary trope is a common pattern, theme, motif in literature, or a figure of speech in which words are used in a sense different from their literal meaning.

Two popular tropes writers use are simile and metaphor – we’re going to touch on simile today. Originally, I’d thought I would teach on both simile and metaphor, but the as I prepared for this workshop, I realized I couldn’t do the metaphor justice in this format. It’s a workshop in and of itself – so I’ve settled on talking about my second favorite trope, the simile.

But first:

What is the difference between a simile and a metaphor?

Similes make explicit comparisons – home feels like paradise

Metaphor implies the comparison. – The place God forgot

Writers tend to use these two types of trope most often. Pretty straight forward stuff, in some ways, but again, the trick here is to be fresh and apt.

Similes are fun – second favorite or not, I love them and use them often in my writing. While writing we can reach for all sorts of comparisons and illustrations that sound savvy, funny, iconic, or what have you – but the question needs to be asked: does this simile play nice with the other concepts, characterizations, and themes in the book? Or does it stand out like a prom queen in army boots?

Obviously, I’ve just used a simile. What makes this simile work? What makes it apt?

It exemplifies the counterintuitive – this isn’t something we’d expect to see –

But, It’s specific, we can picture it. We can see a lovely girl thumping around the dance floor in clunky boots.

The prom queen simile works also because it highlights the problematic ways trope use could stand out – awkward, even ugly. The simile is tactile, sensory, slightly wry.

I’ve read similes like, “His smile was like the wind over the sands of the Sahara.” The sentence continued, explaining the trope: “vast and impersonal”.

The simile falls flat – it doesn’t work.

Here’s a hint – if you need to explain your simile or metaphor, you need a new simile or metaphor. If your simile requires you to defend why you put the two ideas side by side, then to two ideas don’t belong side by side. Look for a better simile. Although, I could have almost forgiven this author if his explanation of the simile was because the man’s smile was “gritty”, or “eroded”. Almost. But not quite.

Three questions to ask yourself when crafting tropes is to ask yourself:

Does this bring clarity?

Does this fit with and respect the rest of the novel in some way?

Would the scene be better without out it?

This is the rub for every writer – to be original and interesting without crossing over to the dark side of tropes where a manuscripts becomes padded with pithy phrasing and zippy similes. Clever trope isn’t a substitute for great writing filled with motion, meaning, and story. But when it’s right, – such as this one, found in Martin Amis’ Yellow Dog, “Her head dropped by degrees, like the resilient jolts of a second-hand” – when it’s right like that is, then your work sings.

I bid you good writing.

Writing Workshop: Show VS. Tell

2009-10-09T11:15:00.006-06:00

I was in Edmonton last week, teaching fiction at a writer's conference. Because I am a meanie and don't provide my workshop participants with handouts (it helps us to focus on the material when we are forced to make notes, and it helps us to organize what we are learning), I promised I would post both the workshops I taught on this blog.

I hope all my readers will find something in these workshops that help them on their writing journey.

The first workshop I taught was on Showing VS. Telling in fiction writing. It introduces two components of the concept - POV and subtext. Enjoy!

Showing VS. Telling in Fiction Writing

Let’s begin at the beginning. What do we already know about Showing Vs. Telling in fiction writing?

*Fill in your understanding of the concept here: _____________________ *

Like all aspects of writing the concept of showing vs. telling has multiple layers. Showing vs. Telling is a concept we pull out of the context of the novel in order to examine it closely, but in doing so we find that it is not a simple disconnect. It is, in fact, made up of several components of writing. It isn’t a concept that can be talked about with accuracy apart from the concepts that comprise it.

So, if we look at the concept of showing vs. telling as a bubble, floating above our heads. We can grab hold of the bubble, and pull it towards us, examine it from different angels. But when we look inside of the bubble, we see it actually has several other bubbles inside. They work together to fill out the larger concept, the give the bubble shape and meaning – substance. Then, well see that this bubble called show vs. tell is part of an even larger bubble. Okay, let’s all sing Tiny Bubbles.

The purpose of this workshop is to look inside the bubble of Show vs. Tell, and discover some of the inner bubbles that give the concept it’s shape and meaning.

Myth busting 1: Showing is all about describing what a character is doing.

Our first stop, though, is to do some myth busting – the myth that showing means describing what a character is doing.

The most typical answer to the question, “What is showing vs. telling” is something along the lines of “telling is stating something happens, showing is describing what happens.” And while that definition is, in some ways, technically correct – it misses the point, and makes it easy for writers to miss the point as well. It isn’t enough to describe events in detail – there must be a purpose for both the details you are describing and the characters that are performing the actions.

Here is an example of from an unpublished work – the author will remain anonymous - that adheres well to the mythical definition that showing means “describing”:

**She hurried down the path toward the dark palace, the cloak draped over her arm. The birds over head sang their goodnight song. She shouldn't have stayed so long at her friend's house. She walked faster, picking the hem of her skirt up with her free hand. She pushed a low hanging branch out of the way as she hurried past. She reached an opening in the trees that lead to the valley that would take her to the doors of the palace. She stopped and draped the cloak over her shoulders and tied it at her throat. She checked inside the bag that was slung across her torso. Fire sticks, water, a small cloth, her Father's book of Hope and a forgotten apple.

She pulled the apple out of the bag and bit into it. She made quick work of the apple and threw the small core and stem into the forest behind her. She slapped at her dress, removing most of the dust from it's folds, then took the small cloth from her bag and wiped at the stains around the hem of her dress. She replaced the cloth and stepped into the grassy meadow. It was wet with evening dew. She picked up her skirts and rushed on toward the place gates. **

This is a great example of a writer employing the definition that “showing” is giving all sorts of details about what a character is doing. We hear some lengthy descriptions here – she is moving all over the house, doing housework – there is a hint here and there that there is some sort of reason she’s doing this. The scene mentions exposed nail heads – obviously pictures taken off the wall. Lots going on in the scene. And it talks of all sorts of movement – but for all the detail about what she’s doing, it’s still telling. It’s flat. A list of mundane activities being spelled out in succession. This is an example of why showing isn’t just description of what is happening. It mostly ends up as over explaining things the reader doesn’t need explained.

What’s missing? I’ll tell you now there are two things missing here we will be looking at in detail, two bubbles inside our larger bubble, but they aren’t the only things – What do you see in this passage that makes it “telling” instead of “showing”. (jot down their ideas) – just talk about what you see – you don’t need to use technical literary terms, that’s not what this is about. Plain English works fine.

POV as part of showing:

The author has substituted Point of View (POV) with teasing the reader.

POV is a pillar of “showing” – it’s a brace for the concept, because POV not only introduces characters to the reader, it grounds the reader immediately, creating a safe and trustworthy place for the reader. It isn’t enough to be able to picture what a character is doing – we need to care about the character, relate to her, and feel an interest in finding out more. We need POV immediately. Not only do we want to see POV right away, we, the readers, want to see deep POV.

Let me talk briefly about deep POV - The publishing industry has been moving toward deep POV for the last few years – this is in contrast with the omniscient POV of the past. A couple of important points about deep POV – you might want to make a note of this – it isn’t about first person vs. third person or if you write in present tense or past tense. Deep POV is the presenting characters in a well rounded sense, utilizing character information from their mental, emotional, psychological, and spiritual aspects. It’s a multi-dimensional presentation of character that begins the moment the novel opens and continues to develop until the end of the book.

Another point about deep POV – it isn’t referring to just the lead character. This is a bit confusing, because we talk about a book being told from a certain POV – the main character. But all that is, is naming the protagonist. What we are talking about today is the writing skill and tool of deep POV.

But all of your characters have deep POV and they all need to explored in your novel from start to finish. Even though you won’t tell your story through the voices of every character in your book – they still have POV. All of us, in this room, have a specific POV – and all of this plays an equal part in the event we are experiencing – all of us comprise the bigger picture of this workshop.

A great article on deep POV, written by the wonderful and talented Camy Tang is found here: http://storysensei.blogspot.com/2005/11/deep-point-of-view.html

Read it when you get home – it makes bags of sense and will help you both technically and artistically understand deep POV.

Let’s get back to our example. The author of this scene tells us the character hurries and races, but there is nothing to ground us to the character – who is she? What is she thinking? Why are her actions important to me as a reader? There is no glimpse of the inner world of this character. The closest we get is the line: “Maybe it’d been a bad idea to go out of her way for the freshest green beans.”

But, in the end, it leaves us flat – it doesn’t give us an insight into the character, only that she bought green beans sometime before this scene took place. It’s just telling us some information. The reader is being spoon fed information, rather than being allowed to explore the scene, the character and the meanings behind the actions.

The excerpt demonstrates the major problem with typical surface explanations of show vs. tell is it often translates to long, detailed text describing dull things without giving the reader the “why” of what she is doing. It doesn’t let us care about the character and therefore is flat, a dull list of household chores. Showing is about helping the reader understand, care about the scene, and draw us into it through our senses by the proper use of deep POV.

Now let’s read an excerpt from Talking to the Dead.

Talking to the Dead by Bonnie Grove

**I rambled through the main floor of my small house that night. Earlier, the sunset had thrown prisms onto my walls, but now it was dark. The only light came from the streetlamp shining through the front window, turning my walls the color of muddy floors. Normal people were sleeping. But I wasn’t normal, not anymore. Several times that night I stood at the bottom of the stairs that led to my bedroom. I gazed up into the darkness of the second-floor hallway, but I couldn’t climb the stairs. Couldn’t lift a foot to the first step. It was as if my desolation had multiplied the power of gravity. I was stuck.

My body was somnolent, but my restive mind barked out orders to keep moving, stay awake, stay watchful. I paced on rubbery legs, longing for unconsciousness. My mind, luminously awake, sewed blindfolds of anger and forged a strong rope of despair. Bound and helpless, I spoke: “Kevin?” Only the ticking of a clock responded. I picked up a cushion from the sofa and hugged it like a lost love. “Kevin, are you there?” I waited for an eternity. I closed my eyes and concentrated on trying to hear his voice. I listened until my head hurt. The silence whistled to me. **

Can you see the difference between the two scenes when it comes to use of deep POV? What are some of the things you notice about this excerpt in relation to POV?

Write your stunning insights here: _________________________________________

The use of deep POV grounds the reader in the scene – we are no longer watching a character perform a series of tasks – although, there are still a series of tasks she performs – rather, we are “in” the scene with her, feeling the weight of sleep deprivation, of grief, of helplessness and false hope. All of this is “shown” instead of told, in part by use of deep POV, giving meaning and purpose to the actions the character performs – there is a purpose, clearly stated, for what she is doing. But at the same time builds emotional interest, and shows us something deeper is going on – in other words – it is showing.

There is one more excerpt I want to share with you – this one is to prove there are no excuses when it comes to using POV as part of showing. This is the opening paragraph from Latter-Day Cipher by Latayne C. Scott.

**There on the damp pine needles, Kirsten Young lay on her back, a serene Ophelia in her dusky pond of blood. The dark irises of her bloodshot eyes stared unseeing into the branches above her. The sun had burst through the clouds after the sudden downpour and now blazed above the canopy of conifers and aspens in Provo Canyon. Deep in its recesses, the light filtered down in vertical sheets of champagne dust that played across the body.**

Aside from being exquisitely well written, this is a fantastic example of POV in the most difficult of writing circumstances. Even though the first character we meet is dead, a body on the forest floor, we are still immersed in the scene by the skillful use of POV. The woman is dead and yet we feel her presence – even look up into the branches overhead with her.

Interestingly, as the scene continues, we find the real reason why we, the readers, are so firmly planted in this eerie place - we are viewing it from inside the POV of the killer. A wonderfully chilling bit of expert writing that moves us effortlessly into deeper and deeper POV.

Myth busters #2 – You should never use Telling.

There is a piece of “telling” in this scene, and it uses telling in exactly the right way. The author gives the name of the place we are standing, “Provo Canyon”. Latayne just tells us – just says it. But it is using telling correctly. It would have been mundane and dull if she had launched into a lengthy description of a canyon – this is a thriller, we don’t need lengthy scenery descriptions, we just need to know where we are. Secondly, the name of the canyon, “Provo” tells us what we need to know about the setting – we’re in Utah. This serves as foreshadowing, this is a novel involving Mormonism.

So that was our myth busting –

Part II

Moving to the next bubble – away from POV -

What is interesting about the excerpts from Talking to the Dead and Latter-Day Cipher is how they invoke emotion in the reader.

Emotions as subtext

Let’s talk about emotions – Emotions are the hot button in fiction. When it comes to showing vs. telling, emotions are key. This is going to lead us into the second bubble we are focusing on today – the first bubble was POV, the second bubble is subtext. But before we get into the gritty details of subtext, lets ease our way in by looking at emotion. Emotion is a good doorway into subtext.

The following is an excerpt from an unpublished work.

**The sun high in the sky. Waves of heat rising from the sand, but he didn't feel the burning. He walked, step by step over the sand. Careless interest changed to fear as he looked toward the horizon. A wave of wind and sand approached from the distance, heading toward him. He looked around him for a suitable place to hide, but found nothing but flat sand. The frightening presence of the sand storm swept closer.

Terror urged him to run - but to where? In what direction? He turned his back to the swell of sand and ran.

From somewhere—his own lips?—came a scream shrill with panic.

The wind picked up around him and his own heart’s hammering pounded in his ears. He fought to control his stark horror as he tried to out run the encroaching sand storm.

In a moment of stark horror, the storm was upon him. He cried out in agony, "Save me!" **

Focusing on emotions -What about this scene makes it “telling”?

I hope that you’ve noticed that deep POV is missing in this scene as well – the reader is left to guess at the character’s inner world and can’t make much sense of what his happening. It would be a good idea to study this later at home to help you understand deep POV.

But what we’re focusing on here is the emotions in the scene.

The author assigns emotions to the character: Terror, panic, stark horror.

Naming emotions often translates to “telling”.

It doesn’t connect us to the event experientially – the reader doesn’t dwell inside the experience of running through deep snow – we’re simply told about it in general terms. Horror is a better genre description than emotion. Terror – what does it mean? What does it feel like? Where do you experience terror in your body?

Naming emotion usually is “telling” as opposed to showing.

Her is an example of showing emotion from Sharon K. Souza’s debut Every Good and Perfect Gift:

**Jonathan took DeeDee to her appointment on Tuesday morning to go over the results of all her lab work, while I kept the baby. My stomach churned the whole time they were gone, and I paced like a pent-up puppy.**

I like this passage for a couple of reasons – one, it is an example of effective use of telling – Jonathan took DeeDee to her appointment. . . etc.. It’s one short sentence that gives us the details we need in order to move on with the story – she doesn’t catch us up in un-needed details. Then, in the next sentence, Sharon invites us into the character’s emotions through the art of showing – she doesn’t name the emotion, but we all understand perfectly what the character is feeling.

That isn’t to say its always wrong to name an emotion in fiction.

Here is an example of naming an emotion that works:

Fallen by David Maine

**The words settled around his heart like an infection. That might have been the turning point, Cain thinks now. As he has thought many times over the years. That might have been the moment when he decided, at age fourteen, that one day he was going to have to kill his brother. Not for humiliating him, no. His father had done that. But for saying he deserved it.**

An emotion is clearly named: humiliation. But with that last short sentence “But for saying he deserved it”, gives the reader an emotional chill, it adds a dimension of something hot and boiling under the simple words – something dangerous.

And that was accomplished without naming the emotion – it’s implied and comes to the readers attention through the backdoor – it comes through subtext.

Subtext is more easily recognized by its absence - oh blah, the story is flat and clichéd - than it is by its presence -the words lingered long after I put the book down.

In his book, The Art of Subtext: Beyond Plot, Charles Baxter says subtext is ". . . the realm of what haunts the imagination: the implied, the half-visible, and the unspoken." He also uses the phrase, "unspoken soul-matter".

It may sound mysterious, but it isn’t as vague as it may sound at first brush. It is the art of leaving something unsaid about the stated theme and mood of the book. Your story has a plot, setting, a theme, a message – all of which are stated in the book, through story and the things you explore.

Subtext is used to paint depth of meaning into the pages of your story. It is felt by the reader even though the subtext isn’t explicit. It is the ultimate tool of showing vs. telling.

Rather than me giving definitions of subtext – we’re going to look at one quick example and then we’ll do a short exercise.

In Gilead, Marilynne Robinson creates John Ames, a Reverend, elderly and ill who writes to his too young son about his life in hopes of imparting something of himself to the boy who will grow up without his father. Listen to all that is not said here:

Gilead by Marilynne Robinson

"And memory is not strictly mortal in its nature, either. It is a strange thing, after all, to be able to return to a moment when it can hardly be said to have any reality at all, even in its passing. A moment is such a slight thing. I mean, that its abiding is a most gracious reprieve."

The themes in Gilead are forgiveness, and restoration. They are about reconciling ourselves to the truth of who we are and who other people are. But the thread of yearning for the one thing he cannot have – more time with his wife and son – runs throughout the novel in subtext. Even though he has accepted the truth – he will die soon – the faint echoes of loss and yearning are poignantly felt by the reader.

Subtext whispers the deeper or hidden things though absence, or hinting that something deeper is going on. It brings meaning to dialogue and character development, and adds dimension and interest to the story. Its one of the elements that makes the truly story compelling.

Let’s try an exercise:

A character says, “I don’t understand why you’re arguing with me.”

Imagine a scene – a snapshot in your mind where one character is saying this to another character. (get examples – look for characters, context, setting, back story). Very quickly – what are you seeing in your snapshot?

Now, think about the same line of dialogue, but add a subtext of meaning – the character says the same line, but the subtext. What the character is feeling underneath the statement is “I want you to love me.”

The character delivers the same line, but the subtext is his or her need to be loved by the other character.

What changes in your scene when you add the subtext of “I want you to love me”?

Something that would change for me would be the way the character is standing, perhaps her posture, or what she does with her arms and hands. The expression on her face changes, the tone of her voice – the way she says the words, not in the clipped tones of someone in charge, but in pleading bleats that trail off, and lack conviction.

Subtext isn’t willy nilly – you don’t grind it into a scene just because you can. It connects with your plot, and with each character. It whispers specific meanings of your overall theme – subtext ties the book together as a whole one scene at a time.

This has been a brief introduction to two components of compelling storytelling – deep POV and subtext – two bubbles inside the larger bubble of ‘showing vs. telling’. It’s a lot of information to take in in one sitting, but fear not – you have the Camy Tang article which will help you understand deep POV better – and this workshop will be posted on my blog (www.fictionmatters.blogspot.com) in the next week or so, for you to read over, print off – or ignore as you choose.

Thanks for sitting in today.

I bid you good writing.

A Conferencing We Will Go

2009-09-23T14:14:00.003-06:00

I'm hitting the dusty trail - to Edmonton, Alberta for the Inscribe Fall Writer's conference where I will be teaching to workshops on fiction and giving a fancy speech at the end of the conference.

If you are in the area (or want to be) find out all the details on the Inscribe site.

I'll be teaching on showing vs. telling in fiction - highlighting deep POV and subtext as components intrinsic to the concept. In the afternoon, I'll teach about language use, how to get your point across in a way people will care about. In this workshop I'll focus on a triad of concepts: Verbs - passive and weak (they aren't necessarily the same thing)/Adverbs, Tropes, and Word Crutches. (psst...there may be a few surprise give-aways in the mix!)

I'll be topping the day off with a farewell plenary that is sure to bring the house down. Or at least clear it out.

I'm looking forward to a time of schmoozing with writers, seeing some old friends and making some news ones. My books will be for sale at the conference bookshop as well.

I'll be posting my fiction workshops on this blog in the near future as well - so if you can't make the conference, you can still benefit from my vast, unstoppable knowledge. *tongue firmly in cheek*

I bid you good writing!

The Book Plotted Itself - Latayne C. Scott (guest blogger)

2009-09-18T10:00:00.006-06:00

Okay, I mentioned to you all that I'd asked some friends of mine, "How do you know an idea you have is 'novel-worthy'? What is your process for taking a germ of an idea and turning it into a novel?"

My good friend Latayne C. Scott (we are part of a wonderful six author blog -

Novel Matters), author of Latter-Day Cipher (and the non-fiction The Mormon Mirage), shot me an e-mail with a remarkable sketch of how she took a handful of characters she loved and turned them into a book.

It's interesting to note that she began, not with a story gem, but with characters. Imaginary people who, when she woke up in the morning are already wide awake and waving at her, ready to get to work. It's lovely when that happens, but problematic when the author has no story for them to jump into (and dangerous if Luigi Pirandello is to believed).

Latayne said,

"Here's how I plotted a novel recently:

I had the characters in mind. I started with, "What if?" for each of them.

Then I said, "Well, if that, then this...."

"Which would certainly lead to this......"

"And no one would expect this, but would see how it could have, and should have happened......"

"And then this would have to happen to deal with that...."

"And for me to be satisfied with the ending, I'd have to resolve these issues."

And it plotted itself, no kiddin' !"

****

This is a wonderful breakdown of the keys to good plotting. It is a logic thread that can sometimes get lost in the myriad of layers and subtext. Great novels have plots we can follow and understand logically. This grounds us as readers, and helps us trust the author when the story goes in an unexpected direction, or gets emotional, or tense, or whatever else happens.

I love this simple, effective, no nonsense sketch. We should all print it out and put near our computers or our bookshelves!

I bid you good writing.

Idea to Novel - Guest Blogger Rick Acker

2009-09-12T10:16:00.008-06:00

I asked some writer friends of mine to share their process of taking an idea and turning it into a novel. Everyone is different, and has a different process, but one thing all novelists have in common is lots of ideas running around our brains. How do we weed out the merely interesting in order to nurture the truly compelling?

Rick Acker is here today to share a bit of his process. He's the author of Blood Brothers and Dead Man's Rule. Rick has been on the blog before, and he and I had a chance to yak and break bread at Mount Hermon this past April. It was great to get to know him a bit better - for a guy who works for the justice department, he wasn't the least big scary! You can find out lots more about him and his books at his web site.

Rick Acker writes while commuting to

and from his "real job" as a Deputy Attorney General in the California Department of Justice. He is the author of four published suspense novels and has a fifth under contract. Only one of his story ideas has failed to sell after reaching the proposal stage, though lots have died before then.

Story creation is (for me anyway) a lot like pearl creation for an oyster. It starts off with an irritating little idea in the back of my head that won't go away. If it doesn't get rejected during the process of adding layers to it, it eventually becomes a book. Here's how that layering process works:

Story summary. I try writing up a short informal synopsis of the plot. This is short--roughly 300-500 words. If I can't turn it into something that "sings," I know it's probably a dud and I drop it.

Partner review. Next I find out whether my idea sings to my wife and writing partner, Anette. Anette has a very good eye for stories that work--and those that don't. She's also perfectly willing to "speak the truth in love" when an idea doesn't

quite make the cut, which is absolutely invaluable. But if she likes the story, I know

I've got something worth taking to the next step.

Agent review. If Anette likes my idea, I turn the synopsis into something longer (ca. 1-2 thousand words) and more formal. I also do a little market research to make sure the story I'm proposing hasn't already been written. Then I send it to my agent. He'll let me know whether he thinks I've got a "big book" idea--one that's not just publishable, but has a "wow" element that will make it stand out from the rest of the market.

Proposal. The final layer (short of actually writing the book) is creating the proposal. If the story still looks like a "big book" after two or three sample chapters and a marketing analysis, my agent starts pitching it to publishing houses.

BTW, fewer than 1 in 10 ideas make it all the way through this process and wind up as proposals. But well over half of the proposals sell.

****

Fewer than one in ten? Gak! That gives us an idea of how many ideas are swimming around that brain of yours, Rick. And this post gives all of us a window on the need for outside perspective for our ideas. Writers can lose perspective easily - we can get lost in the possibilities and swim in our ideas believing they are vast as the ocean when in fact, we are splashing in the kiddie pool. Having a team of bright minds around us help us see the larger landscape by asking questions and forcing us to focus on the aspects of the idea that simply won't work - or are too shallow or short to carry a novel.

Thanks Rick!

I bid you good writing.

Gifts From The Heart

2009-09-10T09:36:00.003-06:00

Last month, I celebrated my *mumble mumble* birthday - and my husband conspired to get me an amazing gift.

It took a long time to pull it together (hence it being presented to me more than a month later), but it was so worth the wait. I wanted to share this amazing gift with you.

My husband conspired with my in-house editor at David C. Cook to create this amazing gift. Everyone who was involved in creating Talking to the Dead (from publisher to copy editor to marketing team to the amazing Amy who created the cover, to editors, to the print buyer, to project coordinators, you name it) all wrote a he

artwarming message.

Yes, I cried. Happy tears in public places.

I don't throw around the word "cherish". I cherish this gift. Hubby wins "Husband of the Year" award, and I have the best reason yet to adore being partnered with David C. Cook (aka best publisher EVER!)

I bid you good writing!

Weekend Peek into Bonnie's Mail Bag

2009-09-04T10:45:00.005-06:00

Next week, we'll hear from another author about turning ideas into novels. Great stuff ahead!

But it's the LONG weekend, and I think we need something fun on the blog.

I thought it would be neat to offer a peek over my shoulder at some of the mail that's come in about Talking to the Dead. All of the following are verbatim, but are not necessarily the full content of the letter as some portions of the mail I get are people sharing their personal journey of grief. I also removed identifying information.

From a Canadian reader who won a copy of Talking to the Dead: "I have to tell one of the best novels I have ever read ! I love your writing style as it draws you in immediately. You also did a great job of making a difficult topic serious, but funny at the same time. I fell in love with the characters and wished the book didn't have to end."

From a woman who bought a copy from her local bookstore: "Thanks so much for writing this book! Your writing and characters got right into my heart for an all night healing! I couldn't put the book down and God really did a work on my heart! I will share this book with my friends!"

A reader in California wrote to say: "I am going to share the book with my daughter next. She would like to be a counselor and reads many books that may provide more insight into any of the situations she may one day become familiar with through her career."

From a friend and fellow author who had planned to read Talking to the Dead on the plane during her summer vacation: "I'm afraid I didn't read your book on the plane - because I finished it beforehand, leaving me nada to read! Not fair. Make your next book less compelling, 'kay?"

A Canadian reader shared her copy: "I absolutely LOVED it! I gave it to a friend to read who is 'against everything Christian' and she loved it!"

A US military wife wrote this: "I LOVED Talking to the Dead - it took me through a tough time of grief [. . .]. It comforted me as I grappled with my fragility, imperfections and God's acceptance - LIFE IS MESSY - how true! And God is love."

From a well read American reader: "I finished reading your book. I read over three hundred pages today. Why? Because I couldn't put the stinkin' thing down. Yes, I'm shouting! It was one of thee best stories I have ever read. Anything that can hold my attention for long, that can make me cry, get angry, and want to yank several someone's teeth out, goes straight to the top of my list as one of thee best reads in a long time."

And this last one comes from a reader in New Zealand: "I finished Talking to the Dead on the weekend and it was absolutely amazing! Easily the best book that I've read this year (and I've read a lot!) It was one of those great books where you find yourself forcing yourself to stop and put it down because it's just so magical and haunting that you don't want it to end because you know you aren't going to read another one as good for a long long time.

Your way with words and the plot and Kate and Jack and the way you pulled it all together. Wow! You should be so so proud. All those great endorsements didn't even begin to do it justice."

***

I hope you enjoyed this over the shoulder peek at my mail box. It is a humbling privilege to hear from readers and to share a bit of life with them. I answer every e-mail and snail mail myself - I simply wouldn't want to miss any of the joy that comes from hearing from, and talking with readers. It is, without a doubt, the best part of my job as a writer. For those who have written, thank you for the joy and hope and love you have shared.

If you've been thinking of dropping me a line, I hope you do. I'd love to get to know you!

And if you've read this far, you're in for a treat. Leave a comment to win a signed copy of Talking to the Dead!

I bid you good writing.

Guest Blogger - Gail Gaymer Martin - From Idea to Novel

2009-08-31T13:13:00.004-06:00

Everyone has a process - a way of looking at the world, translating it in his or her mind and then articulating the experience to others. Writers are always looking for inspiration, but they also know its rare for a singular incident to give rise to an idea rich enough to become a book. Often, the writer pulls together various bits of information and knits them into a whole.

I love the way today's guest blogger, Gail Gaymer Martin explains how her process works.

Gail is a multi-award-winning novelist and author of Writers Digest, Writing the Christian Romance, she writes women˙s fiction, including romance and romantic suspense. She has 42 published novels with 3 million books in print.

Gail is a full-time novelist, popular keynote speaker and workshop presenter across the United States and abroad. Visit her website at www.gailmartin.com and her Writing Fiction Right blog at www.writingright-martin.blogspot.com, and look for DAD IN TRAINING in stores the month of September, 2009 and MONTEREY MEMORIES released in November, 2009.

Let's dig into the mind of this hugely popular author:

HOLES IN MY HEAD
I have holes in my head. I like to call them niches. When something triggers a story nugget, often not even an idea, it lands in one of these holes. What causes the nugget can be many things---an article in a newspaper, song lyrics, a Bible verse, observing a person, hearing someone's adventure or experience, a location, a photograph. I'm stimulated by many things so this becomes the beginning. These niches in my mind have little "magnets" and when I have another thought or experience and realize it might fit with the another nugget, it filters into the right niche. These ideas are like a jigsaw puzzle that finally begin to pull together and I begin to see an image or a picture. As the nugget grows to an idea, then scenes, a movie runs in my mind and I continue to add scenes and more nuggets. Eventually, the story fills my mind. My "hole runneth over" and I know this is a story that needs to be told.

*****

I can picture it, can't you? Reaching into the niches in her mind, examining the contents. Love the images.

How about you? Do you have holes in your head? I'd love to hear about them.

I bid you good writing.

The Swirl of Ideas

2009-08-20T12:06:00.005-06:00

Ideas.
Where do they come from - and how do writers take a germ of an idea and turn it into a full fledged novel?
I've blogged before about turning ideas into novels. No doubt, I'll repost that entry in the coming weeks - but I got thinking that there are as many approaches to ideas as their are novelists to process them.
Organic creativity has become a watch word for me. That's why I've sent out an invitation to some wonderful writers to share their process for turning ideas around in their minds and, in the end, crafting a novel from them.
In the meantime, what do I mean when I say "organic creativity"?

I've been to several writer's conferences over the past few years, and I've been on faculty for many of them. I've met wonderful people who desire to write for a living and are earnest about learning the craft of fiction writing. They attend conferences, have a library of "how to write" books, subscribe to Writer's Digest and read novels two and three at a time. But as time goes by - as years go by - these same wonderful people are still attending conferences, collecting "how to" books and reading novels. But they aren't writing. When I ask them what ideas they have for a book, the answer is often a long, sometime rambling answer about a boy and his dog, or love blooming on another planet. The conversation usually ends with the hopeful writing asking, "Is that a good idea for a novel?"

Usually, the answer is 'no'. And when I point out to them the reasons why, they not only agree, but are able to quote several author's and how to books who say the same thing. These are people who 'get it' in the intellectual sense, but have yet to put their knowledge into practice. Why? Because it's scary, that's why. A whole lot of faith goes into writing a novel.

Faith for a novel begins with a calling. The writer has to fully believe in the call to write. This isn't an industry that awards the uncertain. How can you know if you have faith in your calling to write? You know when you sit through an hour long seminar that explains what it takes to become a successful writer and how badly the odds are stacked against you, and you walk out of the room thinking, "I can't wait to get home and keep writing."

Faith extends to a full-fledged trust in your creative self. Many people get stuck here (I've been stuck here, and will probably get stuck again as time goes by). Let's revisit those writer's conferences I was talking about before. I've sat around many a table with hopeful writers, listening to their questions and concerns. They talk about margin widths, single and double spacing, they talk about hooks and premise (often, they aren't sure of the difference between a hook and a premise). They sit, stomachs churning, worried about formatting their proposal and how to talk to an editor without their copy of Writing the Breakout Novel beside them to refer to. You see, they've spent so much time learning the rules of the industry, they have paralyzed the free-flowing, fun-loving, koo-koo for Cocoa Puffs creative side of their brains. I would sit at these tables and listen to their concerns and all I really wanted to say to them is, "Let's go out and have some fun!" Yes, there are things you should know, stuff to learn (always stuff to learn - that never goes away), but I urge you, serious fiction writer, to get in touch with your inner creative hippie and un-tether your imaginations. Have faith in your creative self. Ideas come to those who dream.

In the weeks to come, we are going to hear from authors who have turned ideas into novels with some deeply cool results. I hope you will be inspired to find your own creative path by peeking over the shoulders of these successful writers. I'm excited about this series - and I can't wait to hear from you about how your ideas turn into wonderful books.

I bid you good writing.

Bad Bonnie

2009-08-14T16:36:00.002-06:00

I have been up to my eyeballs in great stuff - which I hope to share with you all very soon. I know the blog is sporting some dustballs, but I hope you believe me when I say there are wonderful things a foot - and the moment I can, I will share them with you. Just hang tight with me!

I'll be back to talk about the newest book project, and future books too!

For now, please be distracted from my neglect by a cute kitty:

Talking to the Dead Book Plates and Postcards

2009-08-06T19:16:00.004-06:00

Would you like a Talking to the Dead postcard - which also makes a handy book mark? E-mail me!

You can also request a book plate (my signature and a nifty little greeting from moi).

Just e-mail me at bcg (at) bonniegrove (dot) com

Let me know how many postcards and book plates you would like. Be sure to include your mailing address - and I'll pop them in the mail for you!

Oh, and another bit of news: Talking to the Dead has gone into its third printing! Thanks to everyone who has bought a copy, chatted it up, passed it on, recommended it to their library, or otherwise helped promote the book. Don't stop now! I can't tell you how much I appreciate you all.

I bid you good writing.

You Say It's Your Birthday - It's My Birthday Too!

2009-08-03T12:09:00.004-06:00

When I was little I used to enforce 'birthday week'. No mere day was enough for me to be able to fully celebrate my grand entrance into this world (I was the youngest, and maybe - just maybe, a tad spoiled).

My family went along with it (for the most part), and I was afforded all sorts of privileges. Like, I didn't have to help with the dishes if I had a paper cut. Or, I got to go first in line at the waterslide. Or, Mom would spring for tickets to a movie I wanted to see even though it would "rot my brain".

In the grand tradition of my youthful exuberance, this is my birthday week! I was born August 5, 19-*cough*.

What's the best gift someone could get me this year? Easy. Just buy a copy of Talking to the Dead!

For those of you in BC, House of James is featuring Talking to the Dead as their Book of the Month for August. Visit them in August, pick up a copy of Talking, and browse their store. I hear it is one of the best Christian stores in Canada!

I bid you good writing.

See you in the Fall?

2009-07-31T12:13:00.003-06:00

E-mail subscribers to Fiction Matters were sent this web page with all the info for the Inscribe Christian Fellowship Fall Conference.

If you are anywhere near Edmonton, or can get your buns to Edmonton for the conference, I urge you to do so. It promises to be a great one!

I'll be there all day Saturday - teaching, yapping and chatting it up with you. I hope to see you there!

I bid you good writing.