AFTER THE FIRST DRAFT, WHAT? By Bonnie Toews

You type THE END and heave a great sigh of relief. DONE. You pat yourself on the back.

But wait! In today’s world, this is only YOUR FIRST DRAFT. Now the hard work begins.

Revising and editing are a writer’s most important functions in the telling of your story. In the rewriting stage, you have to move away from the subjective author who loves every sentence you’ve produced and become the tough critic. Switching hats is very difficult.

This is why most successful novelists belong to reading groups who serve to critique each other’s work. But before you expose your baby to a third, fourth or even fifth “eye,” you need to produce your best effort. That means stripping down your baby and redressing it.

Where do you start? Frankly, one rewrite won’t work. You can’t fix everything with one shot.

THE STRATEGIC APPROACH TO REVIEWING YOUR FIRST DRAFT

When you reread your manuscript, you need to examine NINE concerns. Focus on one at a time for each revision you write.

      1.       What is the spine of your story? Some authors refer to this as their THEME. This is a harder question than you think. You may assume it is simply what the story is about, but it isn’t. Your spine serves the same purpose as your backbone does for your body. It holds your story together. In my novel, THE CONSUMMATE TRAITOR, the obvious theme is treason.  When I reread my first draft, I had to measure every character‘s thoughts, feelings, motives and actions against this underlying theme. Yes, it was a gruelling exercise, but it was worth it because readers say I succeeded in suspending their disbelief. They could not figure out who the traitor was until the end.

      2.       Are your protagonist and main characters well-rounded and believable? Have you explored their conscious and unconscious desires, their strengths and weaknesses? Does your protagonist have a “fatal flaw” she or he must overcome to achieve a heroic or extraordinary outcome? In my novel, one of my heroines does not recognize her own self-worth. She strives to please and over compensates to prove her value.

  

      3.       What is the overall conflict driving your suspense? What rival or adversarial force must your protagonist beat? This is the challenge that drives your plot, and as the story continues, this conflict elevates the tension. It can be a person, group, force of nature or aspect of the protagonist’s own character that stands in the way of achieving a desired goal. Conflict leads the hero or heroine to make a critical decision, one that embraces either victory or defeat, and forces the individual to face the truth:  Who am I and what do I really want?

      4.       Is the development of your plot logical? I remember reading a spy story in which the two protagonists reminded each other that their hotel room may be bugged, and then, while in bed, they go ahead and discuss their plan to reveal the villain. I read on hoping this was a decoy to suspend the reader’s disbelief until the surprise “twist” resolution. If the room is bugged, why are they telling the enemy what he needs to know to intercept them?  Maybe it’s deliberate and we’ll find that out later. Alas, no. The author never caught this flaw, and for me the story imploded.

      5.       Is the structure of your story progressive? This even relates to individual paragraphs and sentences. Does your character react before an action even happens? For example, there is an explosion. Does your character dive for cover before the sound or after?  You can’t react to something that hasn’t happened yet. The character must duck AFTER he or she hears the bang. This also refers to the order of your information. Your characters need to move forward with new insights or conclusions, not rehash what is already known.

      6.      Does your opening sentence immediately grab your readers’ interest? If it doesn’t, does the first paragraph? If it doesn’t, will readers even read your first chapter?  Let’s look at the first sentence of my new novel, COVERT DENIAL:  Rhys Jamieson froze. Do you want to know why? Then you have to read on.

      7.      Do you ‘tell” more than you “show?” Some authors introduce a new character by writing what amounts to a biography including appearance and background. Today’s readers don’t like feeling overwhelmed with such description. It’s better to weave in the details as needed, when your reader wants to know, for instance, or when it is critical to the story. This way the reader becomes a part of what is going on rather than an observer.

      8.      How do you treat your dialogue? You’ve seen it – one line after another of conversation until you no longer know who the speakers are. This stems from a need to speed up pacing, but it can be taken too far. Dialogue serves two things: to reveal what distinguishes your characters from one another through quirks in their speech and to convey information. Good dialogue presents a balance that magnifies what your characters are doing, thinking, noticing, and feeling as well as where they are located when they speak. What your dialogue should NOT DO is be a short-cut to adding information crucial to your story. Too often you end up with an unnatural conversation that is awkward and off-putting for your reader.

      9.     I leave line editing and proof-reading to my last draft, and I have a few tricks to make it easier. First, I search and replace a list of “boring” words with stronger action words or adjectives. This short list causes agents and book editors to wince: was (passive), by the fact that, very, so, then, felt, great, big, would, could, or against. Suppose you wrote, felt angry. What action can your character do that shows he is irked? Barry’s eyes flashed. He slammed his fist on the desk. “Are you crazy?” That is a stronger picture. Second, be careful with words ending in “ing.” Often it signals an imperfect past tense (was working) that is easily corrected with the simple past tense (worked). Keep your text active. Avoid passive verbs.

A retired Canadian journalist, Bonnie Toews is a veterans’ advocate, who uses fiction to bring attention to conditions she has found at the “crossroads of humanity.” In novels of wartime intrigue and suspense, she expands on true events to reveal the political betrayal of our military veterans. The first novel in her “Trilogy of Treason” – THE CONSUMMATE TRAITOR – is available at amazon.com http://www.amazon.com/Consummate-Traitor-Bonnie-Toews/dp/1461015383 and on her web site

http://www.authorbonnietoews.com

Wrestling, Biscuits and a New Book

Do you find writing hard work? Me too. In fact, it is one of the hardest things I have ever done. Getting words onto the page takes monumental effort on my part. It's almost like a physical wrestling match between myself and the blank page in which the page has the advantage of weight, strength and experience and I have to fight with one hand behind my back.

I usually nibble when I write so I have to make sure there are plenty of healthy snacks lying within easy reach. When I set about creating my first novel we had a large supply of biscuits in the cupboard. They soon vanished along with anything else edible, and my waistline.

Blogging is the same. Take today, for example. I have plenty to write about but getting the words out is like pushing a greasy boulder uphill. In the rain. While wearing sandals. And the nibble instinct has kicked in. Luckily we have no biscuits in the cupboard. We do have coffee however. I am on my third paragraph am holding my second cup of coffee. And still I can't think of what to write about.

So, instead of coming up with a topic I thought it would be a good time to announce my newest book. It is a collection of short stories called "Odd Jobs - An Anthology of Idioms"available on Amazon in Kindle and print form.

The stories are all inspired by well-known English idioms. Each idiom is imagined as a job or pastime. Most are fantasy with some magic realism thrown in. The stories are quite short (average 10 pages) so can be read in one sitting. All are family friendly and only one has a religious theme so they can be enjoyed by anyone.

I am giving away 10 copies on Kindle, so if you would like one, please drop me a message at pabaines at gmail dot com and I'll arrange to send one to you as a gift..

Strike It Out

I have been out of the loop lately, largely because I have recently become an "empty-nester". After twenty three years of having children in the house all hours of the day and night, my wife and I now find ourselves in the strange position of being back were we started during our courtship and the first years of our marriage. We still speak to our children every day (mostly by Skype because they are both overseas) but it's not the same.

Having so much extra free time has lead to a certain amount of retrospection, especially in regard to our success or failure in the parenting department. Were we too strict? Were we not strict enough? Did we give enough guidance? Did we give too much guidance? At the end of the day, all we can do is trust that God is in control and know that we have done the best we can.

One thing that I have noticed during my chats with my children is that they now recount things to me that they have discovered about life in the big world that I clearly remember telling them, often many times. Back then they did not seem to take my fatherly advice on board. Later, having experienced it for themselves, they get what I was trying to say. Some things, it seems, can only be learned by experience.

And so it is with me and my writing. There is an awful lot of advice out there for writers. Sometimes it seems that people spend more time writing about writing than actually writing (just as I am doing now, for example). I do appreciate this advice, however, because, let's face it, I need all the guidance I can get, but sometimes the nugget of wisdom goes over my head. Like my kids, I need to experience some things before I get them.

These gentle "eureka" moments can happen when I am editing one of my manuscripts, but it is usually when I am reading something by a best selling author who really should know better. It's at times like this that I want to contact the author and tell them what they are doing wrong. It's not a judgmental thing. I'm well aware of the multitude of planks in my own eyes. Rather, I feel the need to help the author not make the same mistakes I have been making for so long.

One particular piece of advice that has become clearer to me over the years, I honestly did not understand it when I first read it. Now it makes perfect sense and I do try to follow it at all times. Sometimes I need the help of an unbiased reader to point it out but generally I manage to spot it myself. What is the mistake? Well, rather than explain let me give you the snippet of advice given by a college tutor, as quoted by Samuel Johnson:

'Read over your compositions and where ever you meet with a passage which you think is particularly fine, strike it out.'

When I first read this my response was: "Okay, but why on Earth would I want to remove good writing?" If you are not sure what this means then there is a simple test. Have you ever written something (a sentence or a paragraph) that you immediately wanted to show someone? Or, from a different perspective: have you ever succumbed to an invitation on a social website to post a favourite piece of your own writing? If so, then you need to take heed of this advice.

One thing I have noticed with my own work is that my beta readers seldom comment on my favourite passages. Usually, they remark on a piece of text that I considered normal or even dull. I may hover around them, waiting for them to get to the "good" bit, and watch with some dismay as they read past it without a flicker of emotion. Horror of horrors, they may even suggest deleting that particular line.

So what did the college tutor mean, and why is it so important? For me, the best analogy would have to be animated film. According to a Pixar producer, their goal is to make the animation of a standard where the audience forgets that they are watching an animation. The aim is to tell the story. Everything else is there to support this. If the audience is distracted by the animation (because it is not good enough, or even too good) then they have failed. It's the same with the script, music, and acting. Anything that distracts the audience's attention from the story is bad.

Writing is exactly the same. As an author, our job is to tell a story. The reader should forget that we are even there. Bad writing full of typos and grammatical errors, or with a distracting voice, will pull the reader out of your story, as will writing that is overly florid. If the writing is too bad or too good, then the reader will be distracted and we have failed. But how can something be too good? To go back to the Pixar example: there was a point in one film where the animators created a character that was too life-like. They actually had to lower the standard a little because this character stood out from the rest and was distracting.

When we write a scene, we have to be careful of creating something that is (at least in our eyes) "particularly fine" just as much as we have to eradicate poor writing. While listening to the best selling novel these past few days, there were times where the prose really distracted me. It was usually a description or metaphor which, had it appeared in a poem or on the book's cover, might have been suitable. The problem was that I could almost feel the author hovering around me, waiting for me to get to that bit so that she could enjoy my reaction to her brilliance. They were all wonderfully descriptive turns of phrase to be sure, but they stood out like a sumo wrestler at a ballet. There is a time and place for sumo, but a ballet is not one of them.

So the next time you write a line that you want to show someone, or post on Facebook, take a deep breath, read it again, and seriously consider hitting that backspace button. Save it somewhere if you have to, but chances are it does not belong in your novel and you should "strike it out".

Growing Stories

I’ve been penning fiction for nearly twenty years and have learned a trio of essentials. One: don’t quit your day job. Two: Write something, anything, everyday. Don’t edit, don’t second guess, and don’t stop. Three: Back away from the computer sometimes, and experience life.

It’s the third essential that has me pondering today, as I consider the parallels between germinating stories and digging in the dirt. I think writing novels and tending gardens share some similarities. For example, both enjoy their day in the sun, both require weeding, and both endure criticisms.

You see, I’m gaga about gardening. It’s late May and my wild cottage garden is exploding with cooler and growth. Decaying spring bulbs, shooting ornamental grasses and early blossoming perennials scuffle for light and water.

It’s a gardener’s finest season. To me, the late spring garden is a like a polished third draft: the words flow, the characters pop, and the plots mature seamlessly. The writer lounges in the soft glow of the computer screen and hallucinates about success. Of course, edits and changes are inevitable, but they will be minor and effortless. Just like the snip or two, or the tug or three necessary outdoors to keep the early floral kaleidoscope flourishing.

You may think that the hot, heady days of midsummer are the pinnacle in a garden, but you would be as misplaced as a tendril of bindweed. Oh yes, summer plants are showstoppers, but they carry an air of impending loss. One blossom fades after another and another, in an inexorable, downward spiral of death. The promise of glory is spent, and with it, the anticipation of new life. Only drudgery remains for the plant lover. Hours ahead of deadheading, staking, watering and pest squashing.

A novelist’s existence echoes this slow descent into the mundane. The published final manuscript blossoms vividly, but often quickly fades, overtaken by brighter, newer titles. The writer’s fantasies of topping best-seller lists fizzle, and her spirit buckles under the dreaded humiliation and hassle of promotion.

Fortunately, all is not aphids and manure. As every day changes in the garden, there is always a glimmer of hope to catch the author’s eye. A glimpse of a fresh idea noticed on a soft autumn day. The germ of a kernel of a seed that begs perusal and hints at a novel world. It is the time to disappear into the slumbering garden, to dig and whack and transform, plotting and planting and praying for another, better season.

Followed by a trip to the computer to fertilize the seedlings of the next great novel.

Nicola Furlong pens mystery and inspirational novels, creates interactive books for the iPad, podcasts about genre writing (The Novel Experience), and teaches electronic publishing, when she's not playing Old-Timer’s hockey, growing blossoms and bamboo or eating chocolate fudge.

Her first contemporary women's series, the Sisterhood of Shepherds, debuted with HEARTSONG in May 2014 (MantleRockPublishing). Nicola's swinging whodunit, TEED OFF! (republished in February 2014 by OakTreePress), features professional golfer and coroner Riley Quinn.

Her other novels include a psychological thriller (A HEMORRHAGING OF SOULS), six novels in The Church Choir Mysteries series and a multimedia online thriller, UNNATURALSTATES.

In addition, Nicola has published two writing e-book primers, YOUDUNIT WHODUNIT! HOW TO WRITE MYSTERIES & SELF-PUBLISH YOUR E-BOOK IN MINUTES!, and a gardening guide. She's recently released her first musical interactive children's book for the iPad, SAVING GRAPE-JELLY CHEEKS.

Nicola lives in a small seaside town on southern Vancouver Island, British Columbia.

Using ToDoList for Writing

I am always on the lookout for something to help me stay organized while writing my novels, especially when it comes to the editing stage. I like to have an overview of each chapter so that I can gain a high-level view of the entire project. For me, this makes re/organization much easier.

One of my favourite tools in this category is a program called ToDoList. At first glance, it seems to be little more than a fancy tasklist program but it has some powerful features that make it perfect for staying on top of a manuscript. And, best of all, it's completely free.

I use Word for writing the actual manuscript, but there are times when I want a high-level overview of the plot--particularly when there are multiple threads. It is easy to get lost when the plot gets thick. With many characters existing in more than one timeline, it’s easy to forget who is doing what, where, and why. This is when I use ToDoList to stay organized.

At the very heart of the program is the Task window, which can be viewed as a tree (as in Windows Explorer) or as a flat list. I prefer to use the tree structure because it gives a nice visual overview of the book. Each task can be given a comment and tasks can be allocated properties useful for time-keeping. For example, you can specify a deadline for the project for each chapter and sub task. You can also allocate different icons, allowing you to see, at a glance, the content of each chapter or scene. For example, an action scene might have one icon, a romantic scene another, and a dramatic scene a different icon.

 Let’s suppose I want to start a new story. I start by creating a new Project. I then allocate a task for each chapter. Then I create a sub-task for each chapter scene. Finally, I create sub-sub-tasks for each important action or moment. So, the first couple of chapters of my new novel “Round Table” might look something like this:

Project: Round Table
- Chapter 1 - Opening scene (hook)
    Scene 1 - Bank robbery
        Moment 1 - Lancelot arrives at the bank
        Moment 2 - Lancelot robs the bank
        Moment 3 - Lancelot makes a getaway
- Chapter 2 - 1 year earlier .
    Scene 1 - Lancelot working in bank
        Moment 1 - Lancelot goes to lunch, returns to fetch coat
        Moment 2 - Lancelot sees money being transported
        Moment 3 - Lancelot notices lapse security
    Scene 2 - Lancelot at home - intro wife (Guinevere)
        Moment 1 - Lancelot talks to Guinevere
        Moment 2 - Guinevere distracted/bored
        Moment 3 - Lancelot mentions lapse security at bank
        Moment 4 - Guinevere jokingly suggests robbing the bank

In ToDoList, it would look something like this:

 

As you can see, the project is “Round Table” (this will also be the default file name). I have many tasks displayed as a tree. Each task has a brief description entered in the Comment window on the right with the first line of the comment displayed next to the task in the Tasklist. I have given a special icon for each chapter. The “lightning bolt” indicates action while the “people icon” shows an important social interaction.

In this way, I have an overview of my story. I can display every chapter, every scene, and every moment. Or, if I want a higher-level overview, I can collapse the sub-tasks. So, for example, I can display just the chapters with their icons and comments to tell me what each is chapter is about.

The amount of detail for each task is very customizable, which means you can have a relatively uncluttered screen. Each task can display up to thirty pieces of information, including start and end time, and percentage complete. As you finish each task, a tick in the Completed Status box changes the task font to strikethrough, giving a quick view of your progress.

The comment box can be in either Simple Text or Rich Text, and can hold a huge amount of data. In fact, it is possible to put your entire novel in the comments. As a test, I built a 1 million word novel using the comment box. The program had no problems managing that much text. Later, when it comes time to formatting your novel, you can export the comments to a file for cleaning up.

Here is a step by step guide to building a new project.

In the image below, we see the program without any tasklists or tasks. To start a new tasklist "My Novel", select File->New Tasklist from the menu, or simply type "My Novel" into the Project box below the menu and click the Save icon.

To add a new Task, click the green Plus icon. A new Task will appear with the title Task. Type a name for the Task (e.g. "Chapter 1") and hit Enter, or click the green Plus icon.

To add more tasks, click the green Plus icon. You can also do a copy/paste action. To create a subtask, select an existing task and click the small green Plus icon on the right. A subtask will appear below and to the right of the owning task.

To add text, just select a task, click in the Comments pane, and start typing. The default is Simple Text, but you can select Rich Text for more formatting options.

Re-arranging tasks is simple. The Delete button (or the red X icon) deletes a task or subtask. Use the Shift key to select multiple tasks. Us the Ctrl key with the direction keys to move tasks up and down or to change the level (task to subtask and vice versa). You can drag and drop tasks. Doing this can also change its level, depending on where you drop it.

To enter or change task-specific details such as Time Spent or Due Date, look below the Tasklist. If you alter something here, the details displayed to the left of the task are updated. To change how much of this information is displayed, right-click on the column title directly above the Task List and click on Select Columns. Clicking on Clear All will remove every column, leaving just the task names.

If you decide to write your entire novel inside ToDoList, you can export it to a variety of formats, including:
•   Web Page
•   Plain Text
•   Spreadsheet
•   FreeMind
•   GanttProject
•   iCalendar
•   MyLifeOrganized
•   Outline

Here is My Novel after export to Plain Text. It needs some formatting, but not too much.

If you want to give it a try, you can download ToDoList for free from AbstractSpoon http://www.abstractspoon.com/tdl_resources.html.

I suggest setting up a test project and getting accustomed to the program before you start using it for a novel. It can take a little bit of getting used to, especially with regard to moving tasks around. Always take regular backups, just in case.

Happy organizing!

Re-discovering the writer within

Over the past few weeks, I have finally been able to enjoy some uninterrupted hours of writing, to my great glee. At one stage, I ‘holed up’ for a few days at our daughter’s unit in western Sydney while she was away and put some serious effort into my current novel – my sixth. I didn’t care that Sydney was in the middle of a terrible heatwave. I put the air conditioning on for disgustingly long periods and barely opened the curtains, let alone the doors. I forgot about the ‘real world’ out there – apart from the occasional break to watch the Australian Open Tennis on TV! I ate simple meals when I wanted – anything quick and easy so I could get back to my writing. And in the process, I discovered all over again what it feels like to immerse oneself in this whole creative process called writing.

Recently I read an interesting comment about this writing process made by English born Australian author Elizabeth Jolley:

There is a terrible restlessness that accompanies writing. It is a prowling in the heart and the mind and the body. It is a kind of pain, a mixture of elation and a melancholy for which there is no remedy.

I wonder if you can relate to these feelings she has described? I certainly can. Just last week, I finally finished the novel – well, the first draft at least! I had wanted to get to these final chapters for so long, but I found that even though I loved the whole process, I was strangely restless. I would physically have to move after every few sentences, perhaps getting up to stretch or walk around the room. I wanted to shift my characters forward, to have them say and do the things they obviously wanted to – but on the other hand, I somehow wanted to relish the moment, to hold onto them and not to close off their options. And I most certainly did not want to say goodbye to them! What would I do without these characters in the back of my mind, working through their various dilemmas?

And I also experienced the very real elation and melancholy that Elizabeth Jolley talks about. I was exultant at various stages as I began to weave the final threads of my novel together. Wow – this particular character really is going to make some wise decisions in his life! Oh, this other one has expressed herself so well there! And I never thought the conversation between those two characters would take that particular turn! At times, it seemed I was being carried along on a wave of inspiration, simply enjoying the ride. Yet at others, my experience was the exact opposite. I would sit staring at a sentence I had just created, changing this word and that, before deleting it entirely. I would puzzle over how on earth I could move the characters through the impasse they had reached in a way that would not sound unrealistic or trite. And I would read over my previous paragraphs with a sinking heart, wondering if I was completely wasting my time. Was I writing rubbish after all? Would anyone ever want to read this? Perhaps I should scrap the whole novel altogether.

And yet here I am, having survived another perilous journey of writing a novel. I have finished that first draft – and whatever the stops and starts and highs and lows, I would not have missed the experience for the world! And I have stayed the course, I believe, because God has been with me every step of the way, urging me on, helping me persevere, giving me inspiration, comforting me, reminding me that he has gifted me and called me to write.

And that’s all that matters really.

How about you? Do you resonate with Elizabeth Jolley’s words above? Does your writing journey resemble my crazy one in any way?

Jo-Anne Berthelsen lives in Sydney, Australia, and has four published novels, ‘Heléna’, ‘All the Days of My Life’, ‘Laura’ and ‘Jenna’. For more information, please visit her website, www.jo-anneberthelsen.com.

Candlelight reflections

It’s been a big year for me – and I’m sure for many of you too. My fourth novel, 'Jenna', was released in August, I’ve spoken over thirty times in a variety of settings and sold my books in all sorts of places, plus been involved in the usual family, social and church activities. So now when I go to my computer to pick up my current writing project where I left off, sometimes my mind takes a while to tune in to the task at hand and be focused in the right direction. Before I begin to write for the day, I always try to sit quietly and acknowledge God’s presence, but one thing I’ve discovered that helps me in an ongoing way to remember I am not alone is to light a candle and place it on my desk. Often I can be typing away and stop to think for a while, perhaps stuck as to what to write next – and then I catch sight of that flame burning brightly nearby and am reminded again that God is with me, whatever difficulties I am encountering.

I have been given some beautiful candles over the years – too beautiful, I used to think, just to burn! However, this year I decided I would begin to use my special candles one after the other and remember the person who gave it to me, as I also remember God. In fact, one young friend gave me a wonderful, handmade candle recently that I just had to use straight away. The casing around this candle is made from the coloured soils of the Atacama Desert in Chile and has a special design cut into the sides, enabling even more of the light to glow through the shape of the design. I have other beautiful ones too, including a special delicately perfumed one called ‘Serenity’ made from soy wax and given to me by a dear friend at the launch of my fourth novel; a delightful little one in purple tones presented to me after speaking somewhere; and another from my daughter, featuring Australian gum leaves.

I am aware, however, that not everyone shares my love of candles – particularly some of the men in our family! That’s okay – everyone is different! But if you aren’t too averse to the idea and perhaps feel the need for a tangible reminder of God’s presence with you as you write, I’d encourage you to try it. As I gaze across now at my beautiful, glowing Chilean candle, I am remembering too Jesus’ words from John 8:12: ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.’ Jesus has promised he will be with us, showing us the way ahead through whatever ‘darkness’ we are facing, whether it be problems in our writing journey or in our lives in general. How privileged we are to have him walking beside us every step of the way!

But I am also remembering Jesus’ further challenge to us in Mark 5:13 that we ourselves are the ‘light of the world’. He goes on to say in the following verses: ‘A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.’ That’s the amazing privilege we have as Christian authors – to put our words out there, to use the gifts God has given us to the full and to seek to shine our ‘light’ as brilliantly as possible for God’s praise and glory.

Go on – go ahead and light your candle!

Jo-Anne Berthelsen writes contemporary general fiction and lives with her minister husband in Sydney, Australia. To learn more about Jo-Anne, please visit her website, www.jo-anneberthelsen.com.

Staying motivated – seeing the journey through

I wonder what keeps you motivated in your writing journey? What inspires you to stay glued to your computer, churning out hundreds of words day after day? What sustains you as you try to balance your writing with promoting your books and the demands of a job, family, church commitments and so many other things? I doubt it would be the lure of fame and fortune – at least, that’s not the expectation of most authors I know in Christian circles here in Australia!

I have come to the conclusion that, while the support of others and also some practical self-care measures have been very important in helping me stay the course, my prime motivation throughout these past seven years of novel writing has definitely come from God, the greatest Encourager ever. It took me a year to find a publisher for my first novel. Then I waited another eighteen months before it was released. So from early on, I realised I would need God in a big way to keep me focused and motivated in this writing journey. Now, three years later and with three more novels published, my greatest challenge is finding the time to write, in the midst of speaking and promoting my books. I have produced a fifth novel, by God’s grace, but simply cannot seem to find the time to complete Number Six. So right now, with frustration levels high, I definitely need God as my great Encourager even more than when I started this journey.

First up, I need to remember how God called me to write in the first place. I was sitting on a rock in little village in Turkey while visiting a friend there and God challenged me clearly through the words of Isaiah 42. If God has called me to write, then I can do it! God does not call and then refuse to give us the strength to complete the task we have been given.

Secondly, I know that, to stay motivated, I need to put time aside to read God’s Word regularly and find encouragement there. I keep my bible open on the desk beside me as I write for that very purpose – I love to glance across when I feel frustrated, as I have today, and read words that challenge me to be at peace in the midst of everything. Thirdly, I try to ‘practise the presence of God’ as I write, remembering God’s Spirit is in me and all around me, ready to give me the wisdom and encouragement I need. I believe too I need to cover my writing in prayer constantly, enlisting family and friends, if possible, who will stand with me in my endeavours. I have a wonderful little ‘email prayer team’ who uphold me in prayer whenever I speak somewhere – I value their commitment so much. But I myself need to be prayerful too. And as I pray, I need to remember how much God has done for me in writing journey so far – and be thankful! I think Paul’s instructions in 1 Thess 3:18 to ‘be joyful always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances’ are one of the surest ways of staying motivated and remaining positive, whatever the challenges and frustrations we encounter as we write.

So right now, as I yet again open the file containing my current novel, I am determined to listen to God and receive the encouragement I need. How blessed are we to have the greatest Motivator ever living in us, loving us and empowering us to do what we have been called to do?




Jo-Anne Berthelsen writes contemporary general fiction and lives with her minister husband in Sydney, Australia. To learn more about Jo-Anne, please visit her website, http://www.jo-anneberthelsen.com/. On 6th November, Jo-Anne will be presenting a workshop at the Word Writers’ Fair in Brisbane, Queensland on this topic of ‘Staying Motivated’ – for more information, see http://www.thewordwriters.com/.