Grapes, Pruning, and a Mother's Prayer

By Patricia Beal | @bealpat 

I’m a known procrastinator and often write my posts late, but this one takes the prize. T minus 14 hours. Yikes.

Why?

Habit. I like what I produce under pressure. But this is different. Today is different.

Maybe it goes back to the old advice: “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.”

Maybe it’s fear of being exposed and feeling vulnerable through/because of what I have to say.

Maybe it’s the enemy planting doubt and fear in my head because a post like this can bless others who might be feeling the same way, thinking they’re alone, inadequate, and lacking.

Well here we go.

Grapes 

I read a lovely guest post by Joanna Davidson Politano, author of the new novel A Rumored Fortune. I encourage you to read it (the post and the novels—she’s very good) - https://www.morethanareview.com/guest-post-by-joanna-davidson-politano-author-of-a-rumored-fortune/.

In the post, she talks about her vineyard research for this latest novel, and I had a “Tig” moment. Yes, I know, The Tig is now history. But I will always thing of “aha!” moments as “Tig” moments, thanks to Meghan Markle.

Vineyards do produce more fruit than they can possibly support while still maintaining a healthy and strong connection to the vine.

Lives too can produce too much fruit for the Christian to nurture while still maintaining a healthy and strong connection to our True Vine, Jesus Christ.

Pruning is a must. Something’s gotta give. And you don’t want it to be the quality of the connection to The Vine. Like Joanna says on the post, a poor connection results in fruit that may look good but is bitter and immature.

Pruning 

You can do some pruning yourself, but God will often prune too.

I think this is the hardest part. There are tons of great and godly things out there for us to do, and we says “yes” a lot. Then next thing we know, we are too heavy with busyness to have enough quiet time with God and enough time in His Word. The connection gets weak. We begin going through the motions. Our fruit may look good on the outside (emphasis on “may”) but is bitter and immature. Fruit on survival mode.

Last month I cut off one big thing and a smaller one, and God cut another big thing.

Self-pruning part I: 

I stopped dancing. I was in three studios and struggling to pick one. In my attempt to decide, I realized that my motives were all wrong. I was doing it for the applause. I was doing it because it felt good to be an older dancer. I was doing it because people always talked about how good I looked. That’s no reason to spend time away from family. I waited for a good class, one I could hang my hat on in case I never go back and walked away. I was taking lyrical for the first time and stopped after dancing Hamilton’s “Dear Theodosia.” It felt good to dance that song, and it feels good to be done. When/if kids leave the home, and I get bored, I can do something with dance again.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKpJjdKcjeo 

Self-pruning part II: 

I stopped promoting Facebook posts to the rate I used to and at times don’t post daily anymore. I did this in part because I’m depressed about the writing life—there, I said it—and in part because I don’t think it’s wise to continue spending what I spend in writing endeavors.

Oh my goodness, there are so many folds to this statement. It could be a post in itself, but it would be too sad. Having Asperger’s, I have to fight for joy and fight to be comfortable in my own skin. As a Christian, I feel horrible. I’m supposed to be full of joy. I shouldn’t have to fight for it. I’m supposed to be thankful, but I have to constantly remind myself of what I have and if how far I’ve come, or my brain navigates naturally to the negative.

It’s okay though. Allen Arnold says feeling stuck is an opportunity to go places brand new with God. These are great podcasts.

Link to part 1: https://www.ransomedheart.com/podcast/when-your-story-stalls-part-1

Link to part 2: https://www.ransomedheart.com/podcast/when-your-story-stalls-part-2

And homeschool will begin soon with the best antidote to depression: Hope.

https://www.amazon.com/Unshakable-Hope-Building-Lives-Promises/dp/0718096142 

That (homeschool) brings me to the pruning God did.

The pruning God did:

He planted in my daughter’s heart the desire to go to school outside the home, and she begins fourth grade at our church’s academy on Friday.

Break to take my son to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu… Back. T minus ten.

My son… We struggle. I pray that in this year of homeschooling just him, we can figure out the way ahead. We’ve tried a lot of different strategies to help him. Nothing works. He now refuses to go to any place for any therapy or program. Jiu-Jitsu is it. He goes to church, but his participation is all over the place. The day he was supposed to go to the Hope Through Horses place (July post), he barricaded himself in his room and refused to come out.

I’m to the point I want to ask his pediatrician to reevaluate him and maybe take autism out of his official record since autism specialists who’ve spent hours and hours in our home have failed to help him time and again. I haven’t decided what to do about medication either. I took him off ADHD meds for the summer and am not sure if I want him back on. I don’t think it will be necessary for homeschool. I don’t think it has a positive impact on behavior.

As for now, the plan is to love him to death and see if I can figure out what’s really going on in that head of his. He is considering going to an academy too, but this year, when he asked, sixth grade was already full. I'm kind of glad. Maybe this is the year that we can figure each other out, bond better, and start working together as a family instead of hurting because of Oppositional Defiance Disorder (ODD).

If you know someone who struggles with ODD in the family, give them a hug for me. It’s so heartbreaking. As a parent you’re baffled every hour on the hour. Everything is a fight. And people think you just failed as a parent. With time you begin believing it’s really all your fault. Then you have to remind yourself about just how early the chaos started. For us, I remember locking myself in a bathroom with my newborn when little man was less than two. Yep, the anger and lack of control was so intense I was afraid that early. ODD is real. You don’t teach that intensity to a kid under two. Some people are born that way. Many end up in institutions. I’m committed to not letting mine end up that way.

I might be the one ending up in an institution though… Lol…

Okay, I will stop writing this blog post and take up journaling to sort out my emotions. Thanks for reading this far :o

A Mother’s Prayer 

Oh, Daddy… (if you’re a Lucado fan, you know where this comes from)

How did I end up here and how do I get someplace better?

I have less than ten years left in these formative years with my kids. I’ve given it my all, but it doesn’t show. Why? Trips to the book store, to the library, to the playground, playdates, programs, intervention, no intervention, church, friends, parties, things, people. Is it me, Lord? Am I not enough for them?

I might not be enough, but You are. Give me wisdom to do this right. You promised you would. I’m begging. Give me wisdom.

Please give us a good school year. Please help me be joyful for them. Please help me show them my love. Please help them understand I’m human too and have weaknesses and needs.

If You don’t help me, I will continue to do all the work while they play. I can no longer fight over chores. I don’t have it in me. Not anymore. They win. I would rather just do it myself. But I know that’s bad for them. Give me wisdom. Strategies that work. Do a work in their hearts. I need You to intervene. I’m exhausted.

Forgive me for applying for government positions (five in the last 24 hours!) that I know I will probably not accept. Right now, how could I? I just need to know that beyond my front door there’s a normal world, where hard work pays off and achievement is recognized.

I know that within the front door You recognize my labor too, but I feel You so far away. A silly job offer for a job I cannot now take would give me more validation than Your love, always there. Isn’t that sad?

That must mean I’m ill connected. But this is something else I don’t know how to fix. In our walk too I’m doing my best. Now what?

“Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the three is love.” 

1 Corinthians 13 

The Message 

By the way, we’re on waiting mode on the writing front. I don’t like waiting modes on any fronts. Boo.

Advice? I obviously need it…

Tales from mature parents of demanding kids? Those bring amazing comfort and that’s why I share my stories. It’s not to hear myself talk. It’s to let others in the trenches know they don’t hurt alone.

One more plug: Tricia Goyer’s new book is awesome when it comes to not feeling alone in the whirlwind. She talks a lot about letting God shape you in the middle of the madness instead of focusing solely on outcomes.

https://www.amazon.com/Calming-Angry-Kids-Parents-Whirlwind/dp/1434711005

I promise I will try to post something more uplifting next time :)

Patricia Beal has danced ballet her whole life. She is from Brazil and fell in love with the English language while washing dishes at a McDonald's in Indianapolis. She put herself through college working at a BP gas station and graduated magna cum laude from the University of Cincinnati with a B.A. in English Literature. She then worked as a public affairs officer for the U.S. Army for seven years.

She now writes contemporary fiction and is represented by Bob Hostetler of The Steve Laube Agency. Her debut novel, A Season to Dance, came out in May of 2017 (Bling! / Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas). A Portuguese translation just came out in her native Brazil on August 3, 2018 (Editora Pandorga). Patricia is a 2015 Genesis semi-finalist and First Impressions finalist. She and her husband live in North Carolina with their two children.

Goodreads - www.goodreads.com/bealpat
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Web - www.patriciabeal.com

Can doubt play a positive role in your writing life?

If you’re a writer, you’ll have doubt. We all do. It comes with the territory.

What amazes me is that even the most successful writers go through it. I was listening to the most recent NovelMarketing podcast and Jim Rubart made mention of the fact that his latest novel – his 10th – has been hard. He’s wondered if he can actually write and doubting if he’s up to it. Jim’s an amazing author with half-a-library’s worth of books with his name on them, but he’s still saying he experiences doubt.

I’m going through another phase of doubt too. I’ve just had the rush and enormous excitement of signing a contract and working on my debut novel with my publisher. The edits. The cover design. The marketing ideas. It’s been amazing, and a sense of achievement. Recognition. Validation that the doubt was wrong.

Then it came time to pitch some more ideas. The doubt returned quickly. Very quickly. My feeling of success was still warm but the icy hand of doubt came back.

I tried to shake off the doubt – we all do, don’t we? – but then I wondered if there was another way to think about it.

So I was thinking about the role of doubt in a writer’s life. It’s often spoken about as a negative, and there are a gazillion blog posts about overcoming it so I, in typical contrarian fashion, wondered what sort of positive role it might play.

I didn’t want to write another blog post about “tips on getting rid of doubt”, so I thought about how doubt might actually help me.

1. Doubt makes me challenge what I write. Let’s face it, I’m the worst person to evaluate one of my own ideas – either in a positive or negative light. For me, when I doubt my story because I wonder if that plotline is derivative or just lame, it forces me to rethink it, and strengthen it. I doubt a character is likeable, so I examine him. It drives me to work harder to make him quirkier, more engaging and memorable.
2. Doubt helps me check my research and presentation – research or grammar. I doubt I’m right about the details, so I check the Chicago Manual of Style (my marketplace is in the US), and I get it right. I don’t presume, and therefore make silly mistakes. 
3. Doubt is a part of the fun. I don’t know if this idea is going to get over the line or not. It’s exciting while waiting (he says, knowing he often thinks otherwise in the middle of the wait). 
4. Doubt keeps me reliant on God. This is a big one when you’ve just had a success. When well-meaning people (who are clueless about the writing journey, let's be honest) start to tell you that you’ll retire on your “author money” in the next five minutes, that doubt over your next idea – and the thought that my first novel was just lightning in a bottle – keeps me leaning into God for whatever happens next. 

So that’s what I’ve learned about doubt and me. What role does doubt play in your writing life?

Diving deeper into life with ... stories

One of the casualties of our society’s desire to develop and get more sophisticated has been the time we spend on things or people. It’s as if we have reduced the very nature of our interaction with each other to as little room as we feel we can afford to give it.

Our society Googles issues, reads one article and feels like it’s informed. (If any research is done at all).

Large scale conversations – about the future of our planet or the future of our families - have been reduced to 140 characters, complete with a cool hashtag and a series of emojis.

We read about someone overcoming great odds (whether that’s health or poverty or discrimination) in a 200-word news article and follow up Facebook post.

Our support for friends in need has sometimes been reduced to clicking Like or sending them an animated gif.  

Politicians’ entire platforms, their audition to run a whole nation, are reduced to three-word soundbites with next to no detail. (In the USA, there was “Build that wall” and “I’m with her”.  In Australia, we had “Jobs and Growth”.)

(Just as an aside: I wonder if that has any kind of causal relationship with how angry people are. I run into this undercurrent of angst in a range of topics almost every day, and I wonder if its because people just don’t feel like they’re heard or understood).

So how have we arrived at this point?  I think one reason could be because understanding people or getting your head around issues is the perception we don’t have time. Our media is now on a 24/7 news cycle so it believes it has little time to actually check a story (or facts) because of the perceived pressure of missing out on the next one. We don’t stop and find out what’s really going on with someone because we’ve got to rush off to the next event which will make our life worthwhile because it adds another item to the list of “things we get done”. Which we can then post on social media for people to Like in passing.

To me, that has left us with a society that doesn’t appear to have much depth at all.  I want to dive deeper into life.

You know, there is one part of society in which I still find depth, and I’m glad it’s there.  I’m glad I can lose myself in it.

Stories.

There is nothing better than taking time – or increasingly making time – to dive into another world. That doesn’t necessarily mean a world far removed from my own with talking trees and Knights of the Realm, but instead a world of someone else’s experience.

Over the course of the story, I go deeper into life with someone else.  I experience the highs of their successes and the shared joy of them overcoming the challenges they face.  I commiserate with them as I learn about their successes.  I sit on the edge of my seat as I watch on as they are at the crossroads, facing life decisions that we know are the right or wrong thing for them.  I take time to get to know them.

And I learn about myself. I explore issues that are couched in the story of another, allowing me to see principles and life lessons in action. 

For me, there is only one thing better than reading a story like that.

Writing one.

One of the things I’ve enjoyed most about throwing myself into a manuscript is the process. Getting to know characters as they unveil themselves after I’ve spent time with them means I’ve changed their speech patterns or introduced a phrase that I hear them speaking if I stop and listen for long enough. Going back to a scene I thought was good and deepening it or throwing in a curveball, because I now know that character wouldn’t know what to do in that situation.

It encourages me to think deeper about the real world, about real people and real issues.  I find myself spending time listening to people about what they believe and asking the second question of ‘why?’ I’m  almost studying them for mannerisms or reactions to when life is going well (or not).

It means, in order to understand my characters or storyline better – and to be a better writer - I am thinking deeper about issues to do with mental health, poverty, the environment, loneliness, social media, the media or work-life balance.

Maybe everyone should be a writer.

If you are, I would encourage you to keep writing. Keep giving us something to lose ourselves in, to learn more and to go deeper into this life and all it has to offer. I, for one, will be most grateful.

About David Rawlings

Based in Adelaide, South Australia, I am a sports-mad, married father-of-three with my own copywriting/communication business who reads everything within an arm’s reach. I can see a typo from across the room and always – always – make sure my text messages are grammatically correct.

My manuscripts have finalled in the ACFW's Genesis competitions and the OCW's Cascade Awards.

And now I'm working with the Steve Laube Agency as my agent to find that elusive first publisher.

Learning from a marathon runner who hits the wall

I’ve got a mate who runs marathons.  Why is anybody’s guess - I told him the industrial revolution gave us ways to go anywhere in a 42-kilometre radius - and his constant invitations for me to join him are politely left to rush by.

It’s quite an achievement running forty-two kilometres. Pushing through the pain, wringing every ounce of effort out of yourself and doing something very few people achieve.  I do admire him for it. 

One of the most fascinating parts of running a marathon is known as hitting the wall. My mate talks about hitting it just past the halfway mark.  Everything about his experience says to give up; to walk; to even stop.  His legs are screaming for a break from the lactic acid and muscle cramps.  His lungs are screaming for relief. Even though he’s got the ability and the tools – and he’s already run half the race - things happen to him that make the finish line feel like it’s further away than when he started.

And he talks about feeling like he’s running in jelly.  He’s got the movement of running, but doesn’t feel like he’s getting anywhere. 

Writers hit the wall too. Our lactic acid might be family time that encroaches on writing. Our muscle cramps could be the pull of work or church over writing. Or our energy burnout could be when our ideas or storylines just run out of petrol. Or we're over halfway but just can't seem to find a way to finish the book.

It’s happened to me a number of times this year – when everything about my writing experience says to give up and stop. When my brain wants a rest and my bank balance tells me I should be doing extra work that actually pays the bills. When my ideas have run out of petrol and my characters feel like they can’t move on.

And it feels to me like the finish line – holding the final manuscript in my hands – is further away than when I started.

Now, my mate just laughs when I talk about writers hitting the wall, but there are things that he does that I’ve implemented this year.  And they’ve worked.

• Keep moving.  A runner needs their feet to keep moving. That movement is important as stopping the movement makes it 1000 times harder to restart it.  I’ve done that this year, at times I’ve just kept moving. That could be as simple as giving my protagonist another character trait, adding 200 words to the manuscript.  Or editing another chapter or scene. Or simply reformatted one exchange of dialogue.  That movement is important as I can look back and see that I've done something.
• Focussing on the finish line. Marathon runners often disassociate from the pounding beat of their stride and focus on the finish line. It helps break the dawning thought that they're in pain now, and is a reminder of why they're doing what they're doing. At times this year, I’ve just taken a deep breath and visualised typing The End at the tail of my manuscript. That disassociation has been enough to push me on and to spur me into action, because I now have the end goal in frame.
• Breaking the race down into chunks. This is the opposite of the previous point. One things my marathon running friend does is run the next 1km, then the next, then the next. I’ve done that – written the next scene, then the next scene, then the next scene. And when I’ve looked up at the end of the week I’ve written another 3,000 words.
• Enjoying the process. My friend says he tries to breath in sync with his steps or count out as his feet pound away. He enjoys the process of running.  That’s what I’ve tried to do this year.  I’ve written a particularly difficult scene and enjoyed the words as they’ve come, or the plot point as it has unveiled itself. I've gasped in surprise when a character says something I wasn't expecting or smiled when the protagonist got out of a jam even I didn't expect him to get out of. It sounds crazy, but it's FUN!

Writing a piece of work – any work – is hard. Especially if it’s something you’ve drawn from the depths of your experience or character. You’ve pushed through the pain, wrung every ounce of effort out of yourself and done something very few people achieve. 

And, like my friend, I admire you for it.

About David Rawlings

Based in Adelaide, South Australia, I am a sports-mad, married father-of-three with my own copywriting/communication business who reads everything within an arm’s reach. I can see a typo from across the room and always – always – make sure my text messages are grammatically correct.

My manuscripts have finalled in the ACFW's Genesis competitions and the OCW's Cascade Awards.

And now I'm working with the Steve Laube Agency as my agent to find that elusive first publisher.

Celebrating the little wins

I love seeing wins from other authors when they share them on social media.

It’s great to see when people you know are launching a book or have signed a contract. It’s heartwarming to share in the big wins of award nominations or best-seller lists. It's encouraging to see colleagues (and friends) recognised for the talent they have and the stories they tell.

It helps when, like me, you’re stuck in a bit of a no-mans land.

Allow me to explain … I’ve written two manuscripts. The first one is a finalist in the Oregon Christian Writers Cascade competition, the second is being looked at by a number of agents.

That’s good – it’s some kind of recognition at least. I’d much rather have those than a series of flat-out rejections, but I’m now waiting for answers. I haven’t had any ‘noes’ but I also haven’t had any ‘yesses’. Hence no-mans land.

So in this time of waiting (I’m still writing by the way) and before I’ve got anything significant to celebrate, I’ve taken to celebrating the little wins in my writing. Those things that might otherwise slide on past unacknowledged.  So this is my list of celebrations in the past month:

• Someone read the first three chapters of my award-nominated manuscript and asked “where’s the rest?”
• I came up with another novel concept that, after I fleshed it out and analysed it in the cold, hard light of another day, was actually still as good as when I came up with it.
• I told my elevator pitch for my next manuscript to someone and they wanted to know more.
• I came up with a plot twist that improves my WIP, it's still consistent with my characters and works on every level.
• I set myself a goal to write 6,000 words in a week and I did.
• The short story I wrote for my newsletter got some great feedback from people who said they were touched by it.
• I connected with my mentor and got another shot of encouragement and support.
• My first newsletter went out and subscribers took the time to email me their appreciation of what I’d done (if you do want to subscribe, visit my web site: www.davidrawlings.com.au and you'll get that short story I mentioned before.)

That’s how I’ve decided to address no-mans land. While I’m waiting for big news, I’m enjoying the steps on the journey. And one thing I keep appreciating about celebrating your little wins – it helps you appreciate the hard work you’re putting in, and allows you to see the everyday things you may otherwise miss.

Which little wins could you celebrate this month?

About David Rawlings

Based in Adelaide, South Australia, I am a sports-mad, married father-of-three with my own copywriting/communication business who reads everything within an arm’s reach. I can see a typo from across the room and always – always – make sure my text messages are grammatically correct.

Oh, and I love cooking, comedy and surfing. Over 25 years, I’ve made writing my career and paid the bills with words. It’s not a big leap from the six-year-old writing short stories instead of doing homework.

And now I'm working on finding a day between Wednesday and Thursday to squeeze in more writing.

www.davidrawlings.com.au

The Sacred Trust of Words by Sara Davison

As I write this, the Manchester bombing occurred just two days ago and I am still struggling to comprehend the horror. Only twenty-four hours ago, parents still searched, frantic, for their missing daughters, not knowing if they were alive or dead.

Once again, as it so often does now, the world seems a darker place today. Fear and fury and an overwhelming helplessness hang so thick in the air, at times it is difficult to breathe. Can light ever hope to pierce such a thick darkness?

Genesis tells us that, in the beginning, the earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. What an impermeable darkness that must have seemed, with no sun or moon or stars to lift it. But then God spoke. Let there be light.

  

And there was light.

The power of words, spoken by a creator God, on full display.

And then he spoke the first human into being and, before long, darkness fell again.

A passage from one of my novels has been swirling around in my mind since I heard the news of yet another attack on innocent people, on children, as it feels appropriate to what is happening in the world right now. As the narrator says, “It is a dark planet, has been since the day the first ones of your kind made the decision to turn away from the light. I can still feel it, that unfamiliar prick of pain that shot through me with that first bite of forbidden fruit. I thought then that the light was gone forever. A shadow fell over the planet in that moment, like a heavy curtain drawn across the sky. We all felt it, that pain of separation, of ending, of innocence lost. But we were shown then, and had it powerfully reinforced for us a few thousand years later, that light is stronger than darkness. I have seen it many times, but still, when the darkness hovers so thickly that I can no longer see my hand in front of my face, it is easy to forget.”

Some days, like today, when I am trying and largely failing to absorb the horror of recent events, I struggle to see my hand in front of my face. The prophet Isaiah said it well, “And they will look to the earth, but behold, distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish. And they will be thrust into thick darkness.” (Isaiah 8:22)

But God’s Word, as always, offers hope. Just two verses later the prophet proclaims that, “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.” (Isaiah 9:2)

And seven hundred years after those words were spoken, the prophecy is fulfilled, again with a word, the one whom John refers to as The Word. God’s sacred Word made manifest, taking on flesh and dwelling among us. A great light piercing what felt then, as it does today, like impenetrable darkness.

Can our words, given to us by God, do the same? They can, and they must. That is our sacred trust, to take the words God gives us and use them to fight against the encroaching night. As bleak and hopeless as circumstances appear, the one thing the darkness cannot stand up to, cannot prevail against, is light. As John declared, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” (John 1:5)

Fellow writers, we were made in the image of a creator God, who spoke all things into existence. And we have been called and gifted to be like him in this, to create, to boldly use our words, his words, equally full of truth and grace, to call forth the light that will penetrate the darkness around us.

May God use our words to push back the shadows and bring hope to a world in desperate need of the light.

Sara Davison is the author of the romantic suspense novel, The Watcher, and the romantic suspense series, The Seven Trilogy. She has been a finalist for five national writing awards, including Best New Canadian Christian author. Sara has a degree in English Literature from Queen’s University and is a member of The Word Guild, the largest organization for writers and editors who are Christian in Canada. She currently resides in Ontario, Canada with her husband Michael and their three children, all of whom she (literally) looks up to. Her favourite way to spend the days (and nights) is drinking coffee and making stuff up. Get to know Sara better at www.saradavison.org and @sarajdavison.

The layers of the writer, not the writing

In pursuit of improving my craft, I have been diving into the thoughts from a range of different authors to find out how they produce better stories.

One thing I found common to many of them is an idea that our writing should have different layers, and the deeper we go into them, the more engaging our stories will be.

I’ve read about going to deeper layers within characters. Readers will care about a character with depth, who has quirks and foibles not unlike their own. As the story progresses, they reveal more of themselves that the reader can embrace.

I’ve also read about the deep layers of plot. There is an intricate art to weaving subplots in, through and under the main storyline so there is something there for the reader to sink their teeth into.

There are layers of research, whereby authors don’t just check the spelling of the place name or breed of horse. They know what their story setting sounds like, smells like and feels like. They go deeper into finding out where their stories are set.

Lastly, I’ve read about the layering of scenes, so it’s not just a mad scramble from the opening line to the final phrase. Instead, the scene itself takes the reader deeper into the character’s dilemma.

I’ve embraced this advice and all of them have deepened my writing.

But I’ve been challenged beyond this. There is another level of layering that really makes a story deeper and more engaging.

It’s going deeper into the author. Me. You.

I’ve been challenged by God to respond to this. To not just provide a story that has deeper layers in and of itself, but to look at the layers of myself so my story will go deeper for my reader.

These are the layers I’ve been looking at:

1. My mind. I’m a pretty cerebral, rational guy and I live in my head most of the time.  I’m comfortable at this level. So when I write stories that are only at this layer, they might be observational but it’s still surface. It’s like reporting on a news channel.  Stories should go deeper than that.
2. My experience. I’ve found that writing from my experience takes the story another level deeper again, when I convey through my characters that I know the wrenching grief of what it’s like to lose a grandfather, or the heart-pounding sprint to catch a flight. It’s another layer again and drives the reader deeper into the story. But I’ve been challenged to take my stories deeper than that.
3. My heart. I could take the already-signposted route and claim that as an Aussie bloke this is the element of writing I’ll probably struggle with the most. But I’m surprised by how many other authors struggle with this; bloke or not, Aussie or not.  Peeling away the onion-like layers of mind and experience, and connecting with what you feel – in a tangible, real way for readers and putting it on the page – is scary and confronting. Writing from the heart draws readers even deeper into the story we’ve created. I’ve noticed with my own reading, this is where I connect with characters because I can see the passion bleeding through the words on the page. The author has gone beyond that they think or know, and has dared to put on the page what they feel. But there is another layer deeper than that.
4. My soul. This deepest layer is where I want to be.  I don’t mean by this that all Christian authors instantly turn into writers who produce sermons dressed up as fiction, but to me, writing from the soul is not just writing what you think, know or feel – it’s writing from who you are. It’s the essence of you.  I’ve read stories recently where there is almost something primal about connecting with someone on that level. I love a good plot twist and clever turn-of-phrase more than the next person, but when I read James L Rubart’s The Five Times I met Myself, I was drawn in by the fact that this wasn’t just Jim’s words on the page, it was Jim himself.

So I’ve been challenged not just to go deeper into the layers of the writing, but more into the layers of the writer. 

In my reading, I can see how this writing is the best and it’s a challenge that I’m working towards.  How about you?

PS: Speaking of layers, I've just launched my eNewsletter, which will be looking at the idea of diving deeper into reading, into writing and into life.  If you'd like to subscribe - https://davidrawlings.com.au/how-to-get-in-contact/ - I'll send you a short story I wrote called The Funeral. It's another take on a life event we've all experienced.

About David Rawlings

Based in Adelaide, South Australia, I am a sports-mad, married father-of-three with my own copywriting/communication business who reads everything within an arm’s reach. I can see a typo from across the room and always – always – make sure my text messages are grammatically correct.

Oh, and I love cooking, comedy and surfing. Over 25 years, I’ve made writing my career and paid the bills with words. It’s not a big leap from the six-year-old writing short stories instead of doing homework.

www.davidrawlings.com.au

Where to Begin

As hard as it was for me to find the right beginning for this post, the first chapter of a book makes me sweat even more.  Especially when that chapter will likely be available for free viewing on Amazon or through my publisher. The first taste of the book and the reader remains commitment free.

Even if you are pre-published and entering contests or sending queries, you know how all important that first chapter is - perhaps the only thing an agent or publisher will ever read of your work.

So where do you begin?

I thought I had picked a good spot in the "middle of the action" with my early drafts of The Scarlet Coat, my new release. Rachel, the heroine watched for the return of her father and brother after a Revolutionary War battle. She held up in an old fort with others from their small settlement, praying for the lives of her loved ones. Then someone sees the returning soldiers and everyone goes to meet them. Rachel's family isn't there so she panics and rides off to find them, pausing at home briefly to make sure they hadn't gone directly there.

Chapter two took her to the battlefield and the carnage of Oriskany where she makes a decision that changes her life forever.

This was an alright start, but I wasn't winning any contests or signing any contracts.

Next I tried cutting half of my first chapter and starting with Rachel at the cabin, knowing her father and brother hadn't returned and racing off to find them. I tacked chapter two onto the back of it.

Still not quite right.

Finally I tossed all of chapter one out the window. Now the sun was setting and our heroine was getting her first view of the battle field.

As soon as I'd made the change, I realised the original was all story set up - NOT story.

Was it painful to cut a full chapter?

Yep.

Was there a lot of information that still I needed and had to place elsewhere?

Yes, but that was probably for the best.

Is my start much stronger?

I think so....and thankfully so did my publisher. ;)

What do you think?

    The last rays of sun faded into twilight, and the wind whispered through the trees, as if warning Rachel to turn back. She encouraged her pa’s stallion forward, though her pulse threatened to strangle her. Somewhere, not far away, a wolf wailed into the night. The mournful song resonated within her, bespeaking tragedy. She searched the deepening shadows of the forest. What if all the British hadn’t retreated? What if there were still Indians and Tories out there, waiting behind those trees?
     Something unseen rustled the leaves, and a twig snapped. Lord, what am I doing? How would she even find them out here in the dark? Maybe she should go home or to the Reids’ for another night.
     Her course of action seemed so clear when General Herkimer, and what remained of his regiment and the local militia, limped their way alongside the Mohawk River from Oriskany. The general lay on a stretcher, his leg below the knee wrapped in a crimson cloth, his face pale and expressionless—like so many of the men with him. Eight hundred had marched north the day before yesterday and barely half returned.
     Her pa and brother were not among them.
 Stay with the Reids. That was all Pa had asked of her. Benjamin Reid’s bad leg compelled him to remain behind and watch over their farms. Though the safest place for her, Rachel could no longer wait there trying to carry on a casual conversation with any of the Reid girls or hide behind her mother’s Bible. She couldn’t abide the confines of their snug cabin a minute longer without knowing her own family’s fate. Since losing Mama to illness two years ago, Pa and Joseph were all she had. She couldn’t lose them, too. But she’d ridden for hours now. Where was she?
    A little farther along the trail, the wind shifted slightly, carrying on it the odor of burnt powder and blood. Battle. Rachel’s hand came to her stomach in an attempt to calm the sickness churning within.
The horse whinnied, shifting as he tossed his head.
     “Whoa. Easy, Hunter.” She slid to the ground and surveyed her surroundings. Both sides of the road were heavily treed and thick with underbrush. Even still, she could make out the dark forms of fallen men. She stumbled over her feet but kept moving. “Joseph! Pa!” You can’t be dead.
     Dragging the horse, Rachel ran. Each step constricted her throat until she could hardly breathe. Bodies littered the road—Indian, Tory, and American alike. She maneuvered around them, searching faces in the faint glow of the remaining light. She should have brought a lantern.
     The road sloped downward into a deep ravine. Her feet faltered. Hundreds of men—a patchwork of blue and homespun. All motionless. All dead. If only she could close her eyes or turn away, but every muscle held her in place.
     The rasp of a voice jolted her from the trance. She yelped and spun toward the intruder.
     “Rachel?” The murmur of her name accompanied the form of a man emerging from the trees. “What are you doing here?”

To finish reading the first chapter pop by Colonial Quills, or find on Amazon.


I still find it hard to write the first chapter of a book, but now I consider these three things when plotting those first few paragraphs:

1. Is this where the story really begins? I often begin books thinking "of course this is where the action and story and EVERYTHING begins, only to find out that, nope, this is still too early. The start of a story should have an element of change to it--what is about to change in your protagonist's life and propel them another 100-400 pages?
2. Is this necessary? If there is information I want included, is it necessary to include it now? Or can the reader be on a "need to know" basis? There is so much information you need to feed into that first paragraph and that first chapter while setting the scene and the tone and introducing the characters - try to leave out anything not absolutely necessary until later. Characters are allowed some secrets and some mystery. Often the things that keep the pages turning is what hasn't been told.
3. Is it gripping? The information may be important, but if it's not going to keep the reader's interest, what will compel them to keep reading? The first few pages need to grab the reader's attention and hold on tight. You might keep a outdoor enthusiast captivated by all the details of mackerel fishing, but the average person doesn't pick up a novel to be be taught. They want to be entertained. Learning is a happy side effect of a great book. 

These are just some of my thoughts. I am interested to hear yours. What do you look for in a great beginning? 

To keep from freezing in the Great White North, Angela K Couch cuddles under quilts with her laptop. Winning short story contests, being a semi-finalist in ACFW’s Genesis Contest, and a finalist in the International Digital Awards also helped warm her up. As a passionate believer in Christ, her faith permeates the stories she tells. Her martial arts training, experience with horses, and appreciation for good romance sneak in there, as well. When not writing, she stays fit (and warm) by chasing after three munchkins.

www.angelakcouch.com 

Inspiration for Writing: Living As a Sponge

I don't know about you, but I prefer washing dishes with a sponge. Sponges are simple things, not deeply complicated or awkward to get along with. But they are great. They absorb huge quantities of liquid when they need to, but they also let it all out again at the slightest squeeze. 

Except for the bit about not being complicated, that sounds like us writers, doesn't it? (Complicated? Who, us?)

Think about it, we absorb everything: the pitch of the irritated lady's voice in the queue ahead...  the sad creases of disappointment around a little person's mouth when mom says no! to his nagging for a sweetie. The flush on the cheeks of a teen around their current crush.

Life is never boring when you are constantly surrounded by techni-colour material that will breathe life into your next bit of writing.

Even our own insides become grist for the mill... Think about it - we have ringside seats to what churns inside when bad news comes at us down the phone.  How about the Adrenalin thumping, squeal-inducing good news we've been waiting for?

I'm training myself to savour and ABSORB each moment - good and bad - analyze it, tag on some appropriate words, then file it away in my mental filing cabinet for the 'write' moment. I've found inspiration in the weirdest places. No, really! Look at this:

An topographical map of a new planet? Alien skin perhaps? What about the inside of a cave wall threaded through with an undiscovered mineral that could repair the hole in the ozone layer... Tracks in soil - clues for our hero to unravel? It could be all those things.

But in reality, it is just burnt spaghetti at the bottom of a pot I forgot on the stove because I was writing. With minds like ours, it doesn't have to stay as 'just burnt spaghetti'.

Life is truly a delicious array of  inspiration. Good and bad. All of it can be used.

Your turn. I want to hear about the strangest source of inspiration you've found and what you did with it.

Dianne J. Wilson writes novels from her hometown in East London, South Africa, where she lives with her husband and three daughters. She has just signed a three book contract for a YA series, Spirit Walker, with Pelican / Watershed.

Finding Mia is available from Amazon, Pelican / Harbourlight, Barnes & Noble and other bookstores.

Shackles is available as a free ebook from Amazon & Smashwords.

Find her on Facebook, Twitter and her sporadic blog Doodles.

NaNoWriMo...For Better or Worse

It's again that time of the year when writers start to look forward to National Novel Writing Month. For those who aren't familiar with it, it is the month where the goal is to write 50,000 words in the month of November. Fun, right?

Here are a few of the things I don't like, and a few of the things I love about NaNoWriMo:

Things I don't like (so we can end on a positive note):

1. The forums! I lose so much writing time because there are so many fun groups to be a part of. It's easy to get caught up in reading other people's goal and achievements, that you forget about your own.  
2. Easy to get discouraged by other writers' successes. Especially with all those forums and social media groups. They start posting about the easy five thousand words they wrote today, and you wonder what's wrong with you and your struggle to get five hundred words down. 
3. Makes me feel like I should pick a new writing project, when what I need to be doing is editing. 

All right, some things I like:

1. All those fun forums and social media groups that offer encouragement and motivation. (Yep, it's a double edged sword).
2. Having a goal you share with a bunch of writers--again, great for motivation!
3. Free word counting and goal making apps to help and document your journey. 
4. An excuse to explain to your spouse or roommates why you will be a hopeless slob for one month. :)

This is how I make NaNoWriMo work for me:

1. I explain to my spouse that I will be a hopeless slob for one month. 
2. I try to get my editing done so I can write a new manuscript in November....but that doesn't always happen, so...
3. I make the goal fit my writing needs. Right now I don't need to write a new book. (I just finished one last Saturday!) I have two manuscripts that need reworking and editing. So I will change the goal from words written, to words reworked, or chapter's edited. I'll still push myself, but in the direction I need to go.
4. I set a limit and stay (or try to stay) within it. I enjoy visiting forums, but it's better as a reward for after I meet my daily goal. Either way, I try to keep to a small time frame for my visits. 
5. I have fun encouraging other writers in their goals. :)

So how about you? What do you like or dislike about NaNoWriMo and how do you make it work for you? 

My Top 3 Writing Apps

Can you imagine being a writer in the days of quills and ink? You spend the day sweating over a piece of work, only to make a typo in the last line which means starting all over again. It must have been soul-destroying. The invention of the typewriter helped somewhat, but those typo's still meant redoing entire pages. Trust me, I took touch-typing as a school subject on a non-electric typewriter. I know, right?

And yet I can picture some of those quillers adamantly clutching their feathers to their chests, vowing never to let their fingertips go anywhere near the cold hard keys of a typewriter. Even today we writers can either reject new technology, or let it help us. 

Signing a 3-book contract with deadlines is a teensy bit terrifying. Okay, let me be honest. It is a whole lot terrifying. I need help. Google and my smartphone became my BFF's as I hunted for something that would help me increase my output consistently.   

I found 3 apps that work for me.

1. Writeometer: 
This little app is simple, yet genius. You create projects, enter your deadlines and it will work out how many words you need to write per day to finish on time. 

It also tracks how long it will take to finish at your current pace. 

It has an option to write to a 25 minute timer and at the end it awards you virtual guava's, which you accumulate and spend on virtual treats. Who doesn't love a virtual guava?

There are all sorts of writing stats and graphs to track your writing streaks, progress and speed. I love being able to see my progress visually. You can work on multiple projects at the same time.

The nifty toolbox features a dictionary, thesaurus and word salad. 

One of my favourite things is the featured writing quote on the home page that changes regularly. 

Simply, nifty, and working for me!

2. Character Story Planner
The title of this one is pretty self-explanatory. 

This app enables you to carry your character planning with you throughout your day. (If you are like me and take your phone everywhere, of course.)

Each character is assigned multiple tabs that you can fill in with as much, or as little detail as you want to. 

So the next time you're sitting in a boring meeting and get struck with awesome insight into your current people, capture it right there. It also allows you to run multiple projects at the same time and list your characters per book.

3. Vocabulary Builder
This is my latest addition. I installed it last night in a weak moment of giving in to procrastination. Basically, Vocabulary Builder is a word quiz that teaches you new words. You have the option of practicing words without a time limit. Once you finish a round of words, it unlocks the next set.

You also get to test your word-knowledge against other random people from across the globe in quizzes . 

So this app is what I call 'productive procrastination'. You get to have a break from your WIP but still hone your skills at the same time. 

These three apps work beautifully for me. I'd love to know if you have other things that you use to help you with your writing.

 Dianne J. Wilson writes novels from her hometown in East London, South Africa, where she lives with her husband and three daughters. She has just signed a three book contract for a YA series, Spirit Walker, with Pelican / Watershed.

Finding Mia is available from Amazon, Pelican / Harbourlight, Barnes & Noble and other bookstores.

Shackles is available as a free ebook from Amazon & Smashwords.

Find her on Facebook, Twitter and her sporadic blog Doodles.