We might be incubating

Like baby chickens encased in the shells of warm eggs, we writers go through times of incubation. The process is also like seeds buried deep in the ground. Nobody can see anything visible happening, yet our minds are rife with energy, ticking away on something great that might not come into being for a long time.

I had my idea for an amnesia story way back in 2000 when I'd finished writing my first draft of another novel, Picking up the Pieces. I found the new idea intriguing and fully intended to get stuck straight into it. I even wrote several chapters and phoned a friend in the police force to quiz him for several details I'd need to know for my plot, especially how they set about discovering the identities of people who don't know who they are. Even though I devoted a few months to this book at the time, I finished up putting it aside. For some reason, it wasn't gripping me as much another sudden new idea to write a young adult trilogy entitled Quenarden. When I finished work on those three books, I re-wrote The Risky Way Home, the first book I'd ever written. Then I had an idea about combining two of my contemporary romances into a sequel, which became A Design of Gold. When I'd almost finished writing that, this amnesia idea suddenly bobbed up in my consciousness again. After eight years of being pushed to the back burner, my enthusiasm to work on it was brimming again.

I knew its time was right. The details about an antique shop background were clearer in my head and characters motivations were falling into place, while they had been strained all that time ago. It was as if the fruit had taken eight years to ripen in my subconscious mind. I went through those old chapters I'd written and found lots of waffle that could be deleted. Better still, I'd learned some extra skills as a writer which the experience of five extra books had taught me. And best of all, my kids had grown up a bit and real life experience had taught me my hero's lesson - that our thoughts shape our world and what we choose to focus on grows in our outer worlds. I'm sure I wouldn't have been as well-equipped to write that eight years earlier. The book ended up being called Best Forgotten.

I am incubating a few other ideas which will require some scientific research while I'm working on something that I'd been incubating while I wrote Best Forgotten. There are also ideas knocking each other around in my brain about a book of reflections to encourage fellow writers. I like the way Madeleine L'Engle expressed this incubation process in her reflective book, Walking on Water, in which she likened her creative process to having several pots bubbling away on the stove's hot plates at once. She sprinkles and stirs ingredients into each of them as they occur to her, and eventually the one which becomes complete in her mind and enthusiasm first gets taken off and worked on while the others continue to simmer.

Are any of you being incubators at the moment? I wonder what invisible germs of wonderful books are already simmering among us.

Paula Vince is a homeschooling mother and award winning author who live in the beautiful Adelaide Hills of South Australia. She writes mostly contemporary drama/romances with elements of mystery and suspense.

So You Want to Write a Book?

I am delighted this 19th title has just become a finalist in the CALEB Awards with two other great novels: Carol Preston's Mary's Guardian and Paula Vince's Best Forgotten. It will be a nervous wait for us all at the Award dinner on November 11th in Queensland.

However, after Justice at Baragula was released, I could not help reflecting back over the years since my writing career started - a long time ago now.

“I’d like to write a book some day.”

Many times over the years I have been told this, sometimes very shyly, sometimes very confidently. These statements have usually been from someone I have met during speaking appointments, or someone who has just bought one of my books.

I would suggest that many other published authors have also heard similar comments and I have often wondered how they respond. Depending on the circumstances, of course my replies have varied considerably.

This is actually something I personally never remember thinking. In fact, even when I did a writer’s correspondence course many, many years ago, I was aiming to write articles and especially short stories never even daring to think about a whole book. Then came that never forgotten day a long time ago when my husband became tired of me complaining about a Christian novel I had thrown down in disgust.

“Well, write one better yourself!” Ray said grumpily before exiting the room.

Utter astonishment. Me? Write a novel?

The idea would not go away. Certainly there was a lot of time spent in praying and confirmation from the Scriptures. So my journey had begun, including discovering just how hard it is to “write one better.” With small children and church ministries, it took me many years to eventually finish that first manuscript and then many, many rewrites before it became my first Heartsong Presents book, “Search For Tomorrow” which I still call my "apprentice" novel.

Little did I know when I started that first manuscript it would become the first of my four "Search" series, published by Barbour in this 4-in-1 volume which became a best-seller'
But that was to be many, many years down my writing journey.

During several chats with folk who would like to write a book “one day” I’ve discovered too many have no idea how or where they should start. To begin with, many of them simply had no real idea of the actual structure of a novel. Certainly these days of the internet there is much information about how to write and has made a huge difference for anyone serious about writing a novel. In more recent years, some school systems now also teach fortunate young people a lot more about this as part of their English curriculum which my age group missed out on.

These days my first response to the above comment is to ask what kind of book the speaker enjoys reading the most, and whether non-fiction or fiction. The next is to suggest they either borrow from the library or invest in “How To” books for that particular kind of book and do some study. My next suggestion is to join writer’s groups, and if at all possible a local one with face to face regular meetings. I believe that while we can study many books about writing, putting what we study into practice is often difficult. What I call “writer chat” also helps stimulate me, keeps me plodding away during those difficult periods when “life” interrupts my writing aspirations or when those rejection letters arrive from publishers.

Needless to say, there are now many writer’s conferences and seminars that offer great learning opportunities. The ACFW one is of course the very best for Christian fiction writers but hopefully wherever you are there will be some opportunities whether large or small. On November 12th, I am privileged to be presenting a workshop at The Word Writer Fair in Queensland on “Preparing To Write That Novel.” I certainly wish that I had known much of what I will be sharing before I had ever attempted that first novel of mine way back in the mid 1980s! There were so many things I didn’t even know I should “know” and have to confess continue still to learn more with each manuscript.

Be warned, my own journey of learning to write “better” books still continues. With any career we need to keep trying to improve.

I would love some comments on anything others wish they had known before starting their first manuscript, or what anyone wanting to write a book would like to hear at a workshop like this one in November.

Mary Hawkins is a best-selling inspirational romance author. A Queensland farmer’s daughter, she became a registered nurse before going to Bible College. She and her minister husband have three adult children and five grandchildren, enjoyed over 46 years of ministry including church planting in Australia, two years in England, three short term mission trips to Africa and now live in Tasmania, Australia's island state. Her 19th title, Justice at Baragula was released May, 2011

Read more about Mary's writing journey, her husband Ray and his devotional books on their blog from the website: http://www.mary-hawkins.com/

Best Forgotten - Fiction that changes hearts!

by Paula Vince

I'm delighted that Lisa has given me an opportunity to share once again on this blog. Before I talk about my new release, I’ll begin with a recent attitude adjustment.

I was having a prayer time that was more like a long complaint list. It went something like this. ‘Lord, I know several readers who I’m sure would love my books if only they bothered to take the time. You don’t know how frustrating it is when you have something which would bless people but they’re too indifferent to even want to know.’

No sooner were the words out of my mouth when His answer filled my spirit.

You think I don’t understand how that feels? Just remember who you’re talking to!

That made my pulse race. How could I have forgotten for a moment? It suddenly seemed I’d been raised to an aerial view to see the rut I’d dug for myself. It was clear how tightly yoked I’d been to my own ego, wanting to make a ‘success’ of selling Christian novels in Australia so I could prove my value to others and myself. I’d missed the point entirely. If I’d noticed that I was pacing over the same dusty ground month after month, I would have scrambled out of that dirty rut long ago. I’d started out on this adventure with Jesus. How short-sighted of me to be offended because I shared some of His own experiences.

Nothing has changed in my approach to selling books but how refreshing it feels to climb out of that result-driven rut and survey things from higher ground. How liberating to change my concept of ‘success’ and stop gauging it by the human feedback I receive compared to others. Even the air from the new vantage point feels cleaner and crisper to breathe.

Having said this, I really am excited to offer my new release, Best Forgotten to others. I’ve tried to weave together elements of mystery, suspense and redemption in a way I’ve never done before.

A young accident victim wakes up in hospital without a clue who he is. Not only does he have nothing in common with his family but he develops an aversion to the person he used to be. He cannot understand the way he used to behave or the choices he made. The more he learns about himself, the more puzzled and upset he becomes.

He discovers that his best friend disappeared without a trace on the night of his own accident. His girlfriend is strangely aloof and he cannot shake off a feeling that the answer will prove even more unpleasant than his amnesia. The more he tries to investigate, the more likely it appears that he was involved in something really shady and sinister. And he senses that something bad is after him. So he’s torn between wanting to find out and being terrified that he’ll have to face horrible consequences when he does.

I’ve been fascinated by the relationship between our thinking patterns and what we make of our lives. How is a person’s personality shaped by his sum of experiences? To what extent do the thoughts we choose to think make us into the people we are? Do our seemingly random choices have the impact to come back when least expected and impact the rest of our lives?

When you, the reader, find out the mystery, hopefully you’ll let out a gasp and cry, ‘Oh wow, I never saw that coming!’ That’s my intention, anyhow.

I love it when a work of fiction not only entertains readers but changes us at the core by getting us to think about how what we’ve read within the pages may also apply to us. These are the stories we like to remember, lend to others and call really special. I believe novelists have a responsibility to offer readers our very best and it’s a quest I take seriously.

For Australian and international readers alike, my books are available from Amazon.com and directly from my own website, www.appleleafbooks.com. In fact I invite you to visit my website if you’d like to read about my other titles too. For Australian and New Zealand readers, Best Forgotten and my other books are also available from Koorong and other good Christian book stores.

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Paula Vince always wanted to write fiction and loves to evoke tears and laughter. Her novels include a fantasy/adventure trilogy for young adults and four contemporary dramas with elements of romance, mystery and suspense. She lives with her husband and three children in South Australia’s beautiful Adelaide Hills, which she uses as the setting for several of her novels. Her novel, Picking up the Pieces was a finalist in the inaugural 2010 Omega Writer’s CALEB prize. Her most recent novel, Best Forgotten is a mystery/romance that has just been published by Wombat Books/Even Before Publishing.