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Fictional Friday: To Make A Writer Add Alcott and Minestrone, by Brandy Vallance
It’s Louisa May Alcott’s fault. She was the last domino that made a writer out of me. You have to be on your guard against seemingly innocent, entertaining stories. For, as I have found, no story is innocent, and words, once they take root, can alter the course of your destiny forever. Edward Bulwer-Lytton was right when he wrote, “The pen is mightier than the sword.”
In December of 1999, my son was five months old and sleeping peacefully. I had the opportunity for an unstructured evening and I decided to try a new recipe for minestrone soup. I still make the soup today but now it’s called Little Women Minestrone. As I cut onions and made broth, the movie Little Women came on the television and I can happily say that I haven’t been the same ever since.
For the next two hours I was completely swept away with the March family and Jo’s journey to be a writer. When Laurie said the words, “I promise to kiss you before you die,” I was done for. When Professor Baer proposed underneath his umbrella, my fate was sealed. As the credits to the movie rolled, I grabbed a piece of paper and wrote the first words of my first novel, The Covered Deep.
It became my nightly ritual—writing just to see where the story would go. It was an escape that I desperately needed at the time, and before long that escape became a passion. When I wasn’t writing, the story held me. I found that the time I most enjoyed was when I could write—the magic hours late into the night. Chapter after chapter materialized. Possibilities took root in my mind. What if I really could be a writer? My cousin thought so. He was the first person who believed in me. Part of the fun was showing him the chapters just to see what he would say.
Now, fourteen years later, a lot has changed in my life. My cousin passed away from Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma and on that day I lost my best friend. My family moved from Ohio to Florida and then Colorado. My husband became a missionary. My son is now almost six feet tall and wears a size ten and a half shoe. We were blessed to have a beautiful daughter who is one of the greatest joys of my life.
Throughout all those years, I took the time to be serious about writing. The passion for story never did die, even when I went years without being published. I took the Christian Writers Guild Apprenticeship, attended conferences, joined critique groups, and entered contests—you name it. Finally stuff started to stick. My first article sold and I ended up freelancing for six years.
Writing is worth it. If that particular madness sings in your blood, embrace it and write on. I don’t have to tell you how wonderful it is because you already know. You’ve already experienced the joy of having a plot problem solved at 3 AM. Your characters have become so real that when you’re not writing, they call to you. You cry and laugh when they do. Sometimes their world seems more real than the one you’re in. And sometimes, if you listen hard enough, your characters whisper their secrets. That’s when the real fun begins.
Stories are important. Jesus thought so. If they had no weight, He wouldn’t have used so many parables. He could have easily just told things cut and dry. But, Jesus knew something important. Stories bypass the mind and go into the heart.
Yes, being a writer has its challenges but try to remember something. Storytelling is a high calling. Not everyone can do it. If the One True Living God has reached down and enabled you thus, be thankful. And, for the sake of the rest of us, learn all you can and work hard. We need you to be authentic. Remember that the most powerful stories often make the writer the most vulnerable. Be true to yourself and bleed on the page. Future writers need you. Even if, like me all those years ago, they don’t know it yet.
[author] [author_image timthumb=’on’]https://www.carlalaureano.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/BrandyVallance_headshot-e1375408203528.jpg[/author_image] [author_info]A completely incurable romantic, Brandy Vallance adores history and frequently has to be told at museums that it’s closing time. Brandy is the winner of the 2012 ACFW Genesis Contest for historical romance and is represented by Rachelle Gardner of Books & Such Literary Agency. Visit her website at www.brandyvallance.com.[/author_info] [/author]
Tags: Brandy Vallance, inspiration, Little Women, minestrone soup, The Covered Deep, writing
Words for Women: Crash! The Sting of Rejection by Robbie Iobst
CRASH!
When my son was three, he was given a bright orange car, low to the ground, powered by petals and steered with hand holds.
At the time, we lived in a cottage. Actually, when I use the term “cottage” I am using euphoric recall. It was a shack situated in the yard of our landlord. Noah’s room, and I’m not exaggerating, was the laundry nook. He slept where a dryer was once located.
But the joy of this home was the gigantic yard contacted to a long driveway. In the middle of the yard was a big tree with a solid trunk. Perfect for crashing.
That’s what Noah used it for. He’d get into his orange car and race down the driveway as fast as his little boy feet could pedal and then he’d turn into the grass, still charging ahead with full force, and crash into that tree.
I’d watch, holding my breath, sure he’d develop toddler whiplash or neck problems. John would just laugh at his fearlessness.
The part that I recall the most fondly, eleven years later, is what happened after the crash.
Every time.
Noah’s car and body would reverberate and in the next second his non-whiplashed neck would go back and he’d let out the loudest and most contagious laugh. Pure delight.
After his laugh, he’d yell, “Did you see that, Dad?”
“Atta boy!” John would call.
And Noah would drive back up the driveway to do it all again. Over and over.
Crash after crash.
God is teaching me through my fearless boy. Crashes happen, don’t they? Be it a lost job, a disappointment in a relationship or as I’ve recently experienced, a rejection.
And God has shown me that I need a “crash-course” on dealing with crashes.
1) I need to expect them. Life is difficult. Any journey has obstacles. Anything worth doing well requires hard work and yep, pain.
2) I need to practice my reactions to crashes. Instead of complete shock and bewilderment, accompanied by wailing and eating too much, I need to try breathing and putting things into perspective. In order to do that trust in God is required. Out of trust comes joy. This will add to my relationship with Jesus, which is ultimately the most vital aspect of any journey.
Today I choose to employ my son’s kamikaze tactics in my writing attempts. I could continue to write with a delicate attitude, hoping what God has given me to say pleases everyone and makes me a ton of money or fame.
But no more.
Today I am a child again, racing ahead with the words God’s given me, typing as fast my 50-year-old fingers will allow. And when I crash, it’ll be with purpose and joy and I’ll let out a loud laugh.
“Did you see that, God?”
And He’ll yell, “Atta girl!”
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.” James 1:2-3
Adventures can be pure joy and what adventure story doesn’t include some great crashes? Wherever you might be in your adventure, race ahead with Him! And may the Lord bless our crashes!
About Joy Dance
Step on the Floor of Grace, and Experience Life as a Joy Dance!
Joy is not just happiness. Joy is believing God is in control and we are in His hands no matter the circumstances. It’s a choice to rest in Him. As we relax in His arms, He leads us in the dance and gives us a heart to experience the rhythm of joy every day.
[author] [author_image timthumb=’on’]https://www.carlalaureano.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/RobbieIobst_headshot.jpg[/author_image] [author_info]Robbie Iobst is a transplanted Texan, award-winning speaker and author. Her nonfiction work includes the devotional Joy Dance as well as numerous articles, including eight credits in the Chicken Soup for the Soul series. Robbie lives in Centennial, Colorado with her husband and son. Cecilia Jackson’s Last Chance, her debut novel, will be released in September. [/author_info] [/author]
Tags: Cecilia Jackson's Last Chance, failure, joy, Joy Dance, life's journey, rejection, Robbie Iobst, trust
Marketing Monday: To Blog or Not To Blog (Author Sites, Part 5)
To blog or not to blog…that is the question. For aspiring authors, at least. Most marketing experts expound on the importance of the blog in building your platform—that is, your eventual readership. But what if you hate to blog? What if you don’t know where to start?
I happen to be one of the few fiction authors who actually enjoys blogging. I have a background in copywriting, and so knocking out 400-800 words of non-fiction a couple times a week isn’t all that daunting. Until, of course, it’s combined with deadlines, editing, and other marketing. The pace can be overwhelming, and the demand for new content is never-ending. But I also recognize that my site traffic is much improved by having new posts each week, and watching trends in my site stats has shown me that, personally, I’m better off blogging than not.
So let’s take a unbiased look on the importance (or unimportance) of blogging to your overall marketing strategy.
Why You Should Blog
1. Blogging allows you to showcase your voice, writing style, and personality. Potential readers may decide they like you and therefore they might like your book. It gives readers a no-risk way to get to know your writing and offers assurance they won’t be wasting their time and money on your novel.
2. Blogging gives you a way to connect with readers in a non-marketing forum. Yes, a blog is part of your overall marketing strategy, but unlike other marketing and advertising strategies, it doesn’t involve a hard sell.
3. Blogging gives you a way to give back to readers. Many social media and marketing pundits espouse the 99% rule: 99% of your contact with readers should be you contributing to the conversation. Only 1% should be you taking from the conversation (that is, giving a sales pitch). If 99% of the time, you’re providing useful or entertaining information, readers are more likely to see that 1% of marketing message in a positive light.
4. Blogging improves your page rank. Google prizes new content, and constantly having new blog posts will push you to the top of search rankings for your topics. Which brings us to another important note…
5. Blogging allows you to establish yourself as an expert. This is usually emphasized for non-fiction writers, but it’s true for fiction writers as well. Perhaps you want to be known for writing a particular type of fiction with a particular type of character (e.g. military suspense). If you consistently blog on these topics, your site will not only climb to the top of the appropriate search results, but also bring you readers who prize expert knowledge in their area of interest.
When You Shouldn’t Blog
1. You hate blogging. At times, we all say we hate blogging. Usually, we mean we hate finding the time to do it. But if you truly hate it, that will come through in your writing. You won’t be motivated to be consistent, and you won’t reap the benefits of blogging that I listed above.
2. You truly don’t have the time. Many writers hold down a full time job while writing books, and marketing already takes up a significant amount of writing time. If you have to choose between writing to meet your deadline or blogging, it makes more sense to write. After all, blogging is only one piece of an overall marketing strategy… and there’s no point in building a platform if you have no product.
3. You don’t have anything to say. Some people find that writing fiction comes naturally, but writing non-fiction is a little like a root canal without anesthesia. Slow, painful, and seems like it lasts forever. If you truly cannot consistently come up with unique content on a topic relevant to readers, you may be better off passing on the blog. One exception might be if you’re Seinfeld: a show about nothing would be well-promoted by a blog about nothing, (though truthfully, that’s harder than writing about something). I have a friend who writes quirky contemporary romance, and her blog is a charming combination of slice-of-life ramblings and sharp wit. In her case, it works, and it gives readers a taste of her voice and her sense of humor. But not everyone can pull off this strategy.
4. You attract stalkers. No, I’m not kidding. One particular author friend of mine deliberately keeps a low profile online because she seems to attract crazies (beyond the usual “hey, I like your Facebook profile pic” message). While it’s great to let readers see inside your head and your life, there are times when it makes more sense to keep your private life as private as possible.
Now that you’ve seen the reasons to blog and not to blog, how will you answer that question? If you’ve decided that you indeed need to blog, don’t forget to come back next Monday for my top ideas for making blogging easier and less time consuming.
Tags: blog, copywriting, marketing, platform
Fictional Friday: An Audience of One
I didn’t start out intending to write inspirational fiction. At the time I began writing novels and working towards publication over fifteen years ago, the Christian fiction market seemed to be mainly historicals, traditional sweet romances, and the Left Behind series. For a writer of fantasy fiction (and later contemporary romance) there didn’t seem to be a place for my kind of story.
So I spent almost ten years aiming for publication in the general market. I had some good responses on my work and some interest from big-name agents, but for some reason, I couldn’t make it that last step towards representation. Part of it may have been that my writing just wasn’t ready. But I believe a larger part of it had to do with the fact God had very different plans for my writing career.
I was slogging through rewrites on a novel and getting nowhere when the answer came to me in a flash. I wasn’t happy with my work because it was missing something. It had conflict, interesting characters, and decent writing, but it had no heart. Or more properly, it had no soul. My writing was informed by my Christian beliefs, but writing moral characters without addressing their spiritual beliefs left the story lacking. It was that realization—somewhere between a gentle nudge and a shout from heaven—that sent me in the direction of Christian fiction.
As I began to revise my work-in-progress for the inspirational market, I realized that God had a message He wanted me to deliver through my writing. The focus of my stories has never been winning non-believers to Christ, though I’m sure that God could use them for that purpose if He wished. Rather, I wanted to speak to believers going through hard times. I wanted to show the struggle of living a Christian life when it’s inconvenient or downright dangerous. The difficulty of maintaining faith when the horizon looks dark. The unending grace our Savior shows despite the fact we make mistakes—sometimes the same one, over and over again.
I still believe in those messages, but as I’ve written multiple stories and dozens of characters over the last five years, I have realized the audience for those lessons was different than I originally intended.
That audience is me.
It never ceases to amaze me how something I’ve written and completely forgotten will pop out to me while doing an editing pass or a read-through. I might not have seen the personal application at the time I wrote it—perhaps it wasn’t even an issue for me at the time I wrote it—but my own words often come back to challenge me.
It’s at these times that I wonder if God didn’t push me towards writing inspirational fiction for my own spiritual growth as much as others’. I’m sure He knew that in the craziness of juggling a family and a career, sometimes I’d get in over my head and this would be the one sure way to get my attention. After all, it’s pretty hard to argue with yourself, especially when the answer is written in black and white.
And it’s at these times I’m grateful for a God who always meets me where I am, whether it’s in church, through the example of another, or in the pages of a novel.
(This post was originally published as a guest post on www.MaryVee.com.)
Tags: Carla Laureano, inspirational fiction, publication story
