Scared Stiff

    

     I have many fears when it comes to writing. I'm afraid I'll never finish my book. I'm afraid no one will like my story. I'm afraid that I am wasting my time. And I am especially afraid someone will have the same idea I have and publish before me.

     My Dad has told me many times that fear is the opposite of faith. Faith is trust, after all; so I am afraid when I am forgetting to trust God.True, but there is another reason for my fear.

     Pride. Ow, just reading the word hurts. I get caught up in this work I am doing and forget Who I am doing it for. I get competitive with my fellow writers and then I feel bad for not measuring up. Then that still and quiet Voice reminds me that it doesn't matter what the world thinks. It is all going to burn in the end. What really matters is what HE thinks.

     Do you ever feel insecure about your writing?

Post Tenebras Lux!
-ST

Character Development Part 1

“A Day in the Life”

     I have decided that developing characters is much harder than developing relationships with real people. With real people, all you have to do is ask them what they like to do for fun or what their opinion is on something, but with characters you have to make up their response. And all the characters have to be different.

     I want my characters to feel like real people. So I decided to write them in different situations that would be normal life to them. For example, I wrote a short story about one of my characters taking a trip to a mall to go shoe shopping. Not a thrilling plot, and the story has no real “point,” but it really helped me discover more about what he thinks about himself and others, what he fears, what he likes, and, most importantly, what he wants.

     I wrote the story from 1st person POV, as if the character was telling me his story. I also purposefully avoided listening into the characters thoughts; so not only am I learning about my character, I’m also practicing my writing skills in “showing” instead of “telling.”

     That particular character is a new one I am adding to the story. For one of my original characters, I went through the old manuscript and pulled out everything that would tell me what kind of a person he is. It was tedious, but now I have a list of characteristics for him.

     How do you develop your characters?

Post Tenebras Lux!

-ST

The End is... Somewhere...

     

     I have started writing again, but with a clean slate. The previous plot is obliterated. I have many of the same characters, but I am trying to develop them fully. Right now, all I have is the bare bones of a story. It's exciting and nerve wracking; I can't wait to see where the characters take the story, but I don't have a clue where the end might be.

     Maybe to say, "I'm writing again" is misleading. I have not begun the first draft. But I have given some careful thought to what messages I want to weave into my story. To me, messages are the most important part. Whether writers intend to or not, every story carries messages. Most are subtle. Satan likes to use messages to make people think certain behaviors or beliefs are normal and ok. Jesus also likes to use messages. Look at His parables - every parable has a message that points people to God. So here are some questions I asked myself while I was thinking about the messages in my story:

Why should someone read this book?

Entertainment will be the reason why they pick it up, more often than not. As for those who want to have a break from the junk in the worldly stories, this book will be a safe haven.

What do I want my readers to remember after reading this book? How do I want to encourage my readers toward the straight and narrow path?

I want to make my readers hungry for God. I want to feed them with His Word so that they will develop a craving for it. My characters must be constantly encouraged with the Word, because then my readers will be encouraged. At the end, I want the reader to be well aware that God is loving and trustworthy; whether they truly believe it or not is up to them.  

Like I said, these are the bare bones of the story. I also wrote down some other questions, like:

What is my goal with this book?

What do I want to see happen at the end?

What lessons must be learned along the way?

These are yet unanswered. We'll get there.

Any thoughts? Suggestions? 

Post Tenebras Lux!

-ST