The Dreaded (But Necessary) Game Plan

     Well, I’m back. And what an adventurous summer I’ve had! For the last couple of months, I have been (yet again) serving at Word of Life. It was amazing. I was able to watch God work in lives in a way I never saw before. The people I served with were incredible men and women dedicated to making the name of Jesus famous. We survived and thrived through many tales worth retelling, though this blog is not the place to relate them. For me, it was a tremendous blessing to be at WOL this summer.

     Now that I am back home, I am working on the next steps in my journey. I have created a game plan to help, which I will now share with you (you being my loyal… loyalists… who keep me accountable and will hopefully and loyally smack me if I stray very far from my plan).

ST’s Not-Very-Complicated-But-Effective Game Plan For Writing and Publishing:

1. Go to a writer’s conference (or two or three). I’m in the process of researching this out. What I am mostly finding is that it costs a bucketful of cha-ching to attend any conference. I haven’t robbed a bank lately, so it might take a bit to save up enough to go. I am also looking for any tips on which conferences are the best, so if you’ve been to one, let me know.

2. Learn the writing craft. I know a LOT about writing, but learning more is always good. This step may be a process of just researching the interwebs, or I may take some classes. Don’t know just yet, but I am moving in this direction.

3. WRITE! Flight is still my current goal. I have developed a schedule to force myself to sit down and work on it. Basically, on every available night from about 9 to midnight, I will be the Princess of the blank page. I’ll go to bed at the stroke of midnight. I tested this plan last week and it seems to work well. I’m a  night owl, so my brain works creatively in those hours. The trick will be finding available nights, but my life is fluid enough to  this out.

     There it is, folks! That’s the plan. I will keep you updated as it continues to unfurl. 

     If you are a writer, what kind of plan do you have in place to help you get your project done?

Post Tenebras Lux!

-ST

Oh, P.S. I will very soon be posting the Doctor Who article I mentioned previously. I'm so excited about it. I hope you love it. The title is "The Weeping War: In Defense of a Doctor Who Adversary." Don't blink and miss it! ;)

i Sees ALL youre Misteaks!

     A friend told me about a book he read that was written and (presumably) self-published by one of his friends. I asked for his opinion of his friend’s writing. He hesitated and then said, “He’s not professional yet. There were a lot of editing problems.” I cringed inside.

     Editorial failure is one of my greatest pet-peeves. The slightest mistake can pull a reader out of a story faster than a spelling bee stings. It degrades an author’s reputation as a reliable storyteller. It is the bane of suspended belief.

     I don’t know any writer who edits perfectly by themselves. Even I don’t. (Shocker!) Auto-correct only goes so far. Sometimes you just need another pair of eyes.

     Trouble is, most professional editors are super expensive. If you need someone to just go over the basics of your manuscript, please consider me. I am not a professional, but I do have a knack for spotting poor grammar, incorrect sentence structure, telling instead of showing, etc. 

     The best part is, since I’m not a pro, I won’t charge you anything for short stories or the first few chapters. If you have a long novel you would like me to edit, we can talk about that after the first chapters.

     If you would like me to edit something for you, or if you have questions, please email me at storytellersilverloom@gmail.com or contact me on Facebook.

Post Tenebras Lux!
-ST

"Cadi is a thorough editor with a keen eye, and found every mistake I missed. She provides compassionate critique and whips grammar, structure, and point of view into shape. Editing with her was an enjoyable experience, not just work. I'd recommend her work to any writer." 

                                         - Mirriam Neal, author of Monster

 "As a writer, being able to see through your reader's eyes is invaluable. Cadi does this very well indeed, and is excellent at examining the course of your plot and the usefulness of your prose. If you're looking for a roadmap for your revisions and a way to make every change count, I highly recommend Cadi."

                   - Jake Buller, writer

Character Development Part 2

"3-D"

     One of my writer friends asked me how my writing was going. I told her that I haven't been writing much. I've been developing my characters. I expressed my frustration over my antagonist. My story, at the moment, has no antagonist. The old  manuscript had your average evil villain, but I am striving for more. 

     My writer friend asked if I had tried character boards. After I displayed my ignorance, she explained that character boards are when you write down character information on index cards. "Sometimes the 3-D, being able to touch the cards, triggers something in your mind to help you find what you're looking for," she said. 

     So I tried it. I wrote down different traits for my antagonist on pieces of paper. Some of them were obvious: "Prideful," "Selfish," "Vain." Some were contrasting: "Male-Female," "Rich-Poor," "Easily Angered-Not Easily Angered." Then I picked out the ones I really liked and wanted to see in my story. I had a "Eureka!" moment after looking at them for a few days and wrote down some possible motives. 

     Since the antagonist board is going slowly, I also wrote down each of my characters' names and made a "main cast" character board. I found that the characters naturally fell into pairs. After a while, I felt that something was missing. Then I realized I had forgotten the most important "character." Jesus. I wrote His Name on a paper and it really helped me figure out how each character relates to and views Him, which of course affects their personalities entirely.

     Have you ever used character boards? How did yours work?

Post Tenebras Lux!

-ST

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

Vote Verdicts!

For the past several months, I have been putting up various polls asking about different types of characters and books. I think the results are interesting; maybe even helpful for writers to see which characters people like to read about (not to say the polls were perfect!). Here are some of the polls and their verdicts:

Best Villain 

The Joker - 29%

Count Olaf - 17%

Marsuvees Black - 17%

Darth Vader - 17%

Gollum - 17%

Favorite Damsel

Antoinette Reed - 50%

Lucy Pevensie - 25%

Arwen - 25%

Buttercup - 0%

Princess Leia - 0%

Best Kind of Hero

Swift and Cunning - 45%

The Underdog - 35%

Kingly, Noble, Mighty - 15%

Strong and Muscular - 5%

Favorite Antihero

Boromir - 54%

Dustfinger - 16%

Ruscuro the Rat - 12%

Captain Nemo - 8%

Boojum - 8%

Glew - 0%

Favorite Quotable Quote

 "I would cut off your head, Dwarf, if it stood but a bit higher from the ground." - 34%

"Mawage. Mawage is what bwings us togethah today." - 31%

"For Narnia and for Alsan!" - 22%

"Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!" - 8%

"May the Force be with you." - 2%

Favorite Fiction Genre

Fantasy - 93%

Science Fiction - 43%

Mystery - 40%

Historical - 25%

Horror - 12%

Romance - 6%

Best Series

The Door Within - 37%

The Lord of the Rings - 25%

The Chronicles of Narnia - 25%

Dragons in our Midst - 7%

Harry Potter - 3%

Twilight Saga - 0%

     And don't forget to vote on the most recent poll! See post "Your Vote Needed!" for details.

     Post Tenebras Lux!

-ST

The Truth about Clear Truth

     There is something that annoys me a lot, and that is when authors are vague in their descriptions of truth for fear of being "preachy". It makes me so sad when I see Christian authors try to water down the gospel so as not to offend anyone. God has given us a Truth that needs to be told, whether people want to hear it or not.

     Don't get me wrong; I am not saying we should shove it down their throats and beat them upside the head with it. But I think we certainly do not need to be cautious about pointing to God in fiction. People can interpret "truth" and "faith" and "love" as meaning anything they want it to in this day and age; from Islam to New Age it differs. But real truth, love, and faith can only be found in one place, or rather, in one Person.

     Do people even care? Will it really affect anyone? Yes. I can tell you from experience that God can touch a hard heart through fantasy when nothing else could.

     No, I'm not going to tell you that I was saved through The Princess and The Goblin. I became a Christian when I was six years old, and lived my whole life going to church and believing in God. However, when I was in my early teens, my family decided to move across the country, away from our friends and everything I had grown up with. I became very sad, although if you had asked me then I would probably have said I was fine. I began to build walls around my heart in a sort of quiet rebellion against God and my family. All I wanted to do was be alone and read fantasy. I went through so many books during that time.

     Finally, I picked up C. S. Lewis's fantasy book The Magician's Nephew. I had already read all of The Chronicles of Narnia years ago, but I had run out of stuff to read on this particular day. I remember sitting on my bed, recalling the plot as I read. If you don't know the story, GO READ IT! But seriously, the gist of it is that a boy named Digory accidentally brings an evil Empress into the fantasy land of Narnia. In that land, Digory sees Aslan the Lion, who is the Christ figure of the story, and realizes that Aslan can help Digory cure his dying mother. Desperate, Digory attempts to ask Aslan for help, but because Digory brought evil into Narnia, Aslan appoints Digory to go on a quest that will defeat the wicked Empress. Digory agrees, knowing that it is his duty, but feels ignored by the Lion and thinks that he will now never get a cure for his mother. The scene comes to a point where Digory at last blurts out:

     "But please, please - won't you - can't you give me something that will cure Mother?" Up till then, he [Digory] had been looking at the Lion's great feet and the huge claws on them: now, in his despair, he looked up at its face. What he saw surprised him as much as anything in his whole life. For the tawny face was bent down near his own and (wonder of wonders) great shining tears stood in the Lion's eyes. They were such big, bright tears compared with Digory's own that for a moment he felt as if the Lion must really be sorrier about his Mother than he was himself.

     "My son, my son," said Aslan. "I know. Grief is great...."

     I started to cry as I read this, because it reminded me that God really, truly cares. He doesn't just care about us, He cares about the things we care about (as long as they are not sinful, of course). This passage was a moment of truth, real truth, for me. I saw that He knew my heartache, even knew my rebellion, and still loved me. I had been looking at His giant claws, expecting them to rain wrath on me for my rebellious spirit, but all the time He knew my pain and was aching to comfort me, He just wasn't able to until I let Him. It didn't all end there, but my regression from rebellion had begun.

     This is why I believe vagueness doesn't help anyone. We are up against so much, from Harry Potter to Twilight; people who read fantasy are just not hearing the truth.We can reach people though fiction, even fantasy. So why would we not? To create a bestseller? Oh, yes, I'm sure that's what Jesus would have done. (Excuse the sarcasm, bear with me.)

     There is nothing wrong with writing for entertainment. But why not use the gift God has given you to encourage and point people to Him and Him alone? I challenge you to write with godly purpose. It will be rewarded.

Post Tenebras Lux!
-ST

Writing Tips

     Many authors have offered writing tips that I have found to be especially helpful. I thought it may be a good idea to list a few that I have been taught and some that I have learned myself.

1. NEVER GIVE UP. Author Bruce Coville first taught me this. If you want to write, you must never give up. It will take work. It will take time. But you must not throw your hands into the air. Just keep on writing.
2. READ. I have learned from experience that reading is quite possibly the most important step toward writing something amazing. Fill your mind with the same thing you want to write about. There was a time when I thought that reading would only give my brain more material to copy and reincarnate into another story, but I have since learned that is not true. You learn and your creativity is fed by reading.
   
3. WRITE. Sigmund Brouwer says in his book Short Cuts, "Writing is like sports. Hit ten thousand slapshots in hockey, and you can't help but have a better slapshot. Write a couple thousand pages, and you'll improve. Guaranteed."
4.  BE ORIGINAL. I found this quote from Bryan Davis on Wayne Thomas Batson's blog, and I think it makes a lot of sense: "Don't copy what has already been done-another form of Middle Earth, a new Narnia, or a Christian imitation of Harry Potter. Be bold. Write themes you're passionate about rather than what you think the market wants. Don't be afraid to make real heroes."
   
5. PRAY. God is the Creator of creativity. Think about that for a second. Because He is the Creator, He controls everything, even creativity. That means He can also give it. So pray, ask Him to grant you creative ideas. I have personally prayed for that, only to be stuck by an idea I never would have thought of myself, an idea that could only be a gift from God. Don't just pray about creativity, though. Pray about everything. He is more than capable to guide you and help you. The best part is that He wants to. 

     So there is my mini list of tips and tricks.

Post Tenebras Lux!
-ST

How to get a Book Endorsement

     I am no expert on this matter, but someone pointed out to me that in my last post I did not say exactly how I was able to get a published author to read my manuscript. So, for those of you interested, I'm going to tell you the entire process.

     Ask.

     No joke! All I did was contact a handful of authors and ask them how an unpublished author is supposed to go about getting endorsements. A few replied, saying that I was doing it exactly the way it was supposed be done. By asking. 

     One of the authors said, "Yes, can you email it to me?" I think I almost did a back-flip in my chair! Another one said, "Sorry, I can't. I'm too busy for that right now." I haven't heard from some of the others yet.     

     I think that often readers come to see authors as untouchable "movie stars" of literature. I'm finding out that usually isn't true. Hey, they used to be dreamers, too, just like the rest of us writers! The authors I have come into contact with have been very cordial and helpful.

      Obviously, if you are looking for an endorsement, I would start by asking authors who are in the same genre as the story you have written. Don't go to Ted Dekker if you have an Amish romance (lol). The point is to find someone who will actually want to endorse your manuscript!

     Also, I doubt any author will read your manuscript if it isn't completely finished. Authors are busy people (take a look at your bookshelf). They probably don't have time to edit an unfinished story. Make sure your book is ready to give to the first agent or publisher that says, "I want this story!" Then you can ask an author to read it.

     Guess that's all I have for now. Like I said, I am no expert. In fact, this is my very first time down this particular stretch of road on my journey. But hopefully you have found my observances to be helpful.


Post Tenebras Lux!
-ST