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| Christa MacDonald |
The Sophomore Slump
by Christa MacDonald
A
little-known fact of the publishing world is that it’s notoriously difficult to
write the second book. This is true even if it’s a planned sequel. Sometimes
the pressure to produce is too much, or it feels as if there’s just not enough
there for a next book. I had no idea how difficult it would be until I got
stuck halfway through the sequel to The
Broken Trail. It was awful, the book that is, and I knew it. As the weeks
crawled by it got harder and harder to even open the manuscript and attempt a
few paragraphs. I was blocked, or so I thought.
One
day I resolved to sort out what it was that was making me hate writing. After
reading through the whole thing I realized I had failed to connect to my main
female character, Erin. I didn’t know who she was or what she wanted beyond
surface stuff. Her heart and soul seemed thin as if she was still a secondary
character. Writing Dan, the male MC, was a different story. Writing in his
perspective flowed because I knew his struggles, his hopes.
The scenes where
his faith is tested practically wrote themselves. His thoughts flowed so well
because I’d had them first. Surprisingly, more of my own experience went into
the creation of him than in Erin. She didn’t feel familiar. I didn’t know her.
So, I did something really hard. I chucked most of what I had written, and I
started again.
This
time I made an effort to get to know Erin, asking questions about her
childhood, what had been her hopes and dreams? How had her marriage to an abusive
alcoholic changed them? How had her faith survived? In what ways was she still
struggling? Finally, Erin was fully formed and the difference was immediate. It
still took a lot of work, but the words were flowing again. I knew how Erin had
to change. Her journey of faith was a quiet one compared to Dan, but no less
profound.
When
the writing process becomes a chore, I think authors get stressed out. We start
listening to the voices telling us we’re no good, that it’s too hard, and that no
one will want to read it anyway. When it starts to be a struggle to even open the
manuscript we often give up, call it writer’s block, and walk away. But that’s
the time to write daily instead. Even if it hurts, even if it’s terrible, write
every day. Sit down at the desk, say a prayer, and open that document. Seek
encouragement too. Talk to your writerly friends, pray for guidance, read a
book, see a movie. Make sure that your creative well is filled and then put
your fingers on the keys and write!
~~~~~~
As friendship turns to love, can grace bridge two
conflicted hearts?
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| At the Crossroad by Christa MacDonald |
Erin
Sullivan has had to endure the rumor mill of Sweet River, Maine grinding
through her family's scandals for years. Despite maintaining her status as a
respected athletics director at the local Christian school, being a single
mother locked in constant conflict with misinformation and judgment had taught
her not to hope for good things. No matter how strong her feelings were for
Pastor Dan Cooper, she would have to keep them buried for the sake of his
reputation and her already aching heart.
Dan
Cooper had dedicated his life to the international mission field--that is,
until he's called back to the States with the news of his mother's stroke.
After three years in a job slowly chipping away at his spirit, his mother
continues to show no sign of recovery. The choice to stay in Sweet River had
seemed so clear before, but now he is scrambling for any direction from God
before his passion withers altogether. While he didn't expect that answer to be
a woman, a chance meeting with Erin Sullivan stirs something in his heart with
her quiet strength and compassion.
Find Christa at these links:
Website: https://www.christamacdonald.com
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/cricketmacd
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About the Author
Christa MacDonald began her writing career at the age of eleven, filling a sketchbook
with poems and short stories. While at Gordon College she traded the
sketchbooks for floppy discs, publishing short personal narratives in the
literary journal The Idiom. After graduation and traveling cross-country she
settled down to focus first on her career in operations management and then her
growing family. When her children reached grade school Christa returned to her
love of writing, finding the time between conference calls, dance lessons, and
baseball games. Mountain Brook Ink published her first
novel, The Broken Trail, in fall of 2016, and her second novel, The Crossroad, in October, 2017. When not at her desk working or writing, Christa can
be found curled up in her favorite chair reading, out and about with her
husband and kids, or in the garden. She lives with her family along the coast
of Massachusetts in the converted barn they share with a dog and two
formerly-feral cats.
