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| Direction signs against the sky* |
So, you’ve been writing for a while now. Perhaps you’ve studied a specific genre. I’d been reading and writing Christian romance for years. I specialized in this area in acquisitions. When I tried to read other genres, I quickly grew bored. Romance was my chosen genre, and I didn't see that changing.
Then, a character appeared in my head, demanded her story be
told—first person, present tense, no less—and showed me the romantic thread. Um, excuse me, Character, I write romance. You know, where the romance is central. Not. A. Thread.
She wouldn’t budge. My first person, single POV story didn’t fit into the usual
box, the only box I ever thought my writing would belong in—romance. But this character had a message. A woman’s fiction-type message.
So I was redirected into another genre. At least for that manuscript.
This summer we spent a couple of Mondays here at SW exploring
how our message is our “other” writing voice. Sometimes, as life happens, “stuff”
happens. Sometimes we are so indignant by an injustice or a victim’s plight,
etc., that suddenly that message gets into our fiction. A rom-com becomes a
moody, heavy general fiction title with a sharp point. We’ve been redirected.
A friend of mine experienced a major life event that
redirected her from writing historical fiction into memoir! She’s hoping to
return to fiction when her non-fiction wraps up.
And sometimes, the redirect is (*gasp*) away from writing into family care, or your own health issues
demanding attention, time, and mental space. That’s okay. There are seasons.
The key is to recognize when God is redirecting and respond as He’d have us do.
Sometimes redirection results in life lessons. I know
someone who used her writing life to boost her sense of self. She pined for publication
because that would validate her hours of investing in the craft, and her
talents. It would validate her. When
God directed her to consider giving up writing, even for a season, her heart
ached because she’d been sinking her hopes for the future into her writing
efforts. She’d found comfort in her cozy den with her invented characters and
her dreams of book deals. She'd made God her number one priority, keeping Him first, worshiping Him, communing with Him. Still, writing had become a type of idol. Should we stop dreaming? Should we stop writing? Or
inventing characters? Not necessarily. Depends. Is God redirecting you?
We writers find a chunk of our identity in our writing
lives. True? That’s not all bad, but that means there’s a lot at stake if we’re
redirected or blocked, or there aren’t any contract offers.
Question for you: Has there been a time when God redirected
you? Tell us about it, and we’ll encourage each other.
Carry on, friends!
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| Her Nerdy Cowboy |
Whoever heard of a bookish cowboy? When Logan
McDaniel’s brother-in-law dies, he steps in to help his beloved sister run her
ranch. But what does a city boy know of herding cattle? Claire Langley loved
her cousin. After he dies, she agrees to serve as a temporary nanny for two
heartbroken children.
Claire and Logan find they share a love of books, and
Claire can’t resist the nerdy uncle who is great with children, and who reads
to her of pirate romance. Claire’s ailing mother needs her in Seattle. Can she
break away? And if she does, can there ever be a future for Logan and her?
~~~~~
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| Annette M. Irby |
Annette M. Irby has three published books and
runs her own freelance editing business, AMI Editing.
See her page here on Seriously Write for more information.
*Photo credit: "Curved Road Traffic Sign" by Stoonn at freedigitalphotos.net
