Seek Before You Sign by Susan Tuttle

Writers write with a goal in mind—to be published. For some that may take the form of self-publication. For others, it’ll come in the form of a contract. Whatever it might look like, you believe there is an audience for your writing be it one or one million. And part of your writing life is in seeking that audience.

No matter the path, there comes a moment in a writer’s life when some form of choice needs to be made. Sign with that agent? Move ahead with that editor? Pen your name on the contract? I’m sure you can add a few more. Bottom line, there’s a decision in front of you, and while it might look like everything you’ve ever dreamed, you need to stop a moment and breathe. Then pray. Because no matter how perfect something seems to our eyes, God is the only One who truly knows the path we should take.

I was reminded of this while reading Joshua 9 recently. The Israelites were tricked by the Gibeonites—and that decision followed them for years. The moment where it all unraveled can be seen in Joshua 9:14, “The Israelites sampled their [the Gibeonites]  provisions but did not inquire of the Lord.” (emphasis mine) See, the Gibeonites presented themselves as friends of the Israelites when they weren’t. They tricked the Israelites into covenant with them, and once Israel in essence signed their name to that contract, they were bound to uphold it—even when they discovered the deception. If only they’d inquired of God before signing their name.

Friends, we need to learn from their mistake. If you continue writing, there will be plenty of moments in your career where you’ll need to sign your name to a contract. Big or small, it doesn’t matter. What does matter is that you spend time on your knees with God first. Just ask him if this is what he wants from you. Because it doesn’t matter how “right” everything looks—only God truly possesses the wisdom and foresight to give you the green light. And if it’s bright red, have the courage to step away. His “no” is always for your protection.

So seek Him before you sign.

Susan L. Tuttle lives in Michigan where she’s happily married to her best friend and is a homeschooling mom of three. She’s firmly convinced that letters were meant for words, not math, and loves stringing them together into stories that inspire, encourage, and grow women into who God created them to be. Romance, laughter, and cookies are three of her favorite things, though not always in that order. You can connect with Susan at her blog, Steps, Facebook, or Twitter.

From Pantser to Plotter by Dora Hiers

Happy New Year!

I’m not one for New Year’s resolutions. If there's something in my personal life that needs to change, why wait? Why should my writing life be any different?

In September 2012, I resolved to evolve from pantser to plotter. For those of you unfamiliar with the terms: 

A pantser sits down in front of their laptop and starts typing, with only a few rough ideas for either characters or story floating around in their head. 

A plotter uses an outline and finds their rhythm by organizing their thoughts prior to any actual writing. 

Usually, a writer falls naturally into one category. Trying to do the opposite of what comes natural is like writing left-handed when you normally use your right. Early on, I tried both methods, but plotting frustrated me so much that I considered inflicting serious damage to my laptop.

But as I celebrated with writer friends over their multi-book contracts, I knew that I'd never be able to accomplish this if I couldn't learn to plot. A key component of the proposal is the synopsis. No synopsis=No proposal.

I started my transition by writing two proposals encompassing five books total, which meant writing books from a synopsis instead of the reverse. I’m thrilled to report that my first book is complete, and the second, roughly thirty percent. Woo-hoo!

Want to know how I transitioned from pantser to plotter? I'll share my secrets. :-)

Pray. 

Characters. I'm a visual person. I need pictures, so I started by finding my hero/heroine online and getting to know them. Then, I asked my character (whichever one you connect with first) these questions.

What do you want? (Goal)

Why do you want it? (Motivation)

Why can't you have it? (Conflict) 

Develop the story idea/premise. What terrible thing happened in my character's past to make them how they are today? Keep asking "what if?" until you come up with a story idea.

Write a few pages. Writing backstory helped me flesh out the characters more, so that I could go back and fill in some of the blanks. Just write a bit and let words flow. It's OK. You’ll delete them. The goal is for the story to reveal itself. You may need to tweak the premise after doing this.

Picture the story sequence in your head. Do what it takes to find your zone. Close your eyes. Throw in a CD. Let your dog walk you around the park. Record the chapter number, the date, point-of-view, and what you expect to happen in that chapter/scene. If you know how you want the book to end, you can skip down and work backward.

Implement a schedule. You must map out a timeline for the completion of your books. I’ll share more on this next week.

It’s your turn.

If you're a pantser, how do you write proposals?

Do you ever see yourself evolving into a plotter? Why or why not?