What’s a Writer to Do? by Melinda Viergever Inman

Melinda V. Inman

What’s a Writer to Do?

Writers have an enormous responsibility. Our task is incredibly serious. Here at Seriously Write, the very name of this gathering of Christian writers declares that we are aware of the seriousness of the task to which God has called us. At this point in our nation’s history, it’s crucial that we fulfill our calling.

Our society has reached a crux. We’ve departed from common decency, the willingness to listen to others, and the ability to keep the truly important matters ahead of the trivial. National discourse has fractured. Arguments rage on social media. On news programs, hosts and guests speak over one another. No one appears to be truly listening to other viewpoints. No one seeks reconciliation. We seem to have lost our empathy and our compassion.

In 1839 Edward Bulwer-Lytton, a fellow novelist and playwright, wrote these words: “The pen is mightier than the sword.” So, with our mighty keyboards, how can Christian writers inspire change?

First listen. To be relevant, it’s imperative that we listen to what’s being said and recognize the heart attitudes and core convictions behind the words. Both the words and the emotions must be heard and acknowledged. We must be “quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger” (James 1:19).

Seek out biblical truth. We need to know what God says about the issues facing our nation. For instance, when dealing with racism we can all agree. In the New Testament we clearly see the eradication of any division based on race. Men and women, black and white and brown, are all equal human beings in Christ.

As another example, we can also agree to care for victims of catastrophe. We see the story of the Good Samaritan. We are clearly called upon to do whatever we can to help those in need. Do we know and are we applying what God instructed? In addition, do we also strive to find the biblical truth and application on more complicated matters?

Write biblical truth. Once we’ve determined the truth, we must write. To whom would God have us write? What has He laid on our hearts? Which areas does the Lord call us personally to address as writers? We cannot possibly solve all of these problems singlehandedly. That’s the job of the Prince of Peace. But each writer must determine what issues God would have him/her address. Where is He calling you, specifically? We will not all be led to the same issues.

Write with grace. In areas that are murky or disputable, it is essential that more than one perspective be acknowledged. Writers enable others to see both sides. The same is true during conflict. We must write with grace in the public forum, aware that another equally committed Christian writer may take an opposing view. Can we reason together? We can, if our written words are always “full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that we may know how to answer everyone” (Colossians 4:6). Winsome words written with graciousness are powerful.

Weave biblical truth into our stories. The truths we weave into our fiction are even more powerful. Here we’re able to show all the emotion of more than one perspective, to show the end results of certain behaviors carried to their destructive ends, to demonstrate harm as well as good. Story and deep POV are our strongest tools. Constantly, we work on our craft in order to do this well to the glory of God.

Live our beliefs. We’re often on the outside edge, visionaries who are able to see more than one viewpoint, ones called to speak and to act outside the norm, truth tellers. We will often be lonely, like the biblical prophets of old. Rely on Jesus, the One misunderstood and judged, crucified, dead, and risen. He will give us the strength and the wisdom to answer as we should.

No Longer Alone

No Longer Alone

Manhood arrived prematurely. At the tender age of fifteen, Prentis lost both his father and his confidence that God loved him. He grew up fast after that day, abandoning his education to take on the responsibility and hardship of supporting his mother and siblings.

Now, in Prentis’s twenties, Avery reenters his life. A Sunday School teacher with a passion for learning and theology, she is intelligent with a captivating spirit. Prentis finds her irresistible. The audacity of attempting to court such a woman in no way weakens his resolve. He’s determined to win her heart. But male competition, vicious gossip, Avery’s unspoken fears, and the ruin of his livelihood hinder his efforts. How can Prentis win her? And if he does, how will they overcome their differences, the hard life on the Oklahoma plains, and a world at war?

Set in 1913-1916, No Longer Alone is based on a true story.

Raised on the Oklahoma plains in a storytelling family, Melinda now spins tales from her writer's cave in the Midwest. Her fiction illustrates our human story, wrestling with our brokenness and the storms that wreak havoc in our lives. Find her at MelindaInman.com.

Connections:

Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Melinda-V-Inman/189731601076470

Website: http://melindainman.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MelindaVInman

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/melindavinman/

Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/+MelindaViergeverInman/posts/p/pub

Following God’s Lead by Melinda Viergever Inman

Melinda Viergever Inman

Following God’s Lead

This Labor Day weekend I'm going to be controversial. I encourage you to follow God's leading for your writing career, even if it deviates from the expectations of others and even if others don't understand your path. Keep your eyes on the Lord and walk in the way He leads you. Great. Nothing controversial, so far. Keep reading.

Recently, many writers received an email informing us that certainly we hoped for a publishing contract with a Christian publishing house and that the pitch and query methods for sale by the sender would get us there. The opening assumption was flawed.

Back in the days before the entire publishing world underwent drastic changes and the Christian publishing industry almost collapsed entirely, that assumption was probably true. But then bad things happened. For those of us who were in the door, yet not signed, who had manuscripts before review committees of major houses, whose manuscripts were with agents, or whose writing was headed toward publishers we’d just connected with at conferences, the bottom fell out of our world.

We were good enough. We were in. But the industry folded upon itself.

During that time, many of us were also treated poorly. At a final conference founded by a big-name writer, he chastised the entire Christian publishing industry for its treatment of writers. Many of us were bruised. Unethical events occurred, wrecking our work or failing us professionally.

We walked away, and we do not want to go back. We published open market. We became publishers and/or editors ourselves. We followed the path the Lord showed us, and we continue down that path.

If you squeaked in during that collapse, I'm truly happy for you. God is sovereign, and He still works miracles. His leading got you in the door. Follow that leading.

But what about the wounded? And what if you're a new writer?

Times have changed.

There are many more options now. Some of the old houses have rebounded, though many (most?) Christian houses are now owned and managed by large open market publishers. However, because of that crash, good has resulted - more opportunities for authors.

Authors can pursue traditional publishing, but we can also pursue indie publishing right from the start, if that is where God leads us. On top of that, we can work with a publisher and yet maintain control as a “hybrid” author purchasing services cafeteria style.

Publishers Weekly even has an indie publishing company newly opening. Then there's Amazon, a one-stop shop for all our publishing needs. And, with the help of Reedsy, we can find any type of independent contract help we need.

To produce quality work for the marketplace, authors can easily find beta readers, line editors, content editors, copy editors, book designers, and cover designers. There are no limits, other than our skill as writers and our bank accounts, and for that a Kickstarter campaign or a well-supported Patreon account can help.

So, I encourage you to follow the path of creativity where God leads. Creativity is a gift from God. Each one of us is a unique creator. Sometimes the Lord uses calamity to guide us. Other times He uses abundance. Follow Him.

Don't feel stymied or lacking if you go down the path others least expect. Ignore the people who chastise or shame Christian writers who have gone indie.

We live in a wonderful age. It’s almost as if the printing press has been re-invented. The Lord gives us each unique stories for unique markets. Only He knows how to get our work where it needs to go. Trust His leading.

How do you see the Lord leading you on your writing journey?

No Longer Alone

No Longer Alone

Manhood arrived prematurely. At the tender age of fifteen, Prentis lost both his father and his confidence that God loved him. He grew up fast after that day, abandoning his education to take on the responsibility and hardship of supporting his mother and siblings.

Now, in Prentis’s twenties, Avery reenters his life. A Sunday School teacher with a passion for learning and theology, she is intelligent with a captivating spirit. Prentis finds her irresistible. The audacity of attempting to court such a woman in no way weakens his resolve. He’s determined to win her heart. But male competition, vicious gossip, Avery’s unspoken fears, and the ruin of his livelihood hinder his efforts. How can Prentis win her? And if he does, how will they overcome their differences, the hard life on the Oklahoma plains, and a world at war?

Set in 1913-1916, No Longer Alone is based on a true story.

Raised on the Oklahoma plains in a storytelling family, Melinda now spins tales from her writer's cave in the Midwest. Her fiction illustrates our human story, wrestling with our brokenness and the storms that wreak havoc in our lives. Find her at MelindaInman.com.

Connections:

Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Melinda-V-Inman/189731601076470

Website: http://melindainman.com/   

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MelindaVInman  

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/melindavinman/  

Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/+MelindaViergeverInman/posts/p/pub

Why We Torture the Hero by Melinda Viergever Inman

Melinda Viergever Inman

Why We Torture the Hero

I’m drafting a sequel while simultaneously launching and marketing its antecedent. One of these tasks is right brain, and the other is left. They pull me in opposite directions. As a result, I sometimes feel as though my brain has been stretched far beyond its limits. You experienced authors know what I mean.

Before I was published, drafting a novel meant my entire focus was on the story’s emotion and rhythm. There was no marketing, only writing. Bliss! I could lose myself entirely in another world. But now, after publication, I must keep my tiny empire rolling. The sales stats must be watched, the social media prepared, the books promoted. AND, I must simultaneously draft another novel.

Before you ever publish, experienced writers always tell you to enjoy that phase. This is why. I’m going to say it again. If you’re still waiting for that big break, look around you at all the frazzled published writers. That will be you one day. Right now, however, you can frolic with your characters, enjoying their lives and basking in their imaginary world. Once you’re published, all of this changes.

Writing becomes your job. It’s a business. You will learn to evaluate plot decisions with cold calculation. You will go for a walk with your friend and ask if she thinks you should kill Tom and maybe also Joe. You will wonder out loud how best to torture your hero. You will talk of methods of suffering with detachment, your mental plotline wheels turning.

These same discussions happen before you publish, but then it's more visceral and far more emotional. You weep. You lament the emotional and physical carnage you must inflict on your hero's life. You lose sleep over having to pull the plug. After publication, however, these plot decisions come from careful and objective consideration. After publishing, you know it’s good for sales when the hero suffers. Tortured heroes sell books.

Let’s consider why this is so. Let’s look at real life. Though God is the Author of our real life stories, He doesn’t consider book sales when He determines what trials He will allow into our lives. He considers our spiritual growth, His plan for the world, and His good intentions toward those He loves.

As we look back on our lives and see God’s plan unfold, we will recognize the Master Storyteller at work. In those very times of hurting, loss, and heartache, we have the greatest story of the growth of our faith. We see Christ most clearly then. He is glorified as we comprehend more of His kind and merciful nature, and our lives become a story of God's grace in heartache, loss, and trial.

And so we, as Christian fiction writers, portray captivating stories, not merely to entertain, but to illustrate the goodness of God in real life trials and heartaches. We write these in story form, like parables, the most potent way to teach a lesson and Jesus’ preferred format.

This is the real reason we Christian authors torture the hero. Yes, it sells books. But, more than that, it draws the readers in, for we have written a story that mirrors their own lives. They can relate. They buy these books, because they too are hurting and confused, and in a story where the hero suffers and God meets him in his suffering, our readers can find help in their own trial.

So, dear writer, balance your writing with your marketing. Both are essential. God will enable you to do it all, if you rely on Him. Tell the stories that help others. And, yes, those tortured accounts will be the books that readers beat down the Amazon gates to purchase.

Meme - Fiction: The Modern-Day Parable

No Longer Alone

No Longer Alone

Manhood arrived prematurely. At the tender age of fifteen, Prentis lost both his father and his confidence that God loved him. He grew up fast after that day, abandoning his education to take on the responsibility and hardship of supporting his mother and siblings.

Now, in Prentis’s twenties, Avery reenters his life. A Sunday School teacher with a passion for learning and theology, she is intelligent with a captivating spirit. Prentis finds her irresistible. The audacity of attempting to court such a woman in no way weakens his resolve. He’s determined to win her heart. But male competition, vicious gossip, Avery’s unspoken fears, and the ruin of his livelihood hinder his efforts. How can Prentis win her? And if he does, how will they overcome their differences, the hard life on the Oklahoma plains, and a world at war?

Set in 1913-1916, No Longer Alone is based on a true story.

Raised on the Oklahoma plains in a storytelling family, Melinda now spins tales from her writer's cave in the Midwest. Her fiction illustrates our human story, wrestling with our brokenness and the storms that wreak havoc in our lives. Find her at MelindaInman.com.

Connections:

Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Melinda-V-Inman/189731601076470

Website: http://melindainman.com/   

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MelindaVInman  

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/melindavinman/  

Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/+MelindaViergeverInman/posts/p/pub

Seeking Balance by Melinda Viergever Inman

Melinda Viergever Inman

Seeking Balance

How do we balance the needs of our writing careers, our families, and our call to serve Christ in the church and in the wider community? All are part of our calling. All are important. All are commanded. How can we seek balance in this?

I suffer from a chronic autoimmune disease. During these past four years of sickness, God has used this illness for great good in my life. He has refined me, opened my eyes increasingly to the intimacy of His nearness, and introduced me to an unseen world, one I had only vaguely recognized.

This is the world of the homebound or sick, the ones people have forgotten.

If we look around us in our churches or communities, if our eyes are truly open and our hearts fully aware, we will recognize that people we know are missing. We used to see them regularly, but now they are gone. No announcement was made. They merely slipped away. Why?

When I sought answers, I learned that these were at home with long-term challenges. Some were chronically ill. Others were now caring for a family member in a similar situation. For some, old age had caught up with them. It was now impossible to drive or to navigate getting in and out of church. Maybe a tragedy had derailed everything.

And there are needs in our wider communities. Organizations that do good are understaffed. All are seeking volunteers. Perhaps the county needs people for the refugee welcome program. Maybe Meals on Wheels has a need. Your local prison is always seeking help. The harvest is always plentiful, but the labors are always few.

In my mostly homebound state, I came to realize the deep love the Savior has for the sick, the isolated, the unseen. He sees us clearly. His fellowship and supporting grace and mercy have upheld me in ways I had never experienced before I became confined.

Simultaneously, I came to learn how even a short visit or a small act impacts the sufferer. A one-hour visit from a friend brightens an entire week. An offer to vacuum and dust my home lifts me up for a whole month! Even now, a year later, it still warms my heart. A message on Facebook, a drop-by visit to leave flowers, the offer of a meal—all of these are extremely powerful in the life of the lonely.

Now, here's the tricky part: Application. How do we balance our jobs, our call to write, our families, and our wider call to serve?

We learn to say, “No.” And, we learn to say, “Yes.”

For me, learning to say, “No,” was extremely difficult. I'm a people pleaser at heart. My over-commitment and workaholic tendencies led right into my collapse and my chronic illness. God allowed that experience to teach me to say, “No.” Once that was in place, He began to open my eyes to times I should still say, “Yes,” even though I'm ill.

I'm learning to listen to the gentle urging of the Holy Spirit.

When someone or something is on your mind frequently, when there’s a soft, tender, but recurring nudge toward a person or a need, God is speaking. Learn to hear His voice. Open your eyes to the opportunity to act. It will come. And when it does, act.

Ask Jesus for help. Don't talk yourself out of it. Simply do it. May it’s praying. Maybe it’s going. Then wait for future urging, and do it again. The Lord will keep it all in balance, and you will fulfill your calling.

Go forth and love others. Follow the Savior.

Releasing July 2017!

No Longer Alone

No Longer Alone

Manhood arrived prematurely. At the tender age of fifteen, Prentis lost both his father and his confidence that God loved him. He grew up fast after that day, abandoning his education to take on the responsibility and hardship of supporting his mother and siblings.

Now, in Prentis’s twenties, Avery reenters his life. A Sunday School teacher with a passion for learning and theology, she is intelligent with a captivating spirit. Prentis finds her irresistible. The audacity of attempting to court such a woman in no way weakens his resolve. He’s determined to win her heart. But male competition, vicious gossip, Avery’s unspoken fears, and the ruin of his livelihood hinder his efforts. How can Prentis win her? And if he does, how will they overcome their differences, the hard life on the Oklahoma plains, and a world at war?

Set in 1913-1916, No Longer Alone is based on a true story.

Raised on the Oklahoma plains in a storytelling family, Melinda now spins tales from her writer's cave in the Midwest. Her fiction illustrates our human story, wrestling with our brokenness and the storms that wreak havoc in our lives. Find her at MelindaInman.com.

Connections:

Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Melinda-V-Inman/189731601076470

Website: http://melindainman.com/   

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MelindaVInman  

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/melindavinman/  

Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/+MelindaViergeverInman/posts/p/pub