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| Amy Rognlie |
The Hope of “The End”
By Amy Rognlie
The End.
What writer doesn’t love those two little words? It’s the finish line. The
culmination of hours and hours of blood, sweat and tears. But the ending itself
would be meaningless without all that comes before it: the process of building
word upon word, scene upon scene.
When
it comes to the process of writing, fiction writers often claim allegiance to
one of two camps: the plotters or the pantsers. Plotters are those who plan out
their story in detail before beginning to write it, and pantsers are those who,
as the name suggests, dive into a story without any (or at least not much) idea
of where the story is headed. Surely there are writers who are somewhere in
between? Well, ye-e-e-es, but most of us lean in one direction or the other.
I’ve
always been a loyal pantser, even before I knew what to call myself. I’d start
writing a story with just the barest image of a character or a scene in mind. I
didn’t know how to do it any differently. And hey, it all worked out in the
end, so why not? Well, because in a way, I made more work for myself. Went down
paths that led to dead-ends. Painted my characters into corners too onerous to
escape. Dug holes I had to explain my way out of.
I
find this difficult to understand, because in my “real” life, I’m definitely a
planner. I love setting goals, and (mostly) enjoy the hard work and the
discipline it takes to reach those goals. So why don’t I approach writing as a
planner? Um, I don’t know. Maybe because doing all of that planning ahead of
time makes novel writing sound more like work than fun.
But
I have a confession. Now, well into writing my eighth book, I’m starting to
lean more and more toward the—gasp—plotting camp. I never thought I’d see the
day, but the idea of actually knowing how my book is going to end does hold
some appeal. Smile. I’ve also come to realize that when I know how my story
ends, all of the scenes leading up to that end are shaped—some overtly, some
almost imperceptibly—by that knowledge. How could they not be?
Musing
about this recently, I started drawing spiritual parallels. I can’t help it.
I’m always looking at life situations and asking myself, “How does this
illustrate the faith journey?”
Here’s
what I came up with: Everyone, in real life, will fall somewhere on the
continuum of plotter or pantser. And if we are followers of Christ, we already
know the end of The Story. We might not have any idea of what will take place
between now and then, but we know where we’re headed. And we know that Jesus,
the Author and Finisher of our faith, has given us specific guidelines as well
as general principles to follow, right? So
how do we mesh our natural bent as a real-life plotter or pantser with the
everyday, in-and-out “followingness” of Jesus?
Hmm.
If you’re a plotter, you’ve probably already noticed a serious problem: real
life is messy. Messier than we’d like. And plot and plan as we may, our
carefully outlined scripts of what life is “supposed” to be like are often
ripped to shreds. Stuff happens, you know?
So
what’s a plotter to do? What can a planner plan on?
Plan
on God’s faithfulness. Plan on His mercy. Plan on His immutability in the midst
of an ever-changing world.
And
the pantsers? Those who don’t have time or inclination to sweat the “small
stuff”?
Revel
in God’s creativity demonstrated in your life. Strive for intentionality. Keep
the end in sight.
Why?
Because one of these days, we’ll all arrive
at the end of The Story. Our individual journeys may have been long and arduous
or smooth and relatively pain-free. It won’t matter, then. What will matter is
that we have fought the good fight. Run the race. And entered into the ultimate
happily-ever-after that only The Author could create.
So,
keep your eye fixed on the finish line. Hold the hope of the end close, letting
it permeate every thought, every goal, every plan…every scene of your life. It will be worth it all one day. I promise.
~~~~~
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| Make Haste Slowly by Amy Rognlie |
Life in Short Creek, Texas is just what Callie Erickson expected it to
be: calm and predictable…until the morning a gift bag—along with a dead
body—appear on the doorstep of her shop. A terrible tragedy? Or
something more sinister?
After moving halfway across the country for a new crack at life, Callie isn’t eager to become entangled in any more trouble than necessary. But a cryptic message, a needy neighbor, and her own heart won’t allow her give up so quickly. With the help of her indomitable Aunt Dot, and friends both old and new, Callie sets out to discover the truth. What she finds might change her life forever.
After moving halfway across the country for a new crack at life, Callie isn’t eager to become entangled in any more trouble than necessary. But a cryptic message, a needy neighbor, and her own heart won’t allow her give up so quickly. With the help of her indomitable Aunt Dot, and friends both old and new, Callie sets out to discover the truth. What she finds might change her life forever.
~~~~~~
Amy Rognlie writes inspirational fiction,
including mysteries and historical novels. When not writing, she is
teaching middle school language arts or leading a Bible study at the
local jail. Amy lives in Central Texas with her husband, dogs (including
a pug, of course), and a plethora of plants, yarn, and books.
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Amy-Rognlie/e/B001K8KU9W/
Website: https://amyrognlie.com/
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