Write Like Nobody's Watching by Marianne Evans

Marianne Evans

Encoragement
noun

    ·         The act of giving someone support, confidence or hope.

    ·         persuasion to do or to continue something.

    ·         the act of trying to stimulate the development of an activity, state, or belief. 

      Four years ago, I was approached by the lovely and gifted Annette Irby to become a monthly contributor here at Seriously Write. My assignment? Share words of encouragement as we work our way through this crazy but wonderful writing journey.

This month, as I considered what topic to cover, I looked through some of my old posts and realized I’ve never discussed something I’ve faced that you might be facing, too: How to maintain an encouraging, upbeat and productive writing life when you feel anything but.

I’ve been a professional writer in some form or fashion for most of my adult life. I’ve been around long enough to know the writing business will deliver enough ups and downs to leave me feeling like I’ve just ridden Space Mountain at Disneyland.

That’s okay. Ups and downs are part of any worthwhile endeavor. The secret to longevity, however, is persevering. So, the encouragement I want to share today is a secret I’ve discovered to hanging on to everything that’s good about my writing ministry when everything else seems to go south. I’m generally a positive, upbeat person, but at times a sense of futility leaves me beached on the shores of creativity. Every strong effort forward leaves me two steps behind, disappointed in reach, productivity, sales. Sometimes life encroaches on precious writing time, or I rejoice, yet feel unworthy when I watch I see others succeed in their publishing dreams with seeming ease.

A recent bout with those demons left my husband to share these inspired words that I want to share with you: “JUST WRITE THE BOOK.” His point was this: Don’t focus on outside circumstance and white noise. Don’t focus on reaching readers, on sales, on acceptance/rejection from a publisher. Doing so diminishes the joy God wants to deliver through the gifts He’s bestowed. Focus on what inspires you and then, just DO IT!

WRITE. Write like nobody’s watching. Write for joy. Write to share the message you long to convey. Don’t get caught up in the things you can’t control. Remember: lasting success takes work and relentless commitment. Success requires the sure knowledge that you were meant to put your keister in a chair, your fingers to the keyboard, and craft a compelling story.

“JUST WRITE THE BOOK.” Focus solely on sharing the gift and message God delivered. Doing so, I firmly believe, will lead you to persevere.

Click to tweet!

‘JUST WRITE THE BOOK!’

‘Write like nobody’s watching!’

~~~~~

Every saint has a past…and every sinner has a future

Country music bad boy Chase Bradington is on the comeback trail. Fresh from rehab for alcohol addiction, and transformed by the power of Christ, Chase is battling to rediscover the music he loves and a career he nearly ruined. Then he meets up and comer, Pyper Brock, and instantly sparks ignite.

Pyper knows of Chase’s reputation, so despite a rampant attraction to the handsome and talented icon, she soundly dismisses his romantic overtures. Decades ago, her father, in a drunken rage, tossed her and her mother onto the streets. No way will Pyper make the mistake of falling for a man whose done battle with the bottle.

What happens when Chase’s quest to win Pyper’s love breaks down chains of resentment and eases the long-buried wounds of her childhood? And what happens when Pyper’s father shows up in Nashville, clean, sober and seeking a chance to apologize?

Can Pyper follow a pathway to peace when it comes to her father? Can she fully trust Chase? Above all, can a sin damaged past be released in favor of forgiveness?

~~~~~

Marianne Evans is an award-winning author of Christian romance and fiction. Her hope is to spread the faith-affirming message of God’s love through the stories He prompts her to create. Readers laude her work as “Riveting,” “Realistic and true to heart,” “Compelling.”

Her Christian fiction debut, Devotion, earned the Bookseller’s Best Award as well as the Heart of Excellence Award. Her follow-up novel, Forgiveness, earned Christian Small Publisher Book of the Year honors as did her book Hearts Communion. She is also a two-time recipient of the Selah Award for her books Then & Now and Finding Home. 

Marianne is a lifelong resident of Michigan and an active member of Romance Writers of America, most notably the Greater Detroit Chapter where she served two terms as President. You can connect with Marianne at www.marianneevans.com.

The Relationship Between Character and Setting by Meg Moseley

Meg Moseley

Hey writers, Annette here. Our guest today has some great tips on categorizing your characters and how that relates to setting. Enjoy!

The Relationship Between Character and Setting

Meg Moseley

“Oh, no,” you say. “Blech! Not another checklist. Not another character chart, another formula for plotting.”

No, I just want to throw some ideas around. They’ve sparked new life and fun in my brainstorming and my writing, and I hope they’ll do the same for you.

It starts with deciding which of these three basic categories my protagonist falls into when I imagine him in the story’s setting:

1. Newcomer. He’s a recent arrival. The new kid on the block, he might be welcome or unwelcome. He might want to be there or he might not.

2. Resident. Whether or not he’s a native, he has been there a while. He’s on familiar turf, but it’s not necessarily a pleasant home. A prison can be a home, too.

3. Returning. He’s back after an absence. He has elements of a newcomer, elements of a resident, and other elements related to the ways he and the setting have changed since last time he was there. A “reunion story” often includes someone who’s returning to a specific geographical setting.

Now, how does he relate to his setting? What is his role there? The identities listed below aren’t necessarily tied to his personality, occupation, or social status, and they aren’t necessarily literal. He doesn’t have to be in jail to feel like a prisoner; he doesn’t have to be a soldier to invade a place.

These identities won’t all work with all three of the basic categories above, as you’ll see if you play around with them. No doubt you’ll come up with other identities too, but this starter list might get your creative juices flowing. If you have a protagonist in mind, which of these words describes his role in the setting?

a. Invader

b. Defender

c. Messiah

d. Crusader

e. Prisoner

f. Refugee

g. Peon

h. Ruler

But there’s a third element. Let’s say we have a Refugee who’s a Newcomer to a particular setting. Will he find a warm welcome, animosity, or mere tolerance? What is the setting’s attitude toward him? Is it…

A. Hostile. A hostile setting seems to hold the most promise of good story conflicts. It doesn’t need to be a literal war zone to be a battleground for your characters.

B. Neutral. It doesn’t have to be bland. It’s a setting that could go either way, and that can create tension. 

C. Friendly. Sounds safe, doesn’t it? But a cozy setting can be a good breeding ground for conflict too. A character who thinks he’s in a safe place is a prime target for hidden dangers or betrayals.

When you brainstorm with this concept, the categories are fluid and the possibilities are endless. Try 1-c-A or 3-d-B or some brilliant new combination that isn’t on my list. Have fun!

~~~~~

A May Bride

A May Bride releases next week.

Ellie has prepared for her wedding all her life . . . but she has forgotten the most important part? 

Ellie Martin, a country girl living in Atlanta, has dreamed of a traditional wedding all her life—a wedding just like the one her younger sister is planning back home. Even though Ellie is realizing her dreams in the big city as an up-and-coming real-estate agent, she’s missing a key ingredient to her plans for the future: a groom.

Then Ellie meets Gray Whitby—at a wedding of all places. Gray is handsome and fun, and he sweeps her away in a whirlwind romance. In a matter of months, Ellie knows Gray is “the one,” but her mother isn't so sure, judging Gray to be the freewheeling type, like Ellie's runaway father.

When Ellie jeopardizes her own future for the sake of her sister, Gray feels like he'll always be second to Ellie's family. Can Ellie and Gray find their own way together amidst the demands and perceptions of others or will their romance end before it has truly begun?

~~~~~

 

As a little girl in California, Meg Moseley used to pretend she was a novelist while she pounded the keys of her grandmother’s typewriter. The author of A Stillness of Chimes, Gone South and When Sparrows Fall, Meg lives with her husband near Atlanta and never stops dreaming up ideas for contemporary fiction. Her newest project is A May Bride, a novella coming from Zondervan on April 22, 2014.

You can connect with Meg here:

www.megmoseley.com

The Elusive Creative Process by Erin Healy

We feel tremendous satisfaction at completing the closing paragraph—the last line—the final punctuation mark on a manuscript. But, this also means it’s time to begin a new story, and a blank computer screen can feel overwhelming—even paralyzing. We may search for answers on how to remedy this affliction. Today, author Erin Healy shares personal experiences and candid thoughts on the creative process. Enjoy! ~ Dawn

The Elusive Creative Process

by Erin Healy

I’m writing this blog today instead of working on my seventh novel, because I have that feeling of dread in the pit of my stomach—the one that says There’s no way you can eat the whole elephant … AGAIN. I blame half of this self-doubt on the reality of the writing life. Most authors I know experience at least a couple of days of this feeling off and on before that first draft is on paper.

I blame the other half of my panic on the fact that I’m still figuring out my creative process. After six books, I haven’t figured out exactly how Erin Healy should go about writing a novel. I look with envy and a little suspicion on those who swear by a particular story-crafting method. Is their confidence in it is real, or are they just trying to talk themselves out of their own dread?

In the beginning I swore by outlines—until my outlines kept falling apart. My first two books were co-authored affairs that might have imprisoned me if not for my veteran partner Ted Dekker, who can (given three weeks in an isolated trailer) write himself out of any situation. In the third novel, my first effort without Ted, I knew the story’s destination but had trouble getting my characters to go there. In the fourth, I gave up outlining. The resulting freedom to discover added new dimension to my writing. On the downside, I kept losing hold of my story the way it’s hard to keep a firm grip on a flopping fish. My fifth novel started with lots of pictures and plot notes pasted to a tri-fold science-fair board, where I could keep the heart of the story ever before my eyes. It failed to solve all my story problems, though. My sixth novel existed as a chaotic dry erase board spewing rainbow ideas. It was very stream-of-consciousness. Very Faulkneresque. The opposite of an outline. Soon I ran out of space.

I called my editor in a panic. The story wasn’t coming together. I might miss my deadline. “Shouldn’t I have my creative process figured out by now?” I demanded.

She laughed at me and said, “Is that how you think this works?”

Her words were kind, and oddly empowering. They gave me permission to trust my gut—I have a good gut—and to focus more carefully on the story than on my method for writing it. 

Within days I had a breakthrough. 

If you have a method that always works for you, please tell all. I might use your approach sometime. But if you feel like you have to reinvent the wheel each time in order to tell your best story, that’s okay. As a fellow re-inventor, I humbly offer these observations:

• Formulaic processes tend to yield formulaic products. If you’re after freshness, you’ll have to stay open to new approaches. This is a good thing.
• You don’t want your stories to be like anyone else’s. So why should your creative process(es) be like anyone else’s? Keep trying to find your own way. Make the effort an adventure.
•  Keep what works; throw away what doesn’t. In spite of my outlining failures, outlining two to three chapters at a time helps me keep my writing momentum.
• Your story is more important than your method. Don’t let your search for the perfect method eclipse anything your story needs to make it great. I bet you have a good gut too. 

I'm a little amused that my Faulkneresque approach is the one that has yielded both my highest level of stress and my best effort to date. Maybe I’ll try it again sometime. But for novel seven, I’m trying Scrivener. I’ll let you know how it goes.


 

Erin Healy is an editor who’s had the privilege of working with many excellent storytellers (who may be experiencing a strange glee at her self-disclosure here). She is the author of six novels, most recently The Baker’s Wife and House of Mercy (July 2012).

To find out more about Erin and her books, please visit:

www.erinhealy.com  

www.erinhealyblog.blogspot.com  

Facebook: erinhealybooks    

Twitter: @erinhealybooks

Email erin@erinhealy.com