Anticipation, Expectation, and a Little Faith

We recently finished celebrating Christmas and New Year’s Eve. Trees have been taken down, decorations have been packed away—and bathroom scales have been put back in view. 

What comes next? Have you made a list of goals you want to accomplish this year? Do they include eating healthy, losing weight, getting fit, becoming more organized, and finding a better balance in your life? Many of us strive to be successful at those goals. 

Have you also thought about what you want to accomplish in your writing journeys? You know … the milestones you want to reach. Without having a known destination, you’ll never get there.

It’s helpful to have a plan, or even an idea, of what we want the writing year to look like. However, we can get so wrapped up with what we’re going to do and how we’re going to do it, that we forget we’re not alone. No matter how much we try to make things happen by hard work, will, and determination, God is still calling the shots. But while he leads, he also desires that we ask for direction so that we don’t get lost, wandering down a path we shouldn’t be treading on.

What if God has great plans for us? What if accepting his lead takes us on a much lovelier road with extraordinary scenery, refreshing water, and nourishing food  along the way?  

The children in the photo have faces filled with anticipation of diving into that platter of ice cream. Do you remember how excited you were as a child for Christmas and birthdays? You looked forward to finally opening your gifts and seeing what cool things were chosen specifically for you. If you’re a parent, you waited with expectation at the birth of your child. But there may have also been some fear as you wondered how you were going to handle parenthood. 

To anticipate means to look forward to something. We’re excited, hopeful, and eager about something that is going to happen. We expect it to happen.

If we expect something to happen, we confidently believe it will happen. We have faith.

When we have faith, we believe or trust in something or someone without proof.

Anticipation and expectation bring excitement into our lives. 

As we begin a new year, let us be filled with anticipation, expectation, and faith that God will do wonderful and great things in our personal and professional lives. Let’s leap into 2012 without fear, knowing that God leads the way and has the journey mapped out for us.

~ Dawn

Ask O: How Do I Give My Manuscript that Special Zing?

Happy Wednesday my writing friends,

You’ve read the writing blogs. Followed the gurus’ advice on creating multi-layered characters, enticing plot twists, powerful prose, but your manuscripts still skulk down the walk of rejection back to your inbox. “Ugh!” you lament, “What am I doing wrong?”

Of course, many reasons could exist for the rejection. However, in my experience, I've noticed a consistent missing element in the unpublished manuscripts clogging my computer files.

Emotion.

“Yeah, yeah,” you say. “I’ve heard that before.”

But! I don’t necessarily mean character emotion. You can zip over to any number of blogs to learn about that. I’m talking about Author Emotion. I’ve found when a manuscript of mine falls flat, even when all the parts sparkle, it’s because
I’m holding back, I don’t care quite enough.

So, what does this desperate author do about this?

It’s not easy. And it’s not simple. But I have to let go.

I often keep myself locked up, separate from my characters. I think of them as other people I’m telling a story about. And this is wrong. They aren’t other people. They aren’t friends, family members, or even loved ones—they are me. And I have to eject myself out of my safe zone and plunge into their feelings. I mean seriously experience the loss of her loved one, or his agony of living without friends, or her gratitude over saving her baby's life. Not conjecture how it could feel. Or merely rely on a Googled psychological study about the effects of abandonment. It’s not even going through the emotional journey with my hero, it’s being my hero.

Can you see why this is terrifying? We all know the first rule of writing fiction is to be mean to our characters. I heap layer upon layer of broken relationships, lost jobs, failed goals, physical pain, death, and more on them. And for the story to have that extra zing it must feel true. In a way, it must be true. True emotions coming from the depths of my soul.

I’ve learned to dig deep down. As far as I can go. I sob, I laugh, in my first draft I write outlandishly and as close to the edge as I can bear. This seems to help transform my writing from good to excellent, from flat to full of life. It’s painful and exhausting, but no one ever said writing would be easy.

I challenge you to try this. Let go of your pre-conceived boundaries. Forget about the rules—at least for one draft—and let your emotions explode on the page. Then tell me if your writing zings. I’d love to know.

God bless you and happy writing!

Ocieanna

After the Glitter, Get Inspired by Dianne Christner

When the glitter settles, I often discover that my creativity has gravitated from the work place to family, friends, and holiday festivities. In other words, it goes into play mode. Christmas can leave me feeling unmotivated to return to the hard task of writing. When this happens, a pep talk is in order to remind the creative side of my brain that it loves writing.  I find it helpful to think about a time when I was able to produce and convince myself that I’m capable of doing so again. I try to focus on the positive and not entertain negative thoughts or lingering distractions so that I can prepare the way for my inner writer to quicken.

I know that I must allow the left side of my brain (the logical or analytical side) to provide a safe uncluttered place for my creative right side to emerge.

In other words, I clean up the glitter. For me, it’s getting my hair done, putting away the Christmas decorations, and cleaning off my desk and workspace. I organize my desk and schedule and make necessary adjustments to reincorporate my writing time. I order a calendar for the upcoming year. I often need to re-prioritize my writing goals and ask, “What is my next step? What day and time will I begin?” I allow my left side to formulate a plan for my inner writer, rather like one friend spurring another to do something great.

With the glitter removed, I coax my right side to get back to my fiction writing.

 I stoke the dim flickering desire by intentionally doing things that heat up the inspiration. I may read a book on writing, go to a writing blog, or connect with another writer. I dig out the inspirational quotes. If I’m lazy, I may read a novel or two. I think about my readers.

When my motivation intensifies, I know it’s time to get started.

Even if it doesn’t, when the designated appointment time arrives, I sit at my desk. It feels familiar like I’m coming home again. I begin by reading what I last wrote or looking over my plot outline.  When my creative mind knows I mean business, it will emerge–sometimes slow and sulky and other times eager and crashing through the gates. My lips quirk into a smile and my fingers glide over the keyboard. It may feel rusty, but I know this isn’t the time for me to worry about perfection, but just be thankful that I’m writing again.

How do you go from glitter to inspired?

Dianne lives in Phoenix, Arizona, where life sizzles, at least in the summer when temperatures soar above 100 degrees. Before writing, Dianne balanced a career of office management with raising a family and serving the Lord in her local church.

She has been married for thirty-nine years. Dianne and Jim have two married children, Mike and Rachel, and five grandchildren.

With several historical fictions to her credit, she hopes you enjoy her new contemporary series - The Plain City Bridesmaids. If you want to learn more about Dianne's writing and personal life, visit her blog. She loves interacting with her readers.

Rewriting a Fairy Tale for the Christian Market by Gail Sattler

Happy New Year, writers! Ever tried to adapt a fairy tale into a modern-day story, or tried to rework it for a Christian audience? Gail Sattler has a new release coming in March entitled Seattle Cinderella, and she's here to share her tips on reworking those timeless stories for the inspirational market. Enjoy! ~ Annette

Rewriting a Fairy Tale for the Christian Market

by Gail Sattler

To rewrite a fairy tale for the Christian market can be a challenge because most fairy tales use magic or spells to make the story happen, and taking that out will drastically change the story. But in order to be true to the fairy tale, that story must be adhered to, or it’s not the same story. Sometimes it can be a simple substitution, but the reader must find a parallel telling of the original story or they will be disappointed. The writer has to come as close as possible without adding magic, to make the story happen in a realistic way. Since I’ve just rewritten Cinderella – Seattle Cinderella (www.seattlecinderella.com) is coming out in March 2012 – I’ll use that for my example.

It’s almost an oxymoron to use the phrase “suspension of belief” when rewriting a fairy tale. For the Christina market, the writer must take something unrealistic from the fairy tale, and make it believable and realistic. But because people know and love the original fairy tale, that which was the suspension of disbelief is what is considered true and real. Then the Christian writer must take something unrealistic and change it to being realistic, which becomes the suspension of belief. I hope that made sense.

The key to rewriting a fairy tale is to stick as closely to the plot as you can, keeping the same key story points as a primary focus.

It was an easy substitution to change the horse and carriage to an orange taxi-cab when she escaped from the ball at midnight. The harder part was that the reader expects her to flee at midnight, which is a key plot point. The trick was to make a realistic reason for her to flee at midnight. As well, in a contemporary setting, the prince is bigger and stronger, and faster, than our heroine. Why doesn’t he catch her? All these details must be worked in realistically, knowing that the realistic element is the suspension of disbelief.

Likewise with other plot points. Whatever the reason they happened in the fairy tale, parallel plot points must be made to follow with the original story that fit into a contemporary setting.

Once you have figured out how to make the reader accept the parallel, the rest is just story.

~~~~~

Gail Sattler lives in Vancouver BC with her husband, 3 sons, 2 dogs, and a lizard named Bub who is quite cuddly for a reptile when he isn't eating her houseplants. When Gail isn't writing she plays piano for the worship team at her Mennonite Brethren church, or electric bass for a local jazz band, and in the new year she's going to try out a community orchestra with her acoustic double bass. When Gail is writing, she writes tales of love, always faithful to the happily-ever-after ending readers of romance have come to know and love. Learn more about Gail and her writing at her website. Watch for her anthology, Seattle Cinderella, coming in March, 2012 from Barbour Publishing.