Refreshment for a Writer's Soul by Terri Weldon

Beautiful Lake Eufaula

Last Thursday through Sunday I was blessed to attend a fabulous retreat at Lake Eufaula with ten other members of my local ACFW Chapter. The home we were able to stay in, thanks to our lovely treasurer Shannon, was gorgeous and the property was literally lake front. Our vice-president, Kat, had an airtight itinerary guaranteed to ensure we made maximum use of our time. All the meals were preselected and we rotated cooking.

Our retreat Cabin

Sound rigid? Originally, I thought, whoa, there is no way I want to be on a schedule that regimented. I’m a night owl, no way I will ever make it up that early in the morning for breakfast. Then I learned we were expected to read five pages aloud on both Friday and Saturday evening! Whoa, I didn’t sign up for this.

Jessica Preparing to Read her five pages

Guess what? I made it to breakfast every morning. I read five pages aloud both Friday and Saturday night. I didn’t read for entertainment. I threw myself into my writing and at night late in my room I only read craft articles. I marveled at the talent of the other ten authors. They inspired me and I revised more of my manuscript in those few short days then I had managed in months.

I hope I developed new friendships at the retreat. Relationships that will continue to flourish. I found joy in discussing scenes and plots with others. It was the perfect atmosphere to see if ideas or changes made sense. I watched one friend begin a new novel and her tenacity and attention to detail impressed me. When she read her five pages Saturday evening, they nearly brought me to tears. I’m can’t wait to read her entire book.

I’m still pumped and busy revising. Can I revise eight hours a day like I did during the retreat? No, I’m back in the real world now. However, I can revise every day. I can still set goals, and Lord willing I can meet those goals.

Partial Group Shot

A few takeaways from the retreat: it’s wonderful to be with a group you can pray with; there is life without television; we were in the country and quiet can be a good thing; I can sit and revise or write for more hours than I thought possible; accountability is a good thing; and being with other writers is nourishment for my soul.

View from my balcony

If your local chapter hasn’t hosted a writing retreat then see about organizing one for your group with the help of a couple of buddies. If you have an opportunity to attend a writing retreat go for it! Two of my friends practically had to browbeat me into attending this one and missing it would have been a huge mistake.

Have you attended a writing retreat? If so, tell me all about it. Where was it? Was it beneficial? Drop me a comment and let me know!

Terri Weldon feels blessed to be a full time writer. She enjoys traveling, gardening, reading, and shopping for shoes. One of her favorite pastimes is volunteering as the librarian at her church. It allows her to shop for books and spend someone else’s money! Plus, she has the great joy of introducing people to Christian fiction. She lives with her family in the Heartland of the United States. Terri has two adorable Westies – Crosby and Nolly Grace. Terri is a member of ACFW and RWA.

Readers can connect with Terri on her Website

When All Seems Lost by Sandra Ardoin

Most of us have lived through a time in our lives when our circumstances seemed dire, our lives in turmoil. We’re at our wits end and have no idea how to proceed.

Courtesy of Pixabay

Our fictional characters should reach that point in the story when all seems to be lost and they have no hope of achieving their dreams, their goals, perhaps, even saving their lives. It’s that dark time in a character’s story when he’s tossed to the bottom of a figurative pit and the emotional world around him goes dark.

This isn’t a plot point just for dramas. Even lighthearted stories need a black moment. In fact, everything that happens previously should point to that time in the story when the character’s world, what they believed in or knew, crumbles beneath them and sends them falling into a pit of despair. It usually occurs about two-thirds to three-quarters into the book.

How can you accomplish this?

Take something of value away from your protagonist. That something of value may stem from his backstory—his wound and fear. Did an event in his past turn him into a stickler for safety? Take that sense of safety away.

In a romance, the goal for a hero is to get the girl, right? Then the black moment is when the relationship blows up in his face. It seems the chance for “happily-ever-after” is gone and he’s faced with the decision to let it go or man up and fight for his future.

In a suspense/thriller or fantasy/sci-fi, it generally comes when the villain has the upper hand and the hero, his loved ones, or the whole world appears doomed. Does he have the wherewithal and know-how to win the day?

The Black Moment, Crisis, Second Plot Point—however you term it—is emotional, not just physical. 

This isn’t the time to mollycoddle your characters.

Dig that hole deep enough that climbing to the top seems an overwhelming effort, then remind them of their strengths and give them the ability to overcome.

Remember, when your characters are in that pit, there’s no way to go but toward the surface, which leads to the climax---the scene or scenes of fighting back. Then, with whatever ending you've chosen, your readers will close the book and consider they've had a satisfying read.

Can you easily pick out the black moment in a novel? Briefly share a black moment in one of your stories.

The Black Moment, Crisis, Second Plot Point—however you term it—is emotional, not just physical, and essential for a satisfying read. via @SandraArdoin #SeriouslyWrite #amwriting

~~~~~~

As an author of heartwarming and award-winning historical romance, Sandra Ardoin engages readers with page-turning stories of love and faith. Rarely out of reach of a book, she's also an armchair sports enthusiast, country music listener, and seldom says no to eating out.

Visit her at www.sandraardoin.com. Connect with her on BookBub, Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, and Pinterest. Subscribe to the Love and Faith in Fiction newsletter and keep up with what’s new, discover what’s upcoming, and learn of specials.

She chose the wrong man once. Can she trust her instincts now?

Phoebe Crain, an accomplished pianist, lives in near poverty to protect her five-year-old daughter from scandal. When Phoebe receives a handcrafted cigar box by mistake, her desperation to give the child something special for Christmas drives her to suggest a trade with Spence Newland, a man she views as no more principled than her daughter’s late father. But the more time she spends with the department store heir, the more Phoebe struggles to keep up her guard against him.

Spence believes the cigar box will help him gain a reclusive investor's financial support for his proposed five-and-ten-cent stores, demonstrating his ability to manage the family fortunes. Yet he hesitates to bargain with a widow who mistrusts him for no apparent reason…until he meets a charming little girl at the train station who awaits the arrival of a prince.

Will a betrayal in Phoebe’s past and Spence’s unraveling plans derail their hope for happiness and keep a child’s fairy tale from coming true?

Contemplations on Vulnerability and Writing by Sondra Kraak

About seven years ago, I endeavored to write a romance. Wanting to grow in craft, I joined the American Christian Fiction Writers association and submitted chapters for critique.

Cue the anxiety and negative self-talk.

Strangely, I don’t remember those first critiques. What lingers in my memory is the overwhelming sense of vulnerability at pulling back the curtain on something intimate and private, a romance. Five published books later, I’d like to say that I’ve grown as a person—and surely, I have—but the fact remains: romance-writing is a vulnerable endeavor.

Vulnerability: The What
A sense of exposure and defenseless. A state of being uncovered and revealed or open to attack.

Vulnerability: The Why
The first man and woman lived “naked and unashamed” in the Garden of Eden: a beautiful picture of exposure free from disgrace. But the picture changes when they pursue their own path to wisdom rather than trust the wisdom and truth of their Creator. Immediately, with eyes opened, they reached for covering.

Enter awareness of nakedness. Enter vulnerability. Enter shame and the fear that something is wrong with me.

Vulnerability and Intimacy
That fear, something is wrong with me, has potential to keep us from deep friendships because friendships are made of intimacy, and intimacy is born out of exposing who you are to someone and in return, finding belonging. You don’t get intimacy without vulnerability.

So it follows that you don’t get romance without extra doses of vulnerability. If we’re going to be honest and mature, the deepest act of intimacy between two lovers requires quite a bit of layer-peeling, all the way down until only skin-to-skin and breath-to-breath remains.

For those of us suffering from the human condition (hello, everyone!), allowing ourselves to be exposed for the sake of relationship is very difficult. We are shame-bearers who seek to hide in order to protect ourselves from rejection.

Vulnerability and Writing Romance
Writing romance is essentially writing the story of Adam and Eve in reverse. We start with “something is wrong with me, and I need to cover up,” and we end with, “bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh.” And in between is a lot of layer-peeling work (with snazzy dialogue, preferably).

Every time I tell a romance, I’m keenly aware of my own leaf-weaving tendencies. I relive the angst of falling in love.
Will he laugh at who I am?
What will he do when he sees my flaws and abnormalities?
Can I truly trust him?

Yet every time the hero falls for the heroine, tells her she’s beautiful and that he loves her as she is, I experience the healing of my love story all over again. Romance writing is, for me, deep, therapeutic work.

Vulnerability and The Defender
But vulnerability doesn’t stop when the writing of the romance is done. The releasing of it into the world provokes another round of reaching for leaves. When the book moves from computer to Kindle, it can feel like I’m marching around naked.

When the book I've written moves from computer to Kindle, it can feel like I’m marching around naked. @SondraKraak @MaryAFelkins #writing #vulnerability #SeriouslyWrite

Combating this exposure doesn’t happen by covering up with leaves of positive self-talk. It happens by hiding behind Someone strong and capable of warding off rejection and condemnation: our savior and defender, Jesus Christ. As artists of the word, we may feel exposed, but truth is, Jesus exposed himself for our sakes, and He is the one who takes the scorn and rejection, bearing it “in his body on the cross” (I Peter 2:24).

This is good news to our feeble hearts. The final word over us does not come from readers, authors, or publishers. It comes from our Heavenly Father who accepts the work of Jesus on our behalf and calls us His children.

The final word over us does not come from readers, authors, or publishers. It comes from our Heavenly Father who accepts the work of Jesus on our behalf and calls us His children.@SondraKraak @MaryAFelkins #writing #vulnerability #SeriouslyWrite

Sondra Kraak, a native of Washington State, grew up playing in the rain, hammering out Chopin at the piano, and running up and down the basketball court. Now settled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, she enjoys spending time with her husband and children, Instagramming about spiritual truths, and writing historical romance set in the beautiful Pacific Northwest. She delights in sharing stories that not only entertain but nourish the soul. Her debut novel, One Plus One Equals Trouble, was an ACFW Genesis semi-finalist and the winner of the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference Unpublished Women's Fiction Award. Follow her on Instagram and Facebook and join her newsletter for a free short story and information about special devotional series.

Connect with Sondra
Instagram www.instagram.com/sondrakraakauthor
Facebook www.facebook.com/SondraKraakAuthor
Website www.sondrakraak.com

Four Dreams of You

Unfulfilled dreams have left Grace Thomas vowing not to let her imagination roam wild again. Resigning herself to the realistic dream of owning a dress shop, she accepts a position as a housekeeper at Monaghan Lumber Camp in order to earn funds. The plan is simple, easy, and safe. But Torin Monaghan is not. The reclusive brother who seems indifferent to her presence is ironically the one stirring up her imagination once again.

Torin Monaghan will not be deterred from his passion to preserve the beauty of nature. Even if it appears as if he’s going against his family. Even if the quirky and wistful seamstress invading his space is proving a distraction. To his frustration, Grace Thomas is not easily dismissed, and neither are the ways she’s opening his eyes to a different sort of beauty.

When past threats bring new trouble to Pine Creek, Torin and Grace must become vulnerable—to each other and their community—and through risk, discover that reality is more fulfilling than their dreams.

Purchase on Amazon

Kingdom Building. Five Lessons Learned From Nehemiah by Patty Nicholas

In my daily bible study, I have been going through the book of Nehemiah. Verse by verse I am amazed at God’s voice through this book, and I have only gotten through the first three chapters. Here are my top five lessons learned so far.

1. Allow myself to be broken by disturbing news. Nehemiah’s heart was broken when his friends told him about the state of Jerusalem and the walls surrounding the city. I am guilty of letting my busy life harden my heart to the awful events that happen every day. I know I am not alone with an exhausting schedule. I’m up early in the morning, write, pray and read, then it’s on to work. Many nights I have church activities or family matters that need my attention. When someone asks for prayer, or I hear of a tragedy, often I don’t stop long enough to listen well and let the news truly break my heart.

2. Know that God has strategically placed me for such a time as this. I know we’ve heard the same thing from the book of Esther, but If Nehemiah wasn’t cup bearer to the King, he never would have been in a place to ask and receive everything needed for safe passage and to rebuild the walls. There have been many times in my life that I wondered how God could ever use a tough situation or a mundane task, but He did. As a writer I especially identify with this one. I am currently working on a project that has taken me away from a novel I’ve been working on for a very long time. This new project will most likely bring little to no income, but I know God has given me this task to complete for such a time as this.

Know that God has strategically placed me for such a time as this. Click to tweet it!

3. Formulate a plan in secret, but don’t be afraid to share it when the time is right. Nehemiah rode around the city at night accompanied by a small team. He inspected the walls carefully and made a plan on how he would rebuild but he didn’t tell anyone until he was ready to share. We, as writers pull our inspiration from many places and often work on our projects in solitude, but there will be a time when we need to share our thoughts with others. Our words are meant to go forth. Like a candle, the light only shines when we set it on display.

4. Big projects may take a team working together to finish. Nehemiah chapter three is a listing of all of the people who built the wall and the specific section where they worked. Writing is often a solitary task, but when it comes to submitting our work for critique, or brainstorming a project, or editing a manuscript, a writer has to have help.

5. When we are working on something that we know is a task from the Lord, there will be spiritual warfare. Nehemiah encountered Samaritan men who were not happy that he was there to rebuild the walls. They enjoyed coming and going through Jerusalem without any opposition. The men working on the walls were told to build with one hand and hold a sword with the other hand. We as scribes, and messenger of God’s word are exactly the same. The enemy does not want to be hindered by the truth and encouraging words that we share with the world. We have to be just a diligent. We need to keep our sword of the spirit, which is the word of God close at hand as we work through the tasks we are given.

Multi award winning writer, Patty Nicholas lives in the mountains of North Carolina. She is a busy event planner for the Billy Graham Training Center at the Cove, and is a member of the Blue Ridge Writers Group. She is a mother of two grown daughters and grandmother of three. She writes Bible studies and devotionals as well as contemporary romance. Devotions are published in compilations by Lighthouse Bible Studies.

facebook.com/patty.l.nicholas
twitter.com/PattyNicholas2