Speechless

Speechless
Worshipful Writers Series
Net's Notations Tuesdays

You lay down your pen, step away from the computer keyboard. Embrace wordless contemplation.

Writer’s block? Could be.

Poignant scene and you have to find the tissues? Sure. Tears for the writer mean tears for the reader.

Great review of your latest book? Probably wouldn’t make you speechless; you’d stay at your computer and post the news on Facebook. *grin*

What if it’s God’s presence overwhelming you? Has that happened as you’ve been writing?

I pull back my hands from the keyboard, raise them in front of me, bow under the glory. Speechless.

All month we’ve discussed worship in our lives as writers. Sometimes worship is wordless.

Be still, and know that I am God; (Psalm 46:10a)

And sometimes you have to step back:

Maybe it’s when God blesses you after a long period of waiting. You receive good news.

Maybe it’s when you hear from a reader whose life turned around because God used you.

Maybe it’s when you have to trust Him with another area of your writing. Worship in the waiting.

I love the account of David’s encounter with God after David learned of God’s promise to bless his “house” (his lineage) for generations to come. Really, David was learning of God sending Jesus, the Messiah, through David’s line. An extraordinary promise.

“Now what more can David say to You?
For You, Lord GOD, know Your servant.
For Your word’s sake, and according to Your own heart,
You have done all these great things,”
(2 Samuel 7:20-21a, MKJV)

David’s humble response is borne of thankfulness to God for His goodness. It’s worship from a poet’s heart. Love that. Sometimes we recite our verses concerning the King.

My heart is overflowing with a good theme;
I recite my composition concerning the King;
My tongue is the pen of a ready writer.
(Psalm 45:1, NKJV)

And sometimes worship is wordless. It’s okay to be a speechless writer in God’s presence. He’s filling you up for another outpouring of words soon.

It's Just a Little Kiss by Susan May Warren

Hey everyone, Annette here. Welcome to Manuscript Monday. If you're like Dawn or me, you probably have lots of sources for craft material--magazines, ezines, writing groups. BookTherapy.com is one of those sources for us. As members, we receive articles from Susan May Warren and Rachel Hauck. Recently, Susan sent out a fantastic article on sexual tension for us inspirational romance writers. Now, not to worry, it's a wholesome treatment, of course. If you're a romance writer, get set for some great tips on honoring God while writing that love story. With Susan's permission, I've trimmed up her article and I'm sharing it here. Have a great writing week!

It's Just a Little Kiss
by Susan May Warren

How do we create sexual tension in a book, and when do we use it?

The components of great sexual tension start with the Wishing – or the Desire. The more our characters wish for romance, affection and a happily ever after, the stronger the tension will become. I usually put it in terms of the PULL toward the object of their affection. The pull takes on three different forms:

The Wanting – The characters must enjoy spending time together. Sure, they might have sparks, but even those sparks should be enjoyable. As the romance progresses they should have an increasing awareness that they like each other. They will also become more physically aware of each other. Increase the Wanting – emotionally and physically.

The Work – The characters will continue to discover the “layers” of each other, and find the “treasures” inside each layer. As they discover the increasing value of each other, the idea of not being with each other – even if they still have considerable obstacles, will seem more and more horrible. The key to the Work is a slow “unlayering” of the characters – and an appreciation of each layer.

The What-if – Your hero and heroine should also begin to picture what a future might look like with the other person. What it might be like to have them in their life (in a positive way – we’ll get to the negatives in a moment!) They need to talk to their friends about this, and even visualize it to the point where they thirst for it.

The Pull is just one half of Sexual Tension. We also need the Push if we want to create adequate pressure. I also call it The Waiting.

The Waiting is that time period where you are building the Wish….but are keeping the hero and heroine apart. This first element of keeping them can be termed The Walls.
The first set of Walls between your hero and heroine are those External Obstacles – or Why Nots that we’ve set up between the hero and heroine. What physical elements in the plot keep these people apart?

These obstacles are key to keeping them apart. However, as the story progresses, these external obstacles will feel less important than their love . . . and this is where internal obstacles come in. Underlying the external obstacles will be the hint of a bigger issue, usually something from the character’s past that make them afraid of love. Whatever the internal obstacle it is, it conspires to keep them apart on an emotional, and even a spiritual level.

However, eventually (usually around half-way through the book), they can’t hold back any longer, and . . . well, they have what I call . . . The Wink. This is that tentative, or quick, or accidental, or even purposeful-but-mistaken first Kiss. It acts as a taste of what could be. Now, here’s a secret – the timing of this kiss is essential because once you allow them the kiss, tension deflates. I often wait for that moment when the tension feels unbearable…and then I hold them back! I wait until the next chapter. And then I give them just a taste, so I don’t deflate the tension.

Now, we’ve had the taste of the happy ending, The Wish becomes overwhelming.
About three chapters later, I then have The Wow. This is the amazing, we waited for it kiss! The one to cement in their minds that Wonderful ending they’re hoping for. But they still need to Wish for it.

Hold them back with a final Warning. The Warning is that internal obstacle that suddenly becomes so overwhelming that it feels insurmountable. Often the Warning happens right before the black moment. The hero and heroine have to believe that they can’t overcome the internal obstacle to love.

To find that internal obstacle, ask your character: What holds you back from love? What inner element keeps you apart?

Of course, true love will win the day – they’ll know that the Why of their relationship is stronger than the Why Not, and armed with some truth that overcomes the black moment, and they are set free to have The Wonderful, foot-raising happy ending kiss.

See with the right kiss, all that tension was worth it.

Susan May Warren is the founder of My Book Therapy, a boutique fiction editing service for writers, and runs A Writer’s Blog. See her Web site to learn more about her award-winning fiction.

Here's info about Susie's January, 2010 release: Double Trouble

With one solved case under her belt, PJ Sugar is ready to dive into her career as a private investigator. Or at least a PI's "assistant" until she can prove herself to Jeremy Kane, her new boss. Suddenly PJ's seeing crime everywhere. But is it just in her head, or can she trust her instincts? When she takes on her first official case-house-sitting for a witness in protective custody-Jeremy assures her there's no danger involved. But it soon becomes clear that there is someone after the witness . . . and now they're after PJ, too.

The next book in the PJ Sugar series, Licensed for Trouble, will release in August, 2010. Thanks, Susie, for visiting these past two months. We've loved having you here and can't wait to host you again!

Happy Fortifying Friday to our readers! (Annette here) Dawn and I are pleased to host Nikki Arana today with her encouraging post. Happy writing and reading!

My Writing Journey
by Nikki Arana

People are always surprised to learn that I have sold everything I ever sent out. From that first magazine article to my first novel. Yes, God was blessing my socks off and assuring me that He had called me to write. At least that's what I thought . . . until 2007 when I began to write my fifth novel, The Shadow of Death.

The economy had begun a downward spiral, CBA was looking to broaden their appeal by moving toward fiction written from a Christian worldview rather than the message fiction I was known for, and the subject of my book was evangelizing Muslims. There's a dicey topic to promote on a national stage! Though my previous books had won many awards, suddenly sales were not so stellar, and my once rising star seemed to dim. My agent couldn't sell my manuscript. In some cases, publishers offered a contract if I would write something else. But I knew the Lord had called me to write about the need for safe houses for Muslims in America who convert to Christianity. Many of you reading this know what I mean. God has given you a story and a passion to write it. But nothing is coming together. At every turn a door closes. You wonder if you are called to write.

It has been three years since I began writing The Shadow of Death. Offers have not come together, I've rewritten the book three times, I've fought writers block, and yes, even despair. Always coming back to the one thing that could sustain me if only I was sure-was I truly called to write. Finally, through prayer and a willingness to be broken, the Lord led me to the truth.

I am not called to write. I am called to intimacy with Him. It is about letting your dreams die and being willing to live out His dreams for you. It is about spiritual growth that has nothing to do with the writing itself. It has to do with the journey. It has to do with sanctification, being set apart for His purposes, realizing that you are not meant to serve God, you are meant for God to serve man through you. I no longer wonder if He has called me to write. I know He hasn't. He has called me to intimacy with Him. Everything else is just the fruit of that relationship. It was the dawning of this life-giving truth that finally allowed me to surrender to God, His purpose, and His timing.

The Shadow of Death sold last month. . . . in a two-book deal.

Surrender and seek Him. He will do the very thing that you think tests the limits of His power.

~~~~

The Shadow of Death is a chilling tale pitting Austia Donatelli, the leader of an underground Christian ministry that brings the gospel to Muslims, against a powerful terrorist. Austia lives and works in an Islamic neighborhood and God’s call on her life seems to be a death sentence. But her ministry isn’t somewhere in the Middle East . . . it’s in Southern California. The plot takes unexpected twists and turns as the clock ticks and Austia courageously seeks safety for the Muslim women who have become her sisters in Christ. Her faith is tested to the breaking point as death stalks her and God seems distant. It is then, with terrifying certainty, she realizes she is in a spiritual battle with Satan himself.

~~~~

Nikki Arana is an award-winning author of women's fiction, essays, poetry, and magazine articles whose work has been published in the United States and Canada. She has won several national awards, including the American Christian Fiction Book of the Year for Women's Fiction for two consecutive years, the Beacon Award, the Excellence in Media Silver Angel Award, the Write Touch Readers Award, and others. Her book, The Winds of Sonoma was named One of the Top 20 Books of the Year by Christianbook.com. Her 5th, and first non-fiction book, Through the Eyes of Christ: How to Lead Muslims into the Kindom of God, has just been released. Her 6th book, The Shadow of Death, has just been sold by her agent, Natasha Kern. You can learn more about her at www.nikkiarana.com.

Nikki is also a professional editor (http://www.nikkiarana.com/writing-to-publish/) who teaches story structure.

Why Me?

Thursdays - Devotions for Writers

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. (2 Cor. 1:3-4 NIV)


Have you ever asked, “Why me?”

Life can be tough. Even for Christians. Sometimes . . . especially for Christians. I don’t know anyone who hasn’t struggled with something, or had to deal with hurtful situations. If you were to put some true-life experiences into novel form, readers might find them unbelievable. Truth really is sometimes stranger than fiction.

Maybe the question shouldn’t be, “Why me?” Maybe it should be, “What do I do with it, now?”

In Corinthians we read that we are to give comfort as we have received comfort from God. We are to use what we’ve experienced, and our understanding of that experience to help others. God can take what was meant for evil and use it for good.

Do the same with your writing. Take what has been painful in your lives - and what has been healing - and put it into words.

You don’t have to expose our life on paper. But try to dig deep and use the emotions you’ve felt – betrayal, fear, anxiety, abandonment, loneliness – whatever has been difficult and painful. If you're writing fiction, allow your characters to experience those emotions. Let your readers know that they're not alone, someone understands, and that God and His love is bigger than anything bad they've experienced.

Will it be easy? No. It might be one of the hardest things you ever attempt to do. But is it worth it in order to bring forth good out of bad? Only you can answer that for yourself. But think about this . . . you might also find healing for your own heart and spirit in the process.

Be comforted – that you might comfort.

Dawn