Take Time to Learn by Elizabeth Byler Younts

Elizabeth Byler Younts

We live in a fast-pace society, and it’s easy to lose patience when things don’t happen as quickly as we’d like. This tends to apply to many areas of our lives: customer service, traffic, and even how long it takes for the microwave to cook food. But some things just can’t be rushed. Author Elizabeth Byler Younts shares her personal journey to publication and thoughts on why it’s important for writers to slow down. ~ Dawn

Take Time to Learn

 
I’ve always been a “writer” for as long as I can remember. But in 2009 I walked into a critique group in San Antonio, Texas where my husband was stationed, and God altered the course of my path. It was very intimidating to walk into a group of almost thirty people without knowing a single soul. Through my nerves and self-consciousness, however, I continued to hear the call of God on my writing to go out and seek. To knock on the door He put in front of me.

The writers I met there became some of my dearest friends. I had to take those critiques with thick skin to get better. I attended every writing workshop and conference we could afford…thanks to a very supportive husband. I even hired one of my favorite writers and leader of our critique group, Allison Pittman, to do a daylong workshop at my house with several other writers. She offered to do it for FREE but we gave her a “love-offering” that couldn’t amount at all to her wisdom. The two years I was with this group before another military move, gave me the growth spurt I needed to push me into becoming a forever student.

In 2011, I self-published my grandma’s memoir, Seasons: A Real Story of an Amish Girl, that became a #1 Amazon Bestseller in 2 categories. Then in 2012, while my husband was deployed, I wrote another manuscript and that fall landed an agent and a 3-book fiction contract with Howard Books/Simon & Schuster. The first in the series was release in October 2013.

I owe all of this to the God of Wonders!

“Often the prevailing worldview creates an anxiety to ‘get on with it,’ and drives the beginner to want the practice before the theory or even instead of the theory.” Laurie Bestvater, The Living Page (page 69)

This quote is from a book about the art of learning and teaching and “notebooking” throughout our entire lives, not just during our academic years. As a homeschool mom, one of the most important aspects of homeschooling is always be a student myself in all areas of my life no matter my setbacks or successes.

This concept of not hurrying learning along hit me between the eyes. How often have I given my first grade oldest daughter a ‘get on with it’ attitude one way or another as we go through her lessons? I think the ‘get on with it’ or hurry-up mentality has become ingrained in our culture and I don’t like it.

I found this quote a challenge in not just my outlook on homeschool, but for my writing. I consider myself just a beginner in the world of publication and I want to make sure that I continue to be a student of the craft as I write. I don’t want to just hurry through the theory but take the time to learn it well and let it fuel my best possible writing. Learning should always be an important part of our journey as writers of all stages.

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Promise to Return

Promise to Return

When World War II breaks out, Miriam Coblentz’s peaceful Amish world is turned upside down...

It’s 1943, and Miriam Coblentz and Henry Mast are nearing their wedding day when the unthinkable happens—Henry is drafted. However, since he is a part of the pacifist Amish tradition, Henry is sent to a conscientious objector Civilian Public Service camp. When he leaves for the work camp, his gaping absence turns Miriam’s life upside down. Little does she know it’s only the beginning...

When Henry returns home, he brings news that shakes Miriam and their Amish community to the core. Henry believes God has called him to enlist in the army and fight for his country, leaving her to make an important decision: whether to choose loyalty to the peaceful life she’s always known or her love for Henry. Two worlds collide in this unforgettable debut novel, providing a fascinating and rare look into Amish culture during World War II. While Henry is battling enemies across the ocean, Miriam struggles between her devotion to Henry and her love of the Amish way of life. One question is at the bottom of it all: will she follow the rules of her religion or the leading of her heart?

Elizabeth Byler Younts is a member of the American Christian Fiction Writers. She is an Air Force officer’s wife and a homeschooling mom with two young daughters. She makes her home wherever her family is stationed. Elizabeth was Amish as a child and after her parents left the church she still grew up among her Amish family and continues to speak Pennsylvania Dutch.

You can learn more and connect with Elizabeth on these sites:

www.elizabethbyleryounts.com

https://www.facebook.com/AuthorElizabethBylerYounts

https://twitter.com/ElizabethYounts

It's Never Too Late by Dora Hiers

Dora Hiers

When it comes to time, I'm a firm believer that most people fall into two different categories:

those who are usually a few minutes early

That would be me. I'm the one sitting patiently at the airplane gate an hour before the plane is due to board. 

and those who are perpetually running late 

Hubby fits in this category. You know the type. He's the guy standing in the Starbucks line as the airline announces the last call for a boarding flight.

My sweet hubby

He doesn't just arrive late, he also includes some type of dramatic announcement of his presence, usually a booming, "Well, well, well." Those of us who like to keep a low profile, well, we've learned to adjust or duck our heads in embarrassment, just accepting his energetic personality as one of the things we love about him. Can you see that mischievous glint sparkling from his eyes? >

What about when it comes to our writing? 
Do you worry that you'll be too late in achieving your dream, of holding your story in your hands, of seeing your baby in print?

Maybe you crested the "hill" more years ago than you care to admit, and you've been knocking on the publishing door for decades. Hundreds of rejection letters are crammed into the deepest, darkest hole in your closet. Or maybe the agent you've been hoping to land has just turned you down for the fourth time. Wherever you're at, take hope in God's promise:

To everything there is a season,

A time for every purpose under heaven:

Eccl 3:1, NKJV

We've all endured traumatic events at some point in our lives. Maybe it was a divorce, a tragic accident, a serious illness, or the death of a loved one. Whatever the circumstances, it shattered our perspective, made us lose our grip on reality for a time. It's only later, when we look back, that we realize something good came out of it, that God weaved those painful threads into a glorious tapestry as only He can do. 

Trust Him with your writing dream. He has a purpose, a plan, and He will reveal all of it in His time.

You see, God's timing is always perfect, never too late and never too early. Rest in that, stop fretting, release the stress and worry over not being published back to Him, and leave it there.

No matter where you're at on your particular writing journey, take time to treasure the friendships He's placed in your path, to savor the actual gift of writing for writing's sake. Cherish Him because He is enough.

Where are you on your writing journey?

Do you worry about the timing?

Journey's Edge
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A Routine Audit? Hardly.
Red flags—including some goon who's following her—raise McKinley Frasier's suspicions that numbers don't add up at the insurance firm. When someone tries to snatch McKinley's daughter from school, she turns to police officer and ex-fiance, Renner Crossman—the cop who walked out on her a month before their wedding. But Renner's not the same guy who broke her heart ten years ago. He calls himself a "new man." She trusts the new Renner with her daughter's safety...but what about her heart?

Dora Hiers is a multi-published author of Heart Racing, God-Gracing romances. She’s a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and the Treasurer for ACFW-Charlotte Chapter. Connect with her here on Seriously Write, her personal blog, Twitter, Facebook or Pinterest.

Creative Use of Family History by Martha Rogers

Let's face it, story ideas are a dime a dozen. But the ones that mean the most to us as writers can come from a personal connection. Today, author Martha Rogers gives us insight into how her latest novel came about. -- Sandy

Martha: While doing genealogy research on my father’s side of the family, I came across some fascinating information. When I asked my dad about my grandparents and great-grandparents, he handed me a packet of letters his father had given him. Those letters dated back to 1860 and started me on the hunt for even more information.

What I found led me to the desire to write about my great-grandparents and their love story during the Civil War. I wanted to use not only their story, but also all the facts of things that happened around that time. The first story was for my cousins and other family members only, but as my aunts began to add information and show me pictures they had from their youth and my grandparents, the more I wanted to include in the novel.

Taking real information and facts and turning them into a fictional account was both fun and daunting at the same time. I wanted to stay true to the character of my great-grandparents, but I also wanted to portray the times in which they lived in a realistic manner. That meant more hours of research and visiting the places where they lived.

Using the letters and parts of a journal, I wove the information into a story using real characters in real places but with fictional situations. When given just enough information to make a story, I could then let my imagination take over and create a plot that would take my characters on a journey to love while incorporating real events and facts about those months following the war.

The most difficult part was knowing how much to embellish the truth and where to stick to the facts. If you know anything about your ancestors, look at the time in which they lived and what their life may have been like. From there you may find the story that sparks your imagination and leads to a novel.

Have you ever turned family history into a story? Have you used genealogy research in any of plots? 

~~~

Martha Rogers is a free-lance writer and the author of the Winds Across the Prairie and Seasons of the

Heart series as well as the novella, Key to Her Heart in River Walk Christmas and Not on the Menu in Sugar and Grits. Love Stays True, the first book in her third series, The Homeward Journey, is now available. She was named Writer of the Year at the Texas Christian Writers Conference in 2009 and is a member of ACFW and writes the weekly Verse of the Week for the ACFW Loop. In addition to fiction, Martha has contributed to compilations by Wayne Holmes, Debra White-Smith and Karen O’ Connor as well as various devotion books. Martha is a frequent speaker for writing workshops and the Texas Christian Writers Conference. She is a retired teacher and lives in Houston with her husband, Rex. Their favorite pastime is spending time with their nine grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. 

Don’t Quit! Why Not? by Lorraine Beatty

Writing is not a one size fits all process. There are as many way to go about it as there are people who want to write. Just take a look at the books written on the subject. You have to find a method or a process that works for you. The same is true when a writer faces a difficult life situation. I know several writer friends who, when faced with adversity, are still able to produce quality books. Their writing provides a means of escape where they can temporarily set the bad things aside.  

I’m not made that way. I had a short lived writing career in the early 90s. It didn’t progress well. There were editor problems, agent problems, and the problem of my inexperience as an author to blame. Add to that a family situation that was getting worse by the week and I found myself overwhelmed and unable to think clearly let alone write. I have to be in a good place in my mind before I can create a story, so I made the decision to stop writing. My retirement lasted for five years.

When life returned to normal I discovered I missed writing. I found an old binder with a half-finished book in it, and I realized how much I missed the creative process. So I started writing again. Only this time I made a few important decisions before I jumped onto the ‘get published train’.  Mainly I had to become more knowledgeable about the craft, and the business. But the end result was worth it. My second foray into publishing is going better than I ever dreamed. I’ve had four books out in less than two years and I’m in the middle of a three book contract with Love Inspired.

Do I regret stepping away from writing? Sometimes. But when I look back I see that I needed that away time to grow emotionally and spiritually. My family had to come first. 

The bottom line - do what’s best for you and your situation.

Don’t be afraid to step away when times are difficult. It’s not the end of the world. It might be the waiting period you need to be prepared for the second try.

About the Author

Lorraine Beatty is a multi-published, bestselling author born and raised in Columbus, Ohio. She’s also lived in Erlangen, Germany, Bridgeport, Connecticut, Baton Rouge, Louisiana and currently resides in Brandon, Mississippi. Married to her high school sweetheart, she and husband Joe have two grown sons and five grandchildren.

She has been writing since Junior High School and has contributed feature articles to several books on Television History, and written for magazines, newspapers and company newsletters. She currently writes for Love Inspired books, and Barbour Books. A longtime member of RWA, and ACFW. She is a charter member and former president of Magnolia State Romance Writers, the local Mississippi Chapter of RWA.

Away from writing she sings in her church choir, loves to garden, spend time with her grandchildren, and travel.

Protecting the Widow's Heart

To Love and Protect

Ginger Sloan’s had enough of heartache. She just wants a peaceful place where she and her son can start over and feel safe. Getting stranded in a lakeside cabin in Dover, Mississippi isn’t part of her plan.  Then again, neither is falling for the cabin’s handsome owner. Injured  on the job, detective Tyler Durrant retreats to his cabin to heal. He’s shocked to find the single mom and her son there. And surprised at the way Ginger affects his heart. For the first time in year, he has hope for the future, but can he convince Ginger that she can find safe haven in his arms?