A Recipe for Writing by Author Stephanie Reed

Christmas is coming. It’s a great time to share a cherished recipe. This recipe won’t replace green bean casserole or orange cranberry relish, but it’s helped me become a better writer and it can help you, too. My goal for each novel is that it should be better than the one before. That’s why I hope you will read my latest novel, The Bachelor, book two in my Plain City Peace series. 

 

Before I write, I work up an appetite by reading. Read many styles of writing, not just your favorites. You can learn great techniques from other authors. If you read library books, you can brush up on reading free of charge, yet the payoff will be huge. I believe reading is the single most important ingredient in this recipe, aside from trusting the Lord. Reading helps you soak up grammar, spelling, style, flow, dialogue, and setting. 

Write the kind of book that makes you smack your lips and beg for seconds. I love to read stories based on real people, so that’s the kind of books I write. As a Christian, I believe the Lord inspires me to write the way I do and He will inspire you to write in a certain way, too. Look at the Bible; there are many writers, many styles, and many subjects, yet the Lord inspired every one. The Lord has planned your writing career since the beginning of time, and He’s been leading you by enriching you as a reader.

As you write, remember the most important person: your hungry reader. Do you like it when a mystery writer holds back on clues? Or how about when you find a mistake in a non-fiction book? When a novel is filled with boring characters, do you keep reading? How disappointing to sit down for a feast and then leave the table hungry. Good writing is not throwing together random ingredients like you’re trying to get food on the table by 6 o’ clock sharp. It is assembling all the best ingredients with love and improving your work by fixing mistakes, like timeline problems or character eye color. Trim away the fat! When you revise your writing, you show that you care about your reader. Your writing is not done until it’s well done.

Don’t invite company over when you try out a new dish. Before you serve up your writing, do a taste test. Trade your work with a trusted writer friend or two. Don’t be shy. Critique partners can make helpful suggestions on how to fix something you may have missed (and trust me—you missed something). If you trade with someone who seems harsh, pray for wisdom on how to proceed. I have two critique partners who read my manuscripts, and I do the same for them. For you writers who aren’t published yet, revising can take as long as you like, and it can even be fun. Once you have a contract, however, edits take on a time element. Revising according to an editor’s suggestions by deadline can be stressful, like unexpected company’s coming and you need dinner on the table ASAP. Ultimately, it’s your recipe, your story, but sometimes it’s nice to have a little help. Try to think of your editor as a sous chef who makes sure all the ingredients are prepped and ready to add at the critical moment.  

Feel free to take my suggestions to your test kitchen and try them out. And don’t forget—all the best cooks add their own flourishes to tried and true recipes. One last tip: ask the blessing before you serve your readers. It won’t be long before readers will relish what you write.

  

Stephanie Reed lives on the outskirts of Plain City, Ohio, site of a once-thriving Amish community. She gleans ideas for her novels from signs glimpsed along the byways of Ohio, as she did for her previous books, Across the Wide River, The Light Across the River, and The Bargain. The Bachelor is the second book in the Plain City Peace series.  

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Tales of Shakespeare Retold by Author Leslie Gould

I love a good retelling, so much so that my entire series, The Courtships of Lancaster County, is inspired by four of Shakespeare’s plays. Becoming Bea, inspired by Much Ado About Nothing and the fourth in the series, releases this month. 

Did I have any qualms about writing retellings? Not at all! 

Shakespeare’s plays were all inspired by other stories. In fact, I’ve read that most of Western art originates from either the Bible or Greek myths. Shakespeare was no exception. The first written story of the ill-fated lovers who later became Romeo and Juliet goes back to 8 AD when Ovid penned the tale in his Metamorphoses, written in Latin.  The oral story, however, goes back to the Greeks. 

Retellings are as old as time. I compiled the following list of a few modern day ones, both in film and novels.

1. 10 Things I Hate About You (film) (The Taming of the Shrew)
2. Adoring Addie by Leslie Gould (novel) (Romeo and Juliet)*
3. Becoming Bea by Leslie Gould (novel) (Much Ado About Nothing)*
4. Brave New Girl by Louisa Luna (novel) (The Tempest)
5. Clueless (film) (Emma by Jane Austen)
6. Courting Cate by Leslie Gould (novel) (The Taming of the Shrew)*
7. Easy A (film) (The Scarlett Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne)
8. Ever After (film) (Cinderella)
9. Judge by R.H. Larson (novel) (Jonah)*
10. The Fairest Beauty by Melanie Dickerson (novel) (Snow White)*
11. The Lion King (film) (Hamlet)
12. Love Amid the Ashes by Mesu Andrews (novel) (Job)*
13. Love in a Broken Vessel by Mesu Andrews (novel) (Hosea)*
14. Loves Sacred Song by Mesu Andrews (novel) (Solomon)*
15. March by Geraldine Brooks (novel) (Little Women by Louisa May Alcott)
16. The Merchant’s Daughter by Melanie Dickerson (novel) (Beauty and the Beast)*
17. Minding Molly by Leslie Gould (novel)  (A Midsummer Night’s Dream)*
18. My Fair Lady (film) (Pygmalion)
19. O Brother Where Art Thou (film) (Odyssey)
20. The Proposal (film) (Pygmalion) (The Taming of the Shrew)
21. Scotland, PA (film) (Pygmalion) (Macbeth) 
22. She’s the Man (film) (Pygmalion) (Twelfth Night)
23. A Simple Twist of Fate (film) (Pygmalion) (Silas Marner by George Eliot)
24. Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers (novel) (Hosea)*
25. A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley (novel) (King Lear)
26. Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis (Greek Myth of Cupid and Psyche)
27. Warm Bodies (film) (Pygmalion) (Romeo and Juliet)
28. Westside Story (film) (Pygmalion) (Romeo and Juliet)
29. Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire (novel and Broadway play) (Oz by L. Frank Baum)

*contemporary inspirational market

I’d love to hear your favorite retellings! Please leave a comment below. 

Leslie Gould is the #1 bestselling and Christy Award winning author of 19 novels. She and her husband, Peter, live in Portland, Oregon and are the revolving-door parents of four children and the owners of three cats. Leslie loves researching church history, seeing Shakespeare plays, and traveling with her hubby, mainly on research trips. Find out more at www.lesliegould.com. 

Links:

http://www.amazon.com/Becoming-Bea-Courtships-Lancaster-County/dp/0764210343/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1413412166&sr=1-1&keywords=becoming+bea+leslie+gould

http://www.lesliegould.com/ 

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Deleted Scenes—The Pitfalls, The Upside by Author Beth WIseman

Is there anything more painful for an author than to hit the ‘Delete’ button?  We’ve given life to our characters, created scenes that we know are perfect, and bled onto the pages.  How in the world can an editor see what we can’t and insist that some pages—maybe even entire scenes—need to go? The horror.

But if you’re in the game long enough, it will eventually happen.  My latest release, The Promise, was a literary endeavor that was way out of the box for me, and as such, my editor set the bar really high.  I was crossing genres, and she wanted a really tight story that popped on every page.  But I initially had a mental block while writing the book.

The Promise is inspired by a true story, and I knew that once my character got on a plane to head to Pakistan, all of the real-life events would come hurdling back at me, taking me back to a time that was painful and scary.  So, I prolonged putting my character on the plane.  Instead, I sent a secondary character cross-country, filled the pages with a bit of fluff, and basically wrote about a hundred pages that didn’t help to further the story, but caused it do drag.  In the end, it was delete, delete, delete.  

So, is there an upside when this happens?  At the time, it’s hard to see one.  But looking back, there was a silver lining.  Perhaps the reader didn’t need those hundred pages, but I did.  It was an opportunity to get to know my characters.   In that regard, I can’t consider it wasted time and effort.  

Have you ever written a letter and not sent it?  Maybe it was just for you, a way to vent, part of a healing process, or an incentive to forgive.  Sometimes, deleted scenes end up in the same ‘File 13’ as other projects that weren’t really for anyone else’s benefit, except our own.  

In the scene that never made it into The Promise, I felt like I was sitting in the backseat while my character drove to New York City.  I learned a lot about him, his motivations, hopes, and dreams.  I was a silent player in my own book, watching and learning.  In hindsight, these tidbits weren’t anything that the reader needed to know, but the journey enabled me to incorporate the emotions my character was feeling through other ways that drove the story forward.  

At the end of that trip to New York City, Tate and I parted ways, and I returned to my computer to hit the delete button.  But, we had that time together, and I returned from the adventure with a much better understanding about who Tate really is.  

As authors, we must realize that even the deleted scenes serve a purpose.  As readers, we appreciate when an editor or author has gone the extra mile to keep any unnecessary filler out of the book.

As a reader, how many times have you skimmed sections of books that really should have been deleted or shortened?  And author friends, as painful as the deleting process is, has it benefitted you in ways that I mentioned?

Beth Wiseman is the best-selling author of the Daughters of the Promise series and the Land of Canaan series.  Wiseman has a deep affection for the Amish and their simpler way of life, and while she plans to continue writing Amish love stories, she is also branching out into other areas. In her daring new novel, Wiseman jumps way outside the box. The Promise will take readers far away from Amish country and the small Texas towns of her previous releases to a dangerous place on the other side of the world.  Inspired by actual events, Wiseman believes this is the book she’s been working toward for a long time.  

Wiseman can be found at Fans of Beth Wiseman on Facebook where she interacts with readers. Learn more about the author and her books at bethwiseman.com and on Twitter (@bethwiseman).

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The Big Red Do-Over Button by Author Christine Lindsay

Sadly, God did not issue us with a Do Over Button, but don’t you just wish He had? A nice big one like a giant red Smartie on your desk that you could slam, and it would whip you back several years when you were deciding what to write.

In all the writing related blogs and instructive courses, we are told to study the market, see what publishers are selling, what readers are buying, etc. Good advice—advice I heartily recommend.

However, I started writing the first book in my historical series before I ever heard that advice. I was born in Great Britain, so I grew up on novels written about the flamboyant exploits of British Colonialism. Think dashing British Cavalry officers on glorious steeds and rescuing the courageous woman who went out to far flung colonies to be with the brave men they loved. Or soldiers from WW1 and WW2 in tropical uniform. Ah adventure and romance...doesn’t it just make your toes curl?

I grew up reading the blockbuster novels, Far Pavilions and Shadow of the Moon, written by the famous MM Kaye that big New York agents like Donald Maass and writers like Stephen King still drool over today. 

You can’t beat quality. I wanted to write novels like MM Kaye set in British Colonial India but from a Christian viewpoint. However, I didn’t know that the setting of India would turn some readers off even before they cracked the book open. This even surprised me after my first book Shadowed in Silk won the ACFW Genesis and continued to win awards. This lack of interest in my chosen setting continued to amaze me even after Book 2 Captured by Moonlight won a few awards.

Ah, the setting. It actually hampers sales. Did I choose the wrong setting? Do I wish I had a big red Do Over Button on my desk? 

After my first book Shadowed in Silk won the Genesis, The Grace Award, and was a finalist for Readers’ Favorite, I considered writing for the market. At that point I could have set aside my ideas on the 3-book series and started something with a more lucrative setting. But the artistic passion to finish what I started would not let go. To satisfy myself as a Christian writer, I simply had to finish that series to the best quality that I could. I had to write the kind of book I love to read.

Besides, I felt the encouragement from God to finish what I started. 

Book 3 Veiled at Midnight is releasing this Oct. 15. As this third baby from this series is about to be released I can say with all honesty I’m glad I Don’t have a Do Over Button on my desk. I’m so thrilled that I stuck to my artistic integrity in spite of what the marketing gurus say. I feel good about the quality of these three novels. 

Yes, it’s true my name isn’t as big as some of my contemporaries. YET!!! My sales numbers aren’t as high. YET!!! 

So does this mean I am unsuccessful?

I don’t feel unsuccessful. In fact, I feel a deep satisfaction in my soul. I also believe in the steady build, the slow burn. I believe in longevity. Maybe the slow burn will burn bright in the long run.

So, yes, study the market. If you are passionate about a story that is popular with the market right now—Go for it.

Write the passion on your heart. It will show on the page, and that is what will make the readers heart go pitter-patter too. 

VEILED AT MIDNIGHT-- The British empire draws to an end...

but the turmoil has only just begun.

Christine Lindsay was born in Ireland, and is proud of the fact that she was once patted on the head by Prince Philip when she was a baby. Her great grandfather, and her grandfather—yes father and son—were both riveters on the building of the Titanic. Tongue in cheek, Christine states that as a family they accept no responsibility for the sinking of that infamous ship. Londonderry Dreaming is Christine’s first contemporary romance set in N. Ireland. 

CONNECT WITH CHRISTINE:

Please drop by Christine’s website http://www.christinelindsay.com/ or follow her on Twitter and be her friend on Pinterest , and  Goodreads

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Where Do Ideas Come From? by Author Robin Caroll

I’m often asked how I get ideas for my books. I always want to answer, “Where don’t I get ideas?” 

I get character ideas by people watching. Airports are especially great outlets for this. I watch people. I study them. Yes, even been known to snap a picture of one with my cell phone because of a certain hairstyle, or quirk, or expression. All of this information filters down and finds its way into a character. 

I also get ideas from watching documentaries. For instance, the germ of an idea for my most recent book, Hidden in the Stars, came about because I’d watched a documentary of the successful Russian ballet company. It was in my brain when I flipped channels after it was over and saw the longest news segment of all the Olympic-hype. My mind immediately went to playing the “what if” game... What if I blended ballet and Olympics? What if I made some of the most beautiful ballet costumes integral to solving the crime in the book? And thus, the basic concept for Hidden in the Stars was born.

Ideas are everywhere, you just have to look for them. Now, back to the game. What if a writer was on tight deadline? What if she kept playing on email and the internet instead of making her word count? What if...?

Robin Caroll is the author of 22 published novels. Her books have been named finalists in contests such as the Carol Awards, HOLT Medallion, Daphne du Maurier, RT Reviewer’s Choice Award, Bookseller’s Best and Book of the Year. She gives back to the writing community by serving as conference director for American Christian Fiction Writers.

For more information about Robin Caroll and her books, visit her online home at www.robincaroll.com. She is also active on Facebook and Twitter. 

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What's the Deal with Backstory? by Author Ane Mulligan

Contrary to popular belief, backstory is a good thing. Now, before y'all call for a lynching party, let me tell you what it' good for and what it's not good for. After all, backstory helps you, the author know your character. What makes her tick? What formed her worldview? Why does he dislike women who have a good business head? 

Let's get the "not" out of the way first. The reader does not need to know the backstory of your characters to understand the plot—at least not in the beginning. A bit of mystery about the character is a good thing. It draws the reader onward to find out why this otherwise nice guy is so antagonistic to the heroine.

I always tell new writers to think of it this way. You're attending a party, and you host introduces you to a new neighbor. You start off the conversation by telling her your life history, and the new neighbor will be in jeopardy of whiplash, looking for the host to rescue her. 

Readers who are bombarded with backstory in the first few chapters of a novel with either ski over it or close the book for good. Either way, your time has been wasted by putting it in.

Now, let's look at what backstory is good for and how to discover it. First, I conduct a character interview (CI). Think of that as a journalist interviewing a subject for an article. In my CI, I dig and prod for the character's secrets and for his or her fears. What happened in their childhood that had a major effect of them?

After I've completed the CI, I write a stream of consciousness (SOC) backstory. This is where I go back two or more generations. People are the product of their ancestors' worldview. For example, let's say your great grandparents lived through the Great Depression. They probably could get more for a quarter than anyone you know. They taught your grandparents, who taught your parents. But did your parents continue that trait or did they, because of their more affluent status, break away from it?

It's within the SOC backstory where I discover so much about my character. Besides their worldview, I learn the lie they believe about themselves, and that lie will color their motivation, and that motivation will drive their plotline. 

In my debut novel, Chapel Springs Revival, my secondary lead, Patsy, comes from a loving home. Her mother is a well-known artist and her father a country doctor. She grew up without them around a lot. One might think her lie is that she's unloved, but that wasn't it. Patsy believes she's helpless – powerless to fix things. In her own life, she falls victim to it by ignoring problems. If she doesn't acknowledge it, it doesn't exist. 

Your characters will either fall victim to their lie or they will try to prove it wrong. Remember, the key is: Lie drives motivation drives plotline.

Much of what I learn never makes it into the manuscript, but if makes the characters come alive. They're three-dimensional and when they are real to you, the author, they become real to the reader. 

One of my beta readers said after reading Chapel Springs Revival, "I love the people. I want to find out more about their lives."

And that's the goal for backstory. 

While a large, floppy straw hat is her favorite, Ane has worn many different ones: hairdresser, legislative affairs director (that's a fancy name for a lobbyist), drama director, multi-published playwright, humor columnist, and novelist. Her lifetime experience provides a plethora of fodder for her Southern-fried fiction (try saying that three times fast). She firmly believes coffee and chocolate are two of the four major food groups. President of the award-winning literary site, Novel Rocket, Ane resides in Suwanee, GA, with her artist husband, her chef son, and two very large dogs. Her debut book, Chapel Springs Revival released Sept 8^th.

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Allegorically Speaking by Author Yvonne Anderson

Click to Purchase Kindle Version

“How many roads must a man walk down before you call him a man?” The folk song asks this rhetorical question not because the songwriter’s looking for an answer, but to prod the hearer to think.

Another rhetorical device that’s familiar to everyone, though not always identified as rhetorical, is allegory. When used in literature, a character, object, setting, plot, or other component is used to represent something in the real world. And, like a rhetorical question, its purpose is to encourage the reader to use his noodle. 

What comes to mind when you think of allegory? Pilgrim’s Progress? Animal Farm? The Chronicles of Narnia? They all fit the bill. But I’m not sure Gateway to Gannah does.

What’s Gateway to Gannah, you may ask? It’s a sci-fi series written by yours truly. I released the third book a couple months ago and plan to publish the last title in October. Never heard of it? I’m not surprised. Few people have.

When Sandra mentioned my doing a post about allegory, my first thought was, Huh? Because, you see, I never thought of Gannah as an allegory. Its themes are all pretty straightforward, not veiled in symbolism. 

In Pilgrim’s Progress, the protagonist’s journey is a metaphor for the Christian walk. In Animal Farm, the Russian Revolution is portrayed by a coalition of animals taking over the farm and establishing pigs as the new ruling class. In the Narnia stories, a wise, powerful lion represents Jesus Christ. 

In Gannah, however, people are people, the Creator and Redeemer are exactly as named, and the Bible is the Bible. No room for misinterpretation. 

This set to me to thinking about allegory in its various forms, and now I’m finding it everywhere I look – particularly in the Bible. One example among a multitude: the nation of Israel is represented by a vine in Psalm 80:8-16 as well in the 15^th and 17^th chapters of Ezekiel. 

Sometimes, biblical history is used as an allegorical illustration. Check out Galatians 4:22-31. The Apostle Paul comes right out and says, in v. 24, that he’s pointing out an allegory in the Old Testament. Although the events he refers to in Genesis 16 and 21 are historical, they also illustrate a spiritual reality. 

In another case, Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 10:11 that Israel’s exodus from Egypt serves as an example to those who follow Christ. Old Testament history is both fact and illustration.

It’s not just God’s word that’s full of that sort of thing; so is God’s world. How about the metamorphosis of a grotesque, crawling caterpillar into a delicate, airborne butterfly? The process pictures the death of our sinful flesh and the emergence of a perfect spiritual body in the resurrection. Or how about the falling of a seed to the ground to die, later to emerge as a fruitful plant? Great allegorical performance art enacted continually on the stage of the world.

One of my favorites is the sunrise, which portrays the return of Christ (Malachi 4:2). Did you ever stop to think that at every moment of every day, the sun is rising somewhere on this earth in declaration of the coming of the King?

Obviously, then, allegory doesn’t have to be fiction—something real can portray something else that’s equally real but on a different plane.

What does all this have to do with the Gateway to Gannah series? Gannah is pure fiction: the planet, its people, and all the events described exist only in the imagination. These fictitious things do, however, illustrate actual traits and motives of human nature as well as scriptural realities: the universal power and authority of God (portrayed in the first book, The Story in the Stars), the reliability of the scriptures above human tradition or personal experience (Words in the Wind), and the fact that our Savior’s self-sacrifice demands a response on our part (Ransom in the Rock).

So is the Gateway to Gannah an allegory? I’m not sure. Maybe you should read it and decide for yourself.

Yvonne Anderson writes fiction that takes you out of this world.

And The Borrowed Book will give you a chance to win a free copy of Book 1 in the series this Friday. See ya then!

The Story in the Stars was a Carol Award finalist in 2012. The adventure continues with Words in the Wind and Ransom in the Rock and will conclude with The Last Toqeph, scheduled for release in the fall of 2014.

Yvonne lives in Western Maryland with her husband of almost forty years and shares the occasional wise word on her personal site, YsWords. She’s been with The Borrowed Book blog for a year or two now and has coordinated Novel Rocket’s Launch Pad Contest for unpublished novelists since the beginning of time. (Or at least, since the contest’s inception.) You may connect with her on Twitter or Facebook. Oh, yeah: she also does freelance editing. 

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The Myth of Rejection by Author Amanda Cabot

Rejection.  It’s a subject few writers want to think about much less discuss, which may be why it’s shrouded in so much secrecy and why there are so many myths about it.  As someone who’s collected enough rejection notices to paper a good-sized room, I consider myself somewhat of an expert on the subject, and so I invite you to join me for my attempt to demystify rejection and to debunk some of the myths.  Grab a latte, a cup of tea, a piece of chocolate – whatever soothes you – and let’s go.

Myth #1: It won’t happen to me.  I used to believe this one too.  Even though I knew the statistics, I was certain they wouldn’t apply to me.  Of course the first editor who read my manuscript would buy it.  Wrong.  Instead of the joyful “I want to buy your manuscript” call I’d expected, I received a form rejection in the mail.  And, like all form rejections, it was singularly unhelpful.  I had no way of knowing whether the editor thought my manuscript was the worst prose in the English language or whether she’d bought something similar the previous day.  To say that I was devastated is an understatement.  While that was the only rejection for that particular manuscript, it was the first of many rejections I’ve received.  Rejection is an unfortunate part of most writers’ lives.

Myth #2: It doesn’t hurt.  We’ve all heard the adage, “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.”  If that were true, rejection wouldn’t hurt, but it does.  Why?  There are a couple reasons why rejection hurts so much.  The first is that we’ve sent something of value to that editor or agent, something that’s a part of us.  Rejecting it is like rejecting us.  Another reason is that as writers we’re empathetic.  We understand and feel others’ emotions.  That’s wonderful when it comes to writing stories that touch readers’ hearts, but the same empathy means that we tend to be thin-skinned where our own emotions are concerned.  There’s no sugar-coating it.  Rejection hurts.

Myth #3: It’s not personal.  That’s true, from the editor’s view.  For an editor or agent, reading manuscripts is a job.  So is rejecting those that don’t fit the publisher’s current needs.  Remember that editors want to buy manuscripts, but their job is to select those stories that have the greatest chance of succeeding in the publisher’s chosen market.  That doesn’t mean that a rejected manuscript is unpublishable; it simply means that it doesn’t meet that publisher’s needs at the current time.  It’s a business decision, not a personal one.  But for us, the writers, it is indeed personal, because our books are part of us.  (I know I said that before, but it bears repeating.)

Myth #4: It only happens to unpublished authors.  Oh, how I wish this were true!  After I sold my first book to the second editor who read it, I thought I was on Easy Street.  Reality was that the market changed and the line that featured my first book was discontinued.  It took me several years and many, many rejections to sell another book.  I’d love to tell you that that will never happen to you, but there are no guarantees.  The market continues to change.  Some publishers are being acquired by others.  Lines are discontinued or are contracting, while others are expanding.  The only guarantee is that change will continue.

Myth #5: The only rejections come from editors and agents.  When we talk about rejection, we often focus on the traditional definition, namely rejection of a manuscript by an editor or agent, but there are other types of rejection that hurt almost as much as the traditional one.  I consider bad reviews, scathing emails from readers and unsuccessful book signings to be a form of rejection, and yes, they’ve all happened to me.

Myth #6: It gets easier.  The good news about this myth is that it’s true if you add a qualifying clause.  Dealing with rejection does become easier if you develop some coping techniques.  And that leads me to the next part of this discussion.

How do you cope with rejection besides eating a lot of chocolate?  A few techniques that have worked for me are:

Venting: Do not – I repeat, DO NOT – vent by calling the agent or editor to say that there’s been a huge mistake, that anyone with half a brain would recognize your genius.  Instead, call a friend or, even better, pull out a piece of paper and release your anger by writing all the things you want to say to the editor.  Then shred it.  

Exercise:  This is one of my favorite coping techniques, simply because it works so quickly.  I’m not going to quote the research about the therapeutic effect of the endorphins that exercise releases; all I’m going to say is DO IT.  Whether you take a brisk walk, go to the gym or simply clean house, exercise helps to calm you.  It also helps burn some of the calories from all the consolation chocolate you’ve been eating.  Two benefits from one technique.  You can’t ask for better than that.

Reading: Pull out your favorite authors and indulge yourself.  Yes, this is escapism, but there’s nothing wrong with that.  You can always justify it by saying that you’re doing market research.

Plan B: Even before you send out the first query, you should have a prioritized list of the editors or agents you want to query.  If one rejects you, send the query to the next one on the list.  And, if you’ve gone the multiple submission route and have sent the manuscript to everyone on your list, do some research to see whether there are agents or editors you haven’t considered.  Only when you’ve exhausted every possible home for your manuscript should you abandon it. 

Writing: I’ve found this to be an excellent remedy for the inevitable blues that accompany rejection.  Get back to work on the next project.  (You were already working on it while you waited for news about the first one, weren’t you?)  One of the benefits of being engrossed in a second book while you wait for the decision on the first is that it’s an expanded version of Plan B.  If the first manuscript doesn’t sell, you haven’t put all your eggs in one proverbial basket.  

Prayer: I’ve saved the best for last in this list, but as Christian writers we know it should be our first step.  Take the time to thank God for the many gifts He’s given you, including the ability to write.  And then listen, really listen, to His response. 

The bottom line is that rejection hurts.  It always will, but you can and will survive it.

A former director of Information Technology, Amanda has written everything from technical books and articles for IT professionals to mysteries for teenagers and romances for all ages.  She’s delighted to now be a fulltime writer of Christian romances.  Her Texas Dreams trilogy received critical acclaim; Christmas Roses was a CBA bestseller; and a number of her books have been finalists for national awards, including ACFW’s Carol award.  

www.amandacabot.com

http://amandajoycabot.blogspot.com

https://www.facebook.com/amanda.j.cabot

https://twitter.com/AmandaJoyCabot

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The Long and Short of Writing Novellas by Author Margaret Brownley

My husband is a bottom line kind of guy. Whenever my daughter came home from a date he would ask if she had a good time.  That's it. That's all he wanted to know.  Not me. I wanted all the juicy details.  Everything.

So writing long historical novels was right up my alley. Eighty-five thousand words?  No problem.  A twenty-thousand word novella?  Now that was a horse of a different color.

So how does a long-winded writer learn to write short?  I'm embarrassed to admit this, but when I wrote my first novella I actually wrote something like fifty thousand words and then cut like crazy.  Now I know better, but novellas still pose a challenge.  Skimp on story or characterization and readers will feel cheated.

Still, there are some advantages to writing short.  Novellas are popular with readers and they keep your name out there between books.  They also make you concentrate on your writing strengths and weaknesses. 

Of course if you're the type of writer whose strengths include writing long narratives and intricate descriptions this might not work for you.  There simply is no room in a novella to go into great detail.  Every word has to count and then some. Lucky you if writing strengths include action scenes and dialogue—the crux of a well-paced novella.

I also found that the sooner the narrative question can be worked into the story the better. This creates tension and keeps the reader interested. 

For COURTING TROUBLE, my story in Four Weddings and a Kiss, I got started on the wrong track.  I opened the scene in the heroine's point of view and wasted valuable verbiage describing her arrest for the murder of her husband.  My friend solved the problem. "Dump the first chapter," she said. 

Taking her advice I started the story with the second chapter.  Not only did this save nine hundred words, it pulled the reader in quicker. We immediately understand the hero's dilemma.  The woman on trial for murder has the worst possible reputation.  He has no desire to defend her, but how can he say no to her young son's plea for help? And what if fails to win the case? Putting these emotional and narrative questions up front quickly grabs a reader's attention and that's what it's all about. 

Wait. There's more:

Keep Character Goals Clear and the Time Period Short
My heroine's goal was simple.  She wanted the jury to find her innocent. This is something that can happen (or not) in a few short days.  Goals that take years to accomplish don't work in a novella.  The challenge I had was keeping the time short—and the romance long, if you know what I mean.  I didn't want the relationship to feel rushed.  

Don't Skimp on Characterization
Readers want to know what makes your characters tick and why they do the things they do.  Goals and motivations must be clear. 

Keep the Story Moving
Save the introspection and flashbacks for your novels. 

Forget the Crowds
The fewer characters in a novella, the better.  Everyone has to pull his or her weight and then some.   

Limit Subplots and Viewpoints
Stick to the main story as much as possible. Subplots should be short and easily resolved. Some people say you should tell your story from a single viewpoint, but I write romance and like to go back and forth between the hero and heroine.  Two viewpoints are probably the most you can get away with. 

Finally:
 Remember, big ideas don't need a lot of words—they just need the right words.  And that's the long and the short of it.

NEW YORK TIMES BEST-SELLING AUTHOR MARGARET BROWNLEY has penned more than thirty historical and contemporary novels. Her books have won numerous awards, including Readers' Choice and Award of Excellence. She's a former Romance Writers of American RITA^® finalist and has written for a TV soap.  She is currently working on a new series.  Not bad for someone who flunked eighth grade.  Just don't ask her to diagram a sentence.  

Find Margaret:
Website: margaret-brownley.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MargaretBrownleyAuthor

Twitter: https://twitter.com/margaretbrownly

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/brownley1/

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Two Aids in Creating Memorable Characters by Author James Callan

My book on character development, Character: The Heart of the Novel, was published by Oak Tree Press in 2013. The main theme of the book was: Create memorable characters. Here are two ways to help in that endeavor.  

If you’re writing fiction, you need to use metaphors and similes.  Why?  Because you need to develop memorable characters, characters that your readers can hardly wait to tell their friends about.  “You’ve got to read this book. You’ll (love, hate, laugh at, cry about, want to marry, want to kill—pick one) this character (supply name here).” 

What do I mean by metaphors and similes in fiction, and how do they work? 

“John had big ears.”  That’s not going to make John memorable. “John had large ears.”  Nope. No better.  “John had huge ears.”  A tiny bit better.  “John’s ears looked like weather balloons attached to his head.”  That’s a simile. You are comparing two things which are dissimilar items, such as comparing ears to weather balloons, and using the word “like” or “as.” Which description are you going to remember?  Sure, it’s a gross exaggeration, but it gets the idea across and in a way that will be remembered.

“Wally’s hand was a catcher’s mitt.”  That is a metaphor -- the comparison of two things that are in general not alike, without using “like” or “as.” The reader knows this guy didn’t really have a catcher’s mitt for a hand. But the reader knows very clearly, this guy had big hands, exceptionally big hands. Your reader will remember that feature about him. You, the author, can use that fact later in the book to good advantage. And guess what?  The reader will remember.

“Her eyes were like sapphires cut to catch the light and sparkle.”  Simile. (Her eyes were like…) “His eyes were lasers, the kind that could cut through steel.” Metaphor.  (His eyes were …)  “He was only five feet tall, but his feet were as big as a seven foot giant’s.” Simile.  Her passion was as deep as the ocean. Simile.  His ego was an aircraft carrier. Metaphor. His wealth was like the Empire State Building, and his charity was a mustard seed. Simile and then metaphor.

Can you overdo the use of metaphor and simile? You most certainly can. They should be like the habañera: not used on everything, and not used too much. (Simile.)  But these are important tools for the writer. Don’t ignore them.

Remember, one of your goals is to develop memorable characters.  Similes and metaphors can help make a character memorable.

After a successful career in mathematics and computer science, receiving grants from the National Science Foundation and NASA, and being listed in Who’s Who in Computer Science and Two Thousand Notable Americans, James R. Callan turned to his first love—writing.  He wrote a monthly column for a national magazine for two years, and published four non-fiction books.  He now concentrates on his favorite genre, mysteries, with his sixth book releasing in Spring, 2014.

COME BACK FRIDAY FOR A CHANCE TO WIN A COPY OF CHARACTER: THE HEARTBEAT OF THE NOVEL.

Website: www.jamesrcallan.com

Blog: www.jamesrcallan.com/blog

Amazon Author page: http://amzn.to/1eeykvG

Twitter: @jamesrcallan

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Become a Better Writer in 2014 by Author Becky Lyles

Isaiah is an amazing book filled with beautiful poetic language and incredible promises as well as judgment and curses. Yet, even as he forecast distress, darkness and fearful gloom (8:22), the prophet proclaimed a coming King who would be a Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father and Prince of Peace (9:6). I especially love Isaiah 9:2: “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.” 

How do Christian writers walk in the Light and share that Great Light in this land shadowed by death? Isaiah offers suggestions throughout the book.

Remain humble (10:12) (29:16) (64:8) (66:2)

Trust the Spirit for wisdom, knowledge and understanding (11:2)

Trust God’s plan and purposes (14:24; 46:10-11)

Trust his love and his Word (54:10; 55:11)

Find peace and stability in him (26:3)

Desire God and follow his path (26:7-9)

Appreciate the refining process (43:1-3) (48:10-11) 

Fear God; he is our foundation, salvation, wisdom and knowledge (8:13) (33:6)

Find our joy in the Lord (58:14)

Find our security in him (41:10,13)

Find our strength in him (12:2) (40:31) (49:5) (58:11)

Follow the Highway of Holiness (35:8-10)

Hope in the Lord (40:28-31)

Cry out for his help (30:19) (58:9)

Allow him to teach and direct us (28:26) (48:17)

Write the truth (30:8)

Listen to the Sovereign Lord for words to help others (50:4)

Tell others about God’s faithfulness (38:19)

Base our writing on God’s Word (40:8)

Ask him for something new to write (43:18-19)

Proclaim peace, good news, freedom and salvation (52:7) (61:1)

Pray, pray, pray! (55:6) (56:7)

I am not a theologian, and this is just a taste of the wisdom Isaiah offers us, but there’s plenty of meat to chew on in these few verses (look ‘em up!). My challenge to myself and to you is to walk in the Light in 2014. He will guide and illuminate our writing.

Rebecca Carey Lyles writes nonfiction as well as fiction and serves as an editor and mentor for aspiring authors. Her second novel, Winds of Freedom is the sequel to the award-winning first book in the Kate Neilson series, Winds of Wyoming.

Links

http://www.beckylyles.com

http://widgetwords.wordpress.com

Twitter: @BeckyLyles

Facebook: Rebecca Carey Lyles

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