Do What Works...

There are so many different kinds of writing and so many ways to work that the only rule is this: do what works. Almost everything has been tried and found to succeed for somebody. The methods, even the ideas of successful writers contradict each other in a most heartening way, and the only element I find common to all successful writers is persistence-an overwhelming determination to succeed.

~~Sophy Burnham

God is good!

He's faithful. And I know His plans are perfect!

Thanks for ALL your encouragement through comments and private emails. I feel loved :-)! And God keeps sending me notes that He has a perfect plan. I love this quote I got via email (one of those daily quote places):If your life consistently bears no fruit, God will intervene to discipline you. If your life bears some fruit, God will intervene to prune you. If your life bears a lot of fruit, God will invite you to abide more deeply with Him.~Bruce Wilkinson

I'm abiding more deeply in Him no matter what happens!One cool thing is that I've started a blessings/prayer/adjustments journal. I've been carrying it with me, writing down blessings throughout the day. I am VERY blessed.

Also, I finished George Mueller's biography (the kid's version :-) and I started a prayer journal. George believed "God knows my needs and knows everyone and everything and will connect the needs with the answers at the right time." So I've been jotting those prayers down, too. Just my heart desires that I'm sharing with God. And I'm already seeing them answered in unexpected, and very cool, ways!!

Map of me...

This is pretty much what journals are all about, at least to me. I knew as I wrote them that even though they provided an excellent place for brain (and heart, and psyche) dump, they were mainly a map of me.

~~Colleen Wainwright, communicatrix, 03-23-2006

Calling Bloggers!

Stories Needed for new book proposal(s):

Book titles:
Bloggable: Fifty of the best MOMMY chronicles found on-line
Bloggable: Fifty of the best MARRIAGE chronicles found on-line
Bloggable: Fifty of the best FRIENDSHIP chronicles found on-line
Bloggable: Fifty of the best HUMOR chronicles found on-line

Concept: The best blogs now in a book!

This is a book that will compile the best of the best inspirational blogs on the world-wide-web. Submissions should be inspiring, faith-filled, and based on true experiences—no fiction, please. Think of comment-worthy blogs readers forward to their friends.

Blogs must be previously published on the Internet and submitted by the author. If you have a favorite blog you've read, pass on these guidelines and encourage the blogger to submit!

1. Send submissions to tricia@thegoyers.com as an attached WORD document in 12-point Times new Roman font. (Up to three submission per blogger.)

2. Please include the author’s name, your blog address, and contact information on the first page of every submission.

3. Blog submissions should be non-fiction, ranging in length between 300-1200 words.

4. If your blog is published in this book, you will be paid $50 upon publication and two free copies of the book.

5. Please include a link to your story published on the Internet.

6. When you submit, you will be asked to sign a release form, giving me permission to use your blog. Submissions will not be considered until the release form is signed and returned.

Just think of all the new readers to YOUR blog!

Exciting, eh?

Tricia Goyer

Anyone write historical fiction?

I picked this little bit of info up on the ACFW loop from Rita Gerlach. (incidentally...if you're not a member of ACFW -- what are you waiting for?)

Deb’s Historical Research Page is loaded with links to an abundance of information, perfect for the historical fiction writer. I use Deb’s website a lot. Just the other day, while working on a new novel set in 1780, I needed to know how people fed babies that were not being nursed. Sure enough, Deb’s page led me right to the information.

Here’s the link: http://home.insightbb.com/~d.lawson/

It's a sad day on my writing front.

I just found out that I won't be doing any more historical fiction novels for Moody Publishing. The sales numbers just aren't there.

My last novel will be Book #3 in The Chronicles of the Spanish Civil War, A Whisper of Freedom.

Good thoughts:

I gave my very best. I held nothing back. I wrote will all my heart, and I marketed to the best of my ability. I felt God's pleasure as I wrote. I daily get notes from people whose hearts were changed because of those novels.


Hard thoughts:

I gave my very best. I held nothing back. I wrote will all my heart, and I marketed to the best of my ability. Sales stink.

The Lord gives, the Lord takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord. If I have Him I'm in need of nothing else!

I also have to say that though this is hard, I know this is not the way Moody wanted things to go either. I have never felt so loved, cared for, and appreciated by any other group of people in my life--I suppose that's also what makes it so difficult. AND we still have A Whisper of Freedom coming out in February ... so they're not done with me yet!

Finally, I woke up with the words from this quote in my mind. I read it during a speaking engagement last week, and at the time I didn't know how much I WOULD need the words.

My child, I have a message for you today; let me whisper it in your ear, that it may gild with glory any storm clouds which may arise, and smooth the rough places upon which you have to tread. It is short only five words, but let them sink into your inmost soul; use them as a pillow upon which to rest your weary head . . . This thing is from ME.”

--Laura A. Barter Snow, Streams in the Desert, February 1.

Critics!

Critics are by no means the end of the law. Do not think all is over with you because you articles are rejected. It may be that the editor has his drawer full, or that he does not know enough to appreciate you, or you have not gained a reputation, or he is not in a mood to be pleased. A critic's judgment is like that of any intelligent person. If he has experience, he is capable of judging whether a book will sell. That is all.

~~Lavina Goodell, junior editor, Harper's Bazaar, 1866

Writers need excercise...

Exercise the writing muscle every day, even if it is only a letter, notes, a title list, a character sketch, a journal entry. Writers are like dancers, like athletes. Without that exercise, the muscles seize up.

~~Jane Yolen

A Scrupulous Writer

A scrupulous writer, in every sentence that he writes, will ask himself at least four questions, thus:
1. What am I trying to say?
2. What words will express it?
3. What image or idiom will make it clearer?
4. Is this image fresh enough to have an effect?

George Orwell, "Politics and the English Language", 1946
English essayist, novelist, & satirist (1903 - 1950)

Writing for the Christian Market

Check out these great audio sessions by Terry Whalin!

Awesome resource! And you can listen while you're doing something else...like making lists or blogging or surfing or staring out the window. :)

http://www.askterrywhalin.com/replay

Self-doubt...

And by the way, everything in life is writable about if you have the outgoing guts to do it, and the imagination to improvise. The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.

~~Sylvia Plath

The Publishing Cathedral

'When you start, the world of publishing seems like a great cathedral citadel of talent, resisting attempts to let you inside. It isn't like that at all. It may be more difficult now, and take longer than when I started to write, but there's a great, empty warehouse out there looking for simple talent.'

~~Alan Garner, writing in 1987

Author Websites!

I have new and updated website http://www.triciagoyer.com/. I want to talk about some of the "why" behind the design ... mainly my hopes for attracting readers.

When designing a website, there are many people you need to take into consideration: media people, publishers, other writers, family, friends ... and readers (which could be any of the above ... or none of the above).

Today, I'll be talking about readers.

Readers visit websites because
1) they want to know more about an author and
2) they want to check out an author's additional books.

When you visit the website of authors, where is the first place you visit? Since I'm a people person, I always check out photos first ... even before the books!

I have TWO photo slideshows at: http://www.triciagoyer.com/photos.html

These slide shows include photos of friends and family ... and photos of readers and road trips. I love sharing glimpses of myself, my friends, and readers with other readers. It makes me seem more real and approachable, which I am!

I also have a FOR READERS section at:
http://www.triciagoyer.com/forreaders.html.

In this section I have a variety of information, including:
Get Behind-the-Scenes Details - Ever wondered how Tricia became a writer? Interested in the story-behind-the-story for her WWII books? Get answers here, and be sure to visit her Q & A page, too!

Interviews
Listen to interviews with Tricia about her books Generation NeXt Parenting and Dawn of a Thousand Nights

Check out her thoughts on Writing, and on her book My Life Unscripted.

Discover the Story Behind the Story

Read the story behind Arms of Deliverance
Read the story behind From Dust and Ashes
Read the story behind Generation NeXt Parenting

Take a journey through Unforgettable Stories from World War II, from the veterans who inspired Tricia.

Download Discussion Guides - Great for your reading group, or for personal reflection
A Shadow Of Treason
A Valley of Betrayal
Arms of Deliverance
Dawn of a Thousand Nights
Night Song
From Dust and Ashes
Life Interrupted

Read Sample Chapters - Haven't had time to buy Tricia's latest book? Get a sneak peek of each of her stories here!
A Shadow of Treason
Dawn of a Thousand Nights
Night Song
From Dust and Ashes
Generation NeXt Parenting
Life Interrupted

Get Custom-Signed Books - Visit SignedbytheAuthor.com to order custom-signed copies of any of Tricia's titles.

As you can see, I've given readers the HOW, WHY, WHEN, and WHAT behind my books. It's also GREAT for reading groups. They have discussion questions, information about the book, and they can even order signed copies. How easy is that?!

I'd love to hear about YOUR website design. Why did you do what you do?

Sculpting...

'Writing is not like painting where you add. It is not what you put on the canvas that the reader sees. Writing is more like a sculpture where you remove, you eliminate in order to make the work visible. Even those pages you remove somehow remain.'

~~Elie Wiesel

Thursday's Tip...Cara Putman

I'm a Nebraskan at heart, and as I'm sitting here working on Sandhill Dreams -- set in, you guessed it, Nebraska -- I was doing some quick research on Nebraska authors to make sure their books were in print in 1943.

As I did that I ran across this quote from Bess Streeter Aldrich. Some of you may have read her books including A Lantern in Her Hand (truly one of the great prairie stories). Anyway, the author notes at the beginning contained the following quote that I thought you might enjoy.

"A Lantern in Her Hand" was written to please no one but my own consciousness of the character of many of those pioneer mothers. It was written in the so-called "mad twenties" when most of the best-selling books were about sophistication, flaming youth, or far-flung countries. There was some youth in it, but not of the flaming type. There was no sophistication, for Abbie Deal was of the soil. There was not even diversity of scene, for Abbie was only a homemaker. "Lantern" seemed destined to be lost in the wave of the popular type of the times. That it has made new friends each year since that day might be a bit of a lesson for young writers. Regardless of the popular literary trend of the times, write the thing which lies close to your heart.
http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks05/0500521h.html#e01

So as we all chase after the dreams God has placed in each of us to write, don't chase the market so much that you lose the story. We were talking a bit about that today at the Indiana chapter meeting. Yes, we need to know the market. But even more we need to be obedient to tell the story God gives us. And just maybe some of us will write something timeless that is still read 80+ years later.


Cara C. Putman
Canteen Dreams -- October 2007; Sandhill Dreams -- May 2008 and Captive
Dreams -- September 2008 (Heartsong Presents) Deadly Exposure -- June
2008 (LI Suspense)
The Law, Life & Books: http://carasmusings.blogspot.com/
Original Writer for Jake Tremaine at Scenes & Beans: http://kannerlake.blogspot.com/

Fiction vs. Reality...

Here is a quote I "stole" from my friend Kristin...

"The difference between fiction and reality? Fiction has to make sense."


~~Tom Clancy

www.kristinbillerbeck.com
www.girlswriteout.blogspot.com

Writing is a craft

'Most people won't realise that writing is a craft. You have to take your apprenticeship in it like anything else.'

~~Katherine Ann Porter

A Writer...

'In America only the successful writer is important, in France all writers are important, in England no writer is important, and in Australia you have to explain what a writer is.'

Geoffrey Cotterell in the New York Journal

Why Do I Write...

And where do I get my ideas? This was a recent topic on a writing forum I belong to. I thought I'd share some of responses from some of your favorite authors! Check out last week's answers here!

Karen Ball:

Where do I get my ideas?From the things I see, do, read, experience. Shattered Justice came from reading a newspaper article about a rural sherrif who was first responder to an accident where a drunk driver had hit some kids on ATVs. When the sherrif turned over the first body, it was his son. The second body was his other son...all his kids were killed. And they never caught the drunk driver. As I read that I wondered how someone who spent his life ensuring justice for others handled it when he himself was denyed justice. So almost anything can spark an idea.


Why do I write what I write?Because I love telling stories, and because it's what I like to read. Also because the writing process helps me sort through the issues and struggles I'm facing, whether those are issues in relationships or faith.

Sunni Jeffers:

You guys have already given my answers. Goes to show that the creative, writerly mind processes things much the same. We see, read, hear, dream something and it ends up the basis for a book. I also tend to look at disasters, pain, hurt as possible material. I think that's because our experiences are universal. Not necessarily the actual circumstance, but our response to and our hurts and joys from various experiences and being able to see God's hand at work in our circumstances, so that adds the message of hope. That's what makes our readers relate and respond.

Seems like an idea gets a hold of me and it won't let go, but keeps niggling at my mind until I do something with it. Unfortunately, I have a twisted mind, and so far, those haven't sold. LOL! Some are still waiting to be written, and still bugging me.

What brought me to this career? At midlife crisis, I took a class with my sister, who wanted to write a romance, and as I listened, I realized that I did have a story to tell. Then, seven years later, the Lord whacked me with a 2X4 (hate it when He does that) and made it clear that my stories were His and He wanted me to write them for Him. So here I am, doing something I love and hate (like now on deadline), but getting such sweet little confirmations from the Lord along the way and best of all, with such a fabulous group of friends.

Mama Ruth:

I wrote my first book Missionary Mama simply because God had done so many wonderful and unusual things for me that I just had to write it. Also I wanted to prove that a missionary didn't have to be a "holier than thou" kind of person and that we had fun along with the rest of our lives.

I got material for my children's books from my darling husband's brain which was full of Indian stories.

I like to take a setting and wrap a story around it, and the world's most unusual setting (I thought at the time I was there) was New Gunea. So I slurped up answers to questions from an Australian Bishop so fast I had to write them down and before I knew It, I had a story.

About my book Cast A Long Shadow, I began to think about my grandmother's death and how was it when she got to heaven and saw her husband again. So I wrote that part first. Then I had to write about her childhood, and it just flowed. I was really back in the 1860s to 1950s practically in my own back yard. That book is really wrapped about a place.

A Classic...

A classic is classic not because it conforms to certain structural rules, or fits certain definitions (of which its author had quite probably never heard). It is classic because of a certain eternal and irrepressible freshness.

~~Edith Wharton (1862 - 1937)

Guest Blogger...Cara Putnam

I've just returned from the ACFW conference in Dallas. My head is still spinning with everything I learned, the opportunities that presented themselves, and the wonderful people I got to meet.

This conference was unique because I was responsible for parts of it and presenting. Now, I'm an attorney, so talking is never a problem. Hand me a microphone and away I go.

The challenge is making sure I have anything meaningful to say!

Each ACFW conference I've attended has had an unique flavor. In Nashville, I was the newbie soaking in every detail and technique I could. Dallas 2006 I received my first contract and spent the rest of the conference waiting for everyone to figure out a huge mistake had been made.

This year, at Dallas 2007, I was in a new position. This time I had four contracts, but no books out yet. I still have tons to learn, and my goal was to introduce myself to a couple editors to learn more about their houses' needs and get permission to have my agent submit a proposal when I finally complete it.

God blew me away. There is huge potential coming out of this conference. So big that I am humbled -- trusting God knows what He is doing. Trying to hang on for all I am worth.

And He has challenged me to step back and take time in the next two weeks -- while I wait for my agent to return -- to dream with Him. God has blown past my original dream of writing a book that somebody would read. Now I need to discover His next dream for me.

You see, I don't want to step one centimeter outside of His will. I want to run with Him into whatever the future holds. Even when I feel unworthy and unprepared. I think He's trying to get me to realize those are the best spots to be. Then I have no choice but to rely on Him. How cool is that!

At the core of it, this weekend was about God telling me to dream bigger than I've dared. When was the last time you dared to dream? And not just dream, but the kind of dreams that almost seem presumptuous to think? I truly believe we don't ask God for enough. He wants to do so much in our lives, but we are often content to ask for a crumb of cake when he wants to give us the entire bakery.

If you're still reading, please pray that God would flood me with wisdom and creativity like I've never experienced. Thank you!


Cara C. Putman
Canteen Dreams -- October 2007; Sandhill Dreams -- May 2008 and Captive Dreams -- September 2008 (Heartsong Presents) Deadly Exposure -- June 2008 (LI Suspense)
The Law, Life & Books: http://carasmusings.blogspot.com/
Original Writer for Jake Tremaine at Scenes & Beans:
http://kannerlake.blogspot.com/

2 by Mr. Faulkner

If I were reincarnated, I'd want to come back a buzzard. Nothing hates him or envies him or wants him or needs him. He is never bothered or in danger, and he can eat anything.


Read, read, read. Read everything - trash, classics, good and bad, and see how they do it. Just like a carpenter who works as an apprentice and studies the master. Read! You'll absorb it. Then write. If it's good, you'll find out. If it's not, throw it out of the window.

~~ William Faulkner