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Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Character Arc...Karen Ball

I asked some of my writer friends this question:

So, tell me. How did you change and grow during 2007? What was your character arch?

This is what my dear friend, Karen Ball, had to say:

As for my character arc/arch, it's incomplete. Which means I must be in a series, because there are still so many issues to be resolved and questions to be answers. I've gone through physical and emotional trials, and been slammed onto my face in the dust. A number of times. Until all I can do is cover my head and seek God's mercy, relying on HIS strength because mine isn't there any longer.

What has happened, though, is that I've found calm and peace in the midst of the turmoil. Once I let go of wanting things to change, of begging God to "fix" things, I discovered the beauty of acceptance. Accepting limitations in myself and others. Accepting that life isn't going to go the way I want it to. Accepting that that's okay, because it IS going the way God wants it to. He's in control, not me. So I don't need to worry. All I need to do is hold fast to Him.

So I'm not as freaked out as I was at the beginning of this year's story. I'm learning to just rest in Him, even when the waves are turbulent and sky high. I'm not all the way into peace yet, but I've found the edges of it.

Karen ~~
Karen's latest full-length novel, What Lies Within, released November, 2007. She writes from her home in Oregon, where she lives with her husband, Don, and their two "kids": Bo, a mischievous Siberian husky, and Dakota, an Aussie-Terrier mix that should have been named Psycho.

Next to working with words, Karen's greatest joys are laughing, sports, nature, wildlife, and finding wonder in everyday life. For more information go to Karen's website


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3 comments:

Mary DeMuth said...

Hey Tricia, is this your angst, or Karen Ball's? :-)

If it's you, may you feel God's hand on your writing. May He untangle the arcs...(eek, mixed metaphor alert)

Anonymous said...

This is so amazing because 2007 was a year filled with the same things for me! It's so wonderful to know that someone else held on to the Lord during those trials. Seriously, the book of James is turning into my favorite one so far... talk about perseverance...

Praise God! As a prayer request, I'd like to submit that I am writing my first novel. I'm very excited and very nervous about it. God has confirmed that I'm doing what he wants me to do so I'm at it and am praying all the way through it!

God Bless You,
Kennisha

Tricia Goyer said...

Kennisha,

Thank you for sharing your story and prayers. Keep us updated on how the writing is going.

Blessings on you,
Tricia