Thursday Tip...Common Fiction Mistake

Today's tip comes from Barbara Warren's writing newsletter Blue Mountain Backroads (to subscribe, email Barbara at barbarawarrennewsletter@yahoogroups.com)

TELLING INSTEAD OF SHOWING:

I first heard of this when I was at a writer's conference in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. Fred Bean was the speaker. I thought he was crazy. I'm a writer, right? A storyteller? I tell a story? What did he think he was talking about? Well, now I know.

I can't tell you how many manuscripts I get to edit where the writer is telling what happened. No action, no dialogue, no internal monologue. No nothing. It usually takes several tries before the writer understands the difference, but this is one bad habit, that once understood is never made again. The following examples are not very good, but see if you can tell the difference.

Example #1: John loved the old house. It had been in his family for a hundred years. It had a wide front porch with broad steps leading down to the overgrown lawn, which needed mowing. He had moved in yesterday and claimed the master bedroom as his own. Tomorrow he would go to town to buy groceries. He wanted to get a dog too, so he wold be lonesome out here all by himself.

Example #2: John looked up at the sweeping lines of the old farmhouse. Why had he stayed away so long? This house had belonged to Whitakers for over a hundred years. He waded ankle deep wet grass, thinking that tomorrow he would buy a lawnmower. The broad steps leading to the wide front porch were just as he remembered. He turned the old brass doorknob and stepped inside, smelling the familiar fragrance of rose potpourri and beeswax polish. The silence was almost overwhelming. He'd forgotten how isolated it was. He'd get a dog.

On life...and writing!

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.

~~Aristotle

To Answer Your Question...

Many of you have written asking about on-line writing courses. Are they worth the money and do they really help?

Here is Robert Hammond's answer--I'll post some more writer's opinions on this subject in my newsletter on May 1st!

Online courses can be great. I'm finishing my Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Creative Writing - screenwriting emphasis. I like that particular program because it is accredited and can transfer to another university Also the MFA degree allows one to teach Creative Writing at the college level. See: http://www.nu.edu/ I also know that many other colleges offer online programs, such as UCLA.. This may not be what you're looking for because it is quite a bit more expensive than many of the correspondence courses that are not accredited.

My Prayer for You

May is almost over. How does that make you feel? Maybe you got a lot accomplished ... but perhaps you look back at the month with disappointment. After all, there is so much more you wanted to achieve. Either way, here is a prayer I'm praying for YOU.

Dear Lord, right now I pray that You will touch the heart of my writer-friend through Your Word and Spirit to guide and encourage. I pray, as it says in Colossians 3:15 that the peace of Christ will rule in this writer's heart.

I also thank you, Lord, that You care for the little sparrows. And ... that You care for this writer's concerns far, far more than that. I pray for the projects, the ideas, the goals ... they all seem so pressing, Lord, but You know what this writer desires to accomplish, and I pray that You will answer the numerous prayer requests in unexpected ways.

Also, Lord, I pray all the focus of this writer's work will stay centered on You. As it says in Colossians 3:23, I pray this work will be for the Lord rather than people. It is there, centered on You, that discernment and wisdom will be found.

I praise you, Lord, as it says in Mark 8:35 when we desire to give up our lives for Your sake, and for the sake of the Good News, that we will find true life.

In all these things may You, Jesus, be glorified. Amen.

P.S. Don't forget over the coming days and weeks to WATCH for how God will answer this prayer. Then, I want you to let me know the amazing ways God answers ... because I have confidence He will!

My Jumble of Thoughts

Who ever said writing was easy? Right now I'm:

1. Reading through the galleys of my second novel in The Chronicles of the Spanish Civil War titled, "A Shadow of Treason."

2. I'm working on a non-fiction project ... writing the teen version of Max Lucado's next book!

3. Working on my third SCW novel, "A Whisper of Freedom."

4. And I have two possibilities to write fiction novels for publishers I've never worked with before, which means I need to come up with writing samples that are (to put it mildly) just plain brilliant so I can knock their socks off!

No wonder it's 1:33 a.m. and I'm having trouble sleeping. My brain is full!

But enough about me. I wanted to talk about some of your comments on the blog.

First, let's talk about self-publishing. My guest writer had some great comments, but I want to point out a few things, too.

1. Sometimes people consider self-publishing after they've received rejection after rejection. The rejections could come because they don't have a broad enough audience for their work. Personal histories or stories with local ties could fall into this category.

But ... sometimes the rejections come because the writing, "just isn't there yet." I'm thankful that years ago I didn't have the drive or the money to self-publish some of the things I wrote. I was a writer-in-training, and though I thought I was wonderful looking back I now see my writing still needed a lot of work.

I've had writer-friends who have self-published and honestly their books weren't bookstore shelf quality. So, now what? They have books they're trying to sell. Who is going to buy them? What bookstores are going to stock them? Why should the bookstores give these books space when there are thousands of new ones every month from publishers who are begging them to stock their stuff? (Just to get you thinking ....)

2. New topic. I've seen from your comments that some of you wonder if it's even worth trying. Should you be writing at all? I mean, there are some many people wanting to write books and the odds seem so slim. My answer?

What is God telling you? It doesn't matter the odds. What is God speaking to your heart?

When I attended my first writer's conference I was 22-years-old and pregnant with my 3rd baby. I had taken some college classes, but I had no degree. (Still don't.) After that, I worked on writing for YEARS with no success. Rejection after rejection after rejection came in the mail.

BUT deep in my heart I knew God called me to this. When I read my Bible He spoke to me. I clung to His promises. He who calls you is faithful, and HE will do it.

Yawn, enough of my rambling for now. I just wanted you to know I am around here, lurking, and thinking.

But ... as a good example to all of you ... I'm also making sure I get my daily writing goals done first. See, I'm only thinking of you :-)

Thursday Tip...Spiritual Success

Today, let’s look at the spiritual side of the writing issue.

When God wanted to free the Israelites, he sought out Moses. We can say the same about Gideon, Esther, and David.

I'd like to think the same about my (our) writing. God has a message that He wants to get out, and so He speaks to our hearts. Or causes us to come across a bit of something we know will make a great novel/article/book.

It's been helping me to remember this—God has a message, and He's chosen ME to share it. Not only that. He doesn't leave it up to ME to do it, but He will see it through to completion.

For YEARS I imagined this as my writing, my calling—as a gift God gave me for me to unwrap and use. He was beside me, of course, helping me when I needed in.

Now I see it as something God put IN me. Jesus, too, is in me, unwrapping the gift layer by layer, empowering me to complete the tasks He’s given me.

God has messages He desires to speak to His world, and I’m honored that God has chosen me to share them. How can I claim any pride in that? Or, on the flip side how can I (like Moses) argue with God and look at my sales/success and say it’s not “good enough” and give up?

Yes, the world will go on without my writing, but what about God’s message … and my calling? More than that, what about my experience with Jesus I’ll miss out on if I’m only focused on success according to the world?

Tricia Goyer
http://www.triciagoyer.com/

Well and easy...

There is no way of writing well and also of writing easily.

~~Anthony Trollope, Barchester Towers