Writing Craft Recap for January

2012 is my "learning the writing craft" year. And once a month, generally on the first Thursday of the month, I will share some highlights of what I learned. And here I go.

From The Art of War for Writers by James Scott Bell:

• It's not the will to win that counts, but the will to prepare to win.
• Turn your envy into energy - and more words
• Self-motivation is crucial
• Write hard and fast, but edit slow and tough
• Resist the urge to explain
• To write comedy, make the characters believe they are in a tragedy
• A goal is just a  dream unless it has legs

From Six Stages of Change - The Character Arc (a Savvy Authors course taught by Mary O'Gara):

• Every person goes through six stages when a big change happens in their life: Precontemplation, Contemplation, Preparation, Action, Maintenance, and Termination or Relapse.
• Most books' character arcs cover stages three through five -- with stages one and two being mostly backstory and stage six being after the book ends
• Each shift between stages is the result of the character making a decision
• Precontemplation is when the character is in denial or uninterested about needing to change.
• Contemplation is when the character begins to see change is necessary, but hasn't done anything yet.
• Preparation is when the character starts gathering resources to make the change that has to be made.
• Action occurs when the character (duh) takes action. This stage carries the hero from the first real, conscious, committed action to being on his knees with everything he has depleted, exhausted and used.
• Maintenance is when we see the results of the change. The actual change occurs between stages four and five.
• Termination (not often used in fiction) is when we see that the change caused lasting pleasant change - or Relapse the opposite.

From Avoiding the Mistakes that Scream Novice (an ACFW course taught by Kathy Ide):

•  Read agent/editor submission guidelines carefully and follow them exactly (yeah, I knew this already, but it was a GOOD reminder).
• Make sure your writing is as succinct and "sharp" as it can be.
• The most important parts of your manuscript are the beginning and the ending.
• Nothing screams "novice" more than punctuation, usage, grammar, and spelling errors.
• Be absolutely certain you have your facts straight.

This isn't, of course, everything I learned -but it's a bit of a snapshot. Feel free to ask questions in the comments if you'd like, and I'll answer there as well.

Watch for my post next month, where I'll share what I learn in February - including from Margie Lawson's class "Empowering Characters' Emotions."

What "learning" of mine was most interesting to you? Feel free to share anything you've learned about the craft lately.

Traveling Rough Roads With God's Strength

A Look of Hope - God is So Good

Welcome to my Wednesday feature God is So Good. Here I will share stories - true and fiction, mine and others' - of the Lord's presence in the midst of trials, struggles, and difficulties.

 In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. John 16:33b

 One thing I've learned through my writing journey is that I enjoy writing historical fiction. This piece - written for the FaithWriters Writing Challenge, was my first try of it once I got saved. I hope you will see God's presence in this difficult time in America's history, and in the lives of the characters.

A Look of Hope

By Joanne Sher

"Now Clara, you stop that chatterin’, or Miss Willingston will send you to the corner."

"And Abigail, keep your hands to yourself!"

Cynthia Willingston glared at the ragdolls resting against her bedroom wall. Deciding she had scared them into submission, she returned to her lesson for the day.

"Now class, if you have three apples and then find two more, how many do you have?"

"Miss Cynthia?"

Cynthia turned immediately toward the softspoken, kind voice at her bedroom door and smiled. Margaret had worked at the Willingston homestead for seven years, since Cynthia was a baby. Even though she was a negro, the Willingstons treated her well - not like family, perhaps, but like a human being. Cynthia came the closest to treating the 15-year-old house slave like kin.

"Breakfast time, Miss Cynthia."

Cynthia grabbed one of her ragdolls and walked alongside Margaret as the two descended the staircase of the large plantation home.

"So, Miss Cynthia, whatall was ya playin?"

"School. I was giving Clara and Abigail their ‘rithmetic lesson. They weren’t listening very well. I was about to put Clara in the corner!"

"So that’s why you lef her behine," Margaret tittered, pointing at the one doll in the girl’s hand.

Cynthia nodded sternly.

They could smell the wonderful aroma of sausages and potatoes cooking well before entering the spacious kitchen. As soon as Cynthia reached the landing, her stroll became a trot as she followed her nose to the stove, where Beulah shooed her away from the flame and to the table.

"Dontcha get burnt, Miss Cynthia," the plump, middle-aged negro woman chided. "Sit and Ma’gret will bring ya yo’ food."

Cynthia plopped down on the chair Margaret had pulled out for her, and eagerly watched as Beulah served up scrambled eggs, fried potatoes and sausage. As soon as the plate was in front of her, Cynthia ate with gusto.

"Where’s mamma?" she asked between bites.

Beulah sighed softly. "Still sleepin’, I figger. Fixin’ to go wake her righ now so she can start ya on yo’ lessons."

"Can’t you teach me, Margaret? Then mamma can keep sleeping!"

Margaret began to speak but then hesitated, turning toward Beulah.

"Ma’gret can’t read, Miss Cynthia. Slaves ain’t ‘spose to get no learnin’."

Cynthia stood up, banging her hand on the table.

"Now, that’s just silly! Why reading’s the very best, most wonderful thing in the world!"

After a moment of thought, Cynthia’s face brightened. She did a bit of a pirouette, then walked over and grabbed Margaret’s arm.

"I know! I’ll teach you! You can sit with Clara and Abigail, and you can learn your letters and words and everything! You’ll read good as me soon! I promise not to make you sit in the corner - ever! Oh, please, Margaret, please!"

Beulah shook her head, sighing.

"But the Good Book says ‘there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female; for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.’ Why can’t Margaret learn to read if we’re all the same?"

Cynthia, eyes afire, blond ringlets quivering with the tossing of her head, looked straight at Beulah. The woman took a deep breath.

"You ask yo’ mamma, Miss Cynthia."

"Don’t you want to learn to read, Margaret?"

Cynthia glanced Margaret’s way, and for the first time noticed tears running down her ebony cheeks, and a sparkle she had never seen in the eyes of a negro - a look of hope.

"You do, Margaret, don’t you? I can tell! Just come upstairs with me, Margaret! We can start with "A" right now!"

Cynthia grabbed Margaret’s hand and skipped toward the stairway, heading up toward the little girl’s bedroom.

"Cynthia Miriam Willington, what are you doing?"

Both girls stopped short as the matron of the house appeared at the top of the stairs.

Cynthia took a deep breath. "I’m gonna play upstairs with Margaret, mamma. ‘K?"

"That’s fine, dear, but Margaret must get her work done too, and you have your lessons to tend to. Twenty minutes - do you hear me?"

"Yes, mamma."

The girls walked past Mrs. Willingston, entered Cynthia’s bedroom, and closed the door behind them.

**
Galatians 3:28 KJV

Do you have a story you'd like to share about God's goodness in your struggles? Drop me an email and we can talk!

Traveling Rough Roads With God's Strength

Still Learning - a Goals/Progress Update

Is it REALLY the last day of January? In some ways, it feels like the month has flown by, though in others, January has been SOOOO long. Anyway - the calendar tells me tomorrow is February 1, so I suppose it's time to look back at the past month and forward to the one to come.

So, how did I do with my goals? Well, let's see. I've posted them below(directly from last months goals/progress post):

• Keep up with the two online classes I'm taking this month (1. Avoiding Mistakes that Scream Novice on the ACFW course loop[free to ACFW members!] and 2. Six Stages of Change - The Character ARC at Savvy Authors ) and make good progress in The Art of War for Writers by James Scott Bell.
• Completely read through Ailing Body, Nourished Soul, noting thoughts of how to "transform" it into less of a memoir and more of a "help through struggles" book.
• Work with Jennifer Slattery on determining the 52 New Testament biblical fiction devos in our next project.

 I did keep up in both classes (I learned a TON - watch for my monthly "What I Learned About Writing" post on Thursday about it, as promised in my yearly goals post). I also started - AND finished - The Art of War for Writers. Hiiiggghhllyy recommended!

I'm not QUITE done reading through Ailing Body, Nourished Soul - just six chapters to go out of 28. Planning to be done by the end of this week. So not quite - but close. And Jennifer and I DID finish determining - and outlining - the 52 devos we'll be doing.

So, overall, it was a pretty good month. And how about February, you ask? Well, here are my goals:

• Keep up on the Margie Lawson class - Empowering Characters' Emotions - I'm taking in February (This is an incredible teacher - and class. Can't recommend it more highly. So much to learn - lots of reading, but SO worth it - and it's not too late to sign up!)
• Finish my Ailing Body, Nourished Soul read-through and continue to ponder what God wants me to do with this manuscript.
• Be intentional about applying what I've learned so far this year to my writing (blog posts, at least one "new" short story, and possibly Handmaiden to a Princess)

I think I'll stick with that. Thanks for reading, and cheering me on!


Traveling Rough Roads With God's Strength

Who's Blessing Who?

I'm at the Internet Cafe today. Hope you'll stop by - I'm talking about making God weep. Hoping I'm not doing that today!

I think everyone can get a bit starstruck on occasion. If you had a chance to meet the President, your favorite preacher, or a favorite author or actor,  what would you want to do? Get an autograph? Ask for advice on something? Pass out? ;) I'm guessing at least some of us would be tongue-tied,  at least for a few moments.

But have you ever thought about YOU giving something meaningful to that person, instead of the other way around? I didn't either - until I read Genesis 47 last week.

Let me set the scene. Joseph is second in command in Egypt, and he has just brought his family from the famine-ravished land to live closer to him, in the land of Goshen. He takes his father to see  Pharoah - the most powerful man in all of Egypt, bar none.

Then Joseph brought his father Jacob in and presented him before Pharaoh. After Jacob blessed Pharaoh, Pharaoh asked him, “How old are you?” And Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The years of my pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty. My years have been few and difficult, and they do not equal the years of the pilgrimage of my fathers.” Then Jacob blessed Pharaoh and went out from his presence. Genesis 47:7-10

 The people of Egypt considered the Pharaoh as a god himself. He had great power and resources. And an 130-year-old man blessed HIM. TWICE. Jacob, I imagine, could have asked for anything he wanted. After all, his son was Pharaoh's closest adviser.

But instead of asking for anything, Jacob blessed this powerful, pagan ruler - with the blessing of God (that's the assumption, isn't it?).

And there is no greater gift than that, is there?


**

There are many ways to "bless" those who are "more important" - at least in the world's eyes - especially if they aren't believers. What ideas do you have? Comment here, and join me at Living By Grace on Facebook and we can chat!






Traveling Rough Roads With God's Strength

Finds for Fridays: January 27

Finds for Fridays is my way of sharing some of the wonderful blogs posts I read each week. I am currently following close to 100 blogs and at least scan them as much as I can. Each week, I'll note and "set aside" some posts that especially speak to me for whatever reason. And each Friday that I am able, I'll share them with you. I hope you'll stop by and read the posts, and maybe even follow the blogs if you aren't already. A win-win, right?

And here they are!

White Knuckled Praying by Patty Wysong at Patterings (about how sin is like snow and ice)

Our Compass by Kristi Huseby at Broken and Redeemed (about trusting God rather than our feelings)

Your Writing Career, A Pencil in God's Hand, Part 1 by April Gardner at Reflections in Hindsight (about God's control and immenseness)

When Everything Stalls by Sandra Heska King at ACFW blog (about goals and life and stalling)

Hope you enjoy these posts - maybe even learn from them! I know I did.

Traveling Rough Roads With God's Strength