Writing is My Life

Today when I woke up, I decided to get on Facebook for a few minutes and check my notifications.  I'm part of several writing groups on there that I try to keep tabs on and contribute to on occasion.  In one of these groups, I came across the post of a girl who was frustrated with the fact that there are so many people out there all too ready and willing to bash Writing as a career choice.

I know how this girl feels.  I go through the same thing.  Many writer's do.  And I guess I understand (to some degree at least) why so many people don't see it as what they like to call a "real" job.

It's because writing is different.  Upon first glance, it seems really laid back.  You go into a coffee shop, look around, and perhaps there are a dozen or so writers sitting at a table not far from you, sipping their coffee leisurely and typing away on their laptop keyboards.   Writing doesn't LOOK hard... at least upon first glance.  In fact, a lot of people think that it's something that almost anyone can do... sit at a keyboard and type.  How perfectly simple, right?

Most people don't categorize writing as a "real" job (forget about all the script writers of every movie or TV show you've ever watched, every newspaper article you've ever read, or every book you've ever bought at a bookstore).  Most people think "a real job" has something to do with hard physical labor -- after all, a lot of jobs require this.  Usually there's a time slot in which you have to go to work and clock in, stay at work to work, and then clock out of work to go home.  At some jobs there are offices and computers.  A lot of the time, though, people define a "real" job as working for somebody else who pays you money in the form of a salary or hourly wage.

Of course there are a few successful entrepreneurs out there.  Have you ever watched the show, "Shark Tank" where small business owners from all over the states come in to talk to these big corporate managers (referred to as "sharks") and try to get them interested in their little company?  These little business guys don't come in without some pretty impressive numbers/statistics and past success stories to show.  They've made it on their own so far, and now they are ready to take their companies further, and they are willing to offer shares in the company for the help and money they need to succeed.

But, you know how it goes, right?  Those successful little business men and women are the exceptions. Surely writers don't fall under that category, right?  After all, writers are only sitting down at a keyboard and typing... and typing... and typing.  Anyone can do that.  It doesn't pay money... what's the point?  Writers just need to go find real jobs where they work for someone else, doing someone else' dirty work, and getting paid minimum wage for all of their hard labor.  That's just how life goes.

Well, maybe so.  Maybe writers do need another job on the side to keep them floating in between paychecks, or while they are trying to get their career off the ground.  Currently I have another job on the side, and I'm looking for a second... I'm not going to bash what other people refer to as "real" jobs.  But that does NOT mean that writing is by any means "easy" or "not a real job" or "not a true career".

Why?

Because there's this:  If writing isn't a real job and publishing can be termed as "just a hobby", how in the world did all of the books we have today come into existence?  Why do so many people know how to read?  And why is reading so important in today's society?

I have personally come to this conclusion.  Many people don't think of writing as a "job" or "carreer" because #1) they don't understand it, #2) they have never tried it themselves, and #3) even if they have tried it before, they weren't really serious about it.

The serious writers know better.  Writing is not something that you can just "pick up and go" with.  If you are serious about making it in the writing world, the first and foremost thing you have to do is write without complaint and without exception.  Write everything you can think of at any moment that you have to spare.  Even while you're working on other projects, keep thinking about writing and what you are going to write next.  And keep writing no matter what... even when you are tired.  Even when you have no ideas.  Even when you are sick and just want to curl up in a ball and not talk to anyone.  YOU HAVE TO WRITE.

Though writing looks easy, it's actually not.  Writing, like painting, may seem like play at first -- there are all these pretty colors and inspirations floating through the air!  Type them out as fast as you can and hope that it turns into something extraordinary!  But what happens when the inspiration goes away, and you have a deadline coming up, and you HAVE to finish writing this ONE particular scene that you absolutely have no idea what to do with?  What happens when you've finished a rough draft and go back and realize that most of what you've written is crap and wouldn't make it in the marketing world of today, but you still think it's a good story and you know someone will want to read it so you start to re-write?  What happens when you have a finished manuscript in your hands and the only way the public is going to see if is either if you start querying large companies to look at your work or take matters into your own hands and do the whole thing yourself which costs lots of time and money and energy and work???

The 2 biggest things I've noticed that serious writers have on their side are their determination and their ability to think.  In fact, thinking is one of our strongest assets... because you don't have a story if you can't think of one, and you'll never finish writing that difficult scene if you don't think of a way to solve your problem.  Speculative Fiction writers are known for creating entire WORLDS and races and new species and rules that all have to work together seamlessly in order for the story to make sense.  And you have to have characters that feel and sound like real people, and act that way too.  All of the aspects in a story have to work together like clockwork, even when something bad happens... You can't break the rules you make for the story, you can't have people breaking character, and even the unbelievable things have to have a sense of believability about them.  Doing and creating all of this does not require ONLY writing (though that is probably the biggest part of it); it also requires lots and lots of researching and studying every aspect of the writing process in order to more fully understand how to write WELL, and not just write something.  (yes, there is a difference).

And as far as determination goes, I've seen so many writers who have been beset by doubters and who have heard over and over that they should forget writing as a career... that it is only a hobby, and that they may never find success.  In fact, I've had people like this in my life too.  But I've watched these writers rise above the condemnation of the masses, and succeed where no one said they could.  It's not such an unheard of story.  In fact, it grows more common every day.  Just look up Amanda Hocking or Joe Konrath if you don't believe me.  Just look up any of the authors that you enjoy reading.  Writers are proving to the world that they are important, and that it doesn't matter what the doubters and naysayers claim, they can succeed.

There is one more thing that comes with serious writing.  It's a sense of being compelled almost to the point of insanity to sit down and ink words onto paper in the form of a story or tale.  Serious writers know this feeling, and they will tell how it haunts them every hour of every day of their lives.  For us, writing is not just a passion... it's a drive.  We simply cannot possibly comprehend a world where we could not sit down for however short a time to write out the stories burbling up inside of us.  We would explode if we were forced to pen them in.  Writers have to pour their hearts, minds, and souls into their writings -- they have to give it EVERYTHING they have, or the work simply isn't good enough.  Writers know this.  It's why we so vehemently stand behind quotes like, "There is nothing to writing; all you have to do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed."  This is true.  It's so true.  Serious writers bleed their entire lives into their work, and it frustrates us when others look at our pain-bought triumphs yet can't see the amount of effort and hard work it took to create them. How can people not see the scars we've procured, not notice the pain in our eyes, or the way we have changed while writing something?  People enjoy reading the products of our sleepless nights spent in a typing frenzy when they can simply pick the books off a shelf and go buy them... and yet somehow to them writing is not a REAL job.

Well, for heaven's sake, why not?!?  If you love something enough, and are passionate about it enough, and enjoy it, and are driven to it enough, why can't you learn to make money from it too???  Because personally, I think that if more people decided to choose a path in college that they are apt to enjoy instead of one they think will make them money fast, people would discover that it is possible to make a living off of something that makes you happy, and employers would be more happy with their employees' performances.  

In many ways, writing is much more REAL than people can imagine.  It is much harder than people can possibly comprehend.  It consumes those who follow it as a career choice, and yes, it is possible to become successful at it.  Because writing is far more than just a job, or a career choice, and it's much much more than just a hobby... it's a way of life.

My Top Ten Writing Quirks

Hello Bloggy friends! ^_^  Today I decided to lighten the mood a bit and just sort of "go with the flow".  I have a couple of other posts in the making, but they're taking longer than I'd like and I wanted a break, so I decided to write down the top 10 quirks I have as a writer.  I got the idea from an interview with Anne Elizabeth Stengl over here:

http://rinasreading.blogspot.com/2013/07/dragonwitch-release-day-blog-tour-anne.html.

It seemed like such a neat idea, I decided to do one of my own.  And you might notice, that some of our quirks are similar, but that's not on purpose... its just the truth of it. :)

So here we go in no real order whatsoever. :)

1) No music or noise around.

I don't know why, but I've never been able to listen to music as I write.  I think it's because I have to hear the words I'm putting down on paper in my head as I type them.  Sometimes I can listen to soft music in the background, but usually they have to be strictly instrumental and the language cannot be in English or I get distracted by listening to the lyrics.  I have actually created a play-list for two of my stories in my media player, but I don't listen to them as I type; instead I listen to them as I'm doing other things to sort of help me keep in mind the mood of my story and what it is about.  But I've never been able to give my stories or my characters songs of their own... it just doesn't work.

Also, if there is other noise around or things happening around me, unless I'm left alone and completely zone out (which doesn't happen often) I simply can't concentrate.  I've tried, but it so rarely actually works, that half the time I just don't write if there's any noise around.

2) I write best when I'm supposed to be doing something else.

This is sort of a dirty little secret of mine. *blush*  I think it's the procrastinator in me.  But if there's something else I'm supposed to be doing, I'll often leave my lap-top open on a table or counter-top nearby so that I can write something down quick if it comes to me suddenly.  I've found that a lot of my favorite stuff has come to me while in the middle of doing the dishes or folding laundry or something like that.  I used to do this with a pen and notebook, but over the years it became harder for me to write out actual scenes long-hand.  Ideas are fine, but not scenes.  I don't know why.  Besides, its easier not to smudge the writing with dish-hands when you use a computer instead of paper. :)

3) Standing up while typing helps ideas flow.

This one is tied with #2.  I like to sit down and type, of course, but I've found that there's something about standing up to type that just makes the ideas come better.  I'm not sure if the standing helps with focus or what... it just seems to work.    I'm hoping that once I get moved out and have a new writing area designated and decorated to my liking, I'll be able to focus better while sitting down. lol!

4) Brainstorm out loud

I do this a lot.  Especially while I'm working on something else.  Or driving.  I'll talk and mutter to myself about ideas, sometimes even speaking out a scene sentence by sentence as it comes to me.  I even pace sometimes while muttering.  Then I'll pause to go and write down what I just said.  For a while I started carrying around a pocket voice recorder to help me with this... I still do this, but the words never come as easy when I'm trying to record them.  Instead, I use the recorder to try and talk through issues I'm having with my stories.  I don't dictate scenes into the recorder... instead I sort of have a one-way interview with myself about the different aspects of the story and how it all works together and what's supposed to happen and what isn't happening... that sort of thing.  Any ideas I have while recording, I can then play back and listen to later to use in my stories. :)

5) Journal instead of Outlining

I used to say I was a Pantster through and through.  I don't think that's quite as true anymore.  I no-longer just sit down and write everything as it comes to me... instead, I sit and jot down plot points and ideas and thoughts and character names and so forth.  I make notes of important parts of the story, but I try to leave things relatively vague so that the story has room to tell itself.  Then, as I'm writing the story through, if I come to a block or need help with a scene or a character, I journal about it.  It's sort of like how I record one-way interviews with myself, only this time I actually write the stuff out.  It does look sort of like diary entries... and they usually start out something like, "Ok, I just had a really cool idea... what if..." or like "Ugh!  I'm having trouble with so-and-so... he just won't do what he's supposed to!..."  And yeah, I end up fighting with my characters a lot this way, but I also have found that I work through the story problems much better when I can sort of ramble about them to myself or to someone else, whether it's on paper or recorded.

6) I almost never write an actual scene long-hand... almost never.

Very true.  I'm not sure when it happened, but sometime over the past 10 years or so, I've lost the ability to think in the terms of a "scene" when I'm writing long hand.  I can journal, I can write poetry... sometimes I can write blog-posts or parts of short stories, but only very rarely can I actually get myself to write an actual scene from one of my stories long-hand.  I don't know why.  Sometimes I force myself to do it, just to see if I can get the creative juices flowing (and every once in a great while, doing this helps me break through a block), but a lot of the time the scenes just seem shallow and no where near as good as the idea itself.  Besides, I can type almost as fast as I can think, and that's a big help when it comes to writing scenes for my books.

7) I absolutely WILL NOT skip ahead

Also very true.  I just can't force myself to skip ahead and write a scene out of order.  Instead, I add comments to my documents and write notes out in notebooks to remind me of future scene ideas.  If I get stuck in a scene, I'll sit and stare at my document for hours, days, even weeks on end trying to figure out what's going on and why I can't seem to move forward, but I won't write a scene before its time.

I think this has to do with figuring out the story.  You can't write something if you don't know it... if my story won't move forward, then something must be wrong somewhere, and I should go back and find out what it is and fix it before moving on.  That will help the flow too. :)

8) I have a list of novels I go to when I need help with a scene

My bookshelves are stacked with all kinds of books, but I have one section in particular that I keep close to the front for easy access.  I use the books in this section to help me when I run into problems with certain scenes.  Some of the books have pencil markings in the margins that mark notes and wording and character or scene development that I admire.  (I don't like writing in books too often, so when I do, I use a light pencil so it's easily erased.)  Just the other day I used some of these books... I was having trouble with a scene where my character was thrown into a dungeon, and I was drawing a blank as to what a good dungeon scene might look like.  So I went over, pulled a few of these books down, and flipped through them... I read several chapters of dungeon scenes and made notes in a notebook I had beside me, and when I was done, I had a pretty good idea of how I was going to finish the dungeon scene in my own story. :D

9) I am most active in writing at night

I wake up at night... sort of "come alive".  No, I'm not a vampire, but I definitely get more alert as the sun goes down.  I'll sit up and write or read or do some other sort of activity until I start getting drowsy around 2 or 3am, and sometimes I'll just read until I fall asleep with the book lying on my face, or type until I doze off with my head on the keyboard.  I'm not sure why this is, but I definitely write more productively late at night.

10) I like making up new creatures and cultures

I'm all for using the original mythological creatures and so forth... the fairies, the elves and dwarves and goblins and so forth... (In fact, in several of my books I'm sticking with the fae people and not trying to get to elaborate with my own made up stuff) but I really do like to make up my own. :)

Some of my own creations are similar to the originals with different traits or personality types that the originals never had... like in one of my stories, I have some elvish looking creatures called the Kirri who are actually more like dwarves personality wise... they are tall and slender, graceful and fair, but they live underground in their mines in the mountains, and their love is for stone and earth and precious metals and (for some reason that I never understood, but still knew to be true) water.  Especially running water.

Then you have the creatures that are totally made up from the get-go... like the Swarns in "Eldrei", or the Corvi in "Song of the Daystar".  There's just something that I find completely and utterly fun about creating a creature and culture that has never been used or seen before.


So there ya have it.  My top 10 writing quirks.  What are some of your writing quirks?  Are some of them similar to mine or are they totally different?  Why not blog about it.  If you leave a link to your post in the comments, I'd be interested to check them out. ^_^

Ross Lawhead's "The Realms Thereunder"

Hello and welcome to the blog tour for Ross Lawhead's book "The Realm's Thereunder". Ross Lawhead is the son of well known British Speculative Fiction writer, Steven Lawhead, and let's make no mistake, he has definitely decided to follow in the footsteps of his literary father. To date, He has collaborated with his father on a trilogy of speculative fiction, written and illustrated a graphic novel, and published two volumes of “awful” poetry in a series called “The Colour Papers.” He lives in Oxford, England and "The Realms Thereunder" is his first full-length novel.

Ok, I have to be extremely honest here: I am not very familiar with many of Steven Lawhead's books, and I know that's awful since I love speculative fiction -- especially Arthurian fiction -- and time travel and British literature intrigue me. I actually have quite a few of Mr. Lawhead's books at home, but haven't gotten around to reading them yet, as sad as that is. In the past I have read Mr. Lawhead's book "The Skin Map" and reviewed it here on the P&P, and I also received a copy of the second book in that series titled "The House of Bones", which I am planning to review hopefully soon. (I was supposed to review it a while ago, but I'm still picking my way through it; I find it -- eh -- dense, as in the book is rather thick, and it's content really needs to be thought over thoroughly. Dense books always take me longer to get through. :P) I like what I've read of Mr. Lawhead's books, even if I find the works a bit "scattered". Perhaps that's just me though. It's hard to tell sometimes. *shrug*

When I saw that Mr. Lawhead's son had written and published a novel, taking after his father, I was very intrigued. I decided that I should definitely try the book out and see if I liked it, and I figured I probably would, especially after having read the blurb for the book. Here it is:



Ancient legend tells of an army of knights that will remain sleeping until the last days.

The knights are waking up.

A homeless man is stalked by a pale, wraithlike creature with a mouthful of needle-sharp teeth. Maimed animals and a host of suicides cluster around a mountain in Scotland. And deep beneath the cobbled streets of Oxford, a malicious hoard besieges a hidden city.

Freya Reynolds is a university student with a touch of OCD and an obsession with myth and folklore. Daniel Tully is living rough on the streets of Oxford, waging a secret war against an enemy only he can identify. Years ago, they found themselves in a world few know is real. They have since gone their separate ways and tried to put that adventure behind them.

But the mythical world is now bleeding into our reality-a dark spiritual evil that is manifesting itself in forgotten corners of the British Isles. Alex Simpson is a Scottish police officer who specializes in hunting mythical creatures. Together, they must confront the past, the present, and points beyond to defeat the ultimate threat to humanity.

Nothing they've seen so far prepares them for what awaits . . . in The Realms Thereunder.

Now come on, you have to admit that this sounds like a cool story, am I right? ^_^ So I was very happy when I had the chance to get the book from the CSFF blog tour and read through it. Currently I'm almost 80% through the book, and still reading. This review is on what I have read of the book so far and what I think of it to date. It may be that I have to update this review after I get the book completely finished, but we'll just have to see. :)

My thoughts:

Ross Lawhead definitely takes after his father, no question. He is a good writer, and his prose are well placed, and engaging. He certainly has many good ideas and knows how to put interesting details into his stories that help flesh out characters, places and scenes. And I do like his style of writing... it has a definite "British" air about it, and I often find myself reading it aloud with an accent. *smirk*

However (and I think this is unfortunate), I find this work to be as scattered as I find his father's works to be, to date.

I don't say that to seem mean or rude, and like I said, it could just be me. I'm not sure. But let me try to explain what I mean. Up to this point in the story, the book has worked to juggle four different story lines: one for Daniel at this point in time, one for Freya at this point in time, one for Alex at this point in time, and one for Fraya and Daniel when they were children. Each story line is different -- unique to say the very least -- and thoroughly engaging. HOWEVER, at this moment I find it difficult to see how the four different story lines relate to each other. At 80% through the book, I have yet to see the story lines mesh so that the characters can meet and work together to defeat this ancient evil that threatens the world, as is stated will happen in the second to last paragraph of the blurb. Right now, Daniel is currently in another world altogether; Freya is completely spacing out, and coming to every few years or so (maybe... it's difficult to tell what's going on there); Alex was almost killed by a dragon in the modern world; and back in time, Freya and Daniel are searching for an evil heart of some sort.

Now, the author has 20% of the book left to convince me that these storylines will all eventually work together and the story will align. I'm definitely going to keep reading. But at this moment this doesn't feel like one good story; it feels like four good stories, that may have similarities involved, but that really don't have much in common. I'll just have to wait and see what happens closer to the end of the book -- reserve my final judgment until I get the whole picture. Perhaps I will end up changing my thoughts and will have to come back and change my opinions in this review. I don't know.

On another note, I have two copies of this book in reality - a paperback copy that was given to me for the blog tour, and then after I bought my new kindle I went ahead and got an e-book version as well. I've been switching on and off between the two versions of the book, and while I have so far had no real troubles with the physical copy, I've found several formatting issues with the digital copy. These aren't grammatical errors that I'm talking about; these are more like cut offs in the middle of a sentence while the rest of the sentence starts a new paragraph, or paragraphs doing much the same thing. It's rather annoying. :P And to be quite honest, for a book that came out through Thomas Nelson, I expected a better job. I don't know if others have noticed the same problems or not, but it's definitely something that troubles me. I wish it were different.

I honestly must say that I HATE to give negative reviews of any sort. And I especially hate to give negative reviews to good writers, because the truth of the matter is that Ross Lawhead is ABSOLUTELY a good writer. I've kept reading, after all, and I'm going to continue reading to the end. Truth to tell, it's a catchy story, even if it makes no sense to me at the moment. But that's just it: it makes no sense to me at the moment. I may keep reading, and I may even like what I'm reading (which I do), but I can't pretend I know what's going on, even so far into the book. It's confusing right now, scattered all over the place, and the plot lines just don't match up. Hopefully things will improve by the time I reach the end.

Don't let my review deter you from checking out this book for yourself though. For more reviews on this book and other Christian Speculative titles, please visit a few of the links below. I'm sure that others' opinions will differ. :)


Also, you can find more about Ross and his book at: http://www.rosslawhead.com/blog/


and:


http://www.amazon.com/Realms-Thereunder-Ancient-Earth/dp/1595549099/

Gillian Adams
Red Bissell
Keanan Brand
Beckie Burnham
Melissa Carswell
Jeff Chapman
CSFF Blog Tour
Theresa Dunlap
Emmalyn Edwards
April Erwin
Victor Gentile
Tori Greene
Nikole Hahn
Ryan Heart
Bruce Hennigan
Timothy Hicks
Christopher Hopper
Jason Joyner
Carol Keen
Krystine Kercher
Rebekah Loper
Marzabeth
Shannon McDermott
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Mirriam Neal
Eve Nielsen
Nissa
John W. Otte
Donita K. Paul
Joan Nienhuis
Crista Richey
Sarah Sawyer
Chawna Schroeder
Kathleen Smith
Donna Swanson
Rachel Starr Thomson
Steve Trower
Fred Warren
Dona Watson
Shane Werlinger
Nicole White
Rachel Wyant

Critiquing or Consulting? Interesting thoughts on what I’m learning about inserting your own opinions

Well, today I had Writing Consultant training and we were learning about how to approach foreign exchange students who bring in papers but may not know the English Language very well.

Ok, for starters, I can totally sympathize with such students.  I had to take German the last two semesters and it near drove me insane!  I love the language… I would LOVE to be immersed in it so that I can learn to speak if fluently… but the written grammar is so tricky to my English-wired brain.  I just can’t seem to wrap my mind around it.

Anyway, getting back to my point (which actually doesn’t have much to do with the fact that we have foreign exchange students at my school… O.O)

As part of our training, we received some hand-outs that talked us through the approach we should take, and that also explained a few terms to us.  One of the terms commonly used in our writing lab is “Facilitative questioning”.  It was as I was reading through the hand-out that I got the idea for this blog post concerning personal opinions when trying to help another person improve their writing.

Now, I’m a writer who has rather tough skin.  I really LIKE it when people critique my work with a close eye and a hard pen.  Mark my stuff up, for goodness sake!  Let me know exactly what you are thinking!  Don’t “flame” me, but give me an honest and solid critique.  I am very, very open to it.  I encourage it.  I want to know exactly how the readers will respond to my writing, and if I feel that the response is not quite what I want, then I will keep tweaking until it becomes what I’m looking for.  I know what I’m going for, and I take suggestions accordingly.  I ask for the hard stuff: I can take the punches so GIVE ‘EM TO ME. J

As a creative writer, I often go to critique forums and beta readers to get feedback on my work, and before I post an excerpt of any kind, I try to make sure it is “reader worthy”, meaning that the writing is as far as I can take it by myself.  I get the work as tight as I can manage on my own, and then I ask for help, preparing myself for the knocks I’m bound to receive in the end.  This is what I expect in a critique, and often times, this is what I dish out. 

However, the first thing I learned when I started taking this class is that critiquing is rather different than consulting.  Consulting helps a writer improve their general, over all writing abilities and grow as a writer who understand the process, while critiquing helps the writer identify problems that may or may not need to be fixed within the physical body of the text. 

When I’m working with one of my personal writing buddies, beta readers, or people who I beta for - online or in person - I often give them a critique that might have a little bit of consulting mixed in there somewhere.

However, at school, I am 100% a writing Consultant.  I don’t actually critique anything outright, but I do try to help the writer identify for themselves the problems that I can detect within their writings.  As a consultant, I must first identify these problems for myself, and then subtly tell the writer what I feel might be wrong, and then help the writer discover for his or herself how to fix the problems without actually doing any fixing myself. 

Many times, I’m told, the people who come into the writing lab are very sensitive about their works and about accepting advice.  They don’t want to feel like any of the content came from someone else, even if it was only a suggestion.  However, they DO want the consultant to teach them how to do their papers right.  Rather counterproductive, don’t you think?

This is where it gets really tough for me.  You see, as a creative writer who is on many critique forums, I’m used to going in and just showing other writers what I think might be wrong. All along I know that my suggestions are just glorified educated opinions, but the other writers on the forums – usually experienced writers who have been doing such things for many years – also know this and they accept my suggestions for what they are… simply suggestion that can be taken with a grain of salt.  However, as a consultant at my school, I’m not allowed to teach or make outright suggestions or give solid opinions… Instead, I must let the writer come to their own opinions and conclusions about the problems I have identified.  I can suggest certain actions, but never actually say outright what I think the writer should do to fix the problem.  Basically, I’m supposed to let the writer learn for themselves while very, very gently nudging them in the right direction.

And that brings me right back to Facilitative Questioning. 

As a consultant, I am only allowed to ask Facilitative questions which are questions that avoid telling the writer what to do, and instead leads the writer through the process of identifying and revising their paper according to the Higher Order Concerns (or HOCs) such as plot, thesis, organization, detail, research, and characterization that need to be addressed in their writing. (Though some people come in asking for help with “grammar”, the consultants at the writing lab have learned that “grammar” can have multiple meanings to multiple people, so we never actually address any real grammar, such as punctuation, spelling, and sentence structure, until the HOC’s are taken care of.  We are not allowed to proofread in the writing lab, as I sometimes do for my online writing friends that I beta for.)

An example of a Facilitative Question might look something like this:

“I noticed that this is a complex assignment… can you show and explain to me where in this paper you have completed an assignment guideline?”

Or

“Why did you choose to organize this paper this way?”

Or

“How have you supported your claim?”

These questions prompt the writer to tell you what they have planned for the paper, and they also give the writer a chance to see and identify some of the HOCs in their paper for themselves.  However, these questions can also be frustrating.  Because, in all honesty the writer sometimes feels like the consultant isn’t really trying to help them at all, but rather is asking them a bunch of silly questions.  Some writers don’t want to be asked these questions… some writers want to be told how to fix the problem, and I’m not allowed to do that. :P

If I were asking Directive Questions, I would be doing exactly that.  Directive questions look sort of like this:

“Don’t you think that sentence is vague?”

and

“Did you mean (insert assumption) by that statement?”

Directive questions insert my own opinion into the question so that the reader picks up on what I’m thinking about certain elements of the text.  As a creative writing critique partner, such questions can be a good thing and they help the other writer see their writings from a different perspective, but as a consultant I am not allowed to insert my opinion and so I must avoid questions like the ones above.

I am allowed to give Opinions, but only subtly and always referring to myself as a reader and not as anther writer.  For instance, “As a reader I felt that perhaps you could be a little more specific when you mention (so and so).  What was your purpose of referring to that person?”

Notice how my so called “opinion” is phrased similar to a facilitative question. ;)

Well, that’s all I have for now.  I’ll probably come back to the subject at a later date, but I just thought some of you might find this method of giving out writing advice a bit interesting.  I, personally, find it both extremely intriguing and extremely frustrating, but perhaps that’s only because I must apply it. J

What are your thoughts on the matter?

Writing God into Christian Fiction

"Christian Fiction"

Now those are two loaded words.  Before we go any farther, let's take those two words apart, shall we?


Christain:


1.  believer in Jesus Christ as savior: somebody whose religion is Christianity  


adj 
1.  christianity from teachings of Jesus Christ: based on or relating to a belief in Jesus Christ as the Son of God and the Messiah, and acceptance of his teachings, contained in the Gospels  
2.  relating to Christianity: relating to Christianity, or belonging to or maintained by a Christian organization, especially a church, Christian theology, or a Christian school.


Fiction: 


Any form of narrative which deals, in part or in whole, with events that are not factual, but rather, imaginary and invented by its author(s).


And if you combine the two definitions you get this:

Christian Fiction is categorized as any fictitious novel, story, or poem that expounds and illustrates a Christian world view in its plot, its characters, or both, or which deals with Christian themes in a positive way.


So now that we know what Christian Fiction is, the question I will then be addressing is how to incorporate such values into fiction in a way that displays aspects of God without feeling "preachy".

The first thing a Christian writer must realize when approaching such a subject, is that we humans, in our rather limited understanding of the spiritual realm, are essentially incapable of portraying all of the vast and glorious facets that make up God.  It is quite simply impossible for us.  In understanding this, we must also understand and admit to ourselves that in order to portray any part of our own knowledge of who God is to us personally in a realistic and believable fashion, we must give up any fantasies we have of portraying ALL of  what God is in any way.  This rule applies to  ANY setting, not just fictitious ones.

Why do I say this?  Because it is the truth.  We can't even begin to fathom or comprehend all that God is.  He is far to great and powerful, wise and merciful, gracious, kind, fatherly, stern, awesome and mighty for our puny human minds to handle.  He wants to be near us, but even in our quite time with God each morning, when we hear His still small voice whispering in our ears, He only reveals a small portion of all He really is to us or we would be so overwhelmed with His glory that we wouldn't be able to handle it!

So then.  After we understand this, then we must turn to the act of deciding what aspect of God we want to expound on, whether it be a moral, a proverb, a parable, a psalm, or even just an event from the Bible.  Of course, none of us will ever end up writing the same story or idea the same way.  For example I'd like to take a look at Donita K. Paul's "Dragon Keeper" series vs. my own novel "Song of the Daystar."  (Not a very good comparison, I'm sure, as Mrs. Paul has been writing far longer than I have, but still.)

For this example we are going to start by compare figures/characters that, on the whole, represent God in some form or fashion.

In Mrs. Paul's books, "The God Figure" (as it is often referred to) is called Paladin.  Mrs. Paul's MCs usually end up meeting Paladin in person at some point or another, so he is most definitely a living, breathing, physical part of the books.  He also affects the characters in a more direct way.  Having characters who experience physical contact with the God figure of a story usually stimulates a more "mortal" connection to said figure, including memories of actual physical encounters, direct emotional stimulus, and of course face to face encounters and conversations.  There is also the element of the five senses that can be brought into play.  Mrs. Paul's MC, Kale, meets Paladin on occasion and recalls her encounters with him several times throughout the books and several times she wishes that he could be with her during a crisis so that he could hold her hand and tell her what she needs to do.  She also remembers the love and compassion exuding from his being.  It's very touching, and portrays Jesus in a way that sort of makes me think of a hero... a noble knight who will ride out on horseback (or dragonback :D) to do battle with the enemy in order to protect his people, but who will also step back in some situations and encourage a person to make a decision and learn things on their own.  In essence, Mrs. Paul portrays God as approachable and loving, gracious, but protective of his people and fierce in the face of evil; all wonderful aspects of our all powerful, all amazing Heavenly Father!

In SOTD, the God figure is portrayed a bit differently.  For one thing, there really isn't so much a physical connection between God and my characters as there is a spiritual one that grows more over a period of time.  In my book, my God Figure is called Anahdor, and the story revolves more around believing in what is unseen and how the spiritual can effect the natural.  Of course, a person might not pick up on this connection if they were just reading the book -- unless, of course, I told them about the connection first. :D  My book is also about discovering how God works in a life, and it's about personal and spiritual revelation over the course of the story within and without of the church.  One main focus is the story of the cross (though told slightly different to fit the world in SOTD).  However, a major difference between my book and other books I've read that use the Easter story is the fact that, while the reader and my MC end up witnessing key points of the crucification and what that symbolizes, the event is witnessed in a slightly different manner than I think most readers are used to... (though I guess I could be wrong on that point).  In essence, I am trying to portray God as powerful in the everyday and portray the point that he cares for everyone of us, and has a calling for each of us, even when we think we aren't worth the trouble or the effort.  He loves us all and He can work through even the least of us to help bring other people into His kingdom.

(Well, that's what I hope comes across, anyway.  lol!)

Now, if we were to compare either of those ideas about God to the God figure in Wayne Thomas Batson's trilogy, "The Door Within", we would note that the High King in Mr. Batson's books also made a great sacrifice for his people, much like the story of the Jesus' crucification.  In Mr. Batson's books, we don't actually see the High King except once or twice when his presence is revealed and becomes almost overwhelmingly powerful (similar to different places in my book), but we do have characters that have interacted with the High King before he sacrificed himself for his people... so we also have that physical connection and memorable element of Mrs. Paul's books.

And then we have books that depict God as an animal:  Aslan in Narnia, Ruyah in Tebron, Albino in SOTS....

I guess the important thing to remember when trying to write God into Christian fiction is to first look at your outlook on God.  I know that sounds all sinister and impersonal, but it really is something to think about.  Analyze what you know of God and what He has shown you in your spiritual walk with Him.  Is there one point that shows up in your story more than others?  What is that point?  What does it represent to you, and then what does it represent to your characters?

As far as my writing goes, I've found that I can't leave God out of the book entirely... He seeps in, even when I'm not expecting it.  And anything I write that doesn't somehow, in some small way expound on one of his many amazing facets doesn't last very long... the story sort of falls apart in the middle and I loose interest.  It is very true.  

However, the spiritual elements of my successful stories are sometimes so subtle that I have to go in and analyze what these aspects are, how they relate to each other, and how they relate to my characters just so I can keep track of them.  Doing this also helps me get a better grasp on where my story is going and how certain events tie in with other events at a later date.  And never forget that it's always interesting to explore a different aspect of God than you have explored before... Take Nickolas from "The God Hater" for example... The whole point of "The God Hater" was (in my opinion) to explore what it must have been like for God to literally give up a part of himself to be killed in sacrifice for the people he created and loved.

So don't be afraid to ask yourself questions, and then ask God a few as well.  Pray about it.  Analyze what you know already and what you are learning in your daily walk of life.  If you do that and apply it to your writing, then you may discover that writing God into Christian fiction in a personal and graceful manner isn't nearly as hard as you might have thought.

The Rights of a Writer

This is a subject I do not approach lightly, for there are many people who have opposing views. But it is a subject close to my heart. Call this my little "Soap-Box Moment" if you will.



The other day while browsing through some old posts on different blogs I follow, I came across one with an interesting subject matter: it had to do with the "burning of" or "banning of" certain books and it showed a clip of the old TV show "The Waltons" which backed the author's point of view on the matter. Personally, I love watching that old TV show; my whole family does. We'll sit down to watch 5-8 episodes of "The Waltons" over almost anything on regular TV in the evening (though it's been a VERY long time since we've done that lately). It's set during World War II way out in the country, in a mountain home that houses… I think a family of 8 kids, the parents, and the grandparents, if I remember correctly. And to make matters even better, the Waltons' oldest son, John-boy, is an aspiring author striving to see his first work in print and working at going to college. I can so relate!



The clip was set during the time when Hitler was burning books in Germany – including the Bible – and replacing God's Holy Word with his own book. In the clip, the Waltons' church had found a copy of Hitler's book and planned to destroy it along with a bunch of other German books in a ceremonial burning. As you can probably imagine, John-boy went ballistic. Rising from his seat, he rushed to the pile of books on the ground and told the people staging the burning that it wasn't their right to destroy books just because they were German; the Germans had a right to read and write what they wanted to just as much as anyone in the states. He then picked up one of the books and, fondling it in his hands, stated simply that he wished someone could read German to them. An older woman hesitantly stood and joined John-boy in the center. She gently took the book from him and began to read it aloud. John-boy stopped her after a few sentences. "Could you please read it to us in English?" he asked. And with tears misting over her eyes, the woman lifted her head higher and began to read:



"In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, 'Let there be light.'"



John-boy had made his point: those who had planned to burn the German books were just as hypocritical as those who were burning books in Germany. Those who so strongly opposed the desecration of books had very nearly burned the Bible, the very book that they held so sacred.



After reading and watching this post, I ended up posting an extensive comment about how I agreed with John-boy, and when I had finished writing I thought about what an interesting subject it was to explore.

What are the rights of a writer – especially one that writes speculative fiction? And, for that matter, what are the rights of a reader?



What are they truly?



It is indeed a delicate subject to broach. Many people have different opinions on the matter and are not afraid to try and influence writers and readers towards their opinions. Indeed, many writers and readers have been influenced. It isn't always a bad thing, but sometimes it can be difficult to fight.



For example, I am a Christian Fantasy writer. As soon as people hear of this, there is immediate speculation. It's not uncommon for Christians to worry about reading Fantasy and Science Fiction. With the popularity of secular speculative fiction on the rise, and with the booming recognition of books like Harry Potter and Twilight, the church's hackles have risen and many people are on the watch for new pieces of fiction with underlying "evil intent", thoroughly convinced that only bad can come of reading such things. The Harry Potter books have all but been banned from many churches, and even from certain private schools because they are believed to be evil.



And why are they believed to be evil?



Because they have magic in them. And wizards. And even some witches. And because these characters are made out to be "Good" and even "Wise".



Now, I am no fan of witches, but for anyone who's ever read "The Lord of the Rings" or "The Dragon Keeper" series, the concept of good wizards isn't exactly new. Nor is the concept of magic. (think of Narnia, for instance.) My personal opinion is that the author had no real intention of writing evil into the books except for in the form of her villain. The rumors that give the books a bad name came from the outside. True, I haven't read any of these books yet and I don't know if I ever will, but I'm not about to judge them by their cover… or their author… or their author's intentions. People can read what they want to into anything they want, but I doubt that Mrs. Rowling regrets writing the Harry Potter books, or that she ever will.

How does this effect Christian Speculative Fiction Writers?



I would think that was obvious. Fantasy and science fiction have been given a bad name, and because of this many people refuse to give it a chance. While the amount of Christian Speculative readers (and writers) has grown drastically over the last few years, it still seems that there are more people against it than there are for it. Which is a real shame.



I have an older friend whom my family has known for years. I absolutely respect her and her advice, except for on one little matter; she believes that all "magic" is evil, she hates "The Chronicles of Narnia", despises Lewis for writing it, and believes I am desperately sinning by writing fantasy of any kind.



I absolutely disagree.



I believe that we were created in the image of the Creator of the Universe, and that he gave us an imagination so that we could use it and follow in his footsteps. My idea of magic isn't that of demons wreaking havoc in the world and those who try to harness the demons' power; rather, I believe that "Magic" is a term people stamp on to any fantastical happening that they have no explanation for, be it good or bad. Enchantment is rather a different story, but I won't get into that now. Do people in fantasy books use magic? Well… some readers say so. So what? "Magic" can be anything from a simple trick to something totally supernatural. People in today's world are too focused on the reason for things. If we don't understand something or it seems supernatural, we immediately have two options: God did it, or the devil did it. There's no in between. But where's the mystery in that? Who wants to know the source of every problem or the source of every answer that comes into their life? "Magic" is the source of wonderment in a fantasy book, and yes, some of it is supernatural… actually, most of it is. And in Christian spec-fic there are only two options for the source of magic: God or Satan… but we don't have to say that. We just say "Magic" and the context explains the rest. Are we really so different, then?



The point of the matter is that I can decide for myself how I am going to write something, why I write something that way, and what I do and do not believe. I am entitled to my own opinions; they are no one else's but mine. If I am influenced by someone else's opinions, well, that just means they touched me in some way. But I know what is right and what is wrong, and I can choose for myself which is which because God gave me that knowledge and I have his Word to guide me. I don't need somebody else to tell me that something else is right and that I'm a sinful person because I write a certain way… shoot, I know I'm a sinful person! We all are! But for goodness sake, take the beam out of your own eye first.



Another guy that I know believes that ALL fiction, no matter the kind or genre, is pure evil. When I asked him why, he said that it was because God wants us to search out truth and God made what is real. Therefore, what is real is truth, and if we read or write things that aren't or couldn't be real, then we are reading and writing lies and thus purposefully and willfully disobeying God.



I obviously don't believe this. But the matter of fact is, he is entitled to his own opinion and I won't try to sway him. Why should I? He didn't change my mind on the subject, and by trying to convince him otherwise I would knowingly be telling him that I sin on a regular basis (in his mind) and that I would like him to sin as well.



Another friend I know says that he believes Christian Romances are actually evil because they put certain ideas and desires into women's heads, awaking feelings (or something of the like) that should not be awakened. Ok, admittedly I almost laughed at this one; for one thing, I've read some Christian Romances and I don't ever recall have any type of "feeling" awakened in me that was wrong in any way, shape, or form. But I didn't try to tell him otherwise. That was his own outlook on the subject, not mine. If he believes that reading Christian Romances is sinful, then he doesn't have to read them, but my outlook is quite different. It is NOT a sin to me.



So my question is, what are the Rights of the Writer? What are we entitled to? Who must we listen to?

And this is what I came up with:



We are entitled to our own opinions and are under no obligations whatsoever to be influenced by other outside voices unless we wish to be.



That means, don't just throw good, solid, righteous advice out the window because you don't entirely agree with it: listen to what others have to say, but do so with discretion. God gave you your own brain for a reason as well as the freedom of choice. Use his gifts wisely – read his word, and pray, and don't forget to listen carefully for what he might whisper in your ear (it's always good to follow His advice. :D) But when allowing others to voice their opinions about a subject, listen with an open mind, yet remember who you are in God and be confident in what he has shown you; you can't go wrong that way.



Besides, we can't please everybody no matter how hard we try.  So if we just write for ourselves and for God, we'll know inside that we are doing something right.


*steps down off of soap-box*



So, what are your thoughts on the matter?