Rosslyn Elliott

Twentieth-Century Historical Novels

2012-01-23T01:00:00.000-08:00

For those of us who spent decades of our lives in the twentieth century, the idea of a twentieth-century historical can seem odd. Hey, that was MY century! How did I become a relic? ;-)

But the reality of it can't be denied. Twentieth-century historicals run the gamut from the Edwardian grace of Downton Abbey to the cultural upheaval of the Vietnam war. At this point, even the 1980s probably qualify as a setting for nostalgia fiction.

I've read three twentieth century inspy historicals in the last year or so, so the subgenre is on my mind.

The earliest set of the novels was Allison Pittman's Lilies in Moonlight, a story about a buoyant flapper on the run from her painful childhood. She must come to terms with the more serious side of life when after a night of partying, she stumbles into the garden of a wealthy but scarred WWI veteran. I loved the author's vivid portrayal of the cultural moment in which the pre-WWI world represented by the hero's aging mother runs full tilt into the Jazz Age and the first intimations of 'female liberation.'

The next story, chronologically, was Bonnie Leon's colorful and well-researched romance Wings of Promise, which shows the challenges a female bush pilot faces in the late 1930s in Alaska. Here's another pivotal time for American culture, just before World War II broke down barriers and sent women into factories and business in unprecedented numbers. This author was very astute to set her story in Alaska, where the frontier aspects of life made gender-based job restrictions a little more relaxed than they were in the lower 48 states. Still, the heroine faces challenges from the men in her professional world, who react to her femininity in extreme ways and are unable to separate it from her professional identity. This is the only realistic way to depict the situation, and I appreciated it. Few 1930s era men would be able to see women in the workplace in the "gender-neutral" way favored by twenty-first century companies.

The last novel in my reading series was Catherine West's Yesterday's Tomorrow, an intense romantic drama about a female journalist who goes to Vietnam and butts heads with an anatagonistic male photographer. Vietnam is not a common setting for romances, but Catherine West pulls off the combination of tragedy and redemptive events with aplomb. The 1970s push us along the line between the past and the present. The young adults of that time were so different from today's young adults in ways that we tend to forget, but there are also universal experiences of young adulthood that make Yesterday's Tomorrow resonate in the twenty-first century.

Considering these novels chronologically would make for a thoughtful discussion as certain themes and historical developments pop naturally to the surface. It makes me want to run the kind of study for adults that educators sometimes plan for children, in which the study of history takes place through literature. Wouldn't that be fun? To have a book group committed to history that arranged its readings by theme or period? You could arrange them in a linear way, as I've described the three novels above, or you could study two or three historical novels together that were all based in the same period, and compare and contrast them. Or, you could read a work of fiction in conjunction with a history of that decade, and see how they matched up.

It only works if you use the novels of authors who really care about reflecting the actual historical moment about which they are writing. Many historical romances show very little of the larger cultural scene, and instead turn a narrow lens on one man and one woman who might have lived at almost any time in history because they aren't obvious products of their cultural time.

All three of the books I've mentioned here are truly historical fiction rather than romances with a little historical flavor. The real historical fiction is the kind I enjoy, though I know people who prefer less historical setting and an exclusive focus on the relationship in isolation from the bigger picture of its time. It's all a matter of taste.

How do you feel about historical novels? Will you read a novel from one era and not another? Do Regency historicals give you hives? All opinions welcome as you will probably make me laugh, and you always make me think.

Publishing, Popularity, and Politicians

2012-01-16T09:49:00.000-08:00

I've been reflecting lately on how marketing works in the world of CBA publishing.

I want to preface this post by saying that I believe in the mission of inspirational publishing, and that's why I write books for this market. I believe there must be a place where books with a Christian worldview and Christian characters will not be rejected out-of-hand, as they are in many secular markets.

But today, I want to talk about the nuts and bolts, the aspects of CBA publishing that have nothing to do with message and everything to do with the non-missional side of publishing. Because like it or not, there are moments when who we are as writers may come into conflict with the necessities of business. It happens in every industry, because businesses are part of the world and can't always be ideal.

So here is a very practical post about the everyday experience of CBA publishing, setting its mission aside for the moment.

CBA publishing is somewhat different from mainstream publishing because the circle of publishers and writers--and even readers--is so much smaller.

This has advantages and disadvantages.

The chief advantage is that it may be easier to break in because it's a smaller market.

The chief disadvantage is that one's personal popularity in CBA circles is likely to affect success. As people will sometimes say it, "It's a family, it's a small world."

Some people may not consider the influence of personal popularity a disadvantage. Some people are natural politicians: good at persuading and charming others, good at never saying anything disturbing or out of place.

And popularity is not necessarily a bad thing--sometimes it is earned by the truly compassionate, the truly good, the truly unselfish.

But popularity also has another face: the face of the Politician.

The Politician may be a likeable person, and may have many sincere virtues, but what distinguishes the Politician from others (for the purposes of my post here) is that his chief concern is popularity. It outweighs all other factors in most situations. The Politician always considers first and foremost how an action will LOOK to others, because that is the most important factor in remaining popular. And that's why, in the political world, some people have become popular and then been unmasked as imposters. Because Popularity does not always represent Truth.

Which brings me to my point.

Everybody knows that if you want to be popular, it's usually a good idea not to tell the whole truth. Truth is hard. Truth challenges. And most people are more likely to gravitate towards people who make them feel good. Popularity tends to be feel-good, not challenging. That's why Jesus appealed to some but not all. That's why he ended up on a cross.

So here's the problem, for most writers.

A good writer is the opposite of a Politician. A good writer values Truth, first and foremost.

But the Politician is more likely to succeed, in a world dominated by self-marketing, because writers who value Truth first have a natural tendency to dislike politicking, with its emphasis on superficiality and saying the right thing rather than the true thing.

And though the Politician may be successful, and may be a nice person, his work is less likely to tell challenging truths. To preserve his popularity, the Politician will tell the 'nice' challenging truths, the ones that appear deep but don't really stir at the deepest levels. Because when Truth gets powerful, it divides as well as uniting. This is why some editors will 'blandify' the work of their authors. They see it as their job, in order to make the author as popular as possible. (I'm so blessed that my editor doesn't blandify!) Every now and then, a challenging book will break out, but it's more likely to happen to a feel-good book that doesn't contain anything controversial. This book won't be very realistic, because reality is intrinsically controversial, no matter how faith-infused your worldview.

I have over-simplified in this post, admittedly. People come in all kinds of gradations between valuing truth and valuing popularity. But I wanted to bring up the point because at heart, I'm a Truthteller, and that's why I'm a writer. And so I want to know what you think of this tension between popularity, marketing, and truthtelling. Because having learned a few things in my time behind the scenes in publishing about the difference between appearances and reality, I haven't yet seen anyone talk about it.

How does this affect you? How do you handle the occasional conflict between Truth and the desire to be popular? How do you handle it in your writing?

Vlog: Why You Need 18th Century Fashion

2012-01-13T01:00:00.000-08:00

Want to support my novels? Pre-order Sweeter than Birdsong. By doing so, you give it a better chance to be taken *seriously* by booksellers. I mean, look at me. Don't I deserve to be taken seriously? LOL!

Oh, and I should clarify something, for those who need to rush out and augment their wardrobes pronto. The website I meant to mention was www.recollections.biz, not dot com.

The appeal of Downton Abbey: the historical genre unleashed

2012-01-08T22:06:00.000-08:00

Here are some reasons for the appeal of smash hit miniseries Downton Abbey.

People like beautiful things.

Beautiful costumes, beautiful buildings, beautiful people. And I don't mean 'beautiful people' as in the People magazine version. Sure, Matthew Crawley and Lady Sybil might make the cut for world's most beautiful people. But many of the other characters in Downton Abbey are beautiful in a different way, like Lady Mary. She's not exactly a pinup girl: there's something quirky about her looks. But she's beautiful because the unconventionalities of her face make her interesting, absorbing to watch. And there are many other sumptuous beauties in the series: jewelry, the red velvet of a dress, the austere, perfect place settings of a dinner table.

People like to root for good guys and against bad guys...and then sometimes find out the bad guy was actually good, or vice versa.

Downton has more than its share of alluring villains: but unlike a typical soap opera, the story is so well-written and well-acted that the villainy seems quite real, surprising in its cruelty but understated in all the right ways. What happens is outrageous: the way it's told and acted is elegant and multidimensional.

But people also like to see family conflicts in which it's difficult to tell which sister/mother/in-law is in the right.

In the sisterly triangle between Mary, Sybil, and Edith in Season 1, none of the sisters is exactly evil, but each has a pretty wicked moment. We can all relate to family conflicts in which each relative would try to claim the high ground, but none would really deserve it.

People miss rules, restraint, and subtlety.

The problem with our let-it-all-hang-out culture is that when there are no rules, we can't have the thrill--or dread--of seeing rules broken and the consequences. So in order to have a constant tension between restraint and freedom, we have to step back in time, to when it actually mattered if a servant spoke out of turn, or if a lady behaved dishonorably.

People are starved for the pleasure of a quality historical saga embellished with the beauties of its time, because so few have appeared in film in recent years. The miniseries is the perfect medium to satisfy this hunger, because it does what only novels can do otherwise: tell a long, rich, multi-layered story unlimited by the rigorous rules of a feature film.

Are you watching Downton Abbey? What makes it appeal to you...or not?

The Difference Between a Crit Partner and a Beta Reader

2012-01-02T01:00:00.000-08:00

Eeek! Yahoo! I can't believe I've met my deadline and I have more freedom to revisit friends' blogs, and generally live a more normal life. That can all start tomorrow, as it's getting late and said deadline was JUST met. Whew.

So, having just given my third novel to several readers before giving it to my editor, those readers are on my mind. I'm so grateful for them! I have two types of reader: my critique partners, and my beta readers.

What's the difference? I'll give you my version, and then maybe some of you will have more wisdom to add, or a different perspective.

Critique partners are other novelists. They read like writers. Often, they read the book in chunks, giving me corrective advice as they go so I don't go off in a bad direction. Critique partners have an obligation to be constructive. Does that mean we always beat around the bush? No--we can be very frank. But MOST importantly, we try to avoid subjective opinions in favor of craft, we try to consider the other writer's intentions, and if we make a criticism, we should always suggest a way to fix the weakness we are noting in one another's work. That's a rule of constructive criticism in general: you don't just go in and say "I don't like this." You say: "This character trait or behavior isn't working for me. Maybe if you did this instead, it might make it work." When critique partners go in with blanket criticisms and no suggestions to help, things get messy, and some talks may need to happen between partners! Now, your crit partner may not always agree with the proffered suggestions, but that's OK. What matters is that you offered your brainstorming power, so your crit partner sees you are trying to help--or so you hope. :-)

Beta readers are NOT other novelists. They are novel-readers only. I have wonderful beta readers: two of them are well-read in my genre, while one of them is more a literary fiction type who loves a good historical novel. They're very smart and very analytical. But in my beta readers, I don't necessarily expect a writer-type opinion. What's really valuable from a beta reader is the subjective reaction. I *want* to know if a beta reader likes the heroine and hero for completely subjective reasons. I don't need to hear suggestions from a beta reader about how to fix things, though of course suggestions are always welcome! But they're not under the same unspoken agreement of professionalism as a critique partner.

One of my beta readers combines the qualities of both a beta reader and a crit partner. She gives me a subjective reaction, but she also often suggests a corrective measure. (And her subjective reaction is pretty objective to begin with!) Overall, though, I call her a beta reader because she's not a novelist, but an excellent nonfiction writer. Her viewpoint is invaluable as someone who has read a *ton* of good novels but doesn't write them.

What do you think about the difference between crit partners and beta readers? Do you have both types of reader, or just one? What's most valuable to you about their feedback?

The Return of the King

2011-12-19T01:00:00.000-08:00

Can you believe Christmas is ONE WEEK away as I write this post?

There's a lot going on for our family right now, big changes, both good and difficult. 2011 has been a turbulent and challenging year.

The beauty of Christmas is that everything else shrinks in importance compared to the event we celebrate this week.

I didn't feel this way about Christmas, in my ten years as an agnostic. Christmas was just one more event in which the light of wonder had gone out of the world, leaving me with only a flattened version of the holiday.

That memory of loss and flatness makes me exceedingly grateful for the return of the real Christmas to my life. I rejoice in its complexity and sweet harshness, as a mother bears her child in a stable and shares the event with the most humble, honest witnesses: domestic animals and shepherds.

Welcome, real Christmas, the birth of the Christ Child.

Having once forgotten Christmas, like Ebenezer Scrooge, I can never read his words without emotion:

"I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future. The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me. I will not shut out the lessons that they teach."

Thank heaven for the Yuletide wrinkle in time, connecting past to present to future.

It graces us with the reminder that our lives are small, brief flashes in the vast constellations of God's plan, written in ciphers across the night sky.

A holy and peaceful Christmas to all of you, my friends.

The Lowdown on How Deadlines Can REALLY Feel

2011-12-11T23:06:00.000-08:00

Bad. Deadlines can feel bad.

LOL!

I had drafted a long post detailing all the ins and outs of my deadline experiences over the past seven months. I still wish I could share it, because I think it's the kind of thing that's very helpful to other writers.

But I'm going to have to wait until I can teach it in a class.

For now, I'll just say, friends, that I am overjoyed to be only two chapters from the end of my third and last novel in this contract, the end of the Saddler's Legacy series that has occupied my intellectual life for the last five years.

And I'll look forward to that class, fellow writers, when I'll give you the real low-down on deadlines and life balance.

First Things First

2011-12-05T01:00:00.000-08:00

This weekend, I directed my fourth children's ministry Christmas performance.

Last year was the only time in five years at this church that I didn't direct the program. I had a January 1st deadline for my second novel last year, and as a result I was too scared to commit to anything in the holiday season. But I felt the absence of that program. It was a real sacrifice, and a reluctant one. I knew that no one else would have my peculiar passion for this type of Christmas pageant, and therefore, the kids wouldn't get the opportunity to do it.

This year, I faced another January 1st novel deadline. But this time, I was determined not to sacrifice that Christmas program again out of fear of my deadline.

I had to place first things first. Though writing means a lot to me, children mean more.

Why did it matter? What's the big deal about a bunch of kids in costumes dug up from the church basement?

When you're eight, a white robe and tinsel halo are beautiful, extraordinary. They make you part of the miracle at Bethlehem. And all your friends are equally transformed into part of the great story, as if heaven just came down to earth. And it did.

I spent ten years of my life without faith, in my teens and early twenties. One of my strongest connections to my childhood faith was the joy of Christmas pageants. It's possible that those early memories helped me to return to faith as an adult. Now, I hope I'm building those same memories for the children I know.

Tinsel haloes matter.

Writer Diva: Myth or Reality?

2011-11-28T01:00:00.000-08:00

Sometimes, I read blogs from agents that touch on issues of how writers should behave. I smile when I read the comments on those posts, most of which are from aspiring writers. A majority of the commenters have no personal experience of what kind of things take place behind the scenes in publishing, so their comments sometimes sound like this: "DUH! Of course I'm going to be easy to work with and get along with everyone. Who are these idiot writers you're talking about?" They seem to have the impression that contracted writers run around like opera divas, having tantrums for no reason and being completely arrogant.

I don't know a single contracted writer who acts like that. I suppose there may be some divas out there, but for the most part, the contracted writers I know work their tails off, try their very best to get along, and are humble, down-to-earth people.

It is highly unlikely that most working novelists would ever believe that we are geniuses of some kind. Instead, we have to tell ourselves why it's OK that we can never measure up! As writers, our lifestyle is one of receiving criticism, all the time. Our novels go through round after round of criticism, and editors don't have time to sugarcoat their comments or to worry about whether writers are getting enough positive reinforcement. It's true that many writers get positive feedback from readers. The praise of readers matters a great deal and soothes some of the pain of the process, but it doesn't erase our knowledge of our own shortcomings.

In addition, most writers are working very hard for very little money. Most writers are either working second jobs or raising children at home (sometimes homeschooling) while they write their novels.

Does this work ethic and ability to take constant criticism sound like anything the average diva could survive? Not to me! LOL! The longer I spend in this business, the more I respect writers for their endurance and grace under less than ideal conditions.

What do you think? have you known writers who displayed clear, inarguable evidence of diva-like attitudes? Or do you know the same humble, hardworking people I do?

Party at Casey's Place!

2011-11-21T08:45:00.000-08:00

Want to visit one of the best book blogger parties I've ever seen?

Stop by Casey Herringshaw's grand finale of her two-year blog anniversary!

I'm one of six authors doing giveaways today--just leave a comment on Casey's blog posts to win a copy of Fairer than Morning or one of the other great books featured today.

Also, find out why the VIP guests of my ideal party would not be human. :-)

Fairer than Morning Wins 2011 Laurel Award

2011-11-14T01:00:00.000-08:00

I am thrilled to share with you that my debut novel, Fairer than Morning, has just won the 2011 Laurel Award.

Find out more about the award here.

I am so grateful to the awesome people at Clash of the Titles for all their hard work, and to my reader and writer friends for your support. 2011 has been a challenging year in some ways, and this lovely honor couldn't have come at a better time to encourage me. In addition, the entire process was a privilege and a blessing because of the high quality of the other contenders and the graciousness of the authors involved. Thank you all very much.

November Recluses

2011-10-31T07:04:00.000-07:00

It's that time again for novelists, but the first time for me!

National Novel Writing Month happens every year in November. Writers sign up to complete 1,600 words per day and go into their caves to do it.

I'm taking the opportunity to finish my first draft of Lovelier than Daylight, which is at about 30,000 words now. This means that instead of writing 1,600 words per day, I'll be writing 2,000, or about eight pages.

Yikes! Please forgive me if I don't get around the blogosphere as much as usual. I'll still post here every Monday, and I'll be back to something approximating normal in December.

And if you would like to be my writing buddy, my NaNoWriMo name is Rosslyn Elliott.

See you there, and happy writing!

The Adjustable Publishing Dream

2011-10-24T01:00:00.000-07:00

I've been watching publishing discussions with interest of late.

It's just as educational to watch human reactions to change as it is to watch the change itself.

Some people describe the change in the publishing industry as a total positive, others condemn it as an absolute negative.

I'd like to propose something for your consideration: the changes themselves are neither positive nor negative. So when someone says "paperback sales are down 64%" or "free e-books are creating a devaluing effect on the book market," those statements are neither positive nor negative.

They simply ARE. This is the situation in the book world. But, as with most events in life, what makes them positive or negative is how we react to them.

If we hold so tightly to our own vision of how things are "supposed" to be, then change may seem negative.

We must keep our dreams adjustable, give them elastic waistbands and big hems, make them of reversible material so we can turn them inside out and still wear them. We don't have to abandon our dreams-- we just have to refashion them for the time in which we live.

You may think this is easy for me to say, as an author who landed a professional contract under the "old" system with a traditional publisher--a system which may or may not look the same in five years time.

But let's say I hadn't landed that contract. What would I have done, if no publisher had been interested in my series?

I would have been crushed, at first. Then, I would have picked myself up and self-published my series, after hiring the best editor and cover designer I could afford. I would then have gone to Ohio to market it to the regional audience there.

In other words, I would have done something very similar to what I have been doing for the last year. But I would have done it on my own schedule, without deadlines, which would have meant more time for marketing that first novel, particularly for connecting with the crucial regional market for my series based on Ohio history.

I have no regrets about the path I did take--I'm very blessed and grateful to have been able to work with the experts in editing and design at Thomas Nelson, and to have the financial support of a traditional contract. But traditional publishing is no longer the only way for an author to fulfill her dream, especially with the seismic changes occurring in the publishing world.

I'm telling you this because I want to encourage you. If you don't have a contract yet with a traditional publisher, if you don't have an agent, don't see the changes in publishing as a negative. They aren't. They're just changes. Keeping your dreams adjustable is the key to realizing them. We all need to understand that success in publishing may look different in only a few years. Let's be excited about it! When someone says paperback sales are down but e-book sales are up, let's enjoy the feeling of living in a time when anything might happen, when authors may find more autonomy in their work, when we have the opportunity to interact in unprecedented ways with readers.

I keep my own dreams adjustable. I do my absolute best to write good novels and to publicize them as best I can with the time available. But in the end, I don't have control over my novels' future. Only God does. And I'm completely at peace with that. Because whatever is in store for me, whether it looks like success or failure to the outside observer, I know beyond a doubt that it's going to work out for my good. I have that promise, and so do you.

Called...Again

2011-10-17T07:05:00.001-07:00

As a faithful writer, you may hear a heavenly Call to the work of writing.

But what happens when that's not the only call in your life, and not the only work that matters?

This summer, I faced more than one calling, and I was not too pleased about it! How did I handle it when I got the second call, the one I thought I couldn't handle?

I hope you all will join me this morning for my frank guest post at Seriously Write, a wonderful blog by Dawn Kinzer, Annette Irby, Angie Arndt, and Ocieanna Fleiss.

Come stop by and meet these lovely and thoughtful writers!

Clash of the Titles: Tournament of Champions

2011-10-10T07:40:00.000-07:00

Some of you are already familiar with the fun battle-of-the-books website called:

Clash of the Titles

This month, Clash of the Titles is hosting its first ever Tournament of Champions, which means my debut novel Fairer than Morning will be a contender sometime during the challenge! When it is, I'll let you know so you can go read the two dueling passages and vote for whichever you like best.

(Ordinarily, Clash of the Titles is anonymous, but for this special promotion they have allowed us previous-champion authors to announce our participation.)

The first of the clashes is posted today at the site! I don't know whose books they are, as the excerpts remain unlabeled, but if you want a little fun to start your Monday morning, go read them and cast your vote.

There are lots of prize giveaways in honor of the Tournament of Champions, including gift cards for places like Amazon and Starbucks. So stop by and leave a comment for your chance to win!

I am Small, and that's Good

2011-10-03T01:00:00.000-07:00

I don't understand the grand scheme of things.

Neither does any of us, which is some comfort.

The greater design, the complexity of Providence, is far beyond any human being's vision. And that's a good thing. I don't want to know the future or be able to comprehend exactly where we're all headed, as a society, as a world. My head is filled already with the limited number of things I'm supposed to understand, so I'll gladly leave the rest of it to God.

My piece of the design is very small, barely even a blip in the history of the human race.

It's tiny, but it's there, just like your tiny blip and the tiny blip of every other human soul.

So, if I feel silly or ashamed or disappointed because something goes wrong, or just doesn't go the way I expected, I try to pull back, contemplate the great design, and acknowledge my smallness. I also acknowledge the fact that I don't know my purpose here. I can take my best guess, and try to serve in the way that seems appropriate, but the deeds that appear most important to me may actually be completely insignificant.

Writers may be tempted to assume their writing is the most important service they will ever perform for others.

It may be. It may not be. We can all see, now, that the writing of C.S. Lewis was his life's purpose, his contribution to the great plan. But a C.S. Lewis is rare, and most of us writers know very well that we're not on that level!

It may be that my purpose is raising my daughter to fulfill her own purpose. Or, I may unwittingly accomplish my life's chief mission in some random five-minute encounter with a stranger that will slip out of my memory in a day or two.

I hope that in heaven, we'll get to see movies (or dreams, or something along those lines) about all the purposes that were fulfilled that we never understood while we were here. I look forward to that enlarged vision in which I will see all the beauty and staggering intricacy of the great design.

Do you think you have a pretty good hunch about what might be your earthly purpose, or do you see it a different way?

Love One Another

2011-09-26T08:01:00.000-07:00

I didn't get to go to the ACFW conference this weekend. I missed my friends, the wonderful community of writers.

But on this weekend, I was serving a different community: my church.

As I've mentioned before, our church has been through a tough year that has strained our community to the breaking point and beyond. We've lost almost fifty percent of our membership in six months. Anyone who has ever been through something similar will know what kind of pain this causes.

A few months back, some friends and I were brainstorming about what we could do to help our membership heal and move on. We decided to ask a guest speaker to come in and address us, someone who wasn't burdened by our recent troubles, someone who could remind us what it meant to take joy in our faith and our community. So after church leadership approved the event, I set about finding our speaker. Then a good friend and I proceeded to do what had to be done to make it happen, including fundraising.

He came in to speak to us this weekend. It was everything we could have hoped.

I imagined how we must look to him as he met us in small groups, over meals. Through his eyes, I gained a fresh appreciation for my fellow church members. There are so many good-hearted, gifted people in our conmmunity, and yet we have a tendency to forget the blessings that each person brings to our group, to take for granted their service to others, the things we already know they do. But when a newcomer arrives and sets about figuring out who we are as a group, it can open our eyes to the things we've forgotten.

This was one of our visitor's points, though in this post I can't do justice to his eloquence or humor. He reminded us that to love one another, we need to appreciate and affirm one another's unique gifts and commitment to service. It's not something we can stop because we've known each other for five years, or fifteen, or twenty. Just as the work of our community goes on, so must our appreciation and love for the workers. And it can mean much more to have that work affirmed, quietly and personally, one to another, than to have it acknowledged from a podium.

This Saturday, a bunch of us gathered together, sitting in a circle where we could see each other's faces, and sang. We sang for an hour, and for the first time in months, pure joy filled our gathering. Everyone was smiling. A dear friend came up to me afterward, threw her arms around me, and said something kind. We hugged each other for a long moment. It was one of the best moments of my weekend, the sweetness and joy after the pain.

Real love for one another doesn't just happen because we think we should. It happens because we remember why we love one another. And that is a deeply personal endeavor that calls us to bring our hearts into line with our words.

Do you find real love in one of your communities? What sustains it?

Winners of Fairer than Morning Giveaway - Kindle, Historical Dress and More!

2011-09-21T01:30:00.000-07:00

Here is the list of every one who won something at the party last night:

Congratulations to Jenny Chavers Booher! You've won a copy of Fairer Than Morning! Email your mailing address to amy@litfusegroup.com!

Congratulations to Jodie Wolfe! You've won a copy of Fairer Than Morning! Email your mailing address to amy@litfusegroup.com!

Congratulations to Lori Thompson! You've won a copy of Fairer Than Morning and the gift certificate of your choice (Amazon, iTunes, Starbucks)! Email your mailing address and choice to amy@litfusegroup.com!

Congratulations to Donn Battle! You've won a copy of Fairer Than Morning! Email your mailing address to amy@litfusegroup.com!

Congratulations to Roxanna Jolly! You've won a copy of Fairer Than Morning! Email your mailing address to amy@litfusegroup.com!

Congratulations to Faith Hope Cherrytea! You've won a copy of Fairer Than Morning and the gift certificate of your choice (Amazon, iTunes, Starbucks)! Email your mailing address and choice to amy@litfusegroup.com!

Congratulations to Elena Rico! You've won a copy of Fairer Than Morning for posting your photo on my wall! Email your mailing address to amy@litfusegroup.com!

Congratulations to Jenny Crevier! You've won a copy of Fairer Than Morning for posting your photo on my wall! Email your mailing address to amy@litfusegroup.com!

Congrats to Mama-Nikki Vosburgh! You won the $200 gift certificate to Reflections to put toward a custom-made period dress! Email your mailing address to amy@litfusegroup.com!

And here is the Kindle Giveaway winner:

Congrats to Mary Lou from New York! You were with winner of the Fairer Than Morning Kindle Giveaway! Send your mailing address to amy@litfusegroup.com and we'll get your KINDLE on the way to you!

Congrats to all the winners - please email your mailing address to amy@litfusegroup.com!

Trivia Answers, and Winner!

2011-09-21T01:00:00.000-07:00

I really enjoyed chatting with everyone last night at the Fairer than Morning Facebook Party. What a great group we had--fun, smart, and thoughtful.

Here are the answers to the trivia contest, for those who must know (like Donn!) :-)

1 What kind of animal is Dr. Loftin’s most prized piece of livestock?

A white pig

2 How many sisters does Ann have?

Two younger sisters

3 What does Will see in Master Good’s hand on the morning that Will is chopping wood in the yard?

A pistol

4 What symbol is marked on the foreheads of John and Clara Simon?

A cross inside a circle

5 Where does Will first meet Emmie Flynn?

At the poorhouse

1 In the year 1826, two presidents died within hours of each other on July 4th. Who were they?

Thomas Jefferson and John Adams

2 A decade before this novel begins, a famous English authoress published what would become some of the world’s most famous love stories. Name one of her novels.

The authoress: Jane Austen The novels: Pride and Prejudice, etc.

3 Of what metal were most plows made in the 1820s?

Iron

4 In 1826, were women wearing loose, classical gowns in Empire/Regency style, or corsets and lower waistlines?

Corsets and lower waistlines than the Regency style.

5 In the 1820s, two states were added to the USA, both with the initial letter ‘M.’ Name one.

Maine and Missouri

Everybody with a certain number of correct answers was put into the drawing for the prize, and the winner is:

LARA POTTS!

I will be emailing you to offer your prize. Congratulations!

Tuesday - Win Kindle, Recollections dress!

2011-09-18T01:00:00.000-07:00

The big day is almost here!
It's time for the Fairer than Morning Facebook party tomorrow, TUESDAY, at 5pm Pacific, 6pm Mountain, 7pm Central, 8pm Eastern. OK, I probably didn't need to say every time zone, but I don't want anyone to miss the fun. :-)

We are giving away a Kindle with Wi-Fi, which I know is very exciting.

But I also want to show you some of the gorgeous dresses you could get from Recollections if you win our $200 gift certificate prize. These make me drool.

You can choose something historical, or something that just looks romantic...or steampunk.

Maybe you want the Christmas dress of the century for your daughter...

Or does this plum coat rock your world like it rocks mine?

If hat and gloves are more your style, our gift card will buy you a lot of lace and feathers.

There is so much ah-worthy stuff on the Recollections site I had trouble even picking out these samples for you from all the beautiful things. I own two Recollections dresses, and I wanted to give someone else the same pleasure I've taken in wearing a beautiful dress that fits very well.
You can scroll up to the top of this page and click the button in the sidebar to enter the Kindle giveaway. The dress will be given away during the party.

Join us on my Facebook author page tomorrow night for the big party when the winners will be announced!

3 Kinds of Anger: A Discovery and Reflection

2011-09-12T01:00:00.000-07:00

I've witnessed a lot of anger over the last year or so as our church has been through some very difficult times.

Tonight, I was talking with some friends about anger.

"But anger's not a sin," one of them said. "It's how you behave as a result of anger that becomes wrong."

"True," I said. "But if anger becomes a choice, a way of life, then it's a sin. That's why it's one of the seven deadly sins."

They agreed, but in our brief discussion, I knew we were only telling part of the story. I went google-hunting for good reflections on anger.

My favorite is this article by Phil Snyder. I'm going to quote a short part of it below.

There are different types of anger.

Resentment is the refusal to discern, accept, or fulfill God's vocation for you. Resentment leads to dissatisfaction with your God-given talents, opportunities, or abilities. It can lead to unwillingness to face up to difficulties or sacrifices required to fulfill your vocation. Resentment leads to transferring blame to God, our parents, or families, our bosses or anyone else for the reasons behind our failures. Resentment shows itself in cynicism, profanity, grumbling and a desire to escape from reality.

Pugnacity is an attack upon another in anger. It can be physical, emotional, or spiritual. Murder by desire (and remember, that saying "you fool" or "raca" is murder by desire) or deed. Striking another, cursing another, insulting another, or damaging an other's reputation by words and deeds. Arguing, bickering, contradicting others to get your own point across, being rude or snubbing others are all forms of pugnacity. It is more than just hitting another, it is the desire or will to cause harm to others...

Another form of Anger is Retaliation. It is vengeance (actual or planned) for wrongs real or imagined. It is giving excessive punishment out of a desire to hurt, not discipline. Hostility, sullenness, and rash judgment. Refusal to forgive or to offer or accept reconciliation. Unwillingness to love your enemies, to seek their good or to pray for them. Retaliation shows itself in ostracising others and getting others to join you in cutting someone off from the group to make you feel better. Putting others down so you can feel better about yourself. Refusing to join in the groups activities simply because you did not get your way. Feeling superior to others.

Thank you, Phil! When we are living through situations in which we are surrounded by angry people, and may be tempted to act on our anger, this kind of understanding is priceless. It can help us be thoughtful peacemakers instead of instinctive reactors. One more sobering thought--the definition of a deadly sin is that it kills grace and charity in the human soul.

Question for you: What do you do to control your behavior when you are angry?

Responding to Social Media Reviews?

2011-09-05T01:00:00.000-07:00

My experience of the last few months has changed my mind about responding to reviews of my novel on blogs.

This is a biggie.

Not so long ago, a discussion of this very same question occurred on the main email loop of ACFW, a major writer's organization. Many well-known writers weighed in. A goodly number of them said Never Ever! respond to any review of your own book.

I took that as a guideline. After all, it made sense that an author should never argue with a negative review--that's unprofessional.

But it didn't feel right to me when some readers wrote fantastic, encouraging reviews on their blogs and I held myself back from commenting. Intuitively, I wanted to thank them, each and every one. But I kept saying to myself: "Don't do it. So-and-so big name author said she never does it and it's not professional, even for the positive reviews."

Well, times, they are a'changin'.

I was already planning to post on this topic when I ran across an excellent discussion of social media on Mike Duran's blog last week.

This discussion galvanized my half-formed plan into action. Yes, I'm coming to believe that for many of the reasons Mike and his commenters propose, the "rules" are different.

Should we comment on highly negative reviews of our work? No, I think that's a bad idea. Such a comment has the potential to embarrass the poster, and that's not right. People should be free to give bad reviews in peace. ;-)

However, we live now in a much more connected world, a world of instant dialogue. If we can have more fulfilling, immediate contact with our readers by thanking them and acknowledging their kind reviews, how is that a bad thing for either author or reader?

I've changed my mind. I value my readers and I think this world of social media is constantly reshaping our opportunities to show readers that we appreciate them, and what we do is all about them. I'm seizing the day.

Kindle Giveaway...or win a Custom-Made Historical Dress!

2011-08-31T20:17:00.000-07:00

CLICK BELOW TO ENTER AND WIN! THE CONTEST IS NOW LIVE!

To celebrate the release of her debut novel, Fairer Than Morning, Rosslyn Elliott is giving away two fabulous prize packages. The first is a brand new KINDLE in her Fairer Than Morning Kindle Giveaway. Then on September 20th she's giving away a $200 gift certificate toward a Custom-Made Historical Reproduction Dress (from Recollections) during the Fairer Than Morning Book Club Chat Party on Facebook! Sigh...romantic.

Fairer Than Morning is receiving wonderful reviews - Historical Novels Review said, "Totally enraptures the reader with love of this well-told tale based on real people…". Read more reviews here.

Be sure to join the fun and enter the Kindle contest -

One winner will receive:

* Kindle with Wi-Fi

* Fairer Than Morning (for Kindle)

To enter just click one of the icons below. But, hurry, giveaway ends on 9/19. Winner will be announced on 9/20 at Rosslyn's Book Club Facebook Party. Details and official rules can be found when entering the contest.

Then be sure to RSVP for Rosslyn's Facebook Party! During the party Rosslyn will be chatting with guests, hosting a book chat about Fairer Than Morning (don't worry if you haven't read the book yet - you could win a copy!) & historical Fiction, testing your trivia skills. She'll also be giving away that $200 gift certificate toward a FABULOUS custom-made period dress from Recollections!

When Friends and Family Read Your Book...Or Don't

2011-08-29T06:38:00.000-07:00

After my debut novel came out in May, I had the interesting experience of discovering who read my novel and who didn't, among my circle of friends, acquaintances, and family.

Now, in my view, no one is required to read my novel, either for blood or friendship, but I did want to share the observations I've made, because other writers may go through the same thing sooner or later.

Some wonderful older women at my church made a point of buying my book immediately and then recommending it to their friends. One of our male elders did the same thing.

But there were also a few strange silences mixed in--a couple of close relatives who have not read it or even said a word about it, a few acquaintances who would be *exactly* the people I would expect to read it, but did not.

Who did I expect NOT to read my novel, even among my close friends and family?

Those who don't like reading, have trouble reading, or have a strong antipathy to romance.

Even though my novel includes a lot of action and suspense, readers don't know that before they begin the novel. It's only natural for a lot of men to assume that because it's a romance, it will not be to their taste. The men who have read it have enjoyed it, but it takes a strong man to make it past the beautiful, feminine cover. :-)

I have a very dear friend who is dyslexic and struggles to read. I know that if my novels ever come out on audiobook, she will be first in line, but reading a 400-page printed novel would be torture for her.

Who did I expect would read it, among my circle of friends?

Those who like to read--women who were English majors in college, people I've known for years who like ideas and books.

Three things to remember when your book comes out and you encounter the surprises of readership among your friends and family:

1) Non-writers do not understand the effort an author puts into writing, or how personal the publication of a book can be. To me, this novel may be a dream, but to a non-writer, it's just another book. Make an effort to see from that perspective--most friends honestly don't know how much it means to have someone you know read your novel.

2) Some of your acquaintances already may have had the experience of reading a friend's book, whether fiction or nonfiction, traditionally-published or self-published. If they did not care for that book, they may feel awkward and reluctant to read another one they may not like. This may become even more common as self-publishing soars to new heights. Though there are some excellent self-published books, many of them suffer from a lack of professional editing. Your circle of friends may get book fatigue from feeling they are expected to read the books of every author they know.

3) Resist the temptation to speculate. For the most part, friends and family who don't read your novel simply aren't interested, for reasons usually unrelated to you. It is much better to focus on all the friends who read it and support you, the unexpected moments of affirmation when a telephone call comes out of the blue.

Here's one of those moments. This weekend, a friend of mine left a message on my answering machine after finishing the novel--a long, heartfelt message. The phrase I will treasure: "Your novel is full of God's love."

When I have such uplifting and positive things to keep in mind, it helps me avoid the trap of taking it personally if a friend doesn't show interest.

Have you ever been pleasantly surprised by a friend's reaction to your writing?

What Makes a Good Book Trailer?

2011-08-22T09:03:00.000-07:00

Book trailers are a fairly recent arrival on the marketing scene, and the art of creating book trailers is still young.

I've seen quite a few book trailers recently, everything from author-designed images and music all the way to publisher-commissioned trailers with professional actors, lighting, and voiceover.

I would like to propose a very simple principle and see what you think.

A book trailer is only successful if it makes you want to read the book.

I've been fascinated to see some higher-budget trailers that look like mini movies and yet, according to my measure of success, they don't work.

Why? Because what makes us want to read books is the promise of an intense emotional journey, whether it's an adrenaline pumping story of intrigue, a gut-wrenching story of heroism, or a laugh-out loud romantic comedy.

If the book trailer can't convey the STORY, just like a great elevator pitch--if the copy doesn't pull a reader into a narrative with a fresh, inventive hook, it won't sell books, no matter how well-designed or artistically-appealing it may be. The same kind of critiques that apply to book proposals work for book trailers. We might say:
"Well, that looks pretty, but I've read it before."
"I guess it sounds OK, but I can't really tell much about the story from the trailer"
"I don't get a feel for why I should care about your characters from this book trailer"
or "It seems like you have a good premise, but I don't see how the plot is going to fulfill that premise--it loses its tension and becomes just a scenario."

I have a feeling that a lot of companies are going to spend money on some book trailers that simply don't produce results, because the creators and commissioners are going to mistake high production values like original video and voiceover for effectiveness.

I would like to show you one of the best book trailers I've seen, Jessica McCann's trailer for her novel All Different Kinds of Free. I hope you will see how her video does exactly what I describe here--it gives us a compelling reason to care about these characters and this story.

All Different Kinds of Free book trailer

My suggestion: selling books is NOT the same as selling films. Readers aren't fooled--they know that the high production values of a book trailer will have nothing to do with the book itself, as a book functions by text, not on film. Sure, actors and voiceover can help make the trailer appealing, and ideally we can have both high production values and compelling narrative. But practically, most authors will not have the thousands it takes to produce a book trailer that looks like a movie. And I believe the expensive part of the book trailer is the less critical one, and the one more likely to be a waste if the book trailer doesn't have a great hook and a way to trigger reader identification with characters.

What do you think? Have you seen any great book trailers that made you want to rush out and buy the book? Do you think book trailers can help, or are they mostly just fun?

The Right Thought at the Right Time

2011-08-16T11:33:00.001-07:00

My post is late this week because I was doing two things yesterday:

1) sitting in my friend's house in Oklahoma City finishing a line edit;

2) driving like a bat out of Hades back to our home town (9 hours from OK City) to make it home in time for the first day of school today.

Driving like a bat is all relative--my husband is a very fast-driving bat, while my bat-hood consists more of tiny red eyes and a singed feeling. As I was the only bat driving yesterday (he had to return by plane to make a business meeting) I was bleary and relying on sonar.

But as I drove back, I thought about some great feedback I received during my editing process.

Kate Winter, the heroine of Sweeter than Birdsong, has pronounced social anxiety disorder. I created this characteristic based on the historical record about this real life woman who was brilliant, beautiful, and very shy.

Kate's social anxiety grows most extreme when she has to speak or perform in public. Naturally, this situation occurs more than once in the novel. :-)

In one onstage scene, I had written her thoughts to reflect social anxiety disorder, which is often prompted by a deep fear of negative judgment from others. So as she took the stage, she was looking around at the audience and experiencing self-critical thoughts, assuming all those watching her might be thinking the same things.

Thank goodness for two of my beta readers, who told me I had it wrong. Both these readers have experienced anxiety attacks, and they told me that in this situation, Kate would not be thinking such things at all. Instead, she would be having a full-fledged, clinical panic attack, with all the attendant symptoms. Panic attacks are illogical--they do not allow for the reasoning-based fear about judgment and criticism that ordinary social phobia causes.

I rewrote the scene, and it's so much better for their advice.

Developing realistic characters is not just about giving them the right thoughts--it's about giving them the right thoughts at the right time.

We're also more likely to create truthful characters if we have a variety of beta readers who can respond to a character based on their diverse life experiences. The light of truth may be clearer when filtered through several lenses!

Question for you:

Does anything make you unusually nervous? Public speaking? Planes? (that's mine) Spiders?

Deadline Day!

2011-08-08T11:27:00.000-07:00

I am much relieved to have submitted my second novel's edits to my wonderful freelance editor today.

My contract is for three books in this series. Being two-thirds of the way through the contract is a really good feeling.

Now, I have another novel to draft in the next couple of months. The relief beyond words will come when that third one is turned in, but today, I am going to savor the accomplishment of finishing the second. I made it, with a little help from my friends. And there were definitely moments when I thought I wouldn't get through!

Every writer is different--every book process is different. But dear friends, if you are ever in a tough spot with a deadline and you need to talk to someone who understands, I'm your woman.

SO what do I get to do in this short break while I wait a couple of days to approve line edits? (Yes, we're on hyperdrive to get this novel typeset, so my superhero editor is making her end of the line edit happen in three days. And she has the skills to do it!)

I want to go on a bike ride with my daughter.

I want to finish my book trailer for Fairer than Morning, which is kind of a fun project.

I want to clean my house and car from their permacluttered state ever since this rewrite began. (I admit, they're not perfect at the best of times. :-)

What are you doing with these last days before school starts? Or, if school's not part of your life, how are you spending the last days of summer?

Good Taste: Snipping Your Novel's Reviews for Social Media

2011-08-01T06:34:00.000-07:00

Since my debut novel hit shelves this spring, I’ve learned a few lessons about how to use social media for promotion. I’ve seen some great posts from other authors about how to keep your focus on others when using Twitter, and I completely agree. No one likes to see social media used as a billboard: dialogue and relationships are key.

But I’ve also learned that no one else is going to dig through your reviews and publicize the snippets that spark the interest of potential readers. Like it or not, authors do have to snip their reviews on social media to tell others what is unique about their novels. For each author, the question of how much to use reviews must be an individual decision. I would like to offer a few suggestions:

• Don’t do it too often. Seriously. In my very subjective opinion, the maximum frequency at which an author should post a review snippet or link is once a week. I might be OK with twice a week in the first two weeks of the debut, but the easiest way to alienate readers is to ‘snip’ too often.

• Format correctly. My publisher’s PR director showed me how to do this last week. Snip a short quotation, capitalize your title, and always include a shortened link. It helps if the review is on a bookselling site, as the reader can see it and purchase the book in one fell swoop.

• Select your snippets with great care. Below are examples of some of my reviews and why I would or wouldn’t use them as social media snippets. I’ve also included how I would snip them for Twitter, since most are far too long for a tweet.

One last caveat before I go through some samples. I am deeply grateful for every single one of these comments: they all touched me and made writing the book worthwhile. If I say I wouldn’t use one in promotion, it’s strictly because certain types of comments that are moving and gracious from a reader may sound vain when repeated by the author herself.

Review snippets:

“Fairer than Morning is historical romance at its best, seamlessly integrating an engaging, non-formulaic love story with meticulous historical research and character-driven expressions of faith.”

Wow! This reader writes really well. If I used this one on Twitter, I would probably select “an engaging, non-formulaic love story with meticulous historical research” because it’s so specific. Of course, if you’re posting on Facebook, you can use the whole thing.

“There were some parts that made me want to hit certain characters over the head, but that just means I was involved in the story.”

Yes. This is a casual, funny comment that still shows the power of the novel to draw in readers.

“Ms. Elliott's research is apparent, and she more than aptly demonstrates she has the writing ability to stand up to the greats in Christian fiction.”

No. Though it brought tears to my eyes when I read it, it would not be gracious for me to repeat a comparison to other authors. Other people can say this about your work if they are so kind, but you can’t repeat it! (and yes, I realize I just repeated it, but I hope you’ll forgive it for the case study.)

“Truly, the imagery is SO vivid, I don't believe I've ever read a book that pulled at my heart so immediately, so strongly.”

Yes. This is a great one for a snippet. It’s OK to tweet a superlative about your book, such as “the best book I’ve read this year.” Just stay away from comparisons to other authors.

“It's one of the best books I've read in a while, of any genre.”

Yes. Another superlative, but as long as it's about the book and not the author, you're OK.

“a new author who understands that the best Christian fiction is that which not only gives us great pleasure through deep characters and beautiful prose, but challenges us and leaves us spiritually richer and stronger long after the last word is read.”

Yes. A reference to the book’s emotional or spiritual power is a good choice. For Twitter, I would probably snip “leaves us spiritually richer and stronger long after the last word is read” or perhaps “deep characters and beautiful prose.”

“I have never screamed out loud when reading a book but I did in Fairer Than Morning. I thought I had it figured out and when the twist came, I shouted!”

Yes. Love this comment. Unusual reader reactions are funny and appealing. I could use either one of the sentences for Twitter.

“This book will be a bestseller and win awards”

No. This comment left me so grateful for the reader’s faith in the novel but it is not seemly for an author to repeat predictions of her book’s glory.

“I can't WAIT for the next novel in the series! Why did I think that? Because I was absolutely floored by how much I loved this novel.”

Yes. References to anticipating the next novel are a good indication that readers really did like your book.

So tell me, do you agree with my opinions? All answers welcome--as I said, this is a question of taste and thus quite subjective. How often do you think is too often to tweet review snippets? Have you ever seen review snippet overkill from an author, and if so, how do you react?

All those who leave a comment on today's post will be entered in a drawing for a $20 Amazon gift card--that's two books of your choice!

This post is part of the WORDSERVE Literary Agency blog tour on Marketing!

When Do You Read Most?

2011-07-27T06:06:00.000-07:00

I've been wondering about novels and timing.

Is this a busy time for you? Is summer slower and easier on your schedule, or even more packed than the school year?

Perhaps it doesn't make a difference, if you don't have school-aged children, though summer vacations are always nice. :-)

The reason I ask is because I was talking with someone about plans for a publicity effort for my novel. We both speculated that September might be better than August, because of that pre-semester rush that happens in the first two weeks of August.

So what I would love to know from you is:

Do you find that you read more at one time of year than another? Are there certain months in which you tend to be too busy to read?

Good Comes Even Behind Bars

2011-07-25T07:08:00.000-07:00

I'm so glad I wasn't planning a post for this morning.

I went to go check out the blog of Kym McNabney, my newest follower.

She works with a prison ministry, and today she has posted a testimonial letter from a man in prison named Clifford to a class full of children. It's worth sharing.

I hope you enjoy it--it's uplifting to see someone trying to help children avoid his mistakes by reaching out, even from a jail cell.

The Human-Whisperers

2011-07-18T01:00:00.000-07:00

I can promise one thing to anyone who becomes a published author, whether by hook, by crook or by Nook. (Heh heh.)

There are going to be surprises along the way, and the first year is going to be an emotionally-turbulent period.

I've been through some real highs and lows surrounding the publication of my first series, The Saddler's Legacy. This is normal--I don't think I know a single writer who would tell you that her experience as a debut author was predictable and boring.

Today, I realized how important horses have been to my writing journey over the last year.

I don't own horses, but my daughter is an equestrian vaulter, which means she does gymnastics on horseback. She belongs to a team, and so twice a week we go to the stables and I lunge the horses while she and her team mates vault. My lunging (driving the horses in a circle around me at the end of a long line) allows the coach to watch the vaulters' form and spot them in case of any slips. Lunging the horses requires my full concentration. The horse must not "break" from one gait to another unless I tell it to do so. If a vaulter is standing on a horse's back, the vaulter balances according to the horse's gait. A horse that drops from a trot to a walk can throw off the vaulter. Literally.

When I go to the stables with my daughter, I get out in the open air, away from my computer, away from deadlines, away from the worries and pressures of the introverted writer's life. I concentrate on simple but important tasks: picking out a horse's feet, putting on tack, warming up the horse on the lunge line. I don't have time to think about me. I'm too busy watching the horses, assessing their moods, making sure they're feeling OK before the children get on. When I feed a horse his carrot after a job well done, I'm not distracted by anything. I'm watching the pure pleasure on the horse's face and feeling the joy of caring for that horse.

I'm not sure why someone ever called a book "The Horse Whisperer." Those of us who spend time with horses know that the most important whispering isn't done by the humans.

It's done by the human-whisperers, with their big eyes, fuzzy muzzles, and long manes.

My life over the past year would have been poorer and less balanced without my human-whisperers.

Have any animals helped you through the stresses of life? I want to know their names!

:-)

Transposing: When Characters Change Places

2011-07-11T09:20:00.000-07:00

I'm a fan of a cappella choral singing. I love the sound of voices in harmony. But every now and then, I hear an a cappella arrangement that I do not like at all.

I recently had an epiphany about this dislike for some a cappella songs, especially a few I've heard in church. I was listening to a Christian radio station (a rarity for me, as I prefer classical) and I heard a song I knew. It was a song I have always hated to sing in church--a truly obnoxious a cappella arrangement. To my surprise, I discovered that in its original version, with instruments and a different vocal sound, it's quite a good song.

So why was it bad, when transposed into an a cappella arrangement? Because when many church musical arrangers change an instrumental, poppy song into an a cappella piece in 4-part harmony, they ALWAYS put the melody into the soprano line.

This sounds really, really awful when the original song featured a melody in a lower key, sung with the radically different vocal quality of an alto or a baritone. The warmth and subtlety of the original alto or baritone melody disappears into a shrieky, high, repetitive soprano line in the new a cappella version. (And I'm one of those shrieky sopranos, so I know whereof I shriek.)

Writing can also involve acts of transposing. In the third draft of my current work in progress, one of my major tasks (other than complete rewriting) has been taking certain characters out of scenes and substituting other characters in their "roles." For example, in one scene, a character held another character at gunpoint to keep him from doing something foolish in a moment of desperation. I had to change out the characters in that scene, so male character A holding the gun became male character B holding the gun, even though the third character (on the wrong end of the gun) did not change.

Wow, was that an eye-opener! Had I used character A's lines and behavior, it would have been a travesty--like writing a baritone line into a soprano melody. Voice matters, in writing or in singing--one voice is not just as good as another for any given line.

Instead, I had to envision how character B would perform the same function in a completely different way. Even my husband had a comment on the transposition when he read the scene, having read both characters in the part. He said: "I envisioned what character B would look like when he did that, and I think you should make this small change."

Transposing is not common--it's rare for writers to need to substitute one character for another in a scene. Have you ever had to transpose one character for another in the same basic scene? Or, have you realized that you've written a moment that was completely out of character for one of your fictional people? Did you notice it yourself or did someone else have to point it out?

The Best Writing Book You've Never Read

2011-07-06T20:42:00.000-07:00

I tried to get off easy this week with my Fourth of July pictures, but my conscience wouldn't let me skip the real post I had intended for this week.

A series of events led me to purchase Jeffrey Overstreet's

Through a Screen Darkly

from Amazon. This is a 2007 release, so I'm a little late with my review! But you can still purchase this book online from various major booksellers. (I don't know him--this is not a paid promotion. :-)

This will probably be the best nonfiction book I read this year.

Jeffrey Overstreet writes a beautiful series of personal essays on his experience of watching movies as a Christian moviegoer. And he was the movie reviewer for Christianity Today, so he's seen a few movies in his time.

The opening of this book was so moving and well-written I was surprised by my gut reaction to it. This is a book for everyone who cares deeply about faith and art, and how the two mix. You know all those blogs about whether Christian writers "should" write this way or that way, or whether such-and-such is immoral in inspirational fiction? This book is a profound but gentle invitation to consider these issues, as a believing moviegoer or as a writer of faith. Overstreet takes us through his own experience and what it means to watch secular films with an eye to God's glory, even when a filmmaker may not have been conscious of those elements in his work.

Here's why I call this a writing book, and one I would recommend to all my writing friends.

Overstreet meditates on the power of story, and character, and how the spiritual effect of a movie depends on how an event is portrayed, not so much the event itself. I loved his point that many hero movies never portray the consequences to the villain's family when the hero kills the villain. (In Fairer than Morning, I wrote a scene in which the heroine considers the real implications of the death of a 'bad' character, which is exactly the kind of thing Overstreet means.)

Readers and moviegoers, Through a Screen Darkly will remind you why certain novels or movies changed your life, and why watching a film can be a deep spiritual experience. Overstreet will also give you a great list of films for your "to-watch" list.

Writers, Through a Screen Darkly will make you think deeply about your writing and its purpose. It will energize you with the power (and oddity) of some of the stories that have proven to be unexpectedly moving on film. If you're ever feeling discouraged or doubtful about the power of story to change lives, this is the book to pluck from your shelf.

And if, like me, you are part of Overstreet's generation, you will love it even more as he takes you back to your childhood as a moviegoer.

(Review policy: As many of my friends and readers know, I don't review fiction on my blog because of potential conflicts of interest. I do occasionally review nonfiction, as I have here, or discuss the technique in a novel as a praiseworthy example of good craft.)

Photos: We All Celebrate the USA!

2011-07-04T01:00:00.000-07:00

What are you wearing for Independence Day? Got a t-shirt? Got a cute child in an outfit? Ever dressed up your pet? My favorite 4th of July attire is the tricornered hat I wear to the grocery store each year. I love the way it makes people smile.

Photos of Book Launch Party Posted

2011-07-02T11:19:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited about the beautiful photos of my book launch party from Sarah Gaylor Photography!

To see them, come "Like" my Facebook Author page by clicking the link below.

Several of us wore historical costumes, and the Otterbein Singers performed music by Ben Hanby, the hero of the second novel in the series, Sweeter than Birdsong, which will come out in February 2012. In addition, we were honored by the attendance of the Mayor of Westerville and the President of Otterbein College.

Click here to see the photos

Are you Fast Enough for Your Deadline?

2011-06-27T07:11:00.000-07:00

Several factors in my writing life have created a 'perfect storm' for the editing of book two in my series and the composition of book three. As a result, I am having to write very, very quickly to make my two deadlines over the next four to six months.

What is writing 'very quickly'?

My natural writing pace is about two chapters a week (15-20 pages). This is slow compared to many writers in my industry, and there are a couple of reasons for that. First, because I tend to be most inspired by history, my writing is better if I can do a little research along the way. Little tidbits I find add depth and surprise to the story.

Second, I usually need a few days of mulling time every few chapters, to allow my subconscious to process the story and find the perfect scene to make the transition between one plot point and the next. In my first novel, Fairer than Morning, there is little 'wasted time.' Every scene matters, and there is strong scenic structure from each chapter to the next. This keeps the suspense high, and it takes good planning combined with intuition to make it work. The intuition can be the time-consuming part, as it doesn't always cooperate with the schedule. :-)

Now, instead of writing two chapters a week, I'm having to write five to seven chapters a week (depending on whether it's a slow or fast week). In other words, I'm writing at two to three times my usual pace.

Writing a chapter a day is a new experience, believe me! There are days when I really, really don't want to do it, because it's so alien to my usual writing process.

I could sit around feeling upset all the time that I don't have time to research this or that, or worrying about whether I can write a good novel under these conditions.

But that would be pointless. This is the way it is. I have a contract to fulfill, and so I will do it. It is far better to focus on the positive and fight off those negative thoughts that don't help the situation at all. I have learned a great deal through my first contract experience. Some lessons we have to learn the hard way. They're still valuable lessons, even when they're painful!

"Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things."

My New Cover Appears!

2011-06-20T07:13:00.001-07:00

I am thrilled to unveil this beautiful cover for Sweeter than Birdsong, coming in February 2012.

Didn't Thomas Nelson's team do a great job? :-)

Clash of the Titles Champion!

2011-06-17T06:40:00.001-07:00

Yippee! Fairer than Morning won the challenge for best description of a main character over at Clash of the Titles.

Clash of the Titles is a fantastic site where every couple of weeks, two excerpts from books are pitted against one another in friendly competition. Readers get to vote for the one they like best. I'm honored to be a COTT champion! And I get this neat champion button for my blog, too.

Please stop by COTT and leave a comment if you like!

And keep an eye on it for future contests...it's an entertaining way to get to know the work of lots of authors.

Writing Race: All Different Kinds of Free

2011-06-13T01:00:00.000-07:00

One of the thorniest challenges for a novelist in twenty-first century America is writing characters whose race or culture of origin differs from your own.

In the past, novelists tended to 'mark' the speech of certain ethnic or racial groups with the technique called dialect. They would use spelling changes to indicate pronunciations that differed from standard Northeastern American English.

For example, it's quite common for Southern Americans of any race to pronounce words that end in "ing" without a noticeable 'g': "goin'" for "going." So in the past, novelists would mark Southern speech by using apostrophes instead of those final g's in verbs.

But here's the problem: to a Southern American, the word that sounds like "GO-IN" to a Northern ear is nonetheless spelled "going." That's how a Southerner hears the word. So when a Southerner reads a piece of fiction by a Northerner and finds all these apostrophes and other strange spellings, the Southerner realized that he is not the same as the author of the novel--he has been "othered," in academic terms. Dialect is a form of writing that marks certain kinds of speech as not standard--but what is the standard? None of us pronounces the American language in a perfectly-standardized way.

The challenge of writing speech across cultural lines prevents many authors from tackling the project at all. Writing novels is hard enough without adding this very sophisticated problem to the mix!

That's why I am absolutely delighted to tell you about a novel I just finished that is a brilliant example of writing across cultural lines. It's All Different Kinds of Free, by Jessica McCann. This is the story of Margaret Morgan, an educated, free black woman living with her husband and children in Pennsylvania in 1837. Margaret and her children are kidnapped and illegally enslaved south of the Mason Dixon.

I seldom find a novel so enthralling that I read it in one or two sittings, but this is one of those novels. Margaret's story is heartwrenching, and it also happens to be true. Margaret Morgan and her children were the catalyst for a historic Supreme Court ruling. But that fact alone might make the novel sound really dry, to those who have been ruined for history by dry classes full of dates and impersonal memorization. Trust me, this novel is the opposite of dry. It's full of suspense and passion. I admired Margaret's strength even as I clung to the edge of my seat waiting to see if her family would make it through their ordeal. The novel is also a delicate, complex character study that made me reflect on our human potential for evil, good, and self-rationalization.

But the point of this post is technique, and here's why Jessica McCann's technique should be a study for anyone who considers writing across cultural lines.

Jessica doesn't write 'traditional' dialect. There's no dialect to speak of in Margaret's point-of-view. Her thought patterns reflect some common rhythms in Southern African-American speech, and that makes her credible as who she is.

McCann also writes characters from Southern white or Northern white backgrounds, as well as African-Americans who are less educated than Margaret. She does things with their speech that are very subtle, yet still manage to convey the flavor of their cultural differences from one another.

To describe all the specifics would take too much space and time, so instead I'll just recommend this: all writers could study this novel as an example of how to write difference while using hardly any 'dialect.'

How do you feel about dialect? Have you read any dialect novels that you liked?

It's Gonna Take TIme... A Whole Lotta Precious Time

2011-06-06T01:00:00.000-07:00

Hi all!

I'm so glad to be back to my regular posts. I've missed all of my blogging friends.

The four weeks since my novel launched have been intense and chock full of valuable lessons.

Like most new endeavors, being a debut novelist is very humbling. A month after my launch date, I now realize all the things I didn't know when I started the process.

Here's a crucial one: for most debut novelists, it's going to take at least two months to even scratch the surface of the market.

There are exceptions, such as my agency mate Jody Hedlund, whose debut novel The Preacher's Bride hit the CBA bestseller list a month after its publication.

But Jody is a noteworthy exception, not the rule.

A more typical example is another agency mate, Karen Witemeyer. I have been pleased to see Karen's novels gaining more and more attention the longer she is in the marketplace. She just published her third novel. Her target readership is discovering her likable characters and humorous touch. But this didn't happen overnight for Karen. Her reputation seems to be growing stronger with each new novel, as word-of-mouth recommendations bring her new readers.

That elusive word-of mouth recommendation lies behind any writer's chances of finding a readership. Personally, I've seen hundreds of ads for books. Few make an impression. I've read many, many book reviews, and most slide back into oblivion without leaving a mark.

The books I always try out are the ones recommended by a circle of about four or five friends who share my taste. I will shell out cold cash for these books, in the hope of finding that rare treasure--a really good read.

Word-of-mouth is the most reliable seller of books. This means two things for writers:

1) If we want our books to sell and keep selling, they'd better be darn good books. This is harder than it sounds, once deadlines and other professional pressures kick in.

2) Even if we do achieve that high standard, it's gonna take time, as the George Harrison song says, a whole lotta precious time. Word of-mouth is not quick. Let's say 150 readers take a chance on my book when it first comes out, either because they know me or because they get the book for free as a review copy. My novel is 400 pages long. Two weeks may pass before most readers finish the novel and get ready to either buy it for their friends or recommend it so strongly that their friends go buy it. Then another two weeks pass while the second wave of readers finishes the book. You probably get the idea. It's a long, slow process to launch a debut novel from an unknown author.

Does any of this surprise you? What's the last book you liked enough to recommend strongly to your friends?

Free Friday Book Giveaway Winners #4

2011-06-03T09:14:00.000-07:00

Today marks the last round of book giveaways from my publisher!

Our winners are:

Jayne Preciado
Lindsey Bacon
Valerie Piotrowski
Ashley Sperry
Carolyn Pinnock

I will be sending each of you an email to get your mailing address.

I am delighted to see five new readers get their prizes, and thanks to everyone who entered over the course of the last four weeks. If you have read and enjoyed Fairer than Morning , I would really appreciate your review on Amazon or Barnes and Noble's websites! Every recommendation counts, and I am grateful to all the readers who have already posted their reviews. Those encouraging words mean a lot.

This coming Monday I will return to my regular Monday blog posts. I look forward to sharing some of the many things I've learned during the book launch.

Free Friday Book Giveaway Winners #3!

2011-05-27T19:05:00.001-07:00

Our third round of winners:

Peggy Wirgau
Ann Lee Miller
Susie Grant
Laura Smith
Cara Putman

It's wonderful to see names familiar and new on the winners list! I will email each of the winners to get your US mail address so my publisher can send along your free copy.

Thanks for entering: we still have one more week, and if you have entered over the course of the last three weeks, you are still eligible.

To enter, go to my website by clicking the "back to my website" link at the top of this page (right side).

Once there, click on "contact" and fill in your name on the contact form to send me a message. That's all! You will be entered in the final drawing for five copies of Fairer than Morning, next Friday.

Free Friday Book Giveaway Winners!

2011-05-20T11:59:00.000-07:00

Drum roll please...

I am so excited to announce our winners for this week:

Debbie Bennett
Janice Reynolds
Valerie Peak
Ellie Gem
Leslie Wiseman

Congrats! I will be in touch by email this evening to get your mailing info so I can send you each a copy of Fairer than Morning.

Thanks to everybody for entering... and we still have two more weeks left. :-)

Book Tour and Giveaway Continues

2011-05-14T06:14:00.000-07:00

Hi all!

Big thanks to everyone for your continuing entries to the Fairer than Morning giveaway.
Here are the five winners from this week. Congrats to:

Francine Keehnel
Marquita Pierce
Carrie Turansky
Tina Gilbert
Serina Shepard

I cannot announce these results on my Facebook author page due to new rules from Facebook. However, I am sending private notifications to these winners to make sure they hear the good news.

The new way to enter the contest is to click the "contact" form here on my website, fill it in, and send it to me. (You can get to the contact form by clicking the "back to my website" link at the upper right of this page.) I've been collecting your names for the drawing, so next Friday there will be five new winners!

Today is the last leg of the book tour for now, a book signing in El Paso at Lifeway Store from 2-3pm. When I return, I'll post more pictures and news on my Facebook author page and catch up with all my correspondence. Thank you so much for all the kind messages over the past two weeks of travel. Your words have meant a lot to me.

"Book Tour" Begins! Follow on Facebook Author Page

2011-05-01T19:20:00.000-07:00

Everything is really starting to gather momentum this week as we approach official launch day, May 10th!

I will post updates from book tour on my Facebook Author Page over the course of the next ten days. If you haven't "liked" that page yet, come on over!

Click here for my Facebook Author page
(You can tell if you're on my author page because it shows a picture of Fairer than Morning as the profile picture, instead of my regular profile pic.

I look forward to sharing the excitement. :-)

Organizing the Chaos of a Book Launch

2011-04-25T01:00:00.000-07:00

It's ambitious for me to title this post as if I'm somehow going to tell anyone how to organize.

Ha!

The fact is, ever since I became a novelist, my organizational skill has deteriorated.

Writing my dissertation developed my analytical side, but creative writing now requires a different kind of mental work. Novel writing takes up a lot of brain space, like a program that runs 'heavy' on a computer.

So, I have less brain available for the tasks of daily life. (That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.)

Ordinarily, this is not a problem. I just float around in a writerly haze that many of you will recognize, emerging from time to time to coherence, and then popping back into the haze.

However, the next month is going to hold some real organizational challenges for me.

At the beginning of May, I will travel to a conference 800 miles away and give a class on the publishing industry.

I will launch my novel, including coordinating a big launch party 1500 miles away from my home in the second week of May.

On the third weekend in May, I will drive to a booksigning event, eight hours round trip.

I will receive the editorial suggestions for the second novel in the series any day now, almost certainly this coming week. Because of some feedback I heard from an expert friend after submitting this draft, I am planning to rewrite a significant section of the first third of the novel, as long as my editor agrees with my changes. But I think she will, because my expert friend and my editor are both very astute. So, I add "umpteen hours of revision" to my to-do list. It's likely that these revisions will be due by the end of...you guessed it. May.

Finally, my daughter is entering the final weeks of her one-day-a-week school, which means plenty of work for both of us as I coach her through her assignments.

I think I've been living in denial. May is going to be a lot of fun, but it will be a major juggling act and I expect to have trouble fitting in all my tasks and responsibilities.

What's your best organizational tip? How do you survive your busiest times?

Two Differing Tastes in Historical Fiction

2011-04-18T01:00:00.000-07:00

All historical fiction must undergo a translation process as an author creates a story set in one era, but written for readers in another era.

LIGHT TRANSLATION
Some authors use a translation style that I call “light.” The author changes the English language of the novel's historical period only enough to make it more understandable to contemporary readers. The language, thought, and narration of the characters retain historical rhythm and vocabulary that differ from our modern day speech.

Historical voice can be done well or poorly. Some authors aim for a historical feel to their dialogue, but have trouble maintaining consistency. Their characters may speak in a Victorian way, but their thoughts about the things around them sound like twenty-first century speech patterns. Or, the author captures only half of the speech and vocabulary of the era, and twenty-first century words creep into both dialogue and narration to distract the attentive reader.

HEAVY TRANSLATION
Other authors use “heavy” translation. In this kind of historical fiction, the author does not attempt to make the language reflect the speech of real speakers from the time period. The author uses twenty-first century language throughout, for both speech and thought.

The farther back in history a novelist travels, the heavier the translation must be from older forms of English. When I read most historicals set in the Tudor period, I know the language of those novels bears almost no resemblance to how real people spoke in the 1500s. If it were real Tudor English, we would find it challenging to read, and most readers don’t want to work that hard for their historical stories.

The same “heavy” translation occurs for historical novels set in a non-English speaking culture. In that case, the author is already “translating” the story from the characters’ native language to English. On top of that, the author must choose whether to make the English sound old enough for that period, or whether to just write it as twenty-first century English.

I read a Tudor novel recently in which a character referred to his congenital deformity as a “disability.” For me, this word choice was distracting. The word “disability” is a very recent coinage. Though I recognize that translation must take place, I prefer that a historical novel’s word choices reflect real historical attitudes of the time. Folks in Tudor times thought deformities were ugly flaws, and sometimes signs of God’s disfavor. They did not think they were twenty-first century“disabilities” that earned a disabled parking sign for the family fishcart.

But even as I found that anachronism distracting, I kept a very important point in mind. Not everyone shares my taste.

Some prefer to read twenty-first century language in their historicals because it’s easiest to process. It feels most natural to them, and they don’t care about historical accuracy in language. That’s their prerogative. A style that to others is jarring inauthenticity, to them is flowing readability. “It’s well-written,” they say to their friends, and to them, it is.

Those who prefer authenticity want a novel’s language to remind them of its historical setting. Phrasing that seems overly formal and stiff to the 21st-century-style-preferring readers is beautiful and rich to the authenticity-loving crowd. When the authenticity folks find a book written in good period voice, they hand it to their friends and say, “It’s well-written.” And to them, it is.

Do you prefer to read historically-flavored or contemporary language in a historical novel? What about in movies? Are you more likely to watch a historical movie than read a historical novel? Why?

Me or Not Me: Stage Fright for Actors and Novelists

2011-04-11T01:00:00.000-07:00

I've been walking around for the last couple of weeks in a turmoil, off and on, because of the imminent release of my debut novel.

Today, I finally identified the nagging familiarity of the feeling.

I have stage fright.

I double majored in English and Theater in college. I performed in quite a few plays. I had stage fright almost every time, but as most performers know, stage fright doesn't have to be a negative. If you know how to control it, you can use nervous energy to fuel your performance.

Stage fright is also irrational. It doesn't matter how hard you have worked, how well you know your part, or how confident you feel the day before the show. When you're standing in the darkness of the wings, waiting to step out into the bright lights, the stage fright always hits. Your heart pounds and you have to concentrate on slow breathing and relaxation.

A piece of me is going out into the world, a piece that can never be taken back. It will be judged. Some will like it. Some won't. Reading taste is narrow, and no book appeals universally.

Here's the difference between acting and novel-writing. When acting, I was attempting to impersonate someone else: the NOT-ME. So, even though acting was challenging, only my technique could be judged good or bad. It wasn't me, myself under the public eye, despite my physical presence on stage. My personality and my ideas were not the point of an acting performance.

Writing has an element of the ME that acting can never quite approach. Yes, all of the novel characters I create are NOT-ME in the same way that I would create an acting character distinct from myself. But my novel's characters have been designed by me to express ideas, emotions, and themes that matter to me. As novelists know, some novels are an intensely personal expression of one's deepest values. For me, this novel is one of those novels. And so as my novel prepares to step into the light and be seen and judged, I am standing there in spirit with it, having to focus on relaxation and steady, slow breaths.

I can handle it. It's a relief to be able to name it. Stage fright is irrational, and I'm about to get past that phase.

Do you ever fear showing your work to others, whether that work is your writing or something else that matters to you?

Fiction, Nonfiction, and Research

2011-04-06T06:41:00.000-07:00

I'm the interviewee today at Warren Baldwin's blog!

I'm talking about research for my novels and the elusive synchronicity between great fiction and great nonfiction.

Click here to visit the interview.

Plotting Genre, Plotting Literary

2011-04-04T01:00:00.000-07:00

Last week, the Sir Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction announced its shortlist.

Six novels are finalists, listed here.

I was pleased to see David Mitchell's The Thousand Autumns of Jacob DeZoet on the list. It was the only one I had read. That's not surprising, as I have less time to read than I would like. The only reason I had read The Thousand Autumns is because one of my best friends sent it to me. I trust her judgment, so it shot to the top of my reading list.

Let me first say that I believe the novel is absolutely worthy of both a shortlist and a victory in the competition. The prose is outstanding and tasteful, which is not true of much of today's frequently over-styled literary fiction. The vivid, heavily-researched setting (1799 Japan) and memorable characters ensure that anyone who loves good writing is going to enjoy this book. In addition, readers may be pleasantly surprised to discover a Christian protagonist in the novel who is admirable and sympathetic. I have great respect for the author's willingness to buck the long unvoiced dictate in literary fiction that Christianity cannot be part of an admirable character's worldview. (I'm not saying it hasn't ever happened, but it's extremely rare.)

Here's what intrigued me. The plot of this otherwise-excellent novel is what genre authors would call somewhat weak. The first half of the novel feels episodic, with most of the interest coming from prose style and atmosphere rather than plot. Despite that flaw, individual episodes and scenes are wonderful, and at around the halfway point a compelling plot thread surfaces that drives the plot more energetically towards its conclusion.

I don't like a great deal of today's literary fiction because of its weak plotting, as well as its other cliches and unspoken rules. Mitchell's excellent novel made me realize I can still enjoy a literary novel, even if the plot is only halfway good, as long as everything else is BRILLIANT. But how often does that happen? Not often, in my experience. Truly brilliant writers like Mitchell are rare.

It may seem odd that I studied literary classics for seven years in grad school, and still I prefer genre fiction to today's literary fiction. But there's a vast difference between most classic works of literature and today's literary fiction. Only since the middle of the twentieth century has it become more common for "literary" to mean non-traditionally plotted. Especially before 1900, authors did not think they could get away with a rambling or disjointed plot, no matter how deep and beautifully-written their books. Nineteenth century novelists understood that the principles of narrative are universal, and they relied on those principles to construct their stories. Twentieth century novelists started to get experimental, and experiments often fail. Even when they succeed, they will attract a much smaller group of readers.

I asked my friend how she felt about this plotting issue, as I know she likes more literary fiction than I do. She responded that she likes some literary fiction (like The Thousand Autumns) because the narrative works like a puzzle, an intellectual challenge. I can see how that would appeal. She also reminded me that the problem with a lot of genre fiction is that its plotting and characterization often fails to find any freshness, and so the cliches of genre get boring. And that is true.

Personally, though, I'm drawn to a great story, and the great stories of history are not difficult to understand, or built like puzzles. The great stories have been told through poetry, drama, novels, and film, and regardless of the medium the principles are always the same. There's a reason why when you ask an educated person to tell you the story of Ulysses, 99 times out of 100, she will tell you about Homer's character, not recite for you the plot of James Joyce's confusing stream-of-consciousness novel.

It excited me to see among the nominees for the Sir Walter Scott Prize a novel called Heartstone, a Tudor mystery in a series by C.J. Sansom. I downloaded the first in that series onto my Kindle last night, and I'm really enoying it so far. Excellent writing, strong plotting, and a striking lead character make this a genre fiction choice few could scorn. Another unexpected bonus is the fact that thus far, the lead character is also a Christian, troubled by the excesses of the regime. (Hey, what's a few heretic burnings at stake here and there?)

I think I just saw a pig fly past my window. Positive Christian characters in TWO novels nominated for literary prizes? Kudos to the judges for their openmindedness. (Caveat: I'm only at the beginning of the series, so who knows what will happen to the protagonist's faith as events unfold. But I hope it's not the old cliche of losing faith and becoming completely cynical. It's much more interesting to have him struggle with his faith and its contradictions.**

**Update 04/12/11 I just read Dissolution, first in the series, and then read Heartstone. Sure enough, the lead character loses his faith at the end of the first novel. He is no better off spiritually in Heartstone, and notices every negative deed done in the name of religion while few or no positive spiritual deeds appear. Admittedly, this was a time in history when a great number of atrocities happened on both Protestant and Catholic sides, and I wouldn't expect any author to gloss over those events. But it's disappointing that the lead character loses his faith in the course of one novel and then turns into a kind of existentialist. For one thing, at this time in history, there were plenty of explanations of the problem of evil, and it's theologically immature for this particular character not to be aware of those ideas. The author is free, of course, to represent any worldview he likes, and I support that freedom. I'm just disappointed as a reader not to find something more nuanced, but instead the same spiritual plotline as usual.

Do you prefer literary to genre fiction, or vice versa, or do you like both? What bugs you or pleases you about each category? Will you always put a book down if the plot isn't going somewhere, or can beautiful writing make you give it a chance for a couple hundred pages?

Effective Self-Presentation for Novelists' Publicity

2011-03-28T01:00:00.000-07:00

Have you ever seen yourself present something on camera?

I was videotaped teaching college students as part of my training in grad school. Wow, was that an eye-opener. Presenting an analytical subject is not as easy as it feels. Though I was satisfied with my performance overall, I was surprised to see that a few of my points during the lesson might have been an analytical leap for my students, who didn't have my background knowledge to help them connect the dots.

I will never forget what I learned by watching myself on video. What we think we are presenting is not necessarily what comes out to the listener or viewer. To know how we will appear in interviews, we have to look at ourselves from the outside.

In this post, I'm going to showcase three kinds of interview: telephone-to-print, public TV interview, and self-or-publisher-created video interview.

I did my first telephone interview for a newspaper article a couple of months ago, for a publication called This Week Westerville. Thanks to a nice job by the reporter, it came out well. Here it is if you want to check it out.

One aspect of print interviews to remember is that you will not always be quoted in your own exact words, especially if the reporter is taking notes rather than recording you. That difference in phrasing can be surprising to writers who are accustomed to their own speech patterns. But this reporter did what good reporters do: she captured the spirit and the content of what I had said.

Radio and TV are a whole different ballgame. Few of us like to listen to ourselves or watch ourselves on screen. But it's a necessary part of promotion, especially if your novel has a nonfiction component that will appeal to a certain demographic and encourage them to take interest. In my case, my novel is based on a real family who lived in Westerville, Ohio in the nineteenth century and worked on the Underground Railroad. So it's possible that for radio and TV in Central Ohio, I might be asked to speak in detail about this family and my research. For interviews in other regions, I might be asked about the Underground Railroad. I could do either of these topics, though I admit I would do some serious preparation before an interview focused more generally on the Underground Railroad! I might even be interviewed on the more personal subject of "Humanities Ph.D.s who work outside of academia, and how they use their training."

Author Robin Caroll did several interviews for her novels that are available on YouTube, so I hope she won't mind being an example to show a couple of types of interview that an author may encounter.

Here is a small television station interview with Robin about her novel.

Here's an interview that Robin's publisher put together to showcase her work. Notice how in both interviews, she explains the link between her novel and the nonfiction issue that inspired it: child trafficking. Then she discusses her novel In the Shadow of Evil, which has a connection to gang violence and to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Robin communicates herself as a wonderfully warm, down-to-earth person who would be easy for readers to like. That is her strength, that is who she is, and so her publisher has done a good job of helping readers connect with the real Robin.

Here's the same type of publisher-created promotion, but created for Tosca Lee, an author who appeals in a completely different way. Tosca's style is very dramatic, and so her interview is just as good, but she does not bring as much personal material into it (despite the fact that the segment is called "Author Spotlight"). Her focus is resolutely on the book, and she does it very well. This is Tosca's strength as an interviewee--drama and mystery. Is she much more than that, just as Robin is more than the brief glimpse of her personality that comes across in her interviews? Absolutely! But the clarity required by publicity means that each of these authors must focus on her core appeal in order to best connect with readers in the limited time available.

Effective self-presentation means first knowing yourself, and then having others to help you identify your areas of strength. My publicity team will tape me in a mock interview before I do real ones. This will help me hone my answers so I don't stutter or stop making sense during the real thing.

I do like the points that commenters made in my last post, though, about answers that sound rehearsed. Ideally, we want to know the general shape of our answers without plotting them out word by word. That will preserve our freshness without risking our coherence.

What do you think would be your personality strengths for radio or TV interviews? Are you the comfortable, cup-of-coffee kind of friend who radiates warmth? Are you funny? Or do you have an edge of mystery in your voice that intrigues? Don't be shy...let's identify what qualities help authors connect with specific readers! Or, tell us about a memorable author interview you saw or heard, and why you connected with that author.

Into Publicity's Brave New World

2011-03-21T01:00:00.000-07:00

On Friday, I had my first conference call with Thomas Nelson Publicity.

I enjoyed it, because like everyone I've met at Thomas Nelson, the publicity team is very congenial and welcoming.

However, our discussion did prompt some thoughts for me about the stark difference between publicity and novel-writing.

At one point, a team member told me that I needed to think about how I would answer a certain question. She said I will be asked this question repeatedly in interviews: "Why did you become a novelist after getting a Ph.D. in English?"

Now, I'm pretty much an open book when it comes to my life and its whys and hows. I've actually already answered this particular question in several online interviews like this one with Roxane Salonen.

So what's the big deal?

Even when I answered this question for Roxane, in a written interview, I wasn't able to answer it completely. I also blogged about my career choice myself, and I had to table some aspects of the discussion as "too complex to explain here."

Let's face it: major decisions like career choices involve every aspect of our personalities, our gifts, and our life stories.

The story of a career choice is a novel, not an interview.

Yet the fact remains that my publicity teammate is absolutely right. I am going to be asked that question, and I need to come up with a concise way to answer it.

Novels are about complexity.

Publicity is about simplicity and clarity.

This essential difference is why publicity can feel so strange to novelists. In our novels, we aim to draw out complexity, to show rather than tell, to let events tell their own stories to readers. But publicity is all about telling, about simplifying ourselves and our novels to soundbites that can be understood in ten minute radio or TV interviews. This is not a negative thing, it's just the reality of how one must learn to transmit information through different media.

I have a good idea about how I'm going to answer questions about my career choice, now, but I need to write it down and rehearse it until it's crystal clear.

More on that next week, in Effective Self-Presentation for Publicity!

Questions for you: Do you think publicity would be easy for you or challenging? How do you feel about sharing aspects of your personal life in interviews? Are you more comfortable with print interviews than radio or TV?

Writing Your Passion in Genre

2011-03-14T01:00:00.000-07:00

What happens if you specialize in one genre, and it's not hip right now? How about if you publish in one genre and do pretty well for a while, but then the genre slides into unpopularity and your sales drop?

Some authors choose to switch genres.

This may or may not be a good move.

Some authors are capable of writing in more than one genre, like Stephen King. His mainstream short stories are quite different from his horror writing. (Think of The Shawshank Redemption versus The Shining. Each is a classic in its own way.)

Other writers may not be capable of such agility. And some genres require more learning time than others for a writer to become adept. Historicals require a facility and ease with historical detail that cannot be acquired overnight, which is why historical writers usually specialize in that kind of work. Mysteries must be so well-designed that they leave me in awe, and fluency with that kind of design doesn't happen for beginners.

To write really good contemporaries, a writer has to have an interest in the general issues and problems that drive our lives right now--the spirit of our time. I am not drawn to many of those contemporary issues, at least, not as a writer. I am very unlikely to ever write a contemporary novel with major characters who are celebrities or pro athletes, or teenagers in rebellion. It's just not my game, as Doc Holliday might say. Yet other writers do this very well, and I can enjoy their gifts when I read their work.

Longtime writers of contemporaries would know me as an imposter in a second if I decided to write in their genre tomorrow. :-) Why? Because I don't have the natural sense of contemporary pacing, the eye for what small details are important in contemporary life. My brain has been wired by preference and by training for historicals. Any contemporary I tried to write would be clunky. Even if I could get good at it with hard work, I think it would take me at least two or three novels to improve. And that is a genre for which I would be inundated with material, all the time, from my own contemporary life! Imagine how much harder it would be for an inexperienced writer to "come up to speed" in military thrillers, or hard science fiction, or any genre which requires in-depth research or years of previously acquired knowledge. Anyone can research, but learning how to use that research in a given genre takes practice.

Sometimes, a writer starts off in one genre and then discovers she is much more comfortable in another. That's the opposite of switching from a natural genre for you to an unnatural one.

It's also not too much of a stretch for an author to write both adult fiction and young adult fiction in the same genre. The conventions and feel of the genre don't change from one age group to the other. Usually young adult fiction just has younger characters and is less likely to have controversial content in "romance" or violence.

What do you think about writing in multiple genres? Have you tried it? Did you find you were good at more than one, or did you have a strong gift for one over the other? Have you seen famous authors try to switch genres and succeed?

Why I Left the Amish, by Saloma Furlong

2011-03-07T01:00:00.000-08:00

If you're a longtime reader of my blog, you know I don't review fiction. Every now and then, I will recommend an excellent nonfiction book or historical resource for writers.

This week, I want to tell you about a disturbing and unforgettable memoir: Saloma Furlong's Why I Left the Amish.

The most popular genre in inspirational fiction right now is Amish fiction. In these romantic novels, the Amish community is often idealized as a more communal, slower-paced alternative to the hectic rush of twenty-first century America.

I have no doubt that the Amish community has its virtues. But if we are going to read about its positive attributes, I think it's only intellectually honest and ethical to be willing to understand its drawbacks as well.

In an old-world, intensely patriarchal culture like that of the Amish, women don't have much of a public voice. If they are under the protection of a virtuous Amish gentleman, everything may be fine. The question is, what happens to Amish women who have severe dysfunction in their families and no social power to protect themselves when men around them behave in despicable ways? And how common is that situation for Amish families?

Saloma Furlong's memoir is a finely-written, harrowing study of the circumstances that brought her to leave everything she knew and set out for parts unknown with a suitcase in hand. I hope you will click on her name to go check out her blog and read her excellent work. For those of us who love America's past, or communities like the Amish that seem to capture the values of the past, it's vital to remember that a hundred years of progress has brought women protection in very basic ways that we may now take for granted.

I'm grateful for organizations that help abused women start over, and for laws that hold abusive men accountable.

How about you? Are you grateful for a contemporary freedom or protection for women and/or children that we did not possess in 1875? Do you think we have a responsibility to know real history or the real story of a culture, with its beauties AND its flaws? Or is it OK to leave out the flaws?

Word Blind

2011-02-28T01:00:00.000-08:00

Two nights in a row now, I've skimmed the Advance Reader Copy for Fairer than Morning. It's only seven weeks until release. I try to imagine how those words will appear to someone reading them for the first time.

And I can't. I'm word blind, text blind, story blind, whatever you want to call it. I can read little chunks, but I can no longer absorb the story as a whole, as an organic development from beginning to end. I have read it too many times, edited it, proofread it word by word in the galleys.

And I'm kind of glad I can't read it right now. That way, it's all a big mystery to me. It's almost as if I didn't even write it myself.

It's also helpful because I'm working on my third novel, and I'm glad I can't be distracted by random thoughts about the first novel. I can finally relax and enjoy the process of original creation, in a way I haven't really been able to enjoy it for weeks.

The funny thing is, I know that I'm word blind in a different way as I write this first draft of novel #3. I've switched off the editing side of my brain so I don't worry too much about an adverb here and there, or word echoes, or any of the other stuff that drove me batty in the galley stage of Fairer than Morning.

Word blindness can have blessings.

Do you get word or story blind? Can you switch it on and off? What do you do when you go word or story blind, but you're not finished editing? Do you have any tricks to enable yourself to read your story again with new eyes?

Facebook Future

2011-02-21T01:00:00.000-08:00

I've had some good conversations recently about Facebook, and whether or not the net effect of Facebook on our culture is positive or negative. I also watched The Social Network this past weekend, so Facebook is my topic of the week.

I think it's hard to tell at the moment how Facebook may change us as a society, because Facebook's effect on my generation (Gen X) is different than it will be on teenagers today. We're moving into uncharted territory. No society has ever been as screen-oriented as ours is becoming. But members of Generation X will always remember life before screens. We will always have a reference point based on landline telephones, LPs, and letters. Has anyone realized that we are the last generation of Americans who wrote letters? I wrote them up through college, because email didn't really take off until after I graduated from college.

As a precautionary measure, I am doing my best to ensure that my daughter will also have a childhood in which screens do not play a controlling role. This is difficult. Screens surround us, everywhere, and call us with their siren songs of entertainment, companionship, and news. Screens were almost non-existent in my childhood, as I watched very little TV and there were no personal computers until I hit 8th grade. It's inevitable that my daughter will grow up with more screen time than I did. For one thing, I use screens in front of her. I wish I didn't have to do it. Sometimes, I fantasize about moving to some rural spot with my family, trashing my computer, and forgetting about this writing business if it means I have to use screens. I just want to surround myself with animals, paper books, and growing things.

But that's not going to happen, as I'm not ready to give up a novel-writing career just yet. :-) It's hard for writers to go screenless and stay off social media, for a couple of reasons. The obvious one is that our work is done on computers, as is the work of most white collar workers these days. But more insidious is the nature of a novelist's work, and the isolation it requires.

Because of the long hours I spend working, it would be easy to start using Facebook and social media as my primary form of contact with other adults. After all, I don't need a babysitter to use Facebook. I can "talk" to people while I work, and some of them are very close friends with whom I have no in-person contact because they live hundreds of miles away.

But Facebook is not a substitute for real life. And if you're a Gen Xer or older, you don't need me to tell you that.

So tell me, how do you feel about Facebook and Twitter? Do you see them as a danger to a natural lifestyle, or will they benefit us in the long run? How do you think they will affect the generation of teenagers that is growing up stuck to their cell phones? Do you know anyone who has "opted out" of a screen-based life?

How to Take Compliments on Your Novel

2011-02-14T01:00:00.000-08:00

When I was a young girl, I had trouble taking compliments. I did not know what to do if someone said: "I like your singing," or "You're smart."

My father taught me to say a simple "Thank you." I was not to deny the compliment, not to blow my own horn, and not to denigrate myself in my embarrassment. Just say thank you. I learned that lesson quickly when it came to run-of-the-mill compliments. "Nice dress." "Thanks!" "I like your story!" "Thank you." To my relief, it worked! I was even able to enjoy the compliments.

But now my endorsements are coming in, and this is praise of a different nature.

Here's why. The authors who are endorsing my novel are fine writers. This means I take their opinions very seriously. It also means my endorsers are eloquent, and they write endorsements as well as they write their own novels.

Like most writers, I have unvoiced dreams about future readers as I labor over each novel--dreams that all the sweat, tears, and prayer I've poured into that novel are going to mean something to someone else.

Well, when my endorsements came back, it felt to me as if some of those whispery dreams had just been spoken into reality. These endorsements were not a light "I like your story" to which I had learned to say "Thank you!" with a cheery grin. They were powerful, specific statements about my novel's nature and worth.

What I really wanted to do was throw my arms around the knees of my endorsers and bawl. Fortunately, none of them lives within 400 miles of me, so I could not.

In all but one instance, I restrained myself and sent back a very sincere thank you. In the last case, I succumbed to my emotions and sent back an email in which I tried to articulate my full reaction to the endorser's kindness.

The reasons for such an emotional reaction are complex. Yes, it's partly about validation, and about finally having some readers other than friends and critique partners. But my emotions also include a feeling of unworthiness, and an urge to reassure the person who is praising my novel that I know I'm not "all that," when you really get down to brass tacks. I want her to know that I am aware that my book and I are not the same thing, and that I'm not going to puff up my ego because I think I am solely responsible for whatever goodness the novel has. I've known a few narcissistic writers who made the mistake of believing their own press, and I have a horror of ever becoming like that.

But here's what I learned. You can't have a discussion like that via email. It's too complex, and too deep. My endorser, ever-gracious, responded kindly to my attempt at self-explanation. She probably remembers her own early endorsements and how strange and humbling it was to hear direct high praise.

Nonetheless, I ruminated on it afterwards and realized the truth all over again.

Just say thank you.

How do you respond to praise, either in ordinary life or in your work?

Tin Man Novel, Scarecrow Novel

2011-02-07T01:00:00.000-08:00

I read a novel and I didn't care for it. And I'm going to name the novel, because its author has won two Booker Prizes and he doesn't need my approval to feel good about himself. :-) I'm going to use this example to tell you about tin man novels, but I want to make this caveat beforehand. Taste in novels is highly subjective. Some of you may read a novel I call a tin man novel and think it's the best thing you've ever read. And it well may be. My tin man novel is another reader's work of genius.

But for the sake of this discussion, my tin man novel is Oscar and Lucinda, by Peter Carey. And as you might expect from my comparison, my problem with this novel is that it's all head and sheen, but it has no heart. At least, according to my taste.

I most often encounter tin man novels in literary fiction. They are written in beautiful, stylish prose, and filled with interesting ideas or allusions. Their characters are offbeat.

But tin man novels are too clever and too conscious of their own artistic merit. They're written from the head, and it shows. The elemental moral passion of the artist does not drive these novels. Tin man novels impress me very much with the talent and intellect of their authors. But in the end, they seem to proclaim "I am a good writer" more than anything about the human condition, God, or the world we live in. Tin man novels overwhelm their own stories with their heavy themes and their painstakingly-constructed designs. They can't come to life without heart. They can't feel real. They will never make me cry.

And then there are the scarecrow novels. Scarecrow novels are full of feeling, and easy to get to know. But they don't have any "brain," so they're often poorly-written and may include stereotypes. Still, a scarecrow novel is more likely to be commercially-successful than a tin man novel, because its passion can overcome its flaws, for readers who don't care too much about prose style. As a result, we find more scarecrow novels on bestseller lists, and more tin man novels on short lists for literary prizes.

And you and I may completely disagree as to which novels might earn these descriptions. I love those friendly, private book debates with my best friends in which we laugh a lot as we defend the merits of our chosen authors.

It's possible that I may someday write a tin man novel or a scarecrow novel. I hope not! I hope that by using these two extremes as a reminder, I can steer between their dangers and remember to temper passion with mind, and to infuse design with feeling.

How does the balance between heart and head work in your own writing?

Authoress in Wonderland

2011-01-31T01:00:00.000-08:00

It's only two and a half months until Fairer than Morning hits stores! The closer I get to publication, the more I feel like I just fell down a rabbit hole.

Everything looks different. I grow, I shrink. Pieces of paper turn into characters and rain down on my head.

The first people I meet in Wonderland are my potential endorsers. When a couple of them send me enthusiastic comments, I float around for days like the Cheshire Cat's smile.

In Wonderland, where words won't behave themselves, I face the reality that not everyone will like my novel. Initially, that makes me feel as if the Queen of Hearts has called for my head to be lopped off. "But why?" I want to ask. "What have I done? Or failed to do?"

But in this strange place where persons are made of paper, it's not about me. It's about the taste of the Reader Queen. And she is sovereign of her own realm, and has every right and every authority to like some authors and behead all the others. That's how the cards are dealt in Wonderland.

In Wonderland, the end of the story is the end of the dream and the beginning of real life.

So for now, I dance the Lobster Quadrille with wild joy when I find out my novel has been selected as a Buyer's Choice for a major national chain. But in the end, I'm still dancing with lobsters.

Maybe if one of them pinches me, I'll wake up.

Research and Historical Fiction

2011-01-24T01:00:00.000-08:00

In my last post, I referred to what I call historical fiction with texture.

What does this mean? I call it texture when a historical novelist can call into being the physical world that surrounds her characters. When a novel has texture, a reader can jump through the imaginary barrier between fiction and life and walk through the vivid settings that the characters inhabit.

There's one problem with this type of historical fiction. It takes a TON of work.

And there's another problem too. The more detail you insert in your historical novels, the more opportunities you create for historical errors.

That's why, in some ways, it would be easier to write historical fiction without texture. But it doesn't satisfy me. As a writer, I must write what I'm passionate about, and I'm passionate about creating the detail that allows readers to transport themselves to a different time. I'm not just telling a good story that happens to take place over a century ago. I'm writing that story BECAUSE it took place over a century ago.

So my chosen style of writing requires extensive research.

And I don't mind. I quite like it.

If I didn't like research, I couldn't have survived graduate school education in research methods. My grad school experience has helped me many times as I identify vital questions I need to answer before I can work on a certain part of my novel. Because the real research challenge is narrowing down the crucial pieces of information that are missing from my perspective. Anyone can browse through an archive and write down interesting facts. But once I start to assemble a plot, I have to know which details are so basic that I cannot start without them.

Last week, I contacted the Columbus Metropolitan Library for assistance. I had done everything in my power to find an answer to a question through print and internet sources, and I simply did not have access to the right sources. I live too far away from the local history archives that I need for this third novel in my trilogy.

Those Columbus librarians and scholars were wonderful. They answered my first question immediately, and offered additional help.

I've had this kind of warm, enthusiastic support several times as I've worked on this trilogy over the years. It gives me hope to find others who care about history and learning so much that they offer assistance to strangers sheerly because they want to share their knowledge.

Have you ever had assistance from others as you researched a novel? How does texture work to inspire you in your writing? How do you feel about texture, as a reader?

Minding the Temple

2011-01-17T01:00:00.000-08:00

Today, I worked out for the first time in months. I think many writers are in the same boat. Or chair, or couch.

What we do is so cerebral, and so time-consuming, that our bodies can start to seem unimportant.

Our writing minds are taxed to their limits. Writing takes every synapse we have, and some we didn't even know about.

Right now, I'm in the middle of constructing a world in my head. Historical novelists have to worldbuild just like fantasy novelists, at least if we want our novels to have a lot of texture. The difference is that our constructions have to match the historical record. So while I'm constructing this world, including two major settings and two ethnic cultures, full of objects and events I must cram into my brain, my body sits idle on the chair.

Just as it sat idle for months while I worked on the edits for novel #1 and completely rewrote novel #2.

I could feel my muscles loosening, bones weakening, and ligaments tightening. But I didn't have time to work out.

Or did I?

Because today, after I finished whinging to my daughter's gymnastics coach about my pathetic state of fitness, I went home and put on my workout DVD, which hasn't seen the light of day in at least a year. I had forgotten all about the workout DVD option.

And I rode my recumbent bike for a while. It sits right in my living room. I can even read while I'm on it.

A year ago, I resolved to help my daughter become healthy after months of respiratory infections. Last Christmas, she was a tiny, skinny, coughing child who could have starred as Tiny Tim. Now, she is a muscle-packed athlete, still tiny, but strong and healthy, with color in her cheeks. I made her health my number one priority. It required dedication from both of us. It involved allergy medicine and a fair amount of money for organized athletic activities, but it has been worth every minute and every penny.

The moral of my daughter's story is that my own poor state of fitness is simply a matter of priorities. Will it be important to me to take care of this physical temple that holds and sustains my mind and spirit? Or will I let it decay more rapidly than it should, for lack of maintenance and effort?

After my workout today, soothed by music and challenged by strength-building exercises, I felt wonderful. And any activity that pumps blood through our bodies also pumps it through our brains. Though I can be tempted to think that I don't have time to exercise because "I have to write," the truth is that I will be a better writer if I'm healthier and fitter.

This year, I'm going to take care of the whole temple, not just feed the altar fires.

How about you? Do you write better after you've been physically active, taken a walk, or otherwise sent that blood pumping through the brain? Do you struggle as I do to find the time and motivation to take care of the temple?

The Ultimate Countercultural Act

2011-01-10T01:00:00.000-08:00

Last week, I read my friend Keli Gwyn's post Staying Positive in a Negative World.

Even though her post was primarily about publishing, I couldn't get the title out of my head, as it resonated with many other non-publishing related situations this weekend.

We had some bad news splashed all over the media yesterday.

Remember when the crazy guy shot the Amish schoolchildren a few years back, and their parents offered nothing in return but love and forgiveness? Why was America so moved? Because those Amish people were countercultural. They did not become obsessed with assigning blame. They did not spread hatred and pain. Instead, they absorbed it and gave back peace instead.

When we hear bad news and immediately let it spread its cloud over us and darken our thinking, we are falling into the culture of the world. When we get angry and blame others for a tragedy, or, alternatively, we get angry because someone is being blamed and we feel that person or party is innocent, we are just dupes of the world.

No one listens to anger. There's so much floating around that our sulking or shouting just blends in with all the rest.

People listen to love.

When's the last time you heard someone talk politics with love?

I haven't heard it often. In fact, one of the reasons I often avoid political discussions is because people take them as a license to vent their extreme dislike of one person, or one party, or one law.

I heard a man talk politics with love in the parking lot of a Goodwill the other day. He had my full attention. As he unloaded my donation, he talked to me about his concern for what the politicians are doing to the people of this country: how they are dividing and turning us against one another.

I could not agree more.

The real battle is not between Republicans and Democrats, black and white, or rich or poor. The battle is between those who treat others with love and respect, and those who abuse and deride others, or even murder them, in the ultimate act of abuse.

The problem is, we've become so confused about the terms of our debate that we no longer understand whose side we're supposed to be on.

If we're Christian, then our God should be the God of Love. Most understand that being on the side of love means we must not murder. But we must also say no to disrespectful words, to abuse, to argument in which we just want to be superior or to win.

That means even when we talk politics, we stay positive in a negative world. Does that mean we can't disagree with something? No. But it means we don't get abusive, we don't ridicule others, and we don't pass around blame. It means we don't say things about people behind their backs that are unkind or derisive, no matter how misguided we think their beliefs or policies might be. That includes public figures!

Love: the Ultimate Countercultural Act.

How can we spread it today? Because THAT is what it means to "fight the good fight."

The Spot Where She Stood

2011-01-02T13:29:00.000-08:00

Two days after Christmas, our church community lost someone very special.

Bettye Palmer would have been 82 this week.

You probably know someone like Bettye. I hope you do.

Bettye was a widow, and had to use an oxygen tank at all times because of declining health. She was sometimes in a wheelchair, but liked to stand up as often as she could to greet people. Her back was bent, but her face always shone with love and genuine interest in others.

Bettye stood in the front of our church foyer after every service so she could ask all of us how we were doing. She remembered all the details of our lives. She would often ask me about my mother's health, though she has never met her. I could tell that to Bettye, my mother was a real person, not a faraway stranger. On Wednesday nights, Bettye sat where she could take the money for our communal dinner night so that she could talk to people and check up on each of us.

Bettye rarely talked about herself, and you never got the feeling that she wanted to do so. At a time of life when one's own news is often not good--failing health, friends passing away, loneliness-- Bettye found that the secret of joy was in focusing on others. Her body was no longer strong enough to serve, but her spirit and her loving heart were able to minister to everyone, making us all feel that she cared, and she missed us when we were gone.

This Sunday was our first experience of church without Bettye. As I walked in the door, I got a big lump in my throat as I passed the empty spot where she had always stood. I was not alone in this. Of course, someone talked about Bettye during the service today, and many of us wiped away tears.

We all know that our tears aren't for her. We rejoice that she has gone on to a much better place. But it will take a while before we stop feeling that sharp ache when we pass the places in our church where we remember her.

When I walk into the foyer of our church and see that empty place, I will remember this. Bettye was a woman so filled with love, so unselfish, that she literally graced the ground she stood on.

The best way to remember Bettye is to follow her example of grace: to really listen to others, to ask questions, to make certain their lives are real to us, and not to rush so much that we forget to care.

Have you known a Bettye?

Writing Nightmares: Wake Up Laughing

2010-12-27T06:59:00.000-08:00

I had a nightmare last night.

It wasn't too bad, though. After I awoke and had a few moments to re-orient myself this morning, the nightmare put a big grin on my face.

That tricky little subconscious of mine!

In the dream, I was scheduled to be a bridesmaid in a wedding. This fact is a little funny even by itself, as I'll be forty in a year. However, I was a bridesmaid at 38, so never say never.

There were eight bridesmaids in the wedding. It was a very fancy wedding. All of the bridesmaids wore full-length apple red dresses and golden crowns.

Katie Ganshert was one of the other bridesmaids. (*Waves at Katie*)

First of all, my golden crown was too big and kept slipping down around my eyes. None of the other bridesmaids had this problem.

Second, the bride took a LONG time to get there. After a while, we bridesmaids all walked over to a local shopping center to while away some time until the bride arrived.

For some reason, I decided to go to a formal dress store. And since we had to wait so long for the bride, I decided it would be best to change into my regular clothes and hang up my pretty dress on a rack so it wouldn't get wrinkled before the wedding.

When I came back to the rack--you guessed it! My apple-red dress was gone. In its place was a green dress in exactly the same style.

Someone had bought my apple red dress right off that rack, and I was in a heap of trouble.

Now, have I mentioned that I have a deadline in five days? ;-)

The good news, and the reason I can laugh at this classic writer's nightmare, is that I've made good progress over this vacation break, and despite what my subconscious thinks, my conscious is feeling pretty sanguine. It's not perfect, but draft manuscripts never are.

Have you ever had a writer's nightmare, or do you only have good writing dreams?

If This Laptop Could Talk

2010-12-20T16:56:00.000-08:00

With a January 1st deadline for my second novel, I am experiencing a holiday marked by plenty of work.

I'm also learning some very interesting lessons that will make great fodder for an ACFW conference class some day. There are certain experiences in a writing career that an author can discuss only in retrospect.

I will say this, though. I have never been as thankful for a critique partner as I have been for Gwen Stewart over the past week.

I've been pretty grateful before for all four of my critique partners--even so, this is a very special time of gratitude for this one person and her generous, loving support.

All of us go through times in our writing process that are challenging. We all know writing is a demanding profession because it takes us through such highs and lows. To have a friend who understands so much of what I experience on this journey is absolutely priceless. And even beyond that, she's a highly-skilled novelist whose feedback is always right on target and still encouraging.

Thanks, Gwen. I am blessed to have you in my life.

Is there someone whose support at a crucial time has made all the difference to your writing?

Rosslyn,The Grinch

2010-12-13T01:00:00.000-08:00

Everybody knows the story of the Grinch.

He hates Christmas and wants to keep it from coming. So he steals all the gifts and the decorations and the ham. But Christmas comes anyway. Then he realizes Christmas is more than its material trappings, and returns everything.

Friends, I AM THE GRINCH.

Except for one thing. I love Christmas. I love it so much that I am going to steal all the presents and I am not going to give them back to you. No way, no how. I am going to send it all, including my own family's gifts, to some faraway mission. Or maybe I'll just burn it. But we can all keep the decorations and the food.

If it weren't for my husband's objection, I would already have celebrated a giftless Christmas. Some of the greatest Christmas stories--like The Grinch, or the one in Little Women--are about giftless Christmases.

At very least, I would like to celebrate a Christmas for which the only gifts exchanged were handmade by the giver. Even something as simple as cookies or a handmade ornament would be lovely. Or perhaps all our gifts would be donations to charities in one another's names.

The only problem is this: some of my dearly-loved older relatives don't get to see my daughter often. When they send gifts, they're not too extravagant, and they are filled with love. Those are good gifts. I wouldn't want to discourage these lovely acts of giving, which are more in the spirit of the Christmases of my childhood.

I don't want to see huge cascades of presents descending on children who get so much, all year round, that individual gifts mean little. That was not how I grew up. Toys were special gifts, at Christmas, and the children in my family received few to no toys throughout the rest of the year. Just for Christmas and birthdays.

I don't want to spoil the pleasure that others take in gift-giving. I really appreciate the thoughtful and beautiful gifts we receive at Christmas. But the knowledge of the huge, overwhelming number of gifts many middle-class American children receive at Christmastime is starting to affect my own pleasure in giving gifts to the children of others. I don't want to be part of the problem of materialism and a Christmas that encourages greed more than any other emotion. In my childhood, Christmas was a spiritual holiday and the holiness of the holiday was the best part.

I was talking to a friend about this problem the other day. She told me that in her family, the competition grew ridiculous among four sets of grandparents after a couple of divorces and remarriages. The grandchildren, her kids, received so many gifts that they actually got sick and tired of opening them and asked if they could stop. My friend finally had to put a stop to it by speaking to all the grandparents, despite the fact that it caused family World War III. But in her place, I would have done the same thing.

In my case, though, I can't actually Grinch away the gifts at Christmas. Instead, I'm looking for opportunities to encourage my daughter in serving and giving to others. And we talk a lot about the real spirit of Christmas. So far, it seems to be working.

I'd love to hear any suggestions you might have for focusing on others at this time of year. What has your family done to celebrate the real giving spirit of Christmas?

Planning a Unique Book Launch Party

2010-12-06T01:00:00.000-08:00

Here's how we are going to launch my novel in its hometown, Westerville, Ohio.

The historic home of the real family in my trilogy still stands in Westerville. But that home, Hanby House, is probably too small for a launch event.

The most likely scenario is that the party will take place at a historic barn not far from Hanby House. This barn is located in a city park at the center of town, which makes it convenient for all who may wish to attend.

The second novel in my trilogy takes place at Otterbein College, which opened in Westerville in 1847 and is still an important part of the town.

I really wanted to include Otterbein in the launch party, so I've opened a discussion with some musical groups at Otterbein to see if they wish to participate. There seems to be healthy interest and enthusiasm for the idea, so if all goes well, we will have singers performing music from the mid-1850s at the book launch party.

Because my novels have a strong link to local history, I'm going to include schools and home schoolers by sponsoring a short essay competition about the significance of history in our lives today. The winning essay will be read at the launch event. Winning essays will receive a monetary prize as well. Though my novel was written for adults, it's also appropriate for high school aged students. I hope the essay contest will encourage them to read the series, and that the series will help them take great pleasure in the richness of their local history.

I am very excited about the launch party! Can't you just picture it? I think the most important thing to remember about a book party is that it should be something you yourself would find pleasurable to attend. Let's face it: standing at a table waiting for a book to be signed is not a particularly fascinating experience for our readers, which probably explains the declining popularity of book signings. If we're going to celebrate the launches of our books, let's really celebrate!

Your book may not be like mine, but it will have its own unique content that allows you to appeal to your readers. So when you are planning, you might want to consider the following steps:

1) Identify your reading audience and their specific interests. What type of setting would they find appealing for your launch party?
2) Who might like to contribute entertainment for your event?
3) How can you involve your readers in the party so it becomes an interactive experience?
4) What kind of refreshments can you offer and still remain within your budget? If you have very little money for a party, see if your friends will help you make refreshments. Food and drink always make a party atmosphere more festive.

What other suggestions or ideas would you have for your own launch party? What would be the ideal atmosphere for you and your work? What if you had no practical restrictions and could have it anywhere, with any entertainment and food?

Fairer than Morning to be typeset soon!

2010-12-01T09:35:00.000-08:00

Fairer than Morning is progressing towards publication!

It was thrilling to see the final digital version from Thomas Nelson the other day. Just seeing the copyright page with its ISBN number was another step in the realization of a dream. It will be typset by Christmas, and then it will go out to its endorsers. I am very excited about those who have agreed to endorse the novel. Endorsement is a big favor for one author to do another, because reading a novel usually requires five or six hours of time, and we know how precious our writing time can be. So I will be very grateful to these authors for their support.

I also received word that I can go ahead for plans with my launch party in Westerville, the town where my novel takes place. I'll share details about that in a future post.

Thanking God for the Dark Parts

2010-11-22T01:00:00.000-08:00

It has been a whirlwind two weeks of guest posting!

I hope you will come visit me at Warren Baldwin's blog to share some reflections on Thanksgiving.

I'd love to hear what you have to say about

Thanking God for the Dark Parts

So You Want Your Novels to Change the World

2010-11-15T06:00:00.000-08:00

So do I. Which is a pretty ambitious statement for a writer of historical romance, so I’d better explain before I sound like a total fool.

But today, I'm guest posting over at Wendy Paine Miller's blog, All in a Day's Thought.

so click here and please join us!

What Makes a Novel Feel Real? Part 2

2010-11-08T01:00:00.000-08:00

Do you ever think the best compliments to authors come from ordinary readers without professional jargon?

I got one of those compliments the other day. I have a friend who is a math and analytical whiz rather than a literary type. She was reading the manuscript of Fairer than Morning.

She texted me while reading to say she liked it, and then added at the end of the text, "I can hear you speaking when I read it."

Oo! Cool! So, she was describing something very specific, what writers call among ourselves authorial voice, right? We will twist ourselves in knots trying to explain it, and rhapsodize when we find a voice we like in a new writer. So one of the best compliments we can get is that our reader can hear a certain sound in our work, and likes it.

But I started thinking more about this, and it got interesting and veered towards the subject of this week's post.

ON ONE HAND, we talk about how our characters should not all sound the same, and they should have their own distinctive personalities and voices.

ON THE OTHER HAND, we refer to an author's unifying voice as the elusive final touch of the writer's craft.

How do we reconcile these two ideas? How does authorial voice unify a novel without making everyone sound the same and think the same?

I'm going to use Meredith Efken's novel Lucky Baby to answer that question, because she has such a powerful, almost entrancing voice, even though her novel is told through the point-of-view of two very different characters.

Lucky Baby, like other books I love, feels REAL. I believe in Meg, the protagonist, and all the other characters involved in this very moving story of an unusual Christian woman who pursues the girl she thinks of as her daughter through a complicated adoption process, despite all obstacles. This is not a sanitized story: it includes messy issues of international adoption as well as the pressures it can apply to a marriage and an extended family. And because it's not sanitized, it's more beautiful.

When I was groping for words to explain why Meredith's voice is so fantastic, I came up with this explanation. When we read Lucky Baby, we hold a firm belief in the reality of the characters but the whole time, we also sense the author's presence, the guiding spirit of HOW the story is told. Not being a psychologist, I can't explain this twinning of our reading consciousness so we can both think something is real and also appreciate the art behind it. Which is it? Is it art, something created, or is it real? In the best work, we can only say BOTH. Art happens when we take what is real and make it REALER by telling it in language so perfectly suited to the story that the story and the way of telling it blend, and can't be extricated from one another.

Have you ever seen a play by Shakespeare retold as a comedy, using contemporary, slangy language? I have. The humor of the experience comes from the shock of separating Shakespeare's beautiful poetry from the stories it tells. Romeo says, "But soft, what light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun." If instead we hear him say: "Dude, that is a seriously hot chick," we laugh, because we know what we are hearing is an outrageous violation of great art. The story is not the same when separated from its authorial voice.

I can imagine other authors using this plot that Meredith uses in Lucky Baby, or at least some generic similar plotline like: Woman seeks to adopt from China despite serious obstacles.

But no one else would tell it the way Meredith tells it. Lots of writers have excellent craft: few move beyond craft to art. But Meredith is one of those few who can have your heart in the palm of her hand in the five sentences it takes to get from the beginning of a paragraph to its end.

I'm not going to quote from the novel just yet because I'm no expert in fair use law, and whether it's OK for me to quote a paragraph without the publisher's permission. But if I do receive permission or more information on that, I'll type a few lines here so you can see what I mean for yourself. But until then, I highly recommend that you click

here

for the Amazon link to her book

and then click the "search inside this book" option to read the first chapter. It's a treat, and it just gets better from there.

P.S. Someone has advised me that I'm probably OK quoting a short passage, so here it is, the first time we see Meg with her critical and controlling mother. Every time I read it, it gets me. As for what happens next...click on the link!

My mother eased open the door and watched Lewis and me make our way up the brick walk to the trilevel suburban house where I grew up, her smile so warm and hospitable, I once again believed in it for a second. For one blinding, glorious, faith-filled second the world in my heart seemed to match the world outside.
"Meggie!"
She waved at me and I headed for her warmth like a kid goat tottering toward its dam. My Mom. Mine, mine, mine. Finally, I was close enough to touch her. I leaned into the doorway to fill my arms with mother love.

What Makes a Novel Feel Real?

2010-11-01T01:00:00.000-07:00

I read plenty of novels that could be called page-turners. When I read one, I turn pages so rapidly that I only read about half the novel. :-)

I skim novels because they don't feel real to me. For whatever reason (and usually several), I cannot completely enter into the imaginative world of the novel, and so I wind up studying its construction instead of believing it.

I freely admit that I am a picky reader, and studying the craft of novel-writing has made me more so. Many writers have this problem. We've trained so extensively in how to edit our own work and improve our style that any violation of the rules of style can set off our blaring red DISTRACTION alarm. This is not always true, of course. We all know some writers whose style is not great, but who are still fabulous storytellers.

However, I've recently read a couple of novels that kept me up late, turning pages without skipping any at all.

The novels felt real.

One of them was Allison Pittman's For Time and Eternity. In addition to being a fantastic read, I think it's a valuable example of how we can make our novels feel real to most readers, even the picky ones.

1) Employ our style so well that there are no distractions. Allison is an expert here. Her style is clean and elegant. Not once did I stop over a sentence and think: "Oh, the author used some no-no words there (you know the words I mean: 'felt, wondered, thought', adverbs, passive voice, etc.) It's possible that a few of those words may be in there, but if so, they are rare enough that they blend in.) There's no wordiness or clunky phrasing to shove me out of the story and make me remember it's all made up. The rhythm of the sentences is fantastic. Allison Pittman knows that good writing sets up a rhythm so the reader's mind rolls effortlessly across the page, carried along by sentences like a raft over rapids.

2) Write characters who are specific and motivated by their life circumstances. For Time and Eternity features a protagonist, Camilla, who is a teenager when the book opens. She does some things I think every woman will recognize as absolutely true for a girl of that age. Yet her relationship with her mother and father is so well-drawn and so specific that Camilla never even comes close to being a generic teenager. We understand perfectly why Camilla behaves in certain ways because we see the seeds of her decisions in her relationship with her parents. It's clear the author drew her character not from a general idea of 'how a teenager would act' but instead 'how a young person who grew up with this set of life experiences' would react. Character is defined by how we react to events, and our characters become more real when their actions have an eminent logic of their own when seen through that character's POV. This is why we so often find that a "feisty heroine" of a formula novel leaves us cold. It's not enough just to be feisty. We have to see WHY. If I read about a gentlewoman from the mid nineteenth century who happens to be unconventional and smart-mouthed, I had better have some seriously believable, specific reasons to back up those unusual character choices for a woman of her circumstances!

3)Don't get so focused on a slamdunk pace that we leave out the everyday moments, the normalcy that makes the novel feel real. This is a lesson I learned when I began the rewrite of my 1855 novel. Sure, that novel (the first I ever wrote) flew along at a breathless pace and there was never a dull moment. But in my first draft, the action moved so quickly that I did not allow not enough time to delve deeper into my characters' thought lives. Our plots may be exciting and full of action, but it means nothing if the reader doesn't believe the characters are real. For Time and Eternity captures the subtle everyday drama that allows characters to develop and reveal themselves. Tension and pacing often come from a character's bad predicament, which might not be obvious to a casual observer. Not every real-life predicament springs from a burning building or a runaway horse. Readers can find it more interesting to have a church elder show up on a character's doorstep than to watch that character get stuck in quicksand out in the marsh. I'm not saying we should never have burning buildings, but unless we balance those events with the more mundane dramas that fill most of our lives, novels feel fake.

Have you read any novels that felt real lately? Why do you think they felt real?

Next week I'll use another example, Meredith Efken's Lucky Baby, to discuss a few more ways we can make our novels feel so real that readers can't bear to put them down.

Thrill of Victory, Agony of Defeat

2010-10-25T11:15:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, my daughter competed in her first equestrian vaulting tournament.

She has been working on her routines for several months, three times a week, two to three hours per session.

I've been there every hour, helping care for the horses and longeing for the team (standing in the center of a circle while the horse travels around me on a long line). So I understand how hard she has worked. Several times, I saw her crying from frustration and fear as she struggled to master some of the more difficult elements of her routine. Once she asked me if she could remove the most difficult feat of balance from her routine, because she was sure she could not do it. I told my daughter that she was stronger than she thought, and more capable than she thought, and she needed to trust her coach's judgment on what she could or could not master.

I remember those feelings from my own childhood. Several of my childhood pursuits, both in school and out, presented me with trials that made me doubt myself.

Those were the events that built my character. When I reached the moment at which I thought I could not go on, and then went on anyway, I discovered my real strength and learned not to give up, no matter how I felt.

We can't grow into strong adults unless we face challenges that seem too great, and persevere. Sports teach many young boys and girls these lessons, if they are coached correctly and not shielded too much from the difficulty of their pursuits.

At the competition this weekend, my daughter learned another lesson. For the first time, she felt the thrill of winning a first place ribbon. But in another class, she came in 9th of 11 competitors. It didn't matter to her that the scores were all very close in that class. All she knew was that she had come in close to the bottom. More tears.

I had to hug her, then step up to the character-building moment and teach her how to lose without being crushed.

For me, it was a touching reminder that in success or in failure, we are always stronger and more capable than we think.

We can work harder and surmount obstacles that threaten to overwhelm us.

We can pick ourselves up after failure and understand that when we find the courage to risk, we will always experience both joy and pain as a result.

Are you experiencing the thrill of victory or the agony of defeat right now? Are you in the middle of the struggle, facing great challenges and wanting to turn back? Or are you awaiting the results?

My Cover Design Has Arrived!

2010-10-19T09:02:00.001-07:00

I'm so excited to share with you my novel's cover, which just came in. I couldn't wait until next Monday to post it.

My agent Rachelle Gardner was right, as usual. She told me that seeing the cover would make it seem more real that my novel is soon to be published. Wahoo!

:-)

The Single Best Piece of Advice I Have For Writers

2010-10-18T01:00:00.000-07:00

Start as you mean to go on.

That's it. That's the BEST nugget of advice I have for you.

Why does it matter?

If you haven't read this post by Karen Witemeyer, check it out.

Karen has already finished one trilogy for her publishing house. In this post, she tells us that her editor rejected one future book idea because the editor wanted her to stay with her brand, which is "lighthearted and fun."

Fortunately, Karen has a great attitude, and has chosen to see this reminder about branding as an opportunity to help her focus on the types of books that will sell to her readership.

But not every author is so well-suited to her 'brand.' Here's my cautionary word, based on things I have observed during my time in this industry.

Once you sign your first contract, you will immediately begin to build your brand. Your publisher will invest a fair amount of money in launching you and finding the readership for your books. You will NOT be able to change your style, emotional tone, or genre, for at least a few years after your first novel.

Accordingly, your first book should be something you really love, and should be in a style and genre you don't mind reproducing for the next five to ten years. Because if you are successful, you will need to stick with your 'brand.' Keep in mind that not only do you need to love what you have written now, when it's under your control--you need to love it on the OTHER end of the editorial process, too. So, if you find that your prospective publisher wants you to change your novel into a kind of novel you really don't like, I would think long and hard about whether to sign that contract. It's one thing to flex with a publisher's vision. It's quite another to publish a novel you don't like.

I have been abundantly blessed in my publisher (Thomas Nelson) and in my editor, who is better than I ever could have dreamed.

I am grateful that Thomas Nelson likes my novels, and they like the real me. They like my authorial voice. They appreciate my desire to write well-styled, moving work with some substance. It's the perfect match of author and publisher, as far as I'm concerned!

I started as I meant to go on. I knew myself as a writer, and I did not want to be published at any cost. I wanted to publish what I was called to write. That doesn't mean I wasn't willing to make changes--I did make changes, and I appreciated TN's excellent editorial feedback. But I knew which houses were likely to be a good fit for me. You must know that too. Start looking at what houses are putting out. Don't look at one of their books and assume it's representative. Look at the BODY of a house's published work. What do they publish, in general? Do you find it interesting? Do they value the things you value in novels? Are they open to unusual work, or do they tend to stick to a formula?

As some of you know, my first novel was considered by a house that really liked the authentic Victorian feel of the novel. But I was concerned, because their words of praise and ideas for revision focused primarily on the lighter, more comedic side of that novel.

I am not at heart a romantic comedy writer. I enjoy using humor in my novels, especially dry wit. But my passion is for romantic drama.

I knew myself well enough to know what I did NOT want to publish. And you should know this about yourself too. Because what I have discovered in the last two years is that many writers will face crucible moments, in which they must decide how much they are willing to change their work in order to be published.

Only you can answer that question, when you face the heat of the crucible.

So tell me, what do you want to publish? What do you NOT want to publish?

Amish Fiction and the American Pastoral

2010-10-11T01:00:00.000-07:00

A new friend of mine began a fascinating conversation recently at a publishing industry dinner.

She asked: How does the current demand for Amish fiction fit into the history of American fiction? Isn't there always a desire for a retreat to a more pastoral world when the economy is down and the news is bad?

Great question, isn't it?

I had to go back to my dusty scholarly books so I could brush up on the pastoral tradition in American literature.

In particular, I wanted to re-read The Machine in the Garden, by Leo Marx.

Marx's work centers on the image of the railroad's steam engine breaking in on a quiet country landscape. The 'machine' is the threat of technology and progress that looms constantly over the 'garden'--the unspoiled green pastures of the New World.

Why is this a particularly American problem, or, as Marx argues, THE American problem?

Because in the Old World, there were no unused, vast quantities of land offering freedom and self-sufficiency to anyone who could tame them. Only in America did settlers believe that they could make their dreams of rural utopia into reality. Only Americans (and specifically, only those who came into the country as free men and women) had the opportunity to imagine their country as a new Eden.

So how does Amish fiction fit into Marx's scheme?

He proposes two categories of pastoral American fiction.

1)Sentimental pastoral literature, which serves as an idealized escape for the reader into a more innocent world free of politics, war and economic pressures. This world-in-a-bubble is possible because our country hero, the farmer or 'good shepherd in American homespun', is self-sustaining and thus not subject to the ruling powers that govern the urban and commercial world.

2) Complex pastoral literature, in which the author holds up to our view both the pastoral ideal (the garden) AND the techonological, commercial world (the machine). The goal of this kind of fiction is to shed light on the reality of the relationship between these two worlds. It comments on the agrarianism championed by Thomas Jefferson, the notion that: "if all America could somehow be transformed into a garden, a permanently rural republic, then its citizens might escape from the terrible sequence of power struggles, wars, and cruel repressions suffered by Europe" (Marx 138).

The main difference between the two types of literature, then, is that sentimental pastoralism tells the reader: "Yes, it is possible to escape the unpleasantness and unnaturalness of contemporary life. I'll show you how."

Complex pastoralism says: "But is it really possible to simply return to an Edenic country life? How could such a thing be possible? What price would have to be paid for such an escape? Isn't the ugly real world ever-present, ever-encroaching on the garden no matter how we try to push it out? Will the machine eventually destroy the garden?

The Amish fiction I've read has a very tight individual focus. These novels do not comment on the world at large, nor do they paint social issues in a complex way. In what I've read or skimmed (and I admit I'm no expert in the genre), the pastoral Christian values of the Amish are good, while the materialistic, technological world outside is bad. By Marx's definition, this is sentimental pastoralism: a simple dream of escape to while away a few hours. That's not to say it's a bad thing. Whether or not novels should offer pure escapism is a matter of individual taste.

Do you enjoy fiction that offers pure escape? Or do you prefer a little more darkness and reality mixed into your novels? And if you read Amish fiction, and I've overlooked something, please add it in your comment!

Epiphanies

2010-10-04T01:00:00.000-07:00

epiphany (n.)
1. ( initial capital letter ) a Christian festival, observed on January 6, commemorating the manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles in the persons of the Magi; Twelfth-day.
2. an appearance or manifestation, esp. of a deity.
3. a sudden, intuitive perception of or insight into the reality or essential meaning of something, usually initiated by some simple, homely, or commonplace occurrence or experience.

As writers, we're always searching for epiphany, in its third definition above. The task of putting together theme, plot and character is so complex that we can't see our way outside the world we're building. Our writing process is a never-ending quest for discernment. We need critique partners and editors to help us recognize the details and connections that elude us as we create our raw material.

I pray for discernment, and sometimes, I get it in the form of an epiphany.

This is the most amazing feeling.

All last week, I was struggling to pull my work-in-progress out of its chaotic, mid-revision state. I prayed nightly for help. I knew something needed to change, but I couldn't see what.

On Saturday morning, I got the answer.

I was going to have to cut two opening chapters of the novel, and reverse a character's attitude on a key plot event.

You know when a film burns up, how a black spot starts and then melts across the whole screen? OK, maybe you have to be over 35 to know that, because I don't think they use celluloid in movie theaters anymore. But for those of you who saw this as children, you may be able to picture it. A film freezes, then black, red and brown crackle across the projected image and leave only a clear whiteness.

That's how it feels to have a story epiphany. The little film that has been playing in your head stops, and burns up, and suddenly you are able to see with a clarity that astounds you.

Why didn't I see it before? It's so obvious!

Even my husband voiced similar thoughts when I told him about changing the character attitude. The change was so clearly right, once I voiced it, that he wondered why he hadn't caught the problem himself.

Here's the coolest part, though.

I don't believe, as the third definition says, that an epiphany is caused by a 'simple, homely, or commonplace experience.'

Epiphany happens when the divine breaks through into our world, just as it did on that first Epiphany two thousand years ago. Epiphany occurs when a little supernatural light falls on the page to give us the help we've been asking for.

How about you? Have you had an epiphany recently? What triggered it?

A Memorable Week

2010-09-26T06:08:00.001-07:00

I have not fallen into a hole and disappeared forever, but I have missed my online blogging friends during this past week! I just finished a lovely trip to the ACFW conference and then to Westerville, Ohio, the home of my upcoming trilogy. Here are some images from the journey.

In this photo, my husband and I celebrate the ACFW banquet by donning our period attire.

I soaked in the ambiance of my novel's hometown and the historic home of my central characters. Yes, that is my hero's name on the historical marker! I was thrilled to see their family name everywhere in this small town.

The parlor of the Hanbys' home!

The historic home of the heroine of the second novel, Kate Winter.

My Author Website is Here

2010-09-11T20:13:00.000-07:00

Come celebrate with me! I am delighted with the beautiful work of Webcrafters Design.

If you are a regular reader of this blog, you will notice a dramatic difference in its design as of today.

That's because Webcrafters customized my blog to match my new website.

You can click on the above link or go to the yellow link above my picture that says "Back to My Website" to see the full design.

Please leave a comment with your opinion! How would you like your own website to look, if you could have any design you wanted? Would it be moody? Fun? Urban? Pastoral?

In honor of the launch, I will give away a $25 Amazon gift card by email to one of the commenters on this post as of September 21st. Your support means a lot to me.

535

2010-09-06T01:00:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday, I edited for fourteen hours. OK, actually it was about twelve, if you count time off for breaks and meals. I sat in my bed with my laptop and read and edited, read some more and edited some more.

I was cutting my wordcount.

After I had finished my rewrites on Friday, I discovered that I was 1100 words over my absolute maximum, a maximum which had to include my acknowledgments and a brief historical afterword. So 1100 words had to go.

By ferociously line-editing to cut unnecessary words from each sentence, I was able to chop 1100 words. I figured I had to cut an average of three words per page. It was surprisingly easy.

Then I chopped 535 more.

That's right, 1,635 unnecessary words in the manuscript.

Now I am left with 535 precious unused words of my wordcount. I have to add two more sentences, so I figure I'll have 500 unused words. And I'll send in my revised manuscript today (Monday).

I feel good about the edits.

If we had no maximum wordcount, it would be easy to do edits. We could add everything our editors wanted in glorious Technicolor, lavish as a Cecil B. DeMille epic.

But, in the real world, where bigger, fatter books are more expensive to print, we have to make choices. And I am happy with the choices I made, and still grateful for my editors' suggestions and the ways in which my revisions will improve my debut novel.

What's the wordcount goal for your current WIP? Does that match with the norms of your genre? And is there a certain length novel that you usually like to read? I usually read novels between 90,000 and 105,000 words (about 300-350 pages). The other day I read one that I would guess was only about 45,000 (150 pages). Wow, that was a funny feeling, but kind of refreshing!

P.S. The look of this blog will be changing soon to match my new website! Stay tuned...

Controlling Words, Freeing Words

2010-08-30T21:03:00.000-07:00

Last week, I had a wonderful time having brunch with Caroline Starr Rose, a soon-to-be-published writer who has recently relocated back to this area. We were already online friends, so it was a blessing to meet her in person and share that unique fellowship of writers.

Caroline's debut novel is a middle-grade novel in verse. I'm a former verse writer who still likes to write lyrical prose. During our very stimulating conversation, we shared our experiences with the challenge of working with lyrical language.

I can't always control words.

On some days, I achieve full fluency and I write stuff that has power.

On other days, the words are stubborn and stiff.

My lack of control makes writing scary sometimes. That's when I have to start praying, so I can give up the responsibility and rely instead on a much better writer than myself. :-)

It might be different if I wrote literary fiction, or fiction without such tight generic requirements. Then I would be free to let the words just wander where they wanted to go.

It also might be different if I wrote in a plain style. If my only concern were characterization and plot, then words wouldn't matter so much. I would simply use the words I needed to convey the story, like a dramatist. Writers who work in this vein often use lots of dialogue--more than I use in my stories.

My problem is that I want to walk the line. I want to write commercial fiction, but I want the words to sing, at least part of the time. I want the beauty of language itself to increase the emotional power of my work.

In order to do that, I need some freedom. Paradoxically, it's a sense of freedom that allows me to bring language under my control, so it will respond to what I ask it to do.

The heavy demands of plot and character arcs in my genre do not always allow me that freedom.

So here is my question for you: how do you find freedom in your writing? When you start to feel bound by the demands of your genre, how do you loosen up and allow a sense of play in your work?

Writing Silence

2010-08-23T09:07:00.000-07:00

Last night, I was watching a BBC production called The Duchess of Duke Street.

The acting was enjoyable and the historical detail amazing.

In addition, I loved the SILENCE.

There was no soundtrack.

Without a musical underscore, the language of the characters became more powerful and compelling.

Hearing that lovely hush reminded me of how seldom we can find silence these days. Roaring traffic and music blaring from the PA systems of every cafe and grocery store create a constant din whenever we leave our homes.

Back in the days when I studied theater, I learned that silence is one of drama's most powerful tools--just as important as words, and perhaps even more so. A character's silence can bring us to our knees with heartbreak or joy, in situations when speaking would be far less effective.

As novelists, however, we don't have access to the same kind of silence. Novels are composed of words, of imagined sound. We can't write real silence. The pages would have to be blank, which is kind of stupid (with apologies to any fans of experimental poetry!).

The closest we can get to silence is to have our characters perceive silence in another character. For example, if I am writing a scene in which a character goes through a strong emotional experience, such as sudden loss, I may choose to write that scene from a different character's perspective so I can show the tragedy through the pivotal character's silence rather than words.

Of course, novelists do own one tool that is NOT part of the dramatist's toolbox. We can reveal a character's thought. Dramatists can only do this through monologue that represents thought, which is not quite the same thing.

The challenge of depicting thought in our novels is to capture its real complexity. So often we fail in this task. My current challenge for my 1855 novel is to revise the POV characters' thinking in order to make their motivations and reactions more specific and multilayered.

My writer friend Allison Pittman creates a fascinating silent character in her new inspirational historical romance The Bridegrooms. One of the supporting characters is a young woman with selective mutism due to trauma--in other words, she doesn't speak, even though physically there is no barrier to her speech. However, Allison reveals aspects of this non-POV character's thought by using snippets of poetry written by this character to open each chapter of her novel. I loved this creative use of silence.

How do you handle silence in your work? Are there any scenes in which a character's silence plays a major role in the story? Do you portray any characters who are persons of few words?

The Baby with the Bathwater: Editing Mindfully

2010-08-16T08:08:00.000-07:00

I'm discovering that one of the most challenging aspects of editing is not throwing out the baby with the bathwater.

When I first received my editorial suggestions from my editors, I sat down and thought about where my novel was at that time and where I would try to take it over the course of the next thirty days.

One strength of the novel before edits was its pacing. By careful plot and scene design, I had built in that page-turner quality so there was never a moment where the novel dragged. My editors agreed, and there were no comments such as: "this wanders" or "I lost interest in this section."

My task, then, was to alter the novel so as to improve it in the ways they suggested without losing the long, complex plot and scene arcs that made it work well in its suspense. If there's one aspect of a novel to preserve, it should probably be the page-turner aspect. Over and over again, readers judge novels by whether they felt compelled to keep reading, even at the expense of a good night's sleep.

So here's where everything stands right now:

1) I am adding two major scenes.

As a result, I must delete an equal number of words, as my novel was very close to its maximum word count already. (104,000 is the absolute maximum for my genre, I've heard, because any more than that means the publisher has to switch to a different kind of binding which would eat into the profit margins.)

2) This means that I will probably delete most of one chapter about three-quarters of the way through the novel. Doing so will both alter one relationship in the way my editors suggest AND cut my word count. After that, I will start scraping and scavenging for more cuts. Yikes! :-)

3) Much of the rest of the editing task is massaging the text. The changes are subtle, and so I must go through each chapter with careful attention to dialogue and charaterization. The edits happen one sentence at a time, at random throughout each chapter. I make this character say something milder here, that character say something a little more flirtatious or ridiculous there. I change the weather here, and I insert a time marker there. It takes a LONG TIME to do this kind of work.

Still, I am enjoying it. It reminds me of standing behind a camera and turning the focus dial, slowly checking to see which rotation brings the picture into clear focus.

How about you? In your editing experience, have you done drastic edits where you rewrote major events in the plot, or have you done this kind of slow, detail-oriented 'change focus' edit? If you've done both, what do you think about the difference between these two kinds of revision? And what was the 'baby'--the strength in your novel that you did not want to throw out with the bathwater?

The Butterfly Effect: Success With Novel Outlines

2010-08-07T21:24:00.000-07:00

Most writers have heard the two self-labels we often use to describe our writing processes:

PLOTTERS are writers who plan out their plots in advance. They often outline. They do not feel secure without a guide to help them progress from beginning to end in an organized way. They often like to build in the four-act-structure to their works from the very beginning, so they don't have to go back and rewrite as much.

PANTSERS (short for "seat-of-the-pantsers") write their novels more improvisationally. They like the freedom of being able to take their stories in any direction as they write. They find outlines too restrictive. Sometimes they feel that outlines make their writing too stale and predictable. They thrive on the fresh discoveries they make as they write. They are willing to do more structural rewrites in exchange for their freedom in the process.

I am a plotter. I must have an outline to give me faith that I will actually finish the novel someday.

However, I use a process that preserves the freshness in the writing to walk a line between plotting and pantsing. I call it "the Butterfly Effect."

My initial outlines are simple. I write a sentence to describe what happens in each chapter. Sometimes, I start by knowing only the major plot arc, and composing a sentence-level outline for only the first ten or fifteen of thirty chapters.

My initial outlines are also NOT SO GOOD. :-)

If you saw my initial outline for the novel just contracted by Thomas Nelson, you would think "what on earth?" That crude outline bears very little resemblance to the final novel. In the first outline, my plot is heavy handed and vague. Many characters who appear in the final version of the novel are not present in that first twelve-chapter outline.

My outlines change as I develop each chapter because of the Butterfly Effect.

You've probably heard of this theory too: the idea that changing one small aspect of the world can cause a ripple effect that leads to major changes later. If you travel back in time and accidentally step on a butterfly, you may change the course of history.

I could not write well without allowing for a Butterfly Effect in my outlines.

When I write each chapter, I allow unplanned events and characters to enter my storyline if I sense they are good for the scene and don't ruin the overall major plot arc. In an early chapter of my debut novel, I needed additional conflict in a scene to keep it exciting. In walked a character I had never anticipated, to jazz things up a little. That character ended up creating a a significant storyline that enriched the whole novel. My outline metamorphosed into something more substantial and sophisticated because of the Butterfly Effect of that character's presence in the story.

Some novelists are truly PANTSERS and remain pantsers forever. They have an intuitive sense of plot and pacing that allows them to produce good work without a conscious plan.

But I've also met a lot of beginning novelists who stay in the pantser mode because on some level, they are afraid to try to work with an outline. The result is that they get stuck in endless rewrites and give up out of sheer frustration with the unwieldiness of their plot structure and the digression and slow pacing that resulted from a haphazard approach. Sometimes, they write themselves into a corner, plotwise, and give up because writer's block sets in.

If these things have ever happened to you, you might want to try working with a bare, sentence-level chapter outline and allowing for the Butterfly Effect to keep your writing fresh. And don't be afraid to let that first outline stink!

What are your experiences with outlines? Have they ever worked for you? Are you, like me, a die-hard plotter whose palms get clammy at the thought of no initial outline? If you're a pantser, do you end up rewriting a lot to shape the plot and pace, or does your intuition guide you pretty well in that first draft?

How to Have a Great Editorial Call

2010-08-04T01:00:00.000-07:00

The team working on my novel includes me, my in-house editor from Thomas Nelson, and a freelance editor with a lot of experience in the field, especially with historicals. I can't say enough good things about my first phone call with my editors yesterday.

When I received my editorial letter last Friday, I was very grateful that it was only seven pages long! (If you've heard much about editorial letters, you know that they can sometimes run as long as fifteen or twenty pages.) I was also very happy to see the clarity and precision with which my editors identified areas in which we could refine certain aspects of the novel. Some of these suggestions were things I had suspected on a subliminal level, but hadn't quite been able to put my finger on. Others were subtle improvements I hadn't considered that would ensure the credibility of every aspect of the story.

In a couple of areas, I agreed with their observation about the story, but had a different solution to propose. This made me nervous. After all, I'm a debut author. How would they react to my suggestions? Having never participated in an editorial call, I had no idea what to expect.

I was happy and relieved to discover that my editors really mean it when they say we are a team. They appreciated my openness to their suggestions and solutions, and they offered me the same open-minded attitude when I proposed some of my ideas.

So, even in my newness to the editorial process, I think I may have a few tips for anyone who might be nervous about that initial editorial call. Here's how I prepared to have a great conversation with my editors:

1) I took time to appreciate the blessing of their input. It's too easy to take someone's excellent advice for granted. But I considered how different things might have been, if my editors were not so insightful and intelligent. And then I wallowed in gratitude! :-) I also expressed my appreciation to them. From what I've heard, authors can sometimes be a royal pain in the rear. Editors may not always get grateful responses for their hard work and effort to help. It's good to thank them, as we would like to be encouraged ourselves.

2) When I came across a suggested solution that didn't strike me as the right fit (and there were only two or three of those), I thought hard about how to address the underlying story or character issue in a different way. Everyone brings a strength to the table when the editorial process begins. Editors bring a wealth of experience and a fresh perspective on the story. This fresh perspective is a wonderful help for an author who has been working on the story for a year or more. At the same time, the author's long immersion in the story has given her in-depth knowledge of the mechanics of the plot and how the whole concoction works together. The author may come up with some innovative solutions in response to the editor's suggestions.

3) I was well-prepared. I had gone through the entire letter marking it up with my response, most of which was "Yes! Agreed! Great idea! Here's how I'm going to do that." I then numbered my points in the order I wanted to make them, so I could address the simplest things first and leave time to address the more complex issues at the end. As we went through the letter, I referred the editors to the page we were discussing so we could all follow the line of the conversation without confusion. Sometimes, the issues under discussion are pretty complicated. I knew it would be better to have a paper reference in front of me to keep me focused.

But there's one element for which I can't take any credit when it comes to having a great editorial call. And that is:

4) Have great editors.

I have no way of knowing how many editors are as good as mine. But from my experience with editors I've met at conferences, I suspect there are many good editors out there. I don't want to be a Pollyanna, and sure, there may be rotten apples in any profession, or people who are less expert than others. But without any effort, I can think of at least six editors I've met who were obviously kind, very intelligent and well-read. So my hope for all of you is that when your book makes it into the editorial process, you get one of these great editors.

Not all publishing houses follow this procedure in which they first send an editorial letter, then follow up with a call. Some friends have told me that they just get a phone call, or perhaps the call precedes the letter. Personally, I really like the way Thomas Nelson does it, because it allowed me time to ruminate on the suggestions before we talked.

I hope this is helpful! What do you think? Have you heard other good stories about editorial experiences? Or perhaps you know authors who eventually realized that their editors were correct about many things, even if the initial editorial response was a shock?

Editorial Letter Arrives!

2010-08-02T01:00:00.000-07:00

My editorial letter arrived, as promised, at the end of last week.

I am going to postpone my post about it, however, until after my scheduled phone call with my editor. So later this week, probably Wednesday, I'll describe for you the experience and fill in whatever I learn from the phone call.

Until then...

The Velveteen Heroine

2010-07-26T01:00:00.000-07:00

I submitted my manuscript to my editor about four months ago.

I am supposed to get my editorial letter sometime this week. That will be the first official feedback on my novel--the missive that tells me what major changes my publisher may wish me to make.

I don't know if I will get that letter this week or not. I won't speculate on circumstances I know nothing about. Might something come up to delay the letter? Perhaps. Not being in my editor's shoes, I will simply wait and see.

I can understand why a publisher might need to build in some extra time between the manuscript submission date and the time when the editing process starts up. I'm sure there are many times when that three or four months of lag time has saved some editor's skin, when a writer did not deliver a manuscript by the original date!

I want to assure you about something though: I have NO complaints about post-contract waits. This feels nothing like the agony of pre-contract limbo. Some of my writer-friends are still hanging in that limbo while awaiting word from publishing houses on potential contracts.

This wait has given me one enormous gift already: time to get my 1855 novel in better shape before the editorial letter sends me back to the 1825 novel.

I have learned so much from revising that 1855 novel. I had to take the whole thing apart and examine all the pieces. Then, once I started putting it back together, it stayed silent and awkward for a while. Only this week, when I put the final, crucial part into place did the thing start to hum again. Now it makes sense. It WORKS.

I had been avoiding that last part of the revision because I didn't want to deal with it. I had the sense that I wanted to do something different, that a certain aspect of my heroine's character was not right. Finally I made myself think it through. And that was that! All at once, she made sense in every way. She turned from a velveteen heroine to a Real one.

Do you write your characters into Realness, as the Velveteen Rabbit gradually became Real? Was there a specific moment as you wrote your novel when your protagonist became Real? Or do you know your main characters so thoroughly before you begin writing that they are Real from the very start?

Writers and Illness

2010-07-19T11:51:00.000-07:00

My daughter and I are both ill today--nothing serious, just a tummy virus, and not even a very bad one. Too bad we initially thought her illness was related to her unwise binge on Sour Patch Kids and Doritos! I'm just praying none of the persons who have been around us for the last 36 hours will catch the bug. I can't stand being a Typhoid Mary. But since my husband is not down yet, I hope that means that this virus is not highly contagious.

Still, the bug has brought our activities to a grinding halt. Now we're resting on couches in the living room, slowly adding one food at a time back into our diets. And I do mean slowly. We're up to dry cheerios and chicken broth, not simultaneously. I'm drinking Diet Mountain Dew because it's the safest bet to replace coffee when I still need my caffeine fix.

Anyway, I've had plenty of time to think about illness and writing, as we convalesce.

The lives of many famous authors include a period of childhood illness. Henry James, for example, was always sickly, unlike his more gregarious, manly brother William. His fiction is intensely introverted: exactly the kind of thing you would expect from someone who had too much time on his hands to analyze relationships because he couldn't go play with the other kids. I'm not knocking Henry James. He writes beautifully. It's just not fiction that makes me want to go out and do anything. It just makes me want to eat chicken broth and languish on a couch.

William, his brother, is perhaps the most famous philosopher America has produced. Now hold on a minute, you may be thinking. Philosophy's not exactly a red-blooded man's day at the ball park with hot dogs and good buddies. Point taken, but the thing is, William was writing for others. He wanted his work to influence his readers to think and live in new ways. So in that way, William's writing was extroverted. Henry wrote primarily from his introverted desire to produce something beautiful and please himself, and whether his work appealed to others was a distant second. I can't imagine someone reading the last page of any of Henry's works and going out to make a major life change that very day. Unless, perhaps, said reader was an American, about to marry a dissolute European aristocrat who would make her life miserable, and Henry's work opened her blind eyes to the reality of her situation. Ha!

Illness can be one event that triggers a child's observational nature. But sickness is not the only childhood catalyst that produces a writer. Sometimes, children become very observant for their own protection, if they are intelligent and they live through unsafe situations. They learn to pay close attention to the moods and characters of those around them in order to avoid unpleasant consequences.

Other times, a child's simple curiosity will cause her to become observant. Smart children learn early that other persons are not puppets in the child's world, but real, complex creatures with hidden thought lives that scroll through their skulls. If a child is naturally interested in puzzles and the unknown, she may begin to observe others closely in order to solve the mystery of their behavior. My daughter does this. A few weeks back, she said something to me along these lines: "Mom, I don't know if you've noticed this, but I'm not like a lot of other kids. When adults are talking to each other about adult stuff, I listen to what they are saying."

Yes, I had noticed that trait. :-) It makes my life more difficult occasionally, as my daughter will occasionally ask us something from her eavesdropping station in the back seat of the van, to which we must respond: "That's adult stuff and we're not going to tell you yet."

Another factor in my daughter's desire to ferret out our adult secrets may be her viewpoint as an only child. If she had a sibling, they might distract one another more. As it is, she has a powerful incentive to listen if she wants to be a part of the conversation.

So are you an observer of others? Is that much of what drives your writing process? And if so, what do you think first made you interested in others more than in your own thoughts and desires?

Artistic Temperament, or Artistic License?

2010-07-12T01:00:00.000-07:00

About a year and a half ago, I went through a week of severe emotional strain because I was having trouble with my novel.

One of my friends wormed out of me the reason I had been walking around red-eyed and drained. Her response: "That's so cool!"

"What? How in the world is that cool?" I asked.

"You have an artistic temperament!" she replied.

When I finished laughing, I said: "Well, I'm glad you think that's cool, because lots of people do not. In fact, I do my best to hide that part of myself from most persons I know. Artistic temperament carries a real stigma sometimes."

What is it, then, the fabled artistic temperament?

G.K. Chesterton opined that only amateurs have artistic temperaments. He believed that great artists produce art naturally and wholesomely, without frustration, and then go about their business.

Despite my respect for Chesterton, I don't agree. Most artists whom the world calls "great" are not particularly calm, even when their lives appear ordinary to a casual observer.

The artistic temperament is usually very sensitive and intense. In order to create works that speak to humankind's deepest feelings, artists must be able to feel deeply themselves. In fact, many artists are first drawn to create because they need to express perceptions or preoccupations that will not fit into ordinary conversations.

Here's the rub: the artistic temperament is the exact opposite of the type of personality most apt to succeed in business.

In business, it pays to be analytical and calm. It can even help to be a little insensitive, or at least, not as hyper-aware of others as an artist tends to be.

So as a writer who must also be a businesswoman, I have to manage my artistic temperament carefully.

It took me years to learn how to harness the intense side of my temperament. Those were hard lessons. And there are still moments when my passionate temperament trots into my everyday life and I have to shoo it back in its stall and lock the door.

Now, though, I am usually able to be passionate in my work but calm in my business dealings with others in the industry.

When I meet someone else who shares my intensity and creative drive, I usually enjoy finding what we have in common.

But every once in a blue moon, I meet someone who has turned her artistic temperament into an artistic license.

Some writers, painters, and musicians never harness their extreme passions. Instead, they run around wreaking havoc on the folks around them and excusing it as an inevitable outgrowth of their artistic temperaments.

All of us may have moments when we lose our tempers or do things in the heat of the moment that we wish we could undo. But that's not the same as a regular pattern of behavior excused as simply a product of one's artistic nature.

Here are some examples of artists behaving badly and then pulling out their artistic licenses:

A singer who regularly blows up at anyone who won't give him his way backstage

A writer who abandons her husband for another lover because she's bored and wants something new and exciting and worthy of her "artistic" life

A sculptor who makes scenes in restaurants when there is the tiniest thing wrong with her food

A composer who stays in bed for weeks (or drunk, if that's his preference) instead of supporting his children, but then excuses it as art-related and unavoidable

Fortunately, I don't have many acquaintances who behave in these ways.

Artists may perceive a great deal, and sometimes take it hard, but most of us also know that we have the same responsibilities as any other person in any other profession.

Do you ever have trouble separating your inner artist from your inner businessperson? Or the artist from the parent? Or the artist from the community volunteer? How does that artistic nature cause trouble for you?

Or, by contrast, are there times when you think your artistic temperament helps you in other areas of your life?

Writing Demons

2010-07-03T09:36:00.001-07:00

Some things about writing don't change when you get an agent or a contract.

The primary struggle of writing takes place within your own mind. If you're honest enough to be a good writer, you won't ever be arrogant! Writing is just too hard, and if you're like me, there may be times when it's hard to persist in the face of your own weaknesses.

For the last week, insidious voices have been whispering around the edges of my consciousness.

Is this really any good?

Do I love what I'm writing?

Does it have good pacing?

Will readers care to follow these characters?

And every time one voice whispers a question, one of her companions answers.

No, this novel is not as good as the last one, and it won't ever be. Your success is just a fluke. You don't have the ability to do this, and you won't get any heavenly aid this time. So stop your praying and accept the fact that you just aren't good enough. Your desire to publish is selfish, and God is not going to help you achieve your selfish goals.

These are the demons reserved just for writers. Their pitchforks poke us without mercy. Their goal is always the same: they want us to quit.

But I have this advantage. I have held these voices at bay before. I know I can outlast them. The same whispers arose as I wrote my last novel, but in the end, I realized that they lied. My work was good. And my desire to publish is not selfish.

Voices this destructive must be countered with strong words.

My aim is to help others, and God knows that.

He uses imperfect workers like me to accomplish a perfect purpose, even if our part in the plan is small.

If my work encourages even one person, it is worth all the hours of solitary labor.

I will receive the help that I need. God has never failed me in any important writing task.

I do not have to be the best writer ever to put ink on the page. I just have to do the work I've been assigned, to the best of my ability.

All serious writers know about the voices, and they're a standard joke when we talk about non-writers not recognizing the peculiar world we inhabit. The voices emanate from our own psyches. But wherever they come from, they do us no good. Defeat those voices!

How do you answer them, when they try to beat you down?

Win a $25 Starbucks Card!

2010-07-01T06:35:00.000-07:00

Hi friends,

Please stop by my interview at Keli Gwyn's blog today by clicking this link:

Rosslyn's Interview

She interviews me about my debut novel, five people who most influenced my writing, and why the failure of my first novel to land a contract was the best thing ever to happen to my writing career.

Please leave a comment at her blog so I feel the love! :-)

If you do, you will be entered in a drawing for a $25 Starbucks gift card, which is my way of buying you a cup of coffee and wishing you were here to chat in person.

Tabula Rasa: An Editing Experiment

2010-06-28T01:00:00.000-07:00

I'm going to try something new.

For the last few months, I've been rewriting the second novel in my series (set in 1855), which is the very first novel I ever wrote.

I found my voice halfway through this novel, so editing the first half has been a very odd experience.

I'm sure most writers know the process I'm about to describe, but I'll describe it anyway.

When I write first drafts, I do it from a dreamlike state much like a self-induced hallucination. Almost all writers do it. It's how we make our scenes real and sensory for our readers. If we're living out the scenes in our imaginations, it's easier to get the details right.

When I edit, I am much more rational. I'm looking at sentence construction and characterization to make sure it rings true.

This works just fine when my first draft is in my own "voice," as was the case in the second novel I wrote (set 1825).

But given that I had not hit my stride when I initially drafted the first half of this 1855 novel, I've had some difficulty claiming that earlier prose and bringing it to the standard I would like. Because it's not just a matter of editing. It involves revisualizing and rewording. Sometimes I feel as if the words I put on the page two years ago are restrictive...they cramp my ability to form new sentences and imagery.

So here's my tentative solution. When I feel the time is right, which is not just yet, I'm going to go back to those first scenes and rewrite them tabula rasa, from a blank page.

I already know what happens in these scenes, especially now that I have made the necessary changes to plot and point-of-view. All I need to do now is get away from the pressure of the existing text and reconstruct the events in my new words, in my natural voice that flows so much better than that early work.

Have you ever done this? Have you kept the events and characters of a chapter, but rewritten it from scratch to change the style of the writing? I would love to know how it worked!

And if you have other editing wisdom you've gained while editing old work, please pass it along.

Roadblocks

2010-06-21T21:09:00.000-07:00

I'm driving along towards my daughter's summer camp, minding my own business, not hurting a fly. I have allowed exactly enough time to get there, plus an extra five minutes. I'm feeling pretty pleased with myself.

As I zoom down the hill into the valley, I see something up ahead. Oh no. It can't be. An ugly orange-and-white sawhorse informs me that the road ahead is closed. Cops gesture smoothly to the right. They don't seem to care that this is the only way to the bridge across the river.

Don't they get it? MY ONLY ROAD IS BLOCKED. If I wish to get to my destination, I'm going to have to drive fifteen minutes down the road and fifteen minutes back. My daughter will miss half of her first class. I will be embarrassed, and mostly, I'm just sick of driving. Haven't I driven enough? Is the world conspiring against me despite my best efforts to do everything right?

I've been roadblocked twice in the past two months.

The first time, I rolled down my window as I passed the friendly traffic policeman manning the barrier. "Hey, is the bridge closed...?"
"You can still get there by the access road!" he called as I whizzed by.
Whew. What a relief! Only a two-minute detour.

The second time I encountered the roadblock, the bridge was completely closed. The detour was so packed and the trip so brutally long that I completely missed my doctor's appointment on the other side of town. I spent an hour-and-a-half driving a route that should have taken thirty minutes. My frustration during the first part of the drive was intense. But once I realized that I had missed my appointment, I became more philosophical. That was the route I had chosen on that morning. I wasn't able to get on or off, at least not at that moment. I had to take a deep breath and settle in for the ride, whether that portion of it was pleasant or not.

Roadblocks happen to writers. They just do. One minute, we're cruising along at 60 mph, happy as beach bums on the Pacific Coast Highway. Then blam! Someone pops up that orange barrier. Just to make it all the better, the clouds open while we're stuck in traffic, and torrential rain pours into our open topped convertible.

"Hey, I finished my book!"
"Sorry, we have too many other queries like yours."
"Hey, I got an agent!"
"Sorry, your first book didn't land a contract."
"Hey, I got a book deal!"
"Sorry, we like this novel we contracted but we need you to rewrite 50% of your story in the next 60 days."
"Hey, my book came out!"
"Sorry, it didn't sell enough to justify another contract for you."

I've seen many of my writer friends run into roadblocks over the course of the past three years.

Some get frustrated.
Some give up, turn around, and go home.
Some persevere and discover it wasn't as bad as they thought.
Some persevere and discover it WAS as bad as they thought, but they still don't give up.

Roads are blocked for a reason. We may not always know why, even much later.

We may end up on roads we don't like. They may not be as scenic as the routes we had planned. We may rail against the disappointment of this road. We may pull over, abandon our cars, and walk away.

Or we can keep going and trust that we're always going somewhere that we need to be. Even if that's through a dark valley. Even if we feel like we're driving over the broken pieces of our fondest hopes.

We all hit the roadblocks. They don't stop completely because we reach one milestone or the other.

Eventually, I always discover that the detour is more valuable than the road I had planned for myself. It just takes me a while to accept it.

Until then, I have to rely on faith.

Have you hit any roadblocks, in writing or otherwise? How do you feel about that detour?

That Dread Word 'Romance'

2010-06-13T01:00:00.000-07:00

OK. I admit it. I have a hangup about my genre.

I don't like to call my work "historical romance," even though that's its official label.

Technically, it's "inspirational historical romance." In fact, I might even go farther and say it's "inspirational historical romantic drama." But that's getting slightly ridiculous. When people ask me what I write, I usually say "historical fiction" and leave it at that.

So why don't I like to call it romance?

What's wrong with a good love story?

Nothing. Nothing at all. I couldn't have written my novels if I didn't believe in the value of love stories. I do write lots of other elements into the novels as well, but the love stories are central and bind the other elements together.

But I don't like to call them romances, because the average person on the street usually has a mental image of "romance" that is not at all like the stories I write.

Romances are stereotyped as consumable, poorly-written formula fiction. This is hardly fair. Every genre always contains some poorly-written formula novels, as well as some excellent, original ones. Fantasy illustrates this point very well. I like good fantasy novels, but I do not like many fantasy novels on the bookstore shelves. There's a lot of formula fantasy fiction that imitates Lord of the Rings, featuring elves, magic, and a threatening evil overlord. I love Tolkien like crazy. I do not love the ripoffs.

Yet, if an author tells a stranger that he writes fantasy, he won't earn the scorn that we earn when we use the word "romance" to describe our work.

Why is that?

I think it's because the pornographic nature of many "romances" has ruined the reputation of the genre. Strangers do not assume that the statement "I write fantasy novels" equals "I write pornography." But they frequently assume that any romance must be at least partly pornographic. Many are not aware of the meaning of "inspirational romance," and they do not realize that "inspirational" is by definition "non-pornographic."

I've been hanging out in Borders recently. This past Thursday, I took a stroll through the romance section and picked up books at random.

I don't think I've ever done this before. I'm not a mainstream romance reader, so I just don't look at them much.

Every single novel I picked up in the romance section had pornographic chapters. Some were more extreme than others, but all featured explicit descriptions of anatomy and sexual acts designed to stimulate the imagination and produce a certain physical response in the reader. (Note: I'm not trying to say that all mainstream romance is pornographic. Novels labeled "sweet" by the publishing industry do not contain explicit sex scenes.)

Some people think pornography is OK. I don't. I think it dehumanizes and debases everyone involved, including authors and readers. The fact that a scene takes place in one's imagination instead of on a movie screen doesn't change the essential nature of that scene.

The goal of my work is the polar opposite of that dehumanizing fiction. I aspire for my characters to bring dignity, respect, and hope to readers. I want to show what happens when we demean and oppress others, but then show how a person recovers his humanity even in the bleakest circumstances.

I hope that I can depict love at its best, which is divine love. That kind of love calls us to be stronger, more courageous, more generous, and more forgiving. I believe that divine love lies at the heart of all true love between humans, and the best marriages are built on that kind of love.

That's why I don't like to use the word "romance," with all the baggage it brings with it.

How about you? If you write stories defined as romances, how do you feel about telling strangers that dread word?

If you don't write them, what comes to mind when you hear the phrase "romance novel?" Be honest now! :-)

A Writer's Small Miracle

2010-06-07T01:00:00.000-07:00

I want to tell you about something amazing that happened to me last week.

But in order to convey the strange wonder of it, I need to tell you a few things about this first trilogy of mine.

My novels take place in Ohio and Pennsylvania before the Civil War. At that time, some Northerners defied the Fugitive Slave Law to help fleeing slaves escape to Canada.

In the novels, I tell the story of the Hanby family: real historical persons who worked on the Underground Railroad. The Hanbys left a mark on history for one reason. One member of that family wrote a song called "Darling Nelly Gray," which laments an enslaved woman lost forever to her true love. This song influenced people across the Northern United States to oppose slavery.

Most of you probably already know about the novel that did the same thing: Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin. Stowe depicted the humanity and suffering of slaves with such power that she converted many people to the abolitionist cause.

Because of the similar moral effects of the novel and the song, Americans who lived during the Civil War often called "Darling Nelly Gray" "the Uncle Tom's Cabin of song."

So here's the amazing part of the story.

All three titles of the novels in my trilogy come from a hymn.

My editor had asked me to find titles that sounded like scriptural poetry, and so I figured the best place to look for that kind of thing was in an old hymnbook.

I paged through this old songbook jotting down phrases, not bothering to record which phrase came from which hymn.

In the end, both my agent and my editor independently chose the same set of titles. Those titles had all come from the same hymn, but I hadn't recorded the name of that hymn.

So, late last week, after I had a few days to absorb my new titles, I became curious. What was that hymn that had provided such lovely titles for us?

I typed a few key words into Google and watched the search results scroll up. No, that first hymn wasn't right. It had one of the phrases, but not all of them.

Aha! There it was. The hymn that contained my titles revealed itself in the list of search results. My mysterious hymn was called "Still, Still With Thee."

I wanted to read the rest of the lyrics, so I clicked on the highlighted link.

And the first thing that came up, taking up half my screen, was a portrait of the author of this hymn.

The author of the hymn was Harriet Beecher Stowe.

I can't lie. It brought me to tears then, and every time I thought about it for the rest of the night.

I have spent four years of my life with this family and these novels. More than anything, I wanted to do their story justice.

The last couple of weeks have been rough in my personal life. I've questioned myself a lot.

But there's a touch of grace from above in the "accidental" gift of titles from Harriet Beecher Stowe across the gulf of time. I can't help but feel that in this thing, at least, Someone laid a hand on my shoulder to tell me that I got it right.

Exciting News: A Title for My Debut Novel

2010-05-23T18:51:00.000-07:00

I've just finished a trip to attend my twenty-year high school reunion. During this fun, jam-packed week, I received some news about my novel.

IT HAS A TITLE!

Last week, my editor asked me to forward her a list of potential titles. She passed on some general comments from the TN staff about what kinds of titles would best represent my work.

I was happy about their suggested guidelines. I thought my editor was very perceptive about the nature of my writing.

My next step was to sit down and generate titles. LOTS of titles. The best post I've ever seen on title brainstorming is from my own agent, Rachelle Gardner. If you need a title for your own novel, check it out.)

I narrowed my list down to seven sets of three titles each. (Each novel in the trilogy needs its own title.)

Next, I sent the title trios to my agent to get her input.

She liked the wide selection, and she named her favorite of the sets. Rachelle then encouraged me to send them on to my editor.

My editor and the Thoman Nelson staff unanimously chose the same set of titles that my agent favored.

I wasn't overly attached to any single set of titles, so I was pleased that they liked ANY of them!.

Even more important was the confidence I gained from the fact that both my agent and my editor independently selected the same set of titles as the best. These people know what they are doing. They are very experienced, and if they both advise the same course of action, I'm going to bet it's correct!

So the title for my debut novel will be:

Fairer than Morning

What do you think? Do you have a title for your work in progress? Are you very attached to it, or are you still looking for better options?

A Brief Break

2010-05-17T09:38:00.001-07:00

Hi everybody,

I am smack in the middle of two very busy weeks, so I'm going to take a break from posting this week. See you next Monday.

Enjoy the spring weather!

Are We Having Fun Yet?

2010-05-10T07:58:00.001-07:00

Does writing ever feel like this?

Sometimes mine does.

As I've mentioned, I'm revising my second novel (1855) right now.

The first chapters were heavy going, as I rearranged my mental map of the plot.

But when it feels like I'm hauling a ton of concrete every time I sit down at the computer, here's what's really happening:

Writing is hard work. Preparing the ground for a story sometimes feels like an endless drag, pushing that iron spike through the soil by force, constantly struggling to keep those horses in line. Sometimes the plow jumps the furrow and starts plowing the wrong track, and I have to go back and start that pass again.

But I've now revised eight chapters of this 1855 novel. That's eighty pages. My writerly intuition tells me that my plowing is finished. Here comes Sunday.

I get to put away the draft horses and get dressed in my nice clothes.

Time to take the fancy horses for a spin.

I usually find that somewhere between chapters five and ten, the real fun starts. The world of the novel has become solid, and I no longer need the heavy draft horses of analysis, character building, and structural thinking. The lighter, faster steeds of the imagination get to harness up for a race through the park.

Is this how it works for you? Is there a point when it gets easier? Or do you start with the fast fun horses, and switch to the draft haulers later?

This post is dedicated to Charmaine, because of her love for extended writing analogies. :-)

When Writing Books Mess with Your Head

2010-05-03T01:00:00.000-07:00

Books about the craft of writing can be very helpful. If you use a good craft book you plan out your novel, you can save yourself a lot of frustration by developing characters and plot before you actually write. Jody Hedlund has compiled a great list of writers' favorite writing books.

But those books can also be a trap.

A writer I know recently showed me a new draft of a few chapters.

"What happened to Character A?" I asked. "I liked him when he was hardhearted and more interesting. He's all soft now. You already have enough sympathetic characters. You need a few harder ones for balance."

My friend told me that he had recently looked back over a writing book and made all kinds of notes about what his characters would or would not do, based on the principles in the writing book. Those notes changed his perceptions of his characters. And that was what led to my dissatisfaction with Character A's transformation into a sensitive New Age man.

"But you already knew your characters," I said. "You didn't need to think about them in a developmental way anymore. You can't let those writing books mess with your head. They're best at the beginning of the process, or as an emergency backup in the middle if your novel starts to fall apart. But yours wasn't falling apart. It was good!"

He agreed with me that he had been led astray by over-thinking, both in that change and in a subplot twist that grew way too big for its britches. He told me that he had had that funny feeling that all writers get when we know that something is not quite right, but we need an objective reader to help us identify the problem.

One of the things I love about this friend is that he also can tell ME when I've pushed something too far in a novel. That's what writing friends are for!

Have you ever been led astray by a writing book that you read at the wrong point in your writing process?

Divine Appointments

2010-04-26T01:00:00.000-07:00

If you've been around writers who are also people of faith, you may have heard this term "divine appointments."

People use it to describe encounters that happen at conferences (or anywhere else) that are not planned or expected, but end up being much better for you than any of your own plans. (The secular word for this phenomenon is serendipity, which strikes me as a boring, cop-out word for several reasons. But I digress.)

Halfway through the first day of this two-day conference, I found myself thinking: "Hey, nothing's really happening here. No workshop is lighting my fire this year, and I have all my curriculum planned. Why am I here?"

The question "Why am I here?" is very powerful, and I should ask it regularly! It doesn't go unanswered.

A week before, I had volunteered to introduce a couple of workshops in response to a request for help from the convention organizers. I told them they could just sign me up for any workshop that still needed an introductory speaker. They assigned me to two sessions.

The first workshop they assigned me is one I never would have chosen to attend if left to my own devices. The subject sounded interesting, but the description made it clear that it was primarily aimed at parents of midddle- and high-school students. My daughter is only seven.

Enter the divine appointment.

Attending that workshop clarified my vision of how I want to parent. It was transformative. It illuminated my murky thinking and helped me understand how I would like to guide my child and even how to imagine the shape of my life, as a whole.

But that's not all.

On the second day, I went back for a second workshop by these same presenters.

During that workshop, something they said made me realize that I also might be in a position to help them with a challenge.

Divine appointments rock.

So what does this have to do with writing and my life as a newly-contracted author?

Well, throughout this past week, the wonderful people at Thomas Nelson have been praying for me. My editor told me they pray for all their authors by name, week by week. I was very moved by this revelation. They even asked me before the week began whether I had any concerns or prayer requests to share.

You know what I asked them to pray for?

My discernment.

I asked for clear sight.

Ask, and it shall be given to you.

_______________________________________________________________

How about you? Anyone else had any divine appointments lately?