Peek into the Writing World

For the last few months, I have been researching the crazy world of authorship. I would gush into the Aladdin song, "A whole new world!" but I'll save your eyes. I used to think, "It's not hard. I could write a novel and get published", but I am finding out such statements are naive.

Like any industry, the writing world is dynamic and full of competition. You can't just open up Word and write any ole tall tale and think it will be published. You need to know your audience, your genre, your story orientation, is your story first person or third, how you will market the book and yourself, what your platform will be and how you will get your foot in the door as new author. This is just to get an agent to pay attention to you. Writing a book for everyone of all ages won't fly. You can't just say you will write your book and throw your headshot on a poster and people will flock to your novel so you become an "overnight" smashing success like The Hunger Games. Notice the quotes? There's no such thing as an overnight success. I digress.

Up comes the age old question of "how do you get experience if no one will take a chance on you to give you experience?" You can write articles and try to get published in magazines. You can pay money to enter writing competitions and  hopefully win, or at least get feedback. Or you can keep writing and writing and writing and submitting to agents endlessly until someone likes your style and decides to give you a chance. Also you can write a blog and build your following, attend conferences and workshops, get other authors to endorse you, or commit a huge crime that gets national coverage. (Just kidding.)

So why go to all the trouble to find an agent and then a publisher? Why not self-publish? While the process works for some and some fabulous writers have self-published, most publishers view self-publishing as a shortcut. It would be similar to someone singing locally and putting their music on Youtube versus getting a record deal with a label. Is the publisher really the end all of writing? I know I am somewhat old fashion in this regard and many people disagree with me, but a publishing house putting their name next to yours means that they think your writing is high quality enough to endorse. With that said, some people do get great followings by self-publishing, but with self-publishing you are never guaranteed great writing. Self-publishing has undermined the authority of established publishers. (Three cheers for the underdog!) But regardless of self or traditional publishing, the truly classic pieces of literature will remain no matter what turns the publishing industry takes. I see both sides. 

In all the craziness, it's been a lot of fun. I have read 4 books that have destroyed my ability to mindlessly enjoy a book that is poorly written. For you potential writers out there, start with Rivet Your Readers with Deep Point of View by Jill Elizabeth Nelson. That will knock your socks off and get you to revise your book or your blog or just your emails. If you read to relax at night and just like the story, I highly recommend not reading that book. 

As an aside, I have had a nibble from an agent. One step closer. I would love your feedback if you've made it this far through the post without crying in boredom. How would you build a following?

Imprisoned No More

If I had to be honest, one of the hardest lessons I have had to learn over the past 5 years has been to no longer fear what others think of me. My initial fear (aside from my human nature) all stemmed from a long time ago when a negative opinion affected me in a huge way as a child. A youth pastor said this. A teacher said that. And suddenly, I was in serious trouble with the authorities in my life and headed down a really bad path in life. I wasn't actually. It just seemed that way every time someone said something negative about me and I got in trouble. Suddenly, I was deviating from God's plan and heading straight for the gates of Hell. Perhaps that seems a tad dramatic, but the issue was presented to me in black and white so that's how I learned it.

The lesson I learned was- always care what others think about you or there will be consequences. Finally when I became an adult, I was tripping over myself trying to make everyone happy and everyone like me. It didn't work. In fact, once in college a leader pulled me aside and told me that I needed to quit trying to ease the tension in awkward situations. Hm... except my personality is to try to make people comfortable and make situations less severe than they are sometimes. It's part of who I am. Maybe it's something that I can change or maybe it's something that I can't. Regardless, I'm not going to turn my life upside down because one guy thought that my personality was too boisterous or I laugh too much or tell too many jokes.

True freedom came when I finally realized that indeed no one's opinion of me will truly drastically alter my life in way that I won't be able to survive any longer. The only life changing opinion would be if I went to court and others had to decide if I was guilty or not guilty. But aside from that, not a whole lot changes. Do I love friends and family? Absolutely yes. Would I love it if I could publish a book someday and have lots of readers? No question- yes. But if all those things escape my grasp because of people's opinion of me, then I don't want them. I don't want my life to be bound by the handcuffs of others' opinion of me.

By no means am I saying I want the path of least resistance. I am saying that no matter the resistance I want to remember that my freedom is not given to me through others' opinions. My freedom has come from the fact that my heart has been set free by Jesus. Only His thoughts matter. 

Have A Laugh. I Did.

A few truly funny pics taken from DOGHOUSE 

Jack and I have had this conversation a bunch. What constitutes spending time together?

             

                                  Oh so true...

           

Final one...

The Death of A Blog

The internet... the place where blogs go to die. Every blog starts with a fabulous idea and a passion for the subject. The blog starts as a journal of what you are doing and how you do it. It's exciting to you. It's exciting to a few others. And then it happens. The blog loses its luster to you. You get busy, but it's not always the nebulous "life" that intercepts your ability to blog. Some blogs are predictably short-lived. Others seem to have a topic so broad that it can't possibly be exhausted. Both can be bad for you.

A blog about life with 11 kids and 4 dogs? How are you going to keep up? Game plan: blog when they are all in bed. Game plan's point of failure: when they don't all go to bed.

A blog about cooking adventures. Cooking is your passion there's no way this could go wrong. Until you finally get a job doing what you love- cooking. Then the last thing you want to think about when you get home is what you cooked at work.

For me, I started blogging because it was a free hobby and I love writing. (Most hobbies definitely are not free.) My topic is to post anything that makes me laugh (humored), makes think (enlightened), or brings me joy (delighted). As much as I love it, I find writing for myself incredibly boring. I fill up pages of journals for my mind's prosperity, but mostly so that someday I (or others) can look back and see where I have been. Will anyone actually care enough to read through them? It probably depends on how and when I die. Morbid, you say? Perhaps, but will you look through my journals while I'm alive? Only if you are a creep or I give you permission, because I could just tell you the stories I wrote about. However, the threat to my blog is not necessarily life, although finding time to blog is key. I have discovered that the greatest threat to my blog is when I spend a fair amount of time in a day writing creatively for another purpose.

When I spend hours of my free time learning to the craft of writing, writing, re-writing, and think about writing, the last thing I think about is writing for writing's sake. Everyone's struggle is unique. While I have slowed down the pace of my blogging, I am determined to never issue the final death blow to my blog- the official sign off. Some people never sign off as if to leave with dignity of never admitting failure, but this merely prolongs the agony of a failed passion point. Those are skeletons of blogs that we see lying around the internet with the last update from the blog listed as August 13, 2008. You can find them by clicking the Next Blog link at the top of this webpage and doing a little blog surfing.

My challenge to myself and to you (whether you have a blog or not) with whatever you love: Keep the passion fresh. Identify the failure points. Know when to sign-off and move on.

Bears Need A Ladder

Some good people right here!

God's Will- Sacred vs Secular Jobs

I don't know about your upbringing, but my youth pastors spent many years trying to unveil the massive mystery of how we discern God's will. When you are young, it's unbelievably confusing to figure out if you should be a veterinarian or a rocket science or a missionary. Where does God want me in life? What does He want me doing? The Bible says I should go to all nations and preach the gospel. Should I be a missionary even though I am very skilled at cabinet making? Then the guilt would get laid on.

My pastor recently spoke on Colossians 3:17- And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. 

This is blowing my heart up right now. What is God's will for you? God's will is to do whatever it is that God has given you a passion for. It takes some time in life to figure out what your true passions are. But when you find them, don't think that God maliciously wants you to suppress what He has designed you to love. You are wired differently than anyone else. Your talents are unique. 

I think that some preachers falsely make their listeners feel guilty that they are not dropping all they have and heading to the mission field. Yes people need to go to the mission field, because how else will people hear? But how else will your coworkers or clients hear if you aren't at your job? There often was talk in when I was growing up about "sacred" and "secular" jobs. Somehow people got the idea that "sacred" (church) jobs were better than laymen jobs. And the verse totally negates that. It's not what you DO that makes it sacred. It's the purpose for which you do what you do. Whatever you do, do it in the name of Jesus. 

There is freedom in Jesus and we find it when we realize that we were created to do what we love in order to make the name of Jesus known. God's name is already great, but we are called to lift up His name so that all can know who He is. Then the Spirit draws people to Himself.

So chase after what you love. Be the best at what you do, because you have access to people that pastors never will. Your purpose is to lift high the name of Jesus no matter what you do. Enjoy that freedom! If there is any hesitation about what God wants from you in life, chase after what He has designed you to love and then when you do- lift up the name of Jesus.

Google Blue- April Fool's Stunt

I thought this was a hilarious April Fool's Day joke from Google. This is how jokes are supposed to be... funny... not mean or mean but excused away... just plain funny. Enjoy!