Making Use of the Waiting Time

 Almost a month ago, when Emily Rodmell announced she was leaving Love Inspired, 40 of us became her publishing orphans. 

Okay, that sounds a bit dramatic, but it got me to thinking, so expect this post to be a bit of a philosophical ramble. 😉 I hope you'll stay with me and share your own thoughts.

Change is a reality of the publishing industry (not that we have a monopoly on that - change is a reality of life). And as the Bible tells us, 

There is a time for everything,

    and a season for every activity under the heavens:

     a time to be born and a time to die,

    a time to plant and a time to uproot,

     a time to kill and a time to heal,

    a time to tear down and a time to build,

     a time to weep and a time to laugh,

    a time to mourn and a time to dance,

     a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,

    a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,

     a time to search and a time to give up,

    a time to keep and a time to throw away,

    a time to tear and a time to mend,

    a time to be silent and a time to speak,

     a time to love and a time to hate,

    a time for war and a time for peace.

I'm showing my age here, but when I started to think about this blog, this song came to mind. (The Byrds - "Turn, Turn, Turn."

But reality or not, change can be hard. It's a time full of uncertainty, challenge, and  often waiting. 

It's the waiting that's often hardest, isn't it? Whether it be a medical diagnosis, an exam result, or a new editor. In the words of Tom Petty:

The waiting is the hardest part

Everyday you see one more card

You take it on faith, you take it to the heart

The waiting is the hardest part

So what do we do in that waiting season? As I contemplated this post, that's what I zeroed in on. 

What matters is not the waiting itself, but what we do in the waiting time.

A friend recently gave me advice: Don't stop writing! (That came from her personal experience. Last year, she'd stopped writing during the five month wait to hear from a new editor, so it was a case of Do as I say, not as I did).

Don't stop writing.

That's one of the keys to success in this industry, isn't it? Don't. Stop. Writing.

Because the waiting time isn't going away.

Hurry up and get that contest entry done - and then wait months for the results.

Hurry up and get that proposal done - and then wait to get approval.

Hurry up and get that book submitted - and then wait months or even years to see it published.

So what is a writer to do in the waiting time?

A. She could languish - waste precious time wallowing in the wait.

B. She could refill her creative well - read and experience life so there is freshness to write about.

C. She could continue to write.

If this was a multiple choice test, the only wrong answer would be A. The best is probably a combination of B and C. 

If we are in agreement that not writing is wrong, then the question that follows is how do you keep motivated to do that?

When the road ahead is murky, when you can't see where it leads (and pray it's not off a cliff!), how do you make yourself keep going? How do you keep those fingers on the keyboard?

We often talk about how lucky we are to live in a publishing era where we have options. And I think maybe that's the answer. That's what makes the waiting easier. We have options.

Not sure whether you'll win that contest or get a contract? 

Not sure if your editor  (old or new) will like your voice, your plot, anything about the book at all?

The important thing to remember is, even if those come to pass, you're not out of options. There  are other publishing houses or you can Indie publish it.

In other words, there is only one way to guarantee your book will not be published - stop writing it.

I promise to listen to my own advice.  Will you?

When I went to Bible Gateway to copy the verse from  Ecclesiastes, I came upon this verse of the day:

Jeremiah 17:7-8 (New International Version 

“But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.”

It felt like a particularly appropriate balm and reminder to my doubting heart, because as writers of Christian fiction, we have that ultimate assurance that whatever change may come, however long we wait, God is good and our trust remains in Him, not in the whims of the publishing market. He will light our way.

Please share your thoughts or experiences. How do you handle the waiting time?

All photos from Pixabay.

Falling in Love with Your Next Book

 by Mindy Obenhaus

So here I am at the beginning of a new story. And I'm realizing the process is a lot like dating. C'mon, let me show you what I mean.

The Initial Meeting -

Your eyes meet, and you both feel it. That spark. You strike up a conversation, and your heart is all aflutter. Could this be the one? 

Yes, each and every book starts with a spark of an idea. It could be a premise or a character. Whatever the case, you're intrigued. And the possibilities seem endless. But before you can commit to writing the story, you need more information.

Getting to Know You -

You meet for coffee, go on a few dates, text/talk often. Learning a little bit more about one other with each conversation.

As with any good relationship, you have to get to know one another. Perhaps there's an element to your story that you don't know much about. Do your research to find out if it will work for what you have in mind. 

You also need to get to know your characters. What do they do for a living? Where are they from? What is their family like? Do they have siblings? What are their likes and dislikes? What do they want out of life (aka, goal), why (motivation) and what stands in their way (conflict)? 

Taking Things to the Next Level -

Things are clicking. But before you commit to a relationship, you want to know more about them. Their hopes and dreams. Do they want kids? 

It takes time to dig deeper and find out what makes your characters tick. The more you know, the more layered your characters become. And those layers not only enrich a story, they can often drive it. What is their greatest dream? Their greatest fear? And don't forget to channel your inner four-year-old by perpetually asking "Why?"

Make or Break?

So, the relationship seems to be clicking. But are you just comfortable with each other or do you see it becoming a committed relationship?

If a story isn't working or seems to fall flat, then it might be time to move on. Go back to the drawing board. Though things might not be a total wash. In this story I'm working on, I had the right characters, but I was trying to fit them into a story that was all wrong for them. There was no conflict. So, I came up with a completely different plot where the conflict was organic and not forced. And now the sparks are really flying. 

New story love can be exhilarating. We're infatuated with the characters and the story. But infatuation doesn't necessarily lead to a happily ever after. Get to know both your story and your characters before taking the plunge so you have all the elements to carry you on to that happily ever after.

I'm giving away a copy of Easter on the Ranch, a 2-in-1 with the first book in my Rocky Mountain Heroes series, Their Ranch Reunion, and Jessica Keller's The Rancher's Legacy. Simply leave a comment to be entered. (US mailing addresses, please)

Spring and second chances

The Rancher's Legacy by Jessica Keller

Returning home isn’t part of Rhett Jarrett’s plan—until he inherits the family ranch from his father. Running it won’t be easy with his ranch assistant and childhood friend, Macy Howell, challenging all his decisions. But a long-buried family secret might help Rhett begin to see things Macy’s way…and allow them to find love—and a home—together at last.

Their Ranch Reunion by Mindy Obenhaus

Single mom Carly Wagner is surprised to learn she’ll have to share ownership of the home she’s inherited with her first love, Andrew Stephens. Now a successful businessman, he’s standing in the way of her dreams to expand her B and B. Andrew has eight weeks to buy Carly out. But Carly’s too stubborn to persuade—and too beautiful to ignore. Should he leave and chase another deal…or stay and chase Carly’s heart?

Award-winning author Mindy Obenhaus is passionate about touching readers with Biblical truths in an entertaining, and sometimes adventurous, manner. She lives on a ranch in Texas with her husband, two sassy pups, countless cattle, deer and the occasional coyote, mountain lion or snake. When she's not writing, she enjoys spending time with her grandchildren, cooking and watching copious amounts of the Hallmark Channel. Learn more at www.MindyObenhaus.com  

The Lingo of Storytelling - reprise edition

 

Good morning, Seekerville!

Last month I brought you a post about writing in "Baby Bits." (You can read that post HERE.) When I wrote that post, I thought I had been through the proverbial wringer...but God wasn't done with me yet. The week after that post appeared, my father passed away suddenly while I was still in the middle of serving on the jury of that criminal case. Meanwhile some health symptoms related to my hyperparathyroidism were increasing.

So, what is a writer to do? After much prayer, I decided to step down from many responsibilities in my life and take a sabbatical until after my surgery and my father's memorial service at the end of March.

I'm planning to step back into my normal (?) life by April 1st, hopefully energized, thinking clearly, and able to write again.

I have a feeling I'm going to have to refresh my memory on many things about writing - so I'm starting here with a reprise edition of a post I wrote a couple years ago.

I hope the reminder is as valuable to you as it is to me!

The Lingo of Storytelling

A few weeks ago, Mary Conealy brought us a post about the Lingo of Designed Pages – a brief vocabulary of the series of edits we authors enjoy as our stories travel from our computers to published books. You can read that post here: Designed Pages--the Lingo

Today, I’m bringing you a brief introduction to the vocabulary of writing stories. I’ve gleaned these often-used but seldom-defined words from questions posed by newbie writers. Some of these might be familiar to you, but some might not be.

Just for fun, see if you can come up with a definition before reading mine. Keep track of the times we agree, and then share your score in the comments!

1. Protagonist: As the main character in the story, the protagonist is the person that the story is about. Also called the Hero or the Heroine. A romance will have both.

2. Antagonist: The antagonist in the story is the character who is working against the protagonist. The bad guy. Of course, the antagonist doesn’t have to be a guy (think of Cruella D’Ville in 101 Dalmatians) or even a person. It can be a setting, the weather, or even the fallout from a bad decision the protagonist made in the past. The antagonist doesn’t even have to be “bad,” as long as he or she is working against the protagonist’s goals.

3. Secondary Character: This is any character who adds to the characters’ stories without insisting on telling their own. These are the parents, the neighbors, the sidekicks, the grandmotherly woman at church. Secondary characters round out your cast of characters and give your protagonist someone to talk to or to react to. They can also provide a much needed moment of comic relief in a tense scene.

4. Active Voice: This is a grammar term that means that the subject of the sentence is the one doing the action of the verb. Like this: “Sam ate the grasshopper.” The active voice is preferable for modern popular fiction since it tends to keep the reader involved in the action of the story.

5. Passive Voice: Another grammar term. In the passive voice, the subject of the sentence is the one having the action done to him. Like this: “The grasshopper was eaten by Sam.” Quite often, a passive voice sentence will have an understood agent, as in: “The grasshopper was eaten.” The passive voice is out of favor in popular fiction right now, so learn to identify the passive voice and to turn those sentences into active ones.

By the way, does it help to know that Sam is a dog? He'll eat anything that stays still long enough to go into his mouth!

 
6. In media res: This is a Latin term that used to be taught in composition and writing classes. It means “in the middle of things.” We quite often refer to the concept without using the Latin phrase – we all know to start our stories in the middle of the action, right?

7. Three-Act Structure: This is one way to structure a plot. There are others, but this is the one you see most often. It’s intuitive to both the author and the reader and easy to use. What are the three acts? 

The basics: 1, 2, 3. Beginning, Middle, End. 

Easy Peasy, Lemon Squeezy. 

Until someone adds in a “2A” and a “2B.” Then, if you’re like me, you start thinking in four acts instead of three… 

But the main point is that there is a structure to your writing that readers can follow.

8. Plot Points: This subject is big enough for its own book – and many authors have written books about Plot Points! But we’re only talking about vocabulary today.

Plot points are the more-or-less evenly spaced turning points within the structure of your story. Depending on the writer, you might have three plot points, or as many as sixteen. I work with five major plot points and two or three minor ones. Every author develops their own method and names for plot points, and some of the names you might hear are “inciting incident,” “call to adventure,” “moment of grace,” “black moment,” “final battle,” etc.

9. Synopsis: This is a summary of the completed story that tells potential agents, editors, and publishers what your story is about. The length varies depending on the guidelines of the entity you’re sending it to, but one thing never varies: always tell the complete story, including the surprise ending.

10. Back Cover Copy: This is a different kind of summary of your story. This is what you write to entice readers to open the book and start reading the story. It should have a great hook and never, ever give away the ending of the story. 

This was just a beginning of the vocabulary we need to acquire during our steep learning curve of becoming an author. If you think of any that I missed, be sure to mention them in the comments!

Writing in Baby Bits

 

Have you ever had one of those days weeks months?

Here we are on the third Monday of January. In November I had my new year planned with plenty of time for writing along with my usual volunteer activities. Throw in a doctor’s appointment or two and some expected minor surgery, and my winter plans were complete.

But NOTHING has gone the way I planned so far!

It all started with my summons for jury duty…and I was selected to serve on a jury for a criminal case that is expected to last four weeks or more. So every day I show up at the courthouse, listen to testimonies and cross-examinations, and then go home exhausted and heart-sore from the tough testimony I’ve heard. Then I try to keep the details straight until we do it all over again the next day.

I realized before the second day of the trial was over that I needed to be super focused on my writing during my available time – somewhere between 6:00 and 6:30 in the morning. And I can only squeeze out about ten minutes during that half-hour.

What is an author to do???

Since I know this situation isn’t permanent (it isn’t, right?) I only needed to come up with a solution to last for those four weeks or so. I wanted to make some progress on my WIP, but mostly I didn’t want to lose the story.

What do I mean by losing the story? It’s when you take such a long break that you’ve lost the heartbeat of your story and have to spend time reading through all your notes and what you’ve written so far to bring it back again.

Photo courtesy ShutterStock

 

Enter Baby Bits. I got this concept from homemaking. One YouTuber I listen to calls it “Tiny Tidies.” That’s where instead of dedicating hours to cleaning your house, you take care of tiny messes whenever you see them.

How long does it take to put a magazine back in the magazine rack? Less than a minute. Stick a few dirty dishes in the dishwasher? Maybe two minutes. In fifteen minutes or less your living room and kitchen can look presentable.

Do you get the idea?

How long does it take to write two hundred words? Would you believe about ten minutes?

And two hundred words are enough to breathe life into my story each morning.

Of course, these two hundred words aren’t going to show up if I go into my story cold. It takes preparation.

 
When I decided to approach my story this way, I needed to read through it again, have an idea of what was going to happen in this scene, and since I was introducing a new POV character, I needed to understand who she was and how I wanted to portray her.

By Wednesday morning when I sat down for ten minutes between my first cup of tea and my shower, I knew what I was going to write. That afternoon during a break from the court room, I jotted down some notes that covered the rest of the scene. The next morning, I was able to make more progress.

Is this a permanent solution? No. If I was working full time outside my home, I would need to come up with a different kind of writing schedule.

But the “Baby Bits” of writing each morning will help keep my story alive until I can return to my regular routine - hopefully by the middle of February!

What secrets do have of coping with unexpected breaks in your routine?

 

 

From HS Creative Writing Assignment to Debut Novel: The Evolution of Matty Redd

 by Ryan Steck

Back when I was in tenth grade, there was a young teaching intern who, in an attempt to excite a less-than-enthused group of teenagers, tasked us with a creative writing assignment unlike any other. Our homework, she explained, was to write a short story about anything we wanted, but here’s where it got fun—nothing was off-limits content-wise, including language, action, violence, you name it.

Back then (though my wife might argue this is true today as well), I was very much the type of fifteen-year-old who, if you gave me an inch, I would take ten miles. Always one to push the boundaries in high school, I went home ready to dive into my assignment, knowing full well that I was going to indeed pack my story full of action, language, and plenty of violence. So I started writing. And soon, a fully fleshed-out character came to me. His name was Matty Redd.

*image from Pixabay

My short story, which I cranked out over the weekend, featured Redd, a young vigilante on a comic book–like quest to rid his school of injustice. There was a lot of language and even more action, which, if I’m honest, was all unnecessary and only added, well, simply because we could. Or so I thought.

Supremely proud of my short story, I turned it in, excited for feedback and to see our teacher’s reaction. She had, after all, given us free rein, and though I was fully aware I pushed the envelope a tad (okay, a lot), there was also a side of me that knew I started the project almost as a joke and ended up writing with conviction and excitement. The class clown back then, I didn’t necessarily want people to know that I tried so hard to produce a complete story, as that wasn’t the “cool” thing to do. And yet, I couldn’t help but wonder what our intern would think of Matty Redd.

As fate would have it, there were a couple things about that assignment I wasn’t aware of when I first sat down to write it. For starters, it came as a big surprise to me when, the next day in class, it was announced that in order to receive peer-to-peer feedback, everyone would randomly be assigned someone else’s paper to read out loud in the class. I can still remember the face of the poor kid who had to read my paper, Matty Redd, in front of everyone. His cheeks turned a deep shade of red, and on several occasions, he stopped to ask our intern if he should keep reading. She let him, but I’m telling you, that moment had all the makings of a Southwest Airlines commercial. You know, the ones that always show someone in an awkward moment which ends with “Wanna get away?” Well, he did. It was brutal.

The second thing I didn’t realize about that assignment was that it had to be reviewed by the teacher. Not the young, cool, hip intern. No. By the actual teacher, and let me tell you something, he did not share his intern’s taste for boundary-pushing teenage crime fiction. The following day, I was called down to the office, where I promptly found my parents, the superintendent, and the principal waiting for me. I wasn’t sure what was going on at first, but the situation went from bad to worse when my principal whipped out a copy of Matty Redd and had my parents read it. That moment, by the way, would have made a great follow-up commercial—as it most certainly had a “Wanna get away?” vibe to it, and not only for me. My parents were embarrassed too, and though I knew I would be in trouble, something funny happened. Of all the times I had gotten in trouble in school, for once, my parents were on my side. Their main point was that, yeah, maybe I took things too far, but after all, that was the assignment, and therefore, because I did what was asked, there shouldn’t be a punishment. The school disagreed and suspended me for a week. It was, for the record, the only suspension where I wasn’t in trouble at home and basically served as a weeklong vacation. Still, I learned my lesson.

Flash forward more than fifteen years later, and something else happened . . .

I thought, back then, as an immature fifteen-year-old, that Matty Redd had come to me as a fully fleshed-out character. I was wrong, though, and in my adult life, armed with a new mindset and more life experiences shaped by getting older, marriage, and even fatherhood, I realized there was a lot about Matthew Redd that I didn’t know. And one day, I started wondering what, all these years later, he might be up to. I knew I wanted to be a storyteller, and as I researched and began shaping plot ideas, it was clear to me that the perfect character to anchor my story was Matty Redd.

Turns out, Matthew Redd was the same guy I always knew, albeit much older and similarly armed with a plethora of new life experiences himself. Over the course of about a year and more than 100,000 words later, I explored who he is but also what message he might want to send. That, coupled with a story idea I had in mind about a mystery set in Montana that would lead to a global conspiracy, turned into Fields of Fire, my debut novel—and the first book in my Matty Redd thriller series—set to hit bookstores on September 6.

I’ve met a lot of people over the years who tell me there’s a story they always wanted to tell or maybe a plot concept they had come up with but never explored because they never got around to it for one reason or another. My message is always the same and one that I truly believe in: Do it! It’s never too late, by the way, so what’s stopping you? There was nothing out of the ordinary about me that led to me being an author. At the end of the day, I’m just an adult version of the same kid who took a creative writing assignment way too far in high school, only now I do it for a living. You can too. Start one page at a time. One chapter a time. Write and don’t give up. First drafts don’t need to be good; that’s what editing and second drafts are for. Just keep at it, and don’t ever give up.

By the way, that same principal—who I greatly admire—who suspended me is now my kids’ principal. And it turns out, Matthew Redd is the gift that keeps giving. Not only did I get a week off school, but I also got a book deal out of him. Who would have thought, right? Moving forward, I can’t wait to see what trouble he gets into next and to finally be able to introduce him to readers.

About Ryan

Ryan Steck is an editor, an author, and the founder and editor in chief of The Real Book Spy. Ryan has been named an "Online Influencer" by Amazon and is a regular columnist at CrimeReads. TheRealBookSpy.com has been endorsed by #1 New York Times bestsellers Mark Greaney, Lisa Scottoline, Brad Thor, and many others. A resident of Michigan, along with his wife and their six kids, Steck cheers on his beloved Detroit Tigers and Lions during the rare moments when he's not reading or talking about books on social media. He can be reached via email at Ryan@TheRealBookSpy.com.

About Fields of Fire

“You know Ryan Steck as the Real Book Spy. Now, get to know him as the author of Fields of Fire, his debut thriller featuring Marine Raider Matthew Redd in a battle that will leave you speechless and begging for more. Lock and load!” —Jack Carr, Navy SEAL Sniper and #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Devil’s Hand

Waiting to be deployed on a critical mission, elite Marine Raider Matthew Redd stops to help a stranger and wakes up hours later to learn his team was wiped out in an ambush. Unable to remember anything, Redd can’t deny the possibility that he’s somehow responsible for the information leak that led to the massacre. He’s given a deal to avoid a charge of treason, but it means walking away from the Corps and the life he loved.

As he faces his loss, Matty gets a cryptic message from his adoptive father, J. B.: “Trouble’s come knocking. . . . Might need your help.” He points his truck home to rural Montana, only to discover that J. B. is dead and the explanation for his death is far from satisfying. Determined to dig up the truth, Redd uncovers a dark global conspiracy with his hometown at the center and no team at his back—except one he might find among past friends, old enemies, and new allies, if he can figure out who to trust.

Releases on September 6, 2022.

Giveaway*

Please leave a comment for Ryan for a chance to win a copy of Fields of Fire.

*Giveaway courtesy of Tyndale House Publishers and is subject to giveaway terms and conditions of Seekerville and Tyndale House Publishers. US Mailing addresses only.

Incorporating Real-Life Events into Your Story

 by Janice Cantore

In the fiction I write and read, I love to feel a sense of reality and authenticity. It’s easier for me to lose myself in a story if it’s all plausible. That’s what incorporating real-life events into a novel does—it makes the fiction seem real. A fictional tale that sounds real becomes more than words on a page. Readers can picture the story in their minds when each page sings with something that could have come from today’s headlines. When I write, one real-life event may simply nurture my story idea, while another may become a whole novel. Adding realistic details throughout can also infuse a novel with life, making everything about it come alive for the reader.

In every novel I write, I try to incorporate something I’ve personally experienced or a real-life event I’ve read about. The idea for my first book with Tyndale, Accused, grew from a very sad real-life event. A sixteen-year-old had been arrested for killing a crossing guard and stuffing her body in the trunk of a car. I was working juvenile at the time, and I remember seeing the kid and wondering what made him into a killer. He looked so normal. Later, more and more what-ifs strolled through my mind, and I landed on the story idea. “What if he didn’t do it?” Then, “What if the only person who believes him is the cop who books him?” Accused was born.

In my novel Catching Heat, the third in the Cold Case Justice series, one of the story ideas was born after I watched an episode of the TV show Cold Case Files. It was about Kristen Smart, a college student in San Luis Obispo who disappeared in 1996. Everyone in California who was alive then probably remembers the name. Her photo was everywhere as her frantic folks begged witnesses to come forward. The last person to see her alive was a guy who claimed he simply walked her home. There were holes in his story and circumstantial evidence pointed to him, but his parents shut down any police inquiry, and the case went cold. 

Sadly, it’s very plausible for a college student to go missing from her college campus. Making up a parallel case for my novel, I had my cold case detectives travel to San Luis Obispo to work on the case. In this case, the boyfriend was the suspect and everyone involved in the cold case knew he did it; they just couldn’t prove it. My fictional detectives worked their way through the evidence and found a way to trip up the boyfriend and solve the murder. 

As an interesting side note, the detectives handling the Smart case never gave up. In 2016, police in San Luis Obispo announced they had new evidence. By 2021, the guy who walked Kristen Smart home—and his father—were arrested and charged with her murder. 

In my latest novel, Code of Courage, real-life riots spawned the story. I’m certain most people can remember the riots last summer, images of stores burning and large angry mobs confronting police. I was horrified by it because it brought up memories of the riots I experienced while a police officer in Long Beach in 1992. I wanted to tell a story about riots and their impact on a community, from the perspective of a police officer dealing with the danger of an out-of-control, rioting mob. 

Incorporating real life into a novel is more than single events. Often in my novels I include minor details that I remember from patrol work. Things like how the leather in my belt squeaked when I would get in and out of the car, or how hard it was to secure a combative suspect in the back seat, or how bad a drunk smelled at two in the morning. Sometimes the odor lingered long after the drunk was gone. I also try to convey how wonderful it was to belong to the brotherhood of law enforcement, the thin blue line. The feeling of family makes working in law enforcement special, and I hope readers get that sense from my books.

Yes, it’s fiction, make-believe, but the more real you make a story sound, the more easily readers will get lost in the fiction. I love to get lost in a novel when I read, and I hope people reading my stories will feel that way about them.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Janice Cantore is a retired Long Beach police officer who now writes suspense novels to keep readers engrossed and leave them inspired. Her twenty-two years of experience on the force lend authenticity to her stories. She has penned thirteen novels: the Line of Duty series, the Cold Case Justice series, the Pacific Coast Justice series, Critical Pursuit, Visible Threat, Breach of Honor, and Code of Courage.

ABOUT CODE OF COURAGE

Detective Danni Grace has never met a police officer who wants to face a scenario where pulling the trigger on another person is the only option. When the worst does occur and there’s a police-involved shooting, it leads to riots and calls to disband the entire police force in La Rosa, Danni’s hometown.

After fifteen years on the force, Danni has had enough. Injured in the line of duty when a protester throws a chunk of concrete at her and shaken by the vitriol being shown to the police, Danni realizes for the first time that she’s lost her passion for the job.

While she’s on a leave of absence, though, a community activist in La Rosa is shot and a fellow officer is blamed for his murder. Taking on this case means stepping back into a job Danni’s not sure she can do anymore . . . and working closely with her ex-husband, Gabriel Fox, an investigator for the city prosecutor’s office. Danni will need to tap into her code of courage to uncover the truth, prevent another injustice, and uphold her oath to serve and protect.

Release Date:July 19, 2022

Thank you, Janice!  

Giveaway*: Please leave a comment for Janice for a chance to win a copy of her upcoming release, Code of Courage. 

*Giveaway prize courtesy of Tyndale House Publishers. Giveaway subject to Seekerville and Tyndale House Publishers' giveaway terms and conditions. US Mailing addresses only.

Finessing a Story

by Mindy Obenhaus

Today's post come from the vault but has some great tips for polishing that manuscript before we send it off. 

I have a book due in less than three weeks. The story is out of my head and on the page, the metamorphosis from idea to book almost complete. But before I can submit this story, it must be finessed.

Finessing involves skillful maneuvering. As writers, we need to skillfully, purposefully, write our stories in a way that takes readers on a journey and leaves them basking in the glow of a satisfying ending.

When finessing a manuscript, there are certain things I look for.

Have I adequately described each setting? 

Each and every scene needs a sense of place to ground it, otherwise you just have talking heads. However, too much description can bore a reader. Too little leaves them wanting and maybe even feeling a little lost. Determine what aspects of your setting are important, then sprinkle those details throughout the scene. Also, ask yourself if you’re showing the reader the scene, allowing them to see it through the POV character’s eyes, or if you’re telling them. 

Showing is always better because it allows the reader to experience the story.

Strong word choices.  

Is your character running, hurrying, scurrying or speeding? Each of these words means, essentially, the same thing, but which is best for the context of your scene? If it’s a lighthearted scene, your heroine might be scurrying to gather things for a party. On the other hand, your police office hero would likely race or speed to the scene of an accident. 

What words best fit the emotion and feel of your scene?

Are my characters actions/reactions believable and appropriate?  

When I receive my line edits, they sometimes contain notes from my editor saying things like, “This seems out of character for her.” Or “His reaction is too strong,” or even, “Not strong enough.”

Whether it’s in word, thought or action, a character’s response to an event or comment, needs to fit not only who the character is becoming, but who they are at their core. Yes, your meek heroine might need to show a little backbone, but does her response show growth and change, that she’s finally standing up for herself, or does she simply come off as rude?

Even as they change, your characters will remain true to their essence.

Characters’ journey. 

Reading is about watching someone embark on a journey. Hopefully, your main characters have grown during the course of your story. But will the reader be able to see that growth?

When a baby is born, he or she is completely helpless. Newborns can’t feed themselves. They can’t hold up their little heads. They can't sit up and they’re only mobile when someone carries them from one place to another. Yet week by week, month by month, they change and grow. So by the time baby’s first birthday rolls around, he or she can do all of these things and more. 

No matter how long or short the timeframe of your story, the characters need to grow and change. But don’t just ask yourself what they can do at the end of the story that they couldn’t do at the beginning. Make sure your reader knows how they got there. Show those baby steps of growth along the way. How did the heroine who was deathly afraid of horses end up being comfortable in the saddle? 

And if you’re writing for the Christian market, don’t forget about their spiritual journey.

Writing a book is a process. All of the elements have come together for a story to be successful. Taking the time to finesse will help ensure the finished product is the best it can possibly be.

Now it's your turn. Readers, in your opinion, what makes a good book great? Writers, how do you know when your manuscripts are ready to submit?

Award-winning author Mindy Obenhaus is passionate about touching readers with Biblical truths in an entertaining, and sometimes adventurous, manner. She lives on a ranch in Texas with her husband, two sassy pups, countless cattle, deer and the occasional coyote, mountain lion or snake. When she's not writing, she enjoys spending time with her grandchildren, cooking and watching copious amounts of the Hallmark Channel. Learn more at www.MindyObenhaus.com

Who Makes the Meaning in a Book?

 Happy Summer!

School ended yesterday. Today is the first day of summer vacation, so I promise you won't have to read middle school-inspired posts for a while after today.

But today, we do have one more. I recently read Lord of the Flies with my 8th grade class. The book is old (older than me!) and a lot of people don't like it, but I have so many activities that we do with it, that the book really comes alive. I'm always stunned when students tell me it's one of their favorite books we've read.

This year, after we finished, I asked them to reflect on this quote by the author William Golding.

When asked about the meaning of his book, he replied:

“There have been so many interpretations of the story that I'm not going to choose between them. Make your own choice. They contradict each other, the various choices. The only choice that really matters, the only interpretation of the story, if you want one, is your own. Not your teacher's, not your professor's, not mine, not a critic's, not some authority's. The only thing that matters is, first, the experience of being in the story, moving through it. Then any interpretation you like. If it's yours, then that's the right one, because what's in a book is not what an author thought he put into it, it's what the reader gets out of it.”

I love this answer so much.

I was thinking about it with two different caps on my head - as the teacher who asks students to consider the meaning of the story, but also as an author who is in the business of making meaning out of words.

I was really interested to hear my students' thoughts - both as their teacher and as an author.

It turns out that the line that most spoke to them was  "The only thing that matters is, first, the experience of being in the story, moving through it."

One student, in explaining how she had moved through the story stated, "Through the characters, I got to experience the chaos, the peace, the sadness, and the thrill of everything that happened."

Another said: "In some parts of the book, I felt like I was actually in the book and moving through it. But there were parts where I did not get this feeling. An example where I did not get this feeling is when the hunters went hunting I didn’t really feel the story moving. The part where I felt the story moving along was when everyone was working together and not fighting."

But a third said "There were parts of the book where I felt as if I was really going through the motion of everything and other parts where I was left confused. Some parts that I really connected to were the murders. When both Piggy and Simon died I truly felt like I was there watching it happen."

Another: "I felt like I was  on the island with all the other boys I felt like I was one of the little ones watching everything fold in itself, watching Jack become a brutal savage and watch Ralph losing control and seeing Piggy get killed I really felt part of the story I was reading."

They were also really eager to tell me the meaning they took from the book. I think William Golding would have been proud of the range of thoughts. They took his words to heart: "If it's yours, then that's the right one."

 I think this book was about how people can get insane and out of control with an obsession with a passion, they have while others try and prevent it but end up getting hurt in the process. 

What are we really without manners and common sense? Savages? That would make us no different than animals. We hide behind a mask of intelligence and basic knowledge to separate how similar we are compared to animals. Without all we have learned, we’re basically just a vessel driven by emotions of hatred and greed. Would we really know right from wrong if we didn’t have common knowledge or at least look like we have the brains? It really felt overwhelming to interpret so much. Then again, it would make sense. The only difference is that we are more evolved than animals. We have the common sense to just go around killing people, there are usually reasons behind it. But sometimes, there isn’t a reason behind it. Does that make us unstable to live in such a “perfect” society? If we compare ourselves to savages, then killing would be completely normal right? Or would it?

 

I believe the book is really about the true nature of us. How we act when theres no adults or rules around. When we can do anything without being punished since theres no boundaries.

This book is about nothing more than boys trying to survive on their own and trying to keep their insanity (sic) in the process. 

 

While the topic of change was a big message of the book, I do believe there is another main message. Lord of the Flies also shows us the importance of rules and civilization. Once the boys turned away from Ralph all humanity and civilization were lost. They began to become too accustomed to Jack’s uncivilized methods. Without any rules or grasp on humanity boys such as Roger turned from normal kind kids into animals. It was because of this lack of civilization and order that Piggy and Simon died so tragically. It was also why it was so hard for the boys to look at themselves once the navy found them. They knew they could never truly return home because a part of them would always be on that island. 

So why am I talking about this today? 

Because as a teacher, I am privileged to have the opportunity to really talk to readers about their reading, and that is invaluable to me not only as their teacher, but as an author. Hearing what matters to them as readers, learning how invested they were in making their own meaning from the books gives  author me something to ponder. 

As authors, are we trying to impose our meaning on our readers? Are we heavy-handed with our message, or do we wield our pen delicately, giving the reader options, offering a chance for them to create their own message from our books. Especially if it's a message they need in their lives.

As I was pondering this, I was also thinking about a book I had recently read. Because I could really relate to the widowed character, I probably took a completely different meaning from the book than a different reader would - and I appreciated the nuances of the character that allowed me to do so.

And that leads me to thinking about craft and how we make our books the best possible experience for readers because, to quote another student, 

He didn't write the book to give it a specific ending (message) but to entertain the readers.

And of course that is what we have to keep at the forefront as we write.

One of my students was rather succinct in describing Golding's craft. 

Mr. Golding used good words to set the mood for the story. 

As writers, that is our task, to use good words to entertain.

If only it could be that easy!

But easy or not, it is the responsibility we assumed when we chose to write stories. Our good words have the power to affect readers.

One of my students commented: "The experiences of reading books helps us to open our eyes to different wonders in imagination. It leads us to creating our own works and maybe inspiring others."

And to finally quote a wise student - "That is the great thing about reading."

And we get to inspire that. How lucky are we to be writers???

I'd love to hear your thoughts - as readers and writers.

*Photos courtesy of Pixabay