- You’ve been
journaling since you were a kid.
- You’ve been
writing stories since you were old enough to hold a pencil.
But write a novel? Write your memoirs?
- You’ve had this
desire deep inside, yammering to get out for years, but that's what it's
remained--a dream.
- Or you've got a
manuscript lining your bedside drawer, a manuscript no one but you has
ever seen.
So where do you
start? Or restart? Does the word "Revision" fill you with
dread? TWEET THIS
Rachel and I invite
you to join us on our weekly blog Novel
Renaissance. We hope that by sharing what we have learned on
our writing journey, we can help your dream of becoming a writer a
reality.
Renaissance--"a movement or period of
vigorous artistic and intellectual activity."
In other words,
- Rebirth
- Revision
- Resurrection.
- It's time to pull that manuscript out of the drawer, time
to open up your laptop and begin.
We've
planned our topics for the entirety of 2016, topics that---I for one---learned
by trial and error. For the month of January we will be talking about PREMISE.
- But
here's lesson # 1, that goes even before Premise. The
nitty gritty of being a writer, Baring Your Soul.
When I
first started writing back in 1999 I understood any non-fiction I hoped to
write, especially the account of my birth mother experience would be
autobiographical. But later when it seemed that particular true-life account
might never be published, I felt the Lord urge me to put the spiritual and
emotional truths I’d learned into Christian Fiction.
Whew! I thought. This means I don’t have to bare my soul. I can hide
behind my “untrue” historical epics that God-willing might help readers think
about the Lord while they’re being entertained.
Here’s
the true scoop.
When I
wrote my debut novel Shadowed in Silk I don’t think readers had a clue
that I was plastering my heart and soul into my heroine Abby Fraser, even into
my bad-guy Russian spy, and especially into Abby’s enemy the Muslim woman,
Tikah, who kidnaps Abby’s child.
Those three
characters all feel invisible for their own reasons. The two women especially
"feel" that no one sees their heartaches or hears their cries in the
night.
- Note
the word "feel", you'll be hearing a lot about that too in the
topics to come.
The
reason I could write my debut novel was because I knew what if felt like
to be invisible, as a woman hurting over the relinquishment of my firstborn to
adoption. I was the invisible one in that particular adoption triad. This
enabled me to feel like invisible Abby.
But I also felt like
my Russian spy who chooses to be invisible on purpose.
I also felt like
Tikah, Abby's personal enemy, because part of my heart longed to turn the clock
back so that I’d never relinquished my baby in the first place. I took the bare
truth of my soul and painted that longing into my character Tikah as she does
the reprehensible by stealing another woman's child.
Shocking,
I know. I’m not saying my emotions were right or honorable. Emotions are
emotions, but that’s what books are, a baring of the soul. Of course I didn’t
take back my true-life child, and the Lord helped me through my heartache. But
because of that there is:
- "Me" in my heroine
- "Me" in my villain (very important if you don't
want a stereotypical mustache twirling bad guy).
- "Me" in a complex secondary character
The ideas
and premise for your book must come right from the corners of your soul. Every
memory you’ve had, sensory, intellectual, emotional, affects how you see the
world. That’s what a book is, sharing your world view in one story at a time.
That’s where you start, be willing to
unveil your soul.
Here are some questions to ask yourself, to start the mental juices flowing.
- What
matters to you?
- What
broke your heart?
- What
mended your heart?
- What
deep memories, emotions have shaped your soul?
- Don’t
always think of sad stuff, what joys have sent your heart skyrocketing?
- Now,
lastly, what kind of books do you enjoy reading?
If you
enjoy crime thrillers, then you may not want to start writing a romantic novel
that’s based on your grandparents’ courtship. But you can take the
emotions you retain regarding your grandparents’ love affair and weave that
into your crime thriller.
For this
week’s lesson, think about what you’re passionate about, and what kinds of
literature you enjoy.
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Christine |
I appreciate the "don't always think of the sad stuff..." how true. We need the balance of sadness and joy to form good characters. Nice site!
ReplyDeleteSo true Cynthia. I love a book that has it all---like life, don't you? When I read a story I want to feel the heights and the depths of what a character is going through. Thanks so much for your comment. Hope to get to know you well as we share together about the joy of reading and the writing craft.
DeleteI found you on the ACFW Promotion Loop. I hope to visit you each month, so be sure to remind us when your monthly blog is ready! Oh--what do I like to read? A thriller without the graphic violence, but with lots of tension. What do I write? Romance.
ReplyDeletePeggy, what a joy to meet a new friend. I just love ACFW, and so does Rachel. Yes, will let you know each week on the Promo loop when we post. Every Friday. I too love thrillers with loads of tension. My reading tastes (and Rachel's) are varied. Rather eclectic actually. Because of that eclectic taste my writing crosses a few genres so that it's sometimes hard for me to categorize. I started out with historicals, dabbled a bit in romance, and now I have found my nitch--braided novels that combine a historical story as contemporary, with a mystery as well as what I like to call a Big Love Story, which is different from a romance. Looking forward to seeing more of you and especially as our "Draws" start for our free critique giveaways.
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