Blogging, web updates, and social networking are as akin to writers as house cleaning is to the population at large. Tasks are there, staring me in the face -- piles of unwritten posts (like dirty laundry) demanding to be uploaded. Tweets to share (like dust bunnies skittering under the sofa) await my attention. Outdated web pages (like questionable containers in the back of the fridge) need purging.
That's what I'm up to. I'm trying to face the most mundane parts of being a writer. For today, I'm unveiling a new look for my blog.
Part of my motivation comes from sheer frustration. My old blog (associated elsewhere) is giving me FITS, and I haven't posted new material in ages. Attacking this task, I encounter the same feeling I have when my closet needs sorting, and I realize my current system of organization isn't working to accomplish it.
So here I am, energizing for more clean-up. Extenuating circumstances have kept me from attending two conferences I'd planned for this month. In their place I've decided on fall online cleaning. What are you doing to re-energize, renew, or revive your online presence this season?
HEY, did you hear that TREVELYAN and PAINT ME ALTHENA are both now available in PRINT as well as E-BOOK? They're gorgeous to hold!
This week, More Reason To Write welcomes Jennifer Slattery as she talks about the command of intentional parenting and introduces us to her upcoming novel, Beyond I Do. Jennifer writes Missional Romance for New Hope Publishers, a publishing house passionate
about bringing God’s healing grace and truth to the hopeless. Her debut
novel, Beyond I Do, is currently available for preorder at a 26%
off discount. You can find it HERE. Jennifer also blogs at JenniferSlatteryLivesOutLoud.
Drawing Nearer To Our Children's Hearts Through Creation Walks
I’m not a fan of
parenting horror stories. My what-if brain doesn’t need any help. What I need
to hear, rather, is not what can or has gone wrong but rather, what I can do to
parent well.
Though I know
there’s no guarantees when it comes to children, I’ve learned every story goes
haywire when left on its own. But one that’s crafted with love, patience,
consistency, and truth? Now those are the kind of stories memories are made of.
If you’re a parent,
you’re probably familiar with Deuteronomy 6:6-9:
“These commandments
that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children.
Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you
lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on
your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates” (NLT).
This passage is more than a command. It’s an invitation to
draw near to our children on a heart-to-heart level as we share the deepest
part of who we are—our faith. It is an invitation to connect, to explore, and
to rest in our relationship in the hands of our Father.
When our daughter was young, we spent hours strolling
through the neighborhood, hand in hand, crunching fallen leaves, and picking
flowers. Everything enchanted her and evoked innumerable questions.
As she explored God’s creation, I used the opportunity to
introduce her to the Creator. We talked about the different colors before us. I
told her of God’s love displayed in each chirping robin and fragrant flower.
Her eyes would light up with childlike wonder, and her gaze would drift to the
sky.
She’s sixteen now, and while many of her peers are pulling
away from their parents, she and I continue to enjoy long, leisurely strolls.
They’re cherished times between her and I. Times where she unveils her heart
and shares some of her deepest dreams and fears. And like when she was a
toddler, it isn’t long before our conversation turns spiritual. For us, talking
about God comes naturally. It’s part of our relationship’s DNA.
Fourteen years ago, I had no idea what a beautiful tradition
our creation walks would start. Not only have these special moments
strengthened her faith; they’ve melded our hearts together as well.
Beyond I Do:
Marriage . . .
it’s more than a happily ever after. Eternally more. Ainsley Meadow’s encounter
with a woman, her child, and their abuser sparks a passion that threatens her
engagement. Will seeing beyond the present unite her and her fiancé or tear
them apart? Raised by a hedonist mother, who cycles through jobs and
relationships like wrapping paper on Christmas morning, Ainsley falls into a
predictable and safe relationship with Richard, a self-absorbed socialite
psychiatrist. But as her wedding nears, a battered woman and her child spark a
long-forgotten dream and ignites a hidden passion. One that threatens to change
everything, including her fiancé. To embrace God’s best and find true love,
this security-seeking bride must follow God with reckless abandon and realize
that marriage goes Beyond I Do.
One
of most writers' favorite pastimes is studying the craft via favorite novels and movies. We admire the way one author plots twists and turns, the way another
builds romantic tension, the way a third suspends our belief against the impossible.
Movies and television dramas offer mini-courses in these how-to's. One of
those is the Fox television series 24, which is a must-watch for anyone
who wants to improve their skill at heightening conflict in their stories -- no matter which genre you write in.
Have
you ever been told or sensed that your story doesn’t hold enough conflict? Have
you ever had difficulty determining your protagonist's black, blacker, or
blackest moments? Have you even thought there could be so many dark moments?
Here are the Lessons Capsulated in 24
24 is a thriller,
and while not every genre flies ahead with such non-stop tension and breakneck
pacing, there is a lot to be learned from a story that manages to accomplish it
so nearly flawlessly.
First, the show always starts in
the moment. There is no slow, melodramatic build-up in 24. Based on the idea of each episode being one hour of a 24 hour
day, the kick-off happens in the first moments, and the first hour-long episode
steamrolls ahead. Even if the genre you write is a gentle romance, something
has to happen right away, there has to be that opening moment, that emotional ignition switch, which will
generate greater conflict with each scene.
Second, things always
get worse. One problem for Jack Bauer or the nation isn't necessarily solved before another occurs. It isn't
enough that Jack might be leaping across the tops of buildings in a race against
pursuers to rescue the president from an assassination attempt (BAM!), he is usually simultaneously in
phone conversation with tech wizard pal Chloe averting a terrorist attack on a
major metropolitan area (BAM! BAM!)
and planning the demise of an international criminal who kidnapped or murdered
his friend (BAM! BAM! BAM!). I
believe that with every element written in the script, the writers of 24 sit back and say to each other,
"Before we go on, what will make this situation worse?" And they hold
nothing back. As a result, there is no knowing who will live, who will die, who
will turn traitor, who will regret their choice too late, or which way the plot
will twist.
Third, every
character has back story. It isn't tossed at us up front, but we learn that
every player has emotional stakes, something in his life now or from his past
that will give his or her decisions greater impact and lend even more tension to the
unfolding drama. What gives Kate such courage? She's a widow, whose husband
died in prison after being condemned for being a traitor -- which, it turns out --
he wasn't. Why does Mark give bad policy advice to the president (which
endangers everyone) and make rash decisions outside his given authority? Not because he's bad at
his job or wants to dishonor the president, but because he's
terribly jealous of Jack's previous relationship with his wife Audrey (the
president's daughter) who married Mark when she thought Jack was dead. He knows
Audrey still cares for Jack more than she will admit, and that Jack is willing
to die for her.
Fourth, there are no
loose ends except for one. Every character's situation is resolved, even if it
isn't. Say what? We are given
conclusions -- not happily ever after conclusions -- but we see where each
character is heading at the end of the 24 hour period. The package is tied up,
but not neatly. This one is sent to prison, that one to retirement, another to
an unmarked grave... Even Jack Bauer, who never gets a happy ending, moves on -- to another season, we hope. His role is
the only one we're left wondering about. We can see what he's facing (he might
be off to self-exile one season or imprisonment and torture the next) but we
don't know what the outcome will be. Yet, the writers of 24 have made us believe that Jack will overcome -- somehow -- even
though the scars will be deep.
We
are satisfied, even while we are left yearning for another chapter, another
chance to "Live Another Day".
24 is a brutal
series. If you're squeamish when it comes to television, you might have trouble
with it. But if you can handle high tension and fast-paced action, you can
learn a lot about what it takes to create greater conflict for your characters.
Writers should watch.
That's what I'm up to. I'm trying to face the most mundane parts of being a writer. For today, I'm unveiling a new look for my blog.
