August 11--Getting Pitch-Ready

Summer greetings and salutations!

Our August meeting is fast-approaching, and I thought I'd give you some details. You can also find the basics on our Facebook page, and you should also have received an email.

I'm delighted that three traditionally published authors will make up our panel.
Sarah Forgrave, Michele Israel Harper, and Cara Putman will share their experiences in getting published and will provide tips on preparing a one-sheet, how to handle pitching sessions, and how to work toward publishing with an agent and/or publishing company. We'll have plenty of time for Q&A.

We expect to have a photographer on hand to take author head shots. As soon as we find out pricing, we will pass that on to you.

The meeting is August 11 from eleven-thirty until two-thirty at the MCL Cafeteria in Indianapolis.
Please RSVP to acfwindianachapter@gmail.com

Here's a short introduction to each of our panelists:

Sarah Forgrave is an author and speaker who loves to encourage others. She started writing fiction, won multiple contests, and garnered interest from publishers. However, God led her into the world of non-fiction, too. Harvest House Publishers released her first book, Prayers for Hope and Healing, in October 2017. Her second book of prayers, for caregivers, is due out in the spring of 2019. Sarah also writes devotionals for several publications.

Married with two preteens, Sarah loves to shop at Trader Joe's or curl up with a good book and a cup of tea. Find out more about her at www.sarahforgrave.com.

Michele Israel Harper, author of Wisdom & Folly: Sisters, Zombie Takeover, Beast Hunter, and the soon-to-be released Kill the Beast, is also a freelance editor and the acquisitions editor at Love2ReadLove2Write Publishing, LLC. Harper has her Bachelor of Arts in history, is slightly obsessed with all things French—including Jeanne d'Arc and La Belle et la Bête—and loves editing fiction manuscripts. She hopes her involvement in writing, editing, and publishing will touch many lives in the years to come. Visit www.MicheleIsraelHarper.com to learn more about her.

Cara Putman is a woman of many talents. Currently, she serves on the executive board of ACFW, but she's also a practicing attorney, has earned her MBA, and teaches at Purdue University's Krannert School of Management.

Cara started writing to publish in 2005 after she met Colleen Coble at a book-signing. Colleen encouraged her to follow the desire of her heart, and over twenty-five books later, Cara is enjoying her dream come true. Add homeschooling her four children to the above accomplishments, and you can see why she calls herself an "all-around crazy woman!" Check out more details at www.caraputman.com.

Waiting for Hearts and Publication

My life has swirled with chaos the last three weeks. As some of you might know, my sister is in the hospital waiting for a new heart. As a result, my writing pursuits have rightfully slipped from my "urgent" list.

But I'm learning this wait for a heart isn't much different from my wait for God's will to be revealed in my writing. Both journeys remind me of a song from the ACFW Conference: While I'm Waiting by John Waller.

Every line of that song relates to my experiences of late, but two lines in particular stand out to me. I will serve You while I'm waiting. I will worship while I'm waiting.

A couple weeks ago, a pastor came to visit my sister in the hospital and started to do a devotional reading. About that same time, her nurse came in. The pastor paused so she could do her job.

She waved him on and said, "Oh no, you keep reading. I want to hear it too." She explained that she's a Christian and wasn't surprised to see my sister is a woman of faith. Apparently all the nurses notice a difference. In fact, they often fight over who gets assigned to her because they love caring for her.

That story touched me because it proves that people are watching. It isn't meant to elevate my sister, but rather to show what happens when we're living in obedience and worshipping God while we wait. People notice a difference.

So the question becomes, What am I doing while I wait for publication? Am I using every opportunity to serve the King and bring worship to Him through my actions and words? Can others see a difference in my reaction to rejection or to a lost lead?

Do they sense that something (or Someone) greater is guiding my steps?

I think these questions are important for us all to address. Because whether it's a matter of life and death like it is for my sister, or whether it's a matter of seeing our name on a book or not, people are watching.

*photo by paytai / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Tug of War

I've had this push-and-pull relationship with my writing lately. Most of it has been pushing...me pushing myself to be better, to send out query letters, to fulfill requests, to write blog posts, to be "perfect". Yes, I am a perfectionist and I'm not ashamed to admit it.

On New Year's Eve, God whispered something across my soul and got my attention, sort of like putting a drop of hydrogen peroxide on a skinned knee and feeling the burn. He told me to slow down. To wait on Him and see what He has in store. To take my focus off my writing and put it on Him. To focus on being a woman of God and letting Him guide my next steps. To neither push nor pull but to sit in His cradle of wisdom and let Him move me where He wants me to go.

And you know what I've discovered this past week? Surrendering to Him frees me to enjoy the ride.

Where are you in the push-and-pull game? Have you had any hydrogen-peroxide whispers that burn at first but lead to healing?

*photo by Bill Longshaw / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

The Google Searches of a Writer

When I first got the crazy idea to write a book, I decided to Google, "How to write a novel." I was promptly introduced to Randy Ingermanson and the Snowflake Method. Little did I know that was just the beginning of my profitable relationship with Google. We all have research needs as writers, and while Google doesn't always provide the most official answers to our burning questions, it's a great place to start. Here's just a sampling of Google searches from my writing journey thus far.

- Is a caveman the same as a Neanderthal? Inquiring minds want to know.

- How deep is a casket buried? Just in case I get buried alive some day.

- Tools at a lumber yard. Never hurts to learn a new skill.

- Do Amish work in factories? This question keeps me up at night, and I want to put the Ambien away.

- What does a flooded basement smell like? I'm looking for a new scented candle.

- What's a nickname for big ears? My son needs a nickname for the neighborhood bully.

- How do the Amish heat their homes? My furnace is on the fritz.

- Marathon training schedule. Just in case I get motivated to run more than a mile.

- Drainage pipe codes. My hubby's got an outdoor project planned.

- How long is an industrial dishwasher cycle? Looking to replace my residential one.

- Commercial real estate license requirements. I need another career option in case this author thing doesn't work out.

What's your favorite research tool? Do you have any unique Google searches to share?

The Waiting Room: A Writer's Abyss

I recently jumped into the pool of writers who are waiting. We're all waiting for something - contest results, word from an agent, that marvelous call from a publisher, our next contract - the list could go on for eternity.

It struck me that this wait is not much different from waiting in a doctor's office. Between two pregnancies and multiple surgeries, I've spent the last 3-1/2 years of my life in doctors' waiting rooms. So what did I do to pass the time? Many of the same things we can do while we wait in our writing careers.

1) I caught up on emails on my Blackberry. I sometimes took a few minutes to check my friends' Facebook status updates too. In the writing world, we need to stay in touch with friends who understand our crazy world. While our spouses and friends may understand to a certain extent, it's our writing friends who will uplift and encourage from their own waiting experiences.

2) I got some work done. During my pregnancy, I sometimes printed out a chapter that needed editing and took it to the doctor's office to mark up while I waited. The same is true while we wait for an elusive phone call. Why would we just sit there staring at the wall when we can get out our current manuscript and edit? (Unless, of course, those plain gray walls inspire you to open a blank Word document and write a new story.)

3) I read a book. I've found that big purses are great for bringing multiple reading options. We can learn from reading not just non-fiction books about writing, but other fiction books as well, both in our genre and outside our genre. It gives us a chance to not only learn, but to see what works from a reader's perspective and how we can apply it to our own writing.

4) I watched TV. There were days when my brain wouldn't allow me to do anything else but watch the mounted TV in the waiting room that was always tuned to HGTV (bless the person who made that decision). Sometimes while we wait in our writing careers, it's okay to take a break and "veg", to escape somewhere fun with our families, or to let our bodies refill their energy stores. And I've found that those breaks often refill my creativity stores too.

What are you waiting for in your writing career right now? How do you pass the time?

*Photo by Luigi Diamanti / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

ACFW Conference Takeaways from a Newbie

1) There ARE other people out there in the world like me. I mean real people, not just people in cyberland.

2) Those real people are amazing, encouraging, and a beautiful representation of the body of Christ.

3) Volunteering pays off. (I made some wonderful new friends AND got requests from both an agent and editor I was scheduled to transport from the airport to the hotel.)

4) The God who gave me my overflowing imagination is the ultimate Storymaker. I'm sure He just sat up in heaven and smiled while I marveled at His creative and awesome ways.

What were your takeaways from the conference?

And for those of you who like pictures, here are a couple photos of me with fellow Indiana members.

(honorary Hoosier Tiffany Colter)

(Melanie Brasher)

Overcoming First-Time ACFW Conference Jitters

I'll be a first-timer when the ACFW Conference rolls around in two weeks. Cara's tips on the first-timers' loop have been such a huge help (Thanks, Cara!) and so have this week's Hoosier Ink's posts. But I've discovered a few other things that help relieve my jitters.

1) Edit my manuscript, re-edit, then throw it all out. I've found that a grande caramel macchiato from Starbucks eases the headache that ensues.

2) Try on conference-worthy clothes ten times a day, then scrap them all and go shopping. Thank you, caramel macchiatos, for changing my jacket size.

3) Stalk agent and editor blogs. Not only does this help me know what they're looking for, it gives me some good conversation starters. "So Rachelle, I see you're wearing the same red shirt, diamond earrings, and sapphire teardrop necklace you wore in your profile picture."

4) Write blog posts about my nerves and hope someone wiser has some serious tips on how to overcome my jitters.

Any takers?

When Life Interrupts Writing

We've all had it happen, right? We're floating along merrily, maintaining the perfect balance between our writing life and the rest of our life. Then it happens. Something floats (or marches) into our sphere and shakes everything up. Sometimes the trigger is expected and other times it sneaks up from behind and startles us with a "boo!".

I recently gave birth to my second child. Talk about shaking up my world. I knew the changes ahead, but they still challenged me. Sleep deprivation, feedings, sleep deprivation, diaper changes, and more sleep deprivation. Oh, and did I mention all this is accompanied by chasing after a two-year-old while recovering from a C-section? Yes, this trigger most definitely interrupted my writing life.

So when these things bounce into our lives, what do we do with our precious writing time? In my experience, we have three options.

#1 - Keep barreling ahead. Maybe this is borne of necessity, such as a looming deadline. Or maybe our writing time is what fuels us to get out of bed each morning. I've found that during extra difficult periods in my life, I need a creative outlet to process my struggles. Sometimes, though, we push too hard until writing adds to the stress. Then it's time to reevaluate and consider one of the next two options.

#2 - Keep writing, but scale back. If we're pushing ourselves beyond our energy stores, it might be time to scale back. Instead of writing 20 hours a week, cut it back to 15 hours or 10, or maybe even 5. If life circumstances have shifted our schedule, we may need to make a new plan of how we'll carve in writing time. With two children in the home now, I've faced this challenge. Instead of writing after my son goes to bed (which was my pre-baby routine), I'm busy taking care of my daughter during that time. So I've started enlisting my husband's help on Saturday mornings so I can get a few good hours of writing time. In a couple months, that plan may change again.

#3 - Step away. Some life events dictate that we step away from writing for a season. I did this for the first month after my daughter's birth. I made the decision that my family and my health were more important. Other writers take longer hiatuses, sometimes several years. If we feel God's prompting to step away and if we follow His prompting, I believe He'll bring us back more refreshed and ready to write with passion and purpose.

So what about you? What do you do when life interrupts your writing? Have you ever stepped away for a time?

Clichés Are for the Birds

We're all told to avoid them, yet they show up in every writer's first draft. The key is catching them in the second, third, or fourth draft. So in honor of our pledge as writers to avoid clichés, here are my top seven cliché phrases (because a Top Ten list would be way too cliché).

7) The difference was like night and day. - Or black and white, or Baptist and Pentecostal.

6) It happened in the blink of an eye. - Or, It happened faster than a stomach clench at reading all these clichés.

5) I feel as big as a beached whale. - Cliché or not, this one is true thanks to my baby belly. Here's another true statement: I feel bigger than a hippopotamus on steroids.

4) Don't let the cat out of the bag. - Instead of freshening this one up, I just have to ask who put the cat in the bag in the first place? And who is going to get the poor thing out?

3) We can't afford to lose. - If we lose, we'll be sorrier than all these washed-up writers who can't freshen up their clichés.

2) It's as easy as pie. - Who said making a pie was easy? For me, It's as easy as a frozen Marie Callendar pie.

1) She was scared to death. - Her fear rivaled that of a writer stuck in a time warp of bad clichés.

What are your toughest clichés to kick? Do you have any fresh takes on the clichés in this list?

Happy Easter!

In lieu of the holiday, I'm condensing my post down to these words:

I hope you and your family have a restful, blessed, and memorable EASTER!

Is It Time to De-Stress?

In the past month, responsibilities layered one on top of the other until I found myself barely surviving. At the end of each day, my biggest challenge was keeping my eyes open long enough to watch an hour of the Winter Olympics. Forget about meeting my writing goals.

I didn't step away completely, but I did learn that certain times in life require me to say "No", so that I can say "Yes" to my most important priorities. For me, that meant saying "No" to attending every Mom's group and blogging at a frenetic pace, so I could say "Yes" to my physical well-being, my family, and my writing goals (which have adjusted as a result of my down time).

I recently did a Google search on de-stressing, and I found a site called "100 Ways to Reduce Stress". Take the time to read it. You'll feel yourself de-stressing just looking through the list. And since writing is still a high priority for me, I think doing many of these activities will serve to make me a better writer in the process.

Where is your stress level these days? What can you cut out or add to your life to make you a more effective writer?

Fiction Lessons from Diego

My two year-old-son's favorite show is Go Diego Go!. For those of you familiar with Dora the Explorer, Diego is Dora's cousin and he's an animal rescuer. The Diego frenzy has gotten so out of hand that we gave my son's bedroom a Diego theme (see before and after pics here). In watching a multitude of Diego episodes, I've discovered a pattern I can apply to my fiction writing.

To demonstrate, here's a summary of one of my son's favorite episodes:
- Diego is at the rescue center and hears an animal in trouble calling out for help. Diego and his sister, Alicia, figure out that the animal is a chinchilla named Chinta. Chinta is stuck on a tree branch over the water and can't swim.
- Diego heads out to save Chinta and arrives at the waterfall. He has to figure out a way to get down the waterfall in order to reach Chinta.
- Diego uses his rescue pack as a hang glider, and on his way down, the Bobo monkeys are on the same tree as Chinta, causing trouble and scaring Chinta in the process. Diego uses his classic line, "Freeze Bobos", and gets the monkeys to leave.
- Chinta's tree branch starts to break, and Diego swoops down on his hang glider and catches her.
- Once they get to dry ground, Chinta is hungry, finds leaves to eat, and misses her Mami and Papi. Diego promises to take her back to her family.
- They set off but can't find chinchilla mountain. Diego uses his spotting scope to find it.
- Puma comes up behind them and scares Chinta. Diego and Chinta hop over cactus plants to escape.
- They arrive at a dark cave and must go through it if they'll get to the mountain. There are multiple paths in the cave, and Chinta uses her good hearing skills to choose the right path. They make it out of the cave and see the mountain again.
- The mountain is too rocky for them to walk up, so they hop up like chinchillas.
- They reach the top of the mountain and reunite Chinta with her family.

Did you figure out the pattern? With every victory Diego achieves, a new challenge instantly presents itself. The writers of Go Diego Go! have figured out how to harness a toddler's attention (and it works, believe me!). They never let the viewer rest or get too comfortable until the very end.

Sometimes the attention span of adult readers isn't much longer than a toddler's. I've read advice in books and blogs about keeping conflict high in fiction. In Camy Tang's Story Sensei blog, she goes so far as to ask whether you have conflict in every page, or even every paragraph. If we take this advice to heart in our novels, we just might capture and retain the reader's attention from start to finish (and maybe they'll even redecorate their room into the theme of your book). :-)

Do you prefer to read a novel with high conflict or low conflict? Do you find it easy or hard to infiltrate tension into each page of your novel? How do you keep it from feeling contrived?