Two Constants

Two constants exist. One is change. People. Politics. Circumstances. Geography. Writing conventions. Word meanings. They all change like the clouds in an Indiana sky.

At my age, I should be used to change, I suppose. I should take it in stride. I've certainly seen enough of it. "Of such is life," I should say. Fact is I don't accept change easily.

Therefore, when the email arrived announcing that our ACFW Scribes small critique group had been disbanded, I was sad. It didn't come as a surprise. Some members now have agents and/or contracts, and their critique needs have changed. While I celebrate the victories in the lives of my fellow Scribes, I will miss the camaraderie, the tough critiques, the prayers and encouragement we shared. 

This year brought other changes, also. I attended two Writer's Digest webinars and the Indianapolis Christian Writers Conference. I also finished the first draft of my second middle-grade novel. Even as I revise that work, I'm writing a third MG and researching for a historical novel set in southern Indiana (using a pseudonym).

What changes will 2012 bring? That's not for us to know.

Which brings me to the second constant: God, our immutable Sovereign. Isn't it a comfort to know that whatever the new year holds, He Who said, "I Am that I Am," already is there. What security! What peace!

New Year's Resolutions--
Resolved: I will write, as the Lord enables and leads.
Resolved: I will submit to select agents and publishing houses.
Resolved: I will wait upon the Lord to work His will in my life and career, acknowledging Him as my Supreme Agent.

Your Turn!
What changes occurred in your life this year that affected your writing? What do you anticipate for 2012? What resolutions have you made relating to your writing? Please leave a comment.

Look Both Ways

Janus, the Roman mythological god for gates, doors, endings, and new beginnings, lends his name to January. The bleak midwinter provides a perfect time to reflect backward and forward.

This year has been one of much growth for me as a writer. No, I didn't manage to sign with a leading agent, nor did I land a seven-book contract with a major publishing house. But God graciously lead me to take several giant steps forward in my career.

Giant Step #1:  I hit 2010 at a run. It was one year ago this week, the last week of 2009, when a fellow ACFW member called together a small cluster of historical writers to form a Scribes critique group. I was thrilled when he accepted me to be a part of that select few because my wip is a middle-grade fantasy set in the twenty-first century and the nineteenth. It was an important step toward professionalizing my calling as a writer.

As we've grown from being a cluster of strangers--albeit, sisters and a brother in Christ--we've become a cohesive unit that not only critiques one another's work but also prays for and encourages one another. I praise God for our critters.

Giant Step #2:  When it came time to renew ACFW membership, I didn't hesitate, largely because of the critique group, the specialized loops I had joined, and the camaraderie among Christian writers. Also, I joined ACFW-Indiana.

Giant Step #3:  Upon hearing that the annual conference was to be held in my backyard, I determined to attend, though it was a financial stretch. Fellow ACFW members helped me navigate a crash course in crafting one-sheets, elevator pitches, one-paragraphs, and synopses of various lengths. Finally September arrived, and I was able to match up faces, voices, and personalities with names from the main loop; meet writers whose work I had critiqued or reviewed and who had dissected my scribbles, chat with agents and editors as if they were ordinary people, share a room with writer and friend Ramona K. Cecil, and see Chip MacGregor's kilt. Of course, the high point was a request from one of America's most respected literary agents to see the full manuscript of my nearly-complete wip. (Unfortunately, she retired before I could get the ms to her. Lesson learned? Don't pitch an incomplete. Have that puppy all coiffed and groomed before you march it around the ring.)

Giant Step #4: God intervened with my plans. Because He had plans of His own. After a fourteen-year hiatus from classroom teaching to concentrate on my work as a writer and raconteur, I was offered an English teaching position at a Christian school. Five days a week--and sometimes more--I'm surrounded by middle-graders. Get the irony? I write for that age group. He plopped me smack-dab in the middle of the middlers! Every day I hear their interactions and laugh at their humor.

Now it's time to look forward to 2011.

Goal #1:  I'll let Christ lead, revealing His plans, whether they be giant or baby steps. I pray He will guide my mind in the creative process, my fingers on the keyboard, and my heart to Him, that all I write will reflect Him, because if it doesn't, it's just a bunch of empty, vain symbols on a page.

Goal #2:  When I read that the agent who had asked for the full ms. was retiring, I went through a brief period of mourning. After all, this was the third time such has happened. (The first two were editors who, based upon conference interviews and their reading of partials and synopses, requested fulls. In both cases, they left their positions shortly after that conference.) As the Lord has done so many times throughout my life, He promptly reminded me that He is sovereign and omniscient; nothing comes as a surprise to Him. (See Jeremiah 29:11.) The agent had agreed that mid-March was a reasonable target date to submit my completed manuscript to her, saying, "The publishing houses won't be acquiring until after the first of the year, anyway." I am keeping with that original goal, finishing the final chapter as 2010 winds down and beginning revisions with the new year. Lord willing, I'll have the first revision accomplished by the Ides of March.

Goal #3:  I'll begin plotting and writing the sequel to The Second Cellar.

Goal #4  I'll continue to hone my craft by participating in the Scribes critique group and studying various resources.

Now, it's your turn. What steps did God lead you through in 2010 to improve you as a writer? Where do you hope to go in 2011? What are your goals? I can hardly wait to read your responses.