Using Little Miracles to Create Grand Destiny

     I discovered this tidbit in "Writing the Breakout Novel" by Donald Maass: “Little miracles become our personal myths. What are the little miracles that bring your characters to their moments of grand destiny?...Revisit them in retrospect, and the hand of God will show in your story.”  

     Touch points of God’s presence are memorable. They impact us. They give us hope. They change us. 

     I was pondering this recently while waiting for the release of Kernels of Hope, an anthology of incidents of God's hand in the lives of everyday people (Majesty House). Whether it’s surviving a train wreck or seeing provision through extraordinary means, the message of God’s love and grace is evident.

     Non-believers would call this fate or kismet or perhaps, karma. The point is everyone recognizes we have a place in the universe. Interesting occurrences, whether titled interventions or coincidences, leave their impact. Fictional characters are enhanced when they, too, experience such moments.

     For example, I have an angry believer running from God. She continually makes wrong choices that increase her suffering. One day she finds a cat in desperate circumstances. Because it resists her help, it dies. This mirrors her own fight with the Savior. The revelation changes everything.

     In your current works in progress, do your protagonists come to a moments of truth? Does something happen that causes them to change direction? Does a seemingly inconsequential meeting hold lasting import? What are the “little miracles” that produce “moments of grand destiny”?

     If you don’t have an example from your own work, try using this situation to create a grand destiny: A general call to prayer for a brittle diabetic results in a donated insulin pump. 

     I look forward to seeing God's hand at work in your story ideas.

 Mary Allen lives in the Midwest with her husband and a German Short Hair Pointer. She loves God's Word which never changes and also enjoys playing with words which can be endlessly changed. She writes women's fiction and was La Porte County Poet Laureate from 2010-2011.

Today she rescued a brood of eight panicked ducklings by quacking them to shore. Little Miracle or Grand Destiny? You be the judge.

Three Steps to Creating an Occupation for Your Characters

As writers, one of our tasks is finding the right career for your characters. Not only do your characters populate your story, they fill roles and hold jobs. Finding the right career can be a key piece to getting the character to fit.

Sometimes when I pick up a novel, it feels like the character’s job was almost an after thought.  The author spent time creating an image of the character…whether they had red hair or blue eyes…but waited until pushed to find an occupation. So how can you make this part of writing a bit more intuitive?

1)   Interview the character. If she hates coffee, she probably won’t be a happy barista. That might lend itself to some great humor, but might not fit your story. So ask your character what they would love to do. What would they hate? Does their dream job require advanced education they might not have yet? Does a hobby lend itself to a great job? Dig and see what they’ll say.

2)   Look for common denominators in your books. For example, a loose element of my brand is that one character is always affiliated with the law in some way. So Audra from Stars in the Night is an attorney in 1942 who gives up her dream (actually practicing law) to make sure her sister is okay. In A Wedding Transpires on Mackinac Island, Alanna is an attorney who just finished a major case and has to go home to help her family. And in my novella in Rainbow’s End, Colton is on his way to law school as a returning student. Each of these is a natural outgrowth of my career as an attorney and a way to prepare my readers in case I ever write legal suspense. Plus, I enjoy legal settings, so it fits.

3)   Read non-fiction and watch shows like NOVA with an eye to careers you find fascinating. Then ask some friends who are avid readers if they find them interesting. I have an idea for a World War II series that focuses on an elite group of soldiers with a very unique role. I find the topic enthralling, but that’s not enough. Then I have to see if readers and non-World War II enthusiasts are captivated. When everyone I mentioned this group to asked questions to know more, I knew I was on to a unique hook.

If you can tie your passion to your characters’ careers, you will have created interesting characters your readers will root for.

Cara C. Putman lives in Indiana with her husband and four children. She’s an attorney and a teacher at her church as well as lecturer at Purdue. She has loved reading and writing from a young age and now realizes it was all training for writing books. She loves bringing history and romance to life. Learn more about her books at Http://www.caraputman.com.
 

Murder and Manuscripts

Source: Wikimedia Commons

"Whenever you feel an impulse to perpetrate a piece of exceptionally fine writing, obey it — whole-heartedly — and delete it before sending your manuscript to press. Murder your darlings."  

Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch

~~~

You've slaved over your manuscript. You love every word. It's like a precious infant that you've given birth to after years of hard work and attention. You've spent lunch hours, and evening TV watching time creating a masterpiece.

And now your critique group wants to cut your favorite parts.

And it hurts.

That's okay. It's supposed to. When we first start out, as in any effort, it's painful. Athletes don't become gold medalists without pain. Great writers don't, either. I promise, as you gain more experience as a writer, as you keep writing and keep writing and keep writing, you're gonna write some unworthy stuff. If that weren't true we wouldn't need critique partners, agents, or editors.  And because you're going to write unworthy stuff (and even experienced writers do), some of your darlings will end up slashed, rejected and murdered. Suck it up. It's good for you. You will learn from it.

The best advice I ever heard about "killing our darlings" is from Stephen King's book On Writing. He puts his manuscripts in a drawer for months before going back to them for edits. That way, he isn't as emotionally involved with them. And while that manuscript sits, he starts the next one.

When you start a new manuscript, it becomes your passion. That other manuscript, aging in the drawer, becomes just another project you want to get right. At least that's how it works for me.

Recently, I went back to a manuscript that I'd written and completed almost two years ago. I 'd been struggling with how to rewrite the first chapter. It simply wasn't right. So I put it away, got started on other projects, and got it out again last week. Within minutes I easily cut most of the first three chapters. I couldn't see how to do that before because I was too close to it. Now, it's just something that needs to get done, and hopefully, what I've changed will make it more worthy for someone to consider it.

When it comes to writing, we have to be willing to "murder our darlings." (However, don't forget to pray and ask God what to leave in and what to take out. That makes the decision even easier.)

The thing to remember about sitting manuscripts is that God's timing is perfect. He knows who is going to pick up your book/story on what exact day at what exact time. We have to rest in His perfect plan and time for releasing our words to those who need to hear them. Letting our manuscript age in the drawer could be part of God's plan for releasing it at the proper time and place. Never forget that God's purpose will prevail, no matter how many words you write.

What makes us think we can get ahead of God? Silly humans. Timing is up to God. When we write with that it mind, it makes the waiting easier.

 "Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass...Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him: fret not..."

Psalm 37: 5&7a

 Karla Akins is a pastor's wife, mother of five, grandma to five beautiful little girls and author of O Canada! Her Story and represented by Hartline Literary Agency. She lives in North Manchester with her husband, twin teenage boys with autism, and three rambunctious dogs. Her favorite color is purple, favorite hobby is book-hoarding, and favorite food group is cupcakes.

A "Casual" Conversation?

A Facebook friend request appeared a few days ago from Paul, a fellow I'd known in college. I can't say we were close friends. In fact, I recall having only one conversation with him, on a wintry Saturday morning when the campus food service was closed and we landed side-by-side at a downtown coffee shop. I don't even remember what we talked about--but he does! A text message soon arrived:

Hey Joe, Been a long time. I remember back in 1970 you encouraged me to write. Thought I couldn't do it. Well, after 23 years of ministry, 10 years of sales, and 7 years owning my own businesses, I have written two main biz books, 10 smaller books, ... have one being edited on the choices we make in business and in life, a photography book waiting to be published, have written a turn key system on cash flow, and now finishing up a turn key business development system for professional photographers. I am a partner, along with the majority owner, in a national business solutions company. Good to see your name. Let's connect sometime.

I can't claim to have been the inspiration for Paul's writing career because, as I said, I have but a dim memory of that conversation. But while we made small talk over coffee and toast, I must have said something that fanned his interest in writing. Perhaps it was just the simple question: "Why don't you write about this?"

Most of us became writers because someone encouraged us to try, so let's share that encouragement with others. Let's pay closer attention to our "casual" conversations to see if we can strike a spark (or fan one already there) that could blaze into someone else's writing career.

How Writing the First Draft of a Novel is Like the Trimesters of Pregnancy

We writers tend to view our work-in-progress as our baby.


 photo credit: Andrew Mason {Flickr Creative Commons}

Perhaps it's because our stories are precious to us, or perhaps it's simply because writing the first draft of a novel is indeed like the trimesters of pregnancy--exhausting work that takes time. As I anticipate the arrival of baby number three, I'm beginning to appreciate the time it takes to write a {good} novel. I'm seeing the process with a fresh perspective. Everything beautiful takes time {a luxury I have in this season of my writing life). I cannot rush the process, just as I cannot will my baby to grow his heart, lungs, eyes, and ears in one day. I need to experience the three trimesters in order to see my story to fruition.

Trimester One: A Tiny Seed

Trimester one is all about a story idea and the exhausting work that follows. It's the seed that's planted in my head during a morning walk--the one that speaks louder than all the others, and it's the one I pursue. 

The first few weeks are filled with elation. I love the characters, the setting, the growing plot, and I envision a beautiful ending. However, soon I realize the amount of research and work needed to accomplish my goal. It's tiring work, and some days, I'm crawling. But overall, the work is exhilarating. I'm writing a novel!

During these months, my story develops it's vital organs--an roughly sketched plot, characters, setting, and a moral premise.

Trimester Two: A Growing Story 

Trimester two is all about growth. It's during these months my story begins to develop and change as I type out my daily word count goal.  My characters take on new shapes and forms. I discover more about them, and they speak to me now. I'm feeling their movements, hearing their heartbeat, and witnessing them hijack my pages. My manuscript looks much different from when I started.

Soon my plot takes on a different twist than I expected {it's a boy, not a girl}, and I'm taking the turn. However, my manuscript is now far from neat and tidy. In fact, it looks much different from when I started, and now that it has changed direction, there's more work to do.  

Overall, during this time, I'm feeling great. The story has some major holes, but it's moving forward, and I'm getting closer to finishing the first draft.

Trimester Three: The Birth of a Novel

Trimester three is the completion of the first draft. These months are grueling, and those last few thousand words seem impossible. Nothing fits right. Questions fill my mind. What was this story about again? And why is it taking so long to finish? Why did I think this was a good idea?

Since it's my first draft, I press forward, following all the twists and turns, listening to the characters, pounding keys in the moonlight. And soon it's the moment I've dreamed about.  I type a writer's two most glorious words in the English language--the end. Though the labor is difficult, I give birth to a novel, and it's exquisite. It's my baby, after all. 

And now the real {editing} work begins. 

Do you refer to your work as your baby? Can you relate to any of these trimesters?

Melanie N. Brasher is a full time mama of two boys and wife to an incredible husband who understands her bicultural background. She moonlights as a fiction and freelance writer, crafting stories and articles toward justice and change. She's a member of American Christian Fiction writers and a contributing blogger for Ungrind. Though she's an aspiring author, she'll never quit her day job.