A Writer's Pyramid

Nope! I'm not a writer who writes steadily every day for a certain number of words or hours. I write in gulps, or snarfs, or blocks. . . know what I mean?
 

But I prepare thoroughly for these blocks of time. They don't just happen – these blocks of time that to me are the tips of my writing pyramid. Remember Maslowe's Hierarchy pyramid?! I've applied it to many areas of my life – and it usually works great! Another time I'll blog more about my Pyramid Principle. . . another blog when I'm not focused on my coming writing gulp.
 

To reach the tip of my current writing pyramid, completing my third historical novel, Jade Cross, I've first had to work through all the underlying layers of the pyramid – or the iceberg, in case you identify with that imagery more easily. Sometimes there are many layers to work through, sometimes just a few. To reach my writing gulp or pyramid tip this time, I've had many layers, including the major layers of buying and selling homes, moving approximately 200 miles (in the same state), and resettling. During those months of moving last year, I didn't even try to write. I only jotted down notes from research and chapter ideas.
 

So that huge layer is now mostly complete. My research layer is also complete (itself worthy of a blog, but another time). The third layer, inspirational motivation, is also complete, accomplished by heaps of reading (including the Bible and devotionals), communication with God and many others, plus a writing conference – this time, last November's Indianapolis Christian Writers Conference.
 

These days, I'm working on the last two pyramid layers before I soon reach the tip and write for huge blocks of time, ignoring much of everything else. I can do so because I'm gloriously retired. What are these final layers? Filing and deleting my emails (I'm several thousand behind from last year) and outlining Jade Cross's chapters. I'm nearly done with my chapter outlines because this is the final book in my Yangtze Dragon Trilogy. And some of the chapters are written as well.
 

I'm so eager to finish Jade Cross! For as I write, I love God's blessings and surprises that develop in my characters' lives and experiences (all based on real people and situations, BTW). So hey, if I miss my next couple of blogs, you'll know where I am – enjoying the bliss at the tip of my writing pyramid!

Millie Nelson Samuelson

milliesbooks.org

Millie's books are available from Amazon in both softcover and inexpensive Kindle:

Women of the Last Supper: 4th Edition

Hungry River: A Yangtze Novel

Dragon Wall: A Great Wall Novel

The View from the Top--How Will You Get There?

A new year has us all thinking about goals and how we'd like to spend the coming year. When you get to my age, you've already spent a lot of time. I've done some amazing things! I admit, I haven't always been purposeful about what kinds of things I do, but I've been happy with much of it. (Not all, but much.) I'm a seat-of-my-pants kind of gal. How do you make sense of everything to move on?

My photograph (taken this summer) from underneath of Cloud Gate. It was sculpted by Indian-born British artist Anish Kapoor and is in Millennium Park, Chicago. 

This past year I was semi-purposeful about my reading. I read through the Bible (again) with a certain eye on how it came to be and with my faith path in mind. I coordinate the ACFW Book Club, so I tried to keep up with the books (2 a month) in that forum. (You can email me with questions. If you're an ACFW member with published books, your book could be eligible for the polls.) 

I read over 50 books having to do with my spiritual path/faith. I read a set of books (fiction) that were poignant/hilarious that I wish I could've written (but I'd have to have a completely different life. Not in my realm of knowledge. LOL.)

My photograph of a chapel steeple in St. Louis from The Arch area.(Also taken this year.)

This year I've seen some very beautiful sights, but experienced a lot of physical pain, too. I've explored my ancestors and their stories. I've blogged very little. 

I've also put my own writing sort-of-aside as I just didn't know what I really wanted to write, but I continued to help some people get published. I took some writing classes just for me this year and was able to see what I could do in writing (she was the best/most encouraging-to-me writing teacher I've ever had.) I still couldn't move past all those children's' stories this year that I have in some file from the time when Diann Hunt and I were in Doc Hensley's classes.  In the new year, however, I've overcome the genre block and because of that teacher, I am moving on and not writing any more children's stories.

This is what been used on me this year by well-meaning people. Lectures tend to suck the life out of me--how about you?? (Photo taken in the Old Capitol in St. Louis, this year.)

With that teacher's help, I saw that I could write anything I wanted, and she showed me that I could be confident about it. I got some really encouraging words from an agent with a kick in the pants, too, so maybe this year will be different for me. I will move on to stories that are wanted and not hang on to the past stories I've written that I wanted, but because of those novels I read this year that had humor and passion in them, I saw that I could make what I wanted combine with what readers want. 

My photograph from my car window near Effingham, Illinois from a trip to St. Louis this year.

Questions, Questions What kinds of things have you been doing? Are you working on a bucket list? Did you find a purpose and goal for this year? Are you entering contests? Do you have a certain type of book you're writing? What highway path are you on for the year? And will you take an exit from that path if opportunity presents itself for a side path? Who has encouraged you in writing the most this year? (And hasn't "lectured/preached" at you?)

My photograph of the sky lift at Natural Bridge, Kentucky. I took the hard, narrow path up to Natural Bridge, but even so, I wish some with me had taken this sky lift so we could've seen the view together at the top. Instead, all they got was my lousy photos and my descriptions.There is something profound in that...

Making time to write in 2013

If you’re like me, you have a very full life. Besides being a pastor’s wife with a full-time position at my church, I’m also a full-time college student. I have three adult sons living with me who have disabilities and a mother-in-law with Alzheimer’s who also makes her home with us.

How do I find time to write?

If I said it was easy, I’d be lying. It’s not. And that’s the thing you have to accept.

It will never be convenient to write.

Time management is one of the most important skills a writer can learn. As you start out the new year, why not give a few of these ideas a try?

1. Make a contract with yourself. Think of three to five things you want to accomplish this year, and write out a contract and sign it. Have someone witness the contract (preferably someone who’s one of your cheerleaders) and sign it, too. Then, make yourself accountable to your witnesses. Ask them to check with you to see if you’re fulfilling your contract. I know some people make copies of their contracts and give them to several people who will ask about the terms on deadlines specified.
2. Map out your life. To help people do this I’ve created The Writer’s Life Quest, a template for mapping out your life.  You can get it FREE on my website. (Scroll down on the homepage.)  If you have ideas of things I should or could include in this project, I’d love to hear them. (I’ll be releasing a Writer’s Life Planner soon, too!)
3. Make a writing schedule and stick to it. Everyone makes time in different ways. Some set a timer. For myself, I have a certain amount of words I want to complete each day. Whether in a book or column, I write that many words, no matter what. Some best-selling authors only write a few hundred words a day. I admire that. I personally write a lot more per day because I explode onto the page and then spend a lot more time editing later. This works better for me than a time frame, but everyone is different.   
4. When I was a Mary Kay distributor, Mary Kay taught us to write down the six most important things we wanted to accomplish the next day each night before bed. This has always worked well for me. On days when I have more than six, I write them down, but I prioritize them in order of importance. Also, do the tasks you don’t like doing first. Then the rest of the day is free to enjoy! I have a day plan template in The Writer’s Life Quest on my website.

What things do you employ to stay organized and productive? I'd love to know!

Happy New Year!

 Karla Akins is a pastor's wife, mother of five, grandma to five beautiful little girls and author of the best-selling Jacques Cartier (that went #1 on Amazon in its category), O Canada! Her Story.  Sacagawea  is due for release in Jan. 2013. Her debut novel The Pastor's Wife Wears Biker Boots  is also due out in 2013. One of her columns on MNN.com was featured on the CNN homepage. Represented by Hartline Literary Agency, she lives in North Manchester with her husband, twin teenage boys with autism, mother-in-law with Alzheimer's and three rambunctious dogs. When she's not writing she dreams of riding her motorcycle through the Smoky Mountains.

 

You Don't Need a Cast of Thousands

How many characters do you need in order to tell your story? If you're Hemingway writing The Old Man and the Sea, just two--the elderly fisherman and his trophy. If you're writing "Downton Abbey" or some other intergenerational saga, you need to introduce several dozen people to your readers. Clearly, it depends on the complexity of your plot and the intricacy of your narrative style.

For the sake of clarity and unencumbered pacing, it's best to keep the number of characters to a minimum. By "character," I mean an individual with a distinct name, description, and story role. For example, we may take our readers to a garden party with a hundred or so guests whose raucous laughter and gay apparel contribute to the mood of the evening, yet get acquainted only with our urbane hostess and her scowling maid. We've given readers two new characters and a roomful of party noise. (Trying to keep track of the rest would distract readers, even if we gave everyone name tags!)

So before you introduce a new character into your narrative, ask yourself a few tactical questions such as these:

• Will this person's identity, ideas, or actions move my hero closer to his/her goal?
• Will this person thwart my hero's quest? 
• Will this person's experience give my hero a crucial insight into what he/she must do?
• Will this person "take a bullet" for my hero--pull away someone who otherwise would encumber my hero, or fall victim to a hazard that otherwise might claim my hero?

If all such questions yield a "no," don't introduce the person as an individual character, but let him/her remain in the background. For example:

     "Have I any messages?" Hester asked, stripping her gray flannel gloves.

     The clerk turned to a rank of mailboxes and retrieved a folded half-sheet of stationery with her name hand-lettered on the outside.

     A chill ran down Hester's spine as she scanned its contents. How had Gretchen found her here?

The clerk performs an important function in this scene, but not so important that we need to be introduced. We don't know whether the clerk is male or female, young or old, natty or slovenly...because it doesn't matter. The note's the thing.

I once worked as an "extra" in a crowd scene for a college drama production. The director told us to mill about the stage doing things that a crowd normally would do in the city square, while muttering to one another, "Peas and carrots...Peas and carrots...Peas and carrots..." That way, the audience saw and heard us in the background, but their attention remained fixed on the main characters.

If an individual doesn't really advance your story, don't make that person a character. Let him be a nondescript "extra": No name, no physical characteristics, no inane dialogue--just peas and carrots.

Joe Allison and his wife, Judy, live in Anderson IN, where Joe serves as Coordinator of Publishing for Church of God Ministries, Inc. Joe has several nonfiction books in print, including Swords and Whetstones: A Guide to Christian Bible Study Resources. He's currently writing a trilogy of Christian historical novels set in the Great Depression.

Visit Joe's blog at http://hoosierwriter.wordpress.com

Can Your Writing Be an Act of Worship?

          Many years ago, I heard a pastor pose this question: “Do you know the difference between praise and worship?”

The question gave me pause. I’d been a Christian for years, but I’d never truly defined the words separately. So often in Christianese, the two terms come bundled: Praise and worship choruses. Praise and worship teams. Praise and worship time. Usually those packages involve music.

To this day, that preacher’s explanation gives me reason for reflection. Although there can be some overlap, he said, praise is ascribing glory to God for what He has done. Worship is ascribing glory to God simply for who He is. That is, even if God had never done all the things for which we thank and praise Him—if He had created His angels and called it quits right there, without ever speaking the heavens and earth into existence—then He would still be worthy of all the adoration—worship—that the angels could muster! God is awesome, even apart from His divine creation.

So, how does that insight reflect upon you, Christian writer? Here’s how: Your attitude of adoration for God need not be restricted to certain hours in a church service, or to a time of singing, or even to a time of prayer. If the Heavenly Father has bestowed on you a knack for writing, then you can utilize every finger tap on your keyboard as an expression of worship to the King of kings. That article, devotional, short story, or novel manuscript that you’re developing? It can serve as your personal act of worship now, as you type it, regardless of whether it ever gets published.

The key, I think, to worshiping the Lord in your writing lies in the attitude of the author. Certainly, not every piece of writing is an expression of worship. Many writers churn out stories that are testaments to their own pride, or lust, or simply to earn a few bucks. However, the writer who acknowledges his or her gift for wordsmithing comes from God and harnesses that gift to create written works as an offering back to Him is already on holy ground. Stylistically speaking, it might not be ready for mass distribution. Spiritually speaking, though, that manuscript can be more pleasing to God than a New York Times bestseller.

Praise God for what He has done. Worship God in all that you do—including writing.

“Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye  do, do all to the glory of God.” (1 Corinthians 10:31)

 Rick Barry has published over 200 short stories and articles, plus two novels, Gunner's Run and Kiriath's Quest.