Thankfulness

Yes, I'm taking the easy way out this week. With Thanksgiving being tomorrow, "what are you thankful for" is the theme for everyone, so I thought I'd chime in too.

God helped me accomplish goals this year that I thought were impossible. Almost two years ago, I started writing. I wrote the first part of a book whose working title was "Alex and Rachel." I had the book mapped out into five parts, but I didn't make it much past part one. I rewrote part one once, but then I drifted from the story for a while and my computer broke, leaving me unable to write for the rest of the year. And I thought I'd failed. I started a book and never finished it, which kind of felt like business as usual for me.

Then Sarah Cameron began tugging on my heart. She and her friends had been with me for almost eighteen years, but, when I began "Alex and Rachel," I'd felt too scared of failure to attempt starting the Sarah Cameron series. A year can change a lot, though. By the time Christmas 2009 came around, I was dying for a new computer and the chance to start writing again.

My wonderful husband bought me a Mac for Christmas that year, and a few days later I started writing. In secret. I didn't want to share what I was doing because, if I failed again, I didn't want anyone to know. But I didn't fail. The following May, I had two rough drafts on my computer and the Sarah Cameron series had begun.

God has taken my writing on a journey. "Alex and Rachel" wasn't a failure, but more like practice. A chance to work on my writing skills before starting the story that really mattered. Someday, I hope to finish "Alex and Rachel." Unfortunately, I saved the story in Microsoft Works and the file didn't transfer properly from my PC to my Mac. But that's okay because I love the act of writing and rewriting a story. I've learned a lot about writing this year. But what I've learned most is that I want to be an author more than anything and I am willing to work, to grow and to push myself out of my comfort zone to achieve that goal.

Time & Place

“And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14)

Several times over the last few months I have read that fifteen to twenty years ago, the publishing world was very different. Editors and agents would find diamonds in the rough and work with them, helping authors with good stories improve their writing skills. But now, the market is so flooded that few even accept unsolicited manuscripts, much less offer assistance to would-be-writers with a compelling story. No, if one wishes to be published, both the story and the writing skills must be exceptional from page one. At times, this news depresses me. Why couldn’t I be living during a different time? A time when what I want would be easier to obtain?

“And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14)

Esther was the Bible class topic at my church Sunday morning. The teacher looked at a person in the class (not me) and said that he had been born now, in this time instead of, say, 1852, for a reason. That made me think. God decided he had a plan for my adult life in the twenty-first century.  A purpose that I could not fulfill in the twentieth or nineteenth centuries. His plan for me may have nothing at all to do with writing or publishing, but I trust that he has a plan. And I hope I am carrying it out.

What is in a Name?

Shakespeare wrote, “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” But, personally, I agree with Anne Shirley in Anne of Green Gables who says. “I don't believe a rose would be as nice if it was called a thistle or a skunk cabbage.” This week I’ve been searching for the “right” name for a character. One that fits who he was and who he is. And, like one person said on Facebook, “Are we supposed to like this character, or not? I wouldn’t want to waste a good name.”

Now, I know when choosing a baby’s name, the parents aren’t giving the child a personality too. Chuckie can be the little kid in Rugrats or the creepy doll, though if you think of Chuckie as a creepy doll, you probably won’t call your baby that, right? And if the mean girl in high school was named Veronica, you might have trouble naming your baby Veronica, no matter how much your husband loves the name. Likewise, if you find out that Heather was the name of your husband’s ex-girlfriend, you probably wouldn’t name your child Heather, either, even if it was your favorite name for ten years.

So names are important. And difficult to choose--even with a baby naming app. When naming characters, I don’t want to confuse a reader with names too similar. But what happens if I have given two characters similar looking names and need to change a name? A character in future Sarah Cameron books has a name similar to a character in the first two. Oops. The future character had his name for about fifteen years, but I had to change it. Or change the minor character’s name in the first two books. Changing a character’s name is hard for me. Somehow, the character’s entire personality is wrapped up in those letters. Maybe that’s because the only visual one has of a written character is their name and it is the name that is required to conjure up an image in the imagination. So, changing a character’s name is as difficult for me as changing one of my children’s names. But, sometimes it has to be done.

If you happen to be a writer--or not a writer, but still have an opinion on the matter--how do you choose a name? I have tried the random feature of my baby naming app, but ended up with a strange name that I had never heard of nor could I pronounce. Not helpful. So how do you go about the naming of characters?

Rejection

I heard back from the agent I queried two weeks ago. Yes, like the post title says, the response was, "Sadly, your book project isn't quite what I'm looking for."

But guess what? I'm actually happy with that. Sure, a your-project-sounds-great-send-me-more-info would have been more exciting, but I didn't expect that from my first query. And, yeah, a part of me wants to shed a few tears, but, really, I'm happy about being acknowledged. I sent out a query. Someone read it and responded. I'm making progress. Now I can check "first rejection" off my Writer's Rites of Passage list, which means I'm one step closer to success.

Moving Forward

This week, I want to write something more upbeat. I've noticed that most of my posts are on the negative and insecure side, but I'm really not a glass-half-empty-person, I hope. So I'm going to try to come up with something positive this week.

I have decided to send my manuscript off to an editing agency. I've grappled with that idea for several weeks. After asking for the opinions of those more experienced, I concluded that it wouldn't hurt to get the help of a professional. I am blessed with a wonderful husband who sees this as a career investment and hopefully I will learn both my strengths and my weaknesses and end up with a better product.

I also entered a writing contest this week. The contest, called "Hook Me,"is put on by ACFW-Ohio. Writers enter the first 1,000 words of their manuscripts and a 300 word back cover blurb and the judges score how attention-grabbing it is. I am most looking forward to the feedback from the judges. Results should be determined by December 1st.

Also, unrelated to Sarah Cameron, I am developing one or two other stories. I am about halfway done with the development of the first. I'm having fun trying to do this next book the "right" way. Not that there is a right way, necessarily, but I'm trying more of an outline approach. In some ways, it's a little hard. I really want to get the characters out of my head. Having half a dozen people up there talking can be a distraction. But the development is also fun and I hope that the book will write faster and edit faster when I've taken the time to know where the story is going and how it's going to get there.

So there you go. I've put aside my fears this week and am moving forward. Next week, I hope I will have more progress to report on at least one of the three areas I mentioned this week.