What I wish I'd known

It was 2007.

I sat down at my computer, having experienced a divine urge to write again after many many years of doing so just for fun, never getting past chapter three of a book I'd plotted out just for kicks when I was 18.

So there I was, a wife, a mom of three young daughters, a fulltime corporate manager who worked way too many hours, and God was calling me to write?

Hmm...

But an idea for a new book swirled in my head and ignoring it was impossible. I wrote on lunch breaks. After the kids were in bed. On business trips in the hotel room at night.

And three months later, I typed The End on my 90,000 word Christian romance novel.

WAHOO!!! That was a fabulous feeling!

But then I realized something as I was reading back through it.

My book was HORRIBLE. I started joining writing groups and actually learning the process of writing. It was an enlightening experience!

The other day, I was thinking about what I would tell my "old" self if I could go back in time and give that newbie writer a few tips. Because it's now seven years later. I have an agent, I've traditionally published my first book and am looking to epublish my second one (a novella) later this year. I am far removed from that green writer who was writing with open abandon, not a care in the world, just wanting to tell a story.

So I thought I'd share those tips with you all today.

1.) More words does not equal better writing. You'll learn about overwriting and RUE and all those fancy writing terms later and that will explain more. But for now, just stop adding words and prepositional phrases everywhere to make things sound cool. 'Cause it doesn't sound cool.I promise.

2.) POV. Limited. Look it up. It'll save you a LOT of editing.

3.) Dream-mostly-big. Teaching your kids to follow their dreams, and being an example, is SUPER important. But not more important than giving your kids the time they need, and not to the point where they feel your dream is more important than they are. Balance, Krista. It's all about balance.

4.) Just Don't Do It. Those first two query letters you sent? The ones where you thought you were being so unique and cute and "stand-outish"? Don't send them. Because you probably would stand out. Some editors/agents will get a few GREAT laughs around the water cooler because of those letters. Save yourself the humiliation and learn how to write them first.

5.) Enjoy the ride. Later, things like deadlines and numbers and expectations will come. Don't rush so much, even though I KNOW you are super impatient. Your book will not be published anytime soon. And that's okay. You're not ready for it anyway. Just enjoy the process and have FUN.


Discussion: What would you tell your newbie writer self? Any words of wisdom looking back?

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Krista is a follower of Jesus, a wife, a mother, and author of Sandwich, With a Side of Romance . She blogs about finding JOY in the journey of LIFE at http://www.kristaphillips.com. She is represented by the fab agent, Rachelle Gardner.

The View from the Sky-- Learning How to Wait Expectantly

This year, my ACFW conference experience did not go as expected.

You may have seen me like this:




Or with my handy crutch:





I actually don't have any pictures of my black boot because my friends knew better than to take any full-length shots! But you can use your own imagination. We're talking shin-length, black padding, lots of velcro. Much better than a cast. Much more disappointing than regular shoes.

I tried to make the best of my broken foot. Really, I did. I hobbled around to workshops and appointments, and my sweet Alley Cat friends got me ice and pushed me around in that wheelchair any time we went outside the hotel. I smiled a lot and tried to pretend everything was normal.

But let's face it. You can only ignore a broken bone--any kind of brokenness, really--for so long.

After a day or two, the fatigue began to catch up with me. I felt tired, worn-down, and weary. I just wanted the whole typical conference experience. I wanted to walk up to my editor appointments like a normal person, and to sashay down to Starbucks afterwards with a spring in my step. Not an ill-balanced hobble.

This general fatigue began to affect my usual fighting attitude. I generally take challenges head-on. But brokenness began to get the best of me, and doubts crept in. Did I pitch my novel with enough clarity? Did I inspire enough enthusiasm? Did I leave an impression with those I came into contact with, aside from being known as the broken-foot girl?

The problem with all these questions is they're I-centered.

Have you ever noticed that brokenness has a way of zapping our strength? That it blatantly attacks the promises of God in our lives? It tells us if we keep reaching toward our dreams, we may end up even more broken. Before long, we start considering whether we've really got what it takes to get all the way to our dreams. But the thing is, we don't have it in us.

We can not accomplish the will of God in our lives, the dreams He has given us, on our own accord. They're too big. Too full of beauty. That's the whole point. So it's no wonder we get tired trying.

What if the point of this whole writing gig isn't doing it well enough, but being the person God desires us to become? What if He isn't asking for results, but for intimacy with us?

Now, flash forward a few days to my trip home. I had this brief moment in the airplane when I looked out the window, and felt a stab of panic about being stuck in the air. I'm not usually one to get super nervous on airplanes, but for some reason, the idea of being stuck inside of one made me so uneasy. I wanted out. I wanted to get where I was going.

Are you feeling panic about your writing, like you may be "stuck in the air," so to speak? Let me encourage you that just like airplane travel, you're not actually stuck at all. Just because you're not "there" yet does not mean you're not making progress. Sometimes the landscape below is just difficult to discern. But God has your journey mapped out, and He knows where you're going next.

You are in transit. You may not be there yet, but you are on the way. You're a little closer now than you were yesterday. And that's something to get excited about.



Learn to enjoy where you are in this journey. When we recognize the beauty all around us--the beautiful heights of the sky we're flying through--we can look to the future with expectancy.

If we're always hanging our hearts on achievement, we will never feel satisfied. But if we allow hope to fill our expectations, we can enjoy each step of the journey as we recognize the beauty of our moments.

Though this conference experience was different for me, and though I came away with a foot that was still broken, I learned something very important, and that is this: God is comfortable with our brokenness. He really doesn't mind. See, He can work through it, even when we feel like we're at the end of our rope. So if you are feeling tired today, or your heart is weary, don't try to keep going on your own strength. Instead, give it to Him. Allow Him to take the responsibility of making His promises happen. You were never created to carry such a heavy burden yourself.

Have you ever found yourself weary or discouraged about your writing journey? How do you fin beauty in the journey and wait expectantly for the promises of God to come to pass?

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Ashley Clark writes romantic comedy with southern grace. She's dreamed of being a writer ever since the thumbprint-cookie-days of library story hour. Ashley has an M.A. in English and enjoys teaching literature courses at her local university. She's an active member of ACFW and runs their newcomer's loop. When she's not writing, Ashley's usually busy rescuing stray animals and finding charming new towns. You can find Ashley on her personal blog, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter. She is represented by Karen Solem.

His Perfect Pace at ACFW

Wow. Has it already been eleven days? It seems like yesterday that I was turning onto the highway toward my fourth ACFW conference! And this year, it came full circle...as my first conference was in the same place...Indianapolis. It is at that first conference that I pitched the same characters (cannot call it the same book, now,after three years of rewrites), met the first of my many friends and co-Alleycats, and basically fell in love with the writing community.

The difference between the last 8 hour drive to Indy in 2010, and this one, is I drove it alone this year...didn't drag my family of five(was expecting our fourth), and pawn them off at the Indy zoo, while I ventured to the Hyatt. This year, I was alone with Jesus, listening to His music, and anxiously looking forward to wrapping my arms around my sweet sweet friends.

As I crept closer, my foot grew heavy though, and I sped along the highway, fighting off the old anxious ways of the newbie I once was, and ignoring the signs that were telling me to slow down. I noticed the $375 minimum fine in the work zone, and I saw the orange cones. I kept up with traffic though, surely I wouldn't get caught. It was just a scare tactic...that big chunk of change. I was on a mission to get to ACFW, I wanted to get there fast and feel the happiness of being among friends and writers, and the thrill of showcasing what God has done, to editors. I kept my foot on the pedal, continued at a consistent distance from the car ahead, and slammed on the brakes when the roadside digital display of my speed showed I was 9 miles over and a flash indicated a photo had been taken.
UGH!
I thought I could beat the odds, because I didn't believe they were really keeping track. My biggest excuse being that I was keeping up with traffic...were they going to ticket all of us? But in the end, the ugly truth flashed in front of me and I was not keeping up with the expectations of the law enforcement. I had raced ahead, only to feel the big fat EXPENSIVE slap of defeat.

After attending four conferences, and looking back over how far I've come (maybe not to publication, but to some sort of maturity in the process)...I realize how that traffic incident is a mirror of the writing journey as I first embarked upon it:

Beat the odds: When I wrote my first story, and began to dabble in the writing circles, I honestly thought I would not fall into the "norm" of a long journey toward publication. I poo-pooed the idea of putting my first book in a drawer never to see the light of day. And I thought, "I will show them" when it came to the extensiveness of such an endeavor as publication. Just like my zipping by the warning signs on the road, I zipped by the words of mentors and authors who said, "Writing is not for the faint at heart."

Keeping up with traffic: When I first stepped into an ACFW conference, and pitched my novel, and compared my notes with others, hearing what agents and editors had asked for, wondering why I didn't get asked for that...I began to try and keep up with the traffic so to speak. I decided to write something else, to enter contests, to put that long list of awards beneath my name, to be sure I stalked the white board at the appointments desk each year and rack up the requests. EVEN IF MY STUFF WASN'T READY...I was not going to be left behind without success.

Facing the Ugly truth:  And that truth, just like the failure of maintaining the expected speed on the highway, the ugly truth of my writing journey before this conference, was that all those attempts, all those written words, ALL those rejections, pointed to the truth that I just wasn't ready. I didn't meet the expectations of the editors, and I paid the price of a wounded ego.
This year, after much rejection under my belt, I realize that the ugly truth of trying to beat the odds and speed along in striving toward publication, the ugly truth that I tried to keep up with "traffic" or the success of others, and facing the ugly but WONDERFUL truth that I just wasn't ready before, has led me to a place where cruise control in God's plan is so much more satisfying. I continue to see the lessons he had taught me during the self-induced race before. And now, I am ready to shout out and claim this journey as uniquely my own, at my own God-induced speed!

This year, I leave behind another ACFW conference knowing the importance of abiding, giving my journey to God, and realizing that publication is not the proof of my gift, but a fruit among many on the writing branch in my heart. Yes, there is always that niggle of comparison, that shadow of regret, but if I shake it off, point my heart toward the LIGHT of God's Grace, and release the pressure on that gas pedal toward success, He'll guide me down this road of my dream at His Most Perfect Pace.
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Angie Dicken first began writing fiction as a creative outlet during the monotonous, mothering days of diapers and temper tantrums. She is passionate to impress God's love on women regardless of their background or belief. This desire serves as a catalyst for Angie's fiction, which weaves salvation and grace themes across historical cultures and social boundaries. Angie is an ACFW member and is represented by Tamela Hancock Murray of the Steve Laube Agency.

Take Flight - Writing Advice from a Butterfly

Several weeks ago, I discovered six very stout caterpillars on the parsley I planed in my garden, hoping to attract them. Knowing I had to protect them from my regular Mockingbird visitor, lest they meet a similar fate as the caterpillar who came a week before the rest, I rush-shipped a butterfly habitat from Amazon and brought the whole plant inside.

Let me tell you. If you've never watched caterpillars eat, I hope you get the opportunity. It's pretty much the cutest thing. And it's amazing to see how quickly they change forms and grow.

I hadn't realized this until I did some research on my swallowtails, but caterpillars actually molt their outer skin several times before they form a chrysalis. Even the chrysalis is actually the result that comes from a sloughing off of their often-bright-colored caterpillar skin.

I got to thinking, this process is so much like life, and particularly, writing.

We start of with this tiny dream. Over time, we feed that dream more and more, and it grows, stepping out of its original form and into something bigger. But then one day, we do what swallowtail caterpillars always do before forming a chrysalis: we start roaming around. We start looking for a good, safe spot to make our most important transformation.

Raising butterflies has been one of the most awe-filled, inspiring things I've done all year. Watching them as caterpillars, and then as bigger caterpillars, and then as chrysalises, and then finally spreading their wings as butterflies has been a thing of beauty. Today I'd like to share with you some things God taught me through these creatures. So what follows is a list of writing advice from my butterflies:

• Guard your caterpillars. Like the parable of the sower and seeds (Matthew 13), many things will come to eat up your caterpillars. It's estimated that only 1 in every 100 caterpillars actually becomes a butterfly. When God plants a dream in our hearts, it often starts out small--as a fancy, or an idea we cherish. We have to feed that vision for it to grow. Otherwise, things of this world feast upon our goals. Self-doubt, pride, comparisons to others, and maybe even condescension are all enemies of dreams. Guard your God-purpose, just as you guard your heart. Don't let it get eaten up.

• Be flexible and hold on tight. I have been amazed by how strong caterpillars are! They grab on to a stem with their tiny little caterpillar arms, and boy do they hold on. I've watched them bend in half in order to get to a different branch. Sometimes in the writing life, things won't go as planned. The good leaves may be on another stem, and it's easy to feel like you've wasted your time crawling up the wrong branch. Don't despair. Don't give up. Be flexible. Be willing to bend to get to where you need to go. But on the other hand, keep a firm grasp on what really matters. Never let go of the promises of God. Falling can prove very harmful to caterpillars, and to our own hopes and dreams. But as long as we cling to God, He will never let go of us.

• Be patient and wait for your wings to grow. For the caterpillar stage of a butterfly's life, things change pretty rapidly. Every few days, the caterpillar sheds its old skin and takes on a new appearance as well as a more robust form. The same is true of the writer. Initially when we get that first spark of love for the craft, we eat it up. We grow, and grow, and grow, and we expect that same sort of progress to continue. But then the day comes when that caterpillar becomes a pupa, and let me tell you, the waiting begins! I can't tell you how many times I walked over to my chrysalises and looked at them, wishing I could still see them munching away on the parsley. (So side note, enjoy the "parsley eating" stages of the journey--don't be too quick to rush to that chrysalis until you're ready!) But for twelve days, nothing seemed to be changing on the outside. Yet, on the inside, a great change was being done. Take heart and wait for the Lord when He calls you to a dream. It may seem like He's waiting around, but I'll bet He's doing a work in your heart you may not even see right now. He's growing your wings, preparing them for flight.

• Metamorphosis involves a melt-down. My pastor recently spoke about the way a resurrection first requires a death. You may feel like being a caterpillar is pretty great. Sure, it's not where you want to end up, but it's comfortable. You have plenty of food and are grounded. If we're not careful, we refuse our own growth because we expect God to keep doing things the way He's always done them before. Then one day He leads us to spin some silk and create our hard-shell chrysalis, and we struggle. Why is the landscape different? Why are we changing? Why does the waiting have to be so hard? Don't despair, and don't resist this stage. Metamorphosis requires a melt-down. God can't bring big dreams into our lives until we're first ready to give up being a caterpillar to become a butterfly.

• When you do become a butterfly, keep from danger by soaring high above it. The other day, I saw a beautiful butterfly as I was driving. I have a tendency to slow down so I don't hit any butterflies, but this was a busy intersection, and I knew other cars wouldn't care as much--or even see her. I cringed to myself as I watched that butterfly-- hoping, praying it would make it safety across the road. I know that probably sounds a little over the top. But my day was brightened by seeing that butterfly, and I really wanted her to be okay. And you know what? She was. Because she flew high above the cars. I thought to myself, "There's a lesson to be learned in that." When we position ourselves in the intersection of harsh criticism and mean-spiritedness, we make ourselves vulnerable to danger. I'm not suggesting you stick your head in the sand, but I am saying God has made you and your calling something exquisite. Do not devalue your worth by looking for affirmation in a busy intersection of others' perceptions. Flight high. Fly to the heavens, and find rest.

I hope this list challenges you to care for and invest in your writing calling, whether that means feeding it daily with time and effort (maybe even money!), waiting patiently, or soaring boldly through the sky. And if you get the chance to raise caterpillars, definitely go for it! It's such a privilege to see them transform and to know you are giving them a better chance to make it in the wild.

Do you ever feel "grounded" in your writing? What stage do you find yourself-- caterpillar (eating up instruction), pupa (waiting. waiting. and more waiting. and maybe melting down.), or butterfly (you have wings, but now you've got to learn to spread them and fly)? How do you hold on to the vision God has given for your life? 

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Ashley Clark writes romantic comedy with southern grace. She's dreamed of being a writer ever since the thumbprint-cookie-days of library story hour. Ashley has an M.A. in English and enjoys teaching literature courses at her local university. She's an active member of ACFW and runs their newcomer's loop. When she's not writing, Ashley's usually busy rescuing stray animals and finding charming new towns. You can find Ashley on her personal blog, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter. She is represented by Karen Solem.