The Birth of a Dream

I stopped by a garage sale in my neighborhood a while back.

In the driveway was a box of a few books. As I was looking through them, the lady managing the sale told me, "There are a bunch of other books over here too if you're interested."

I walked over, and yeah, I barely could control my grin.

JACKPOT!

I bought 15 books from that garage sale at .25 cents each. Most all in like-new condition. (most of these weren't ones I would have purchased new anyway, but for a quarter I'd give them a try, so no writer's guilt...)

The writer I am had to ask who the reader of the house was. Come to find out, it was an elderly woman who was "downsizing" and moving into an apartment/assisted living.

Instantly my mind went to my own grandma. Memories of going to her house and searching her bookshelf flooded my heart. My grandma's bookshelf held my first taste of Christian Fiction, Janette Oke, Lori Wick, and Grace Livingston Hill, to be exact.

A few years ago, my grandparents moved into a nursing home/assisted living facility, and my mother salvaged a few of the books for me from the similar garage sale.  There are no words to tell you how special those books are to me. They are how I fell in love with books, they are what birthed the dream of being a writer someday.

Sometimes, in all the craziness of everything, I like to pick one of them up, snuggle up with a blanket, and read one of those "old" books of grandma's. They make me smile, they made me remember, and they make me appreciate the journey.

Because this writing life IS a journey, a crazy, fun, scary, wild, sweet, wonderful journey.

It also makes me appreciate anew the simple act and pleasure of reading a book.

Those "non"-bookies don't always understand this emotional connection we have to a book. It doesn't really make a lot of sense. But it's special. I can't aptly put it into words (oddly enough!) but it just plain is!

Discussion: What was your first "memorable" book you read? Who inspired YOUR writing journey at it's infant stage?

When it all started....

I stopped by a garage sale in my neighborhood last Saturday.

In the driveway was a box of a few books. As I was looking through them, the lady managing the sale told me, "There are a bunch of other books over here too if you're interested."

I walked over, and yeah, I barely could control my grin.

JACKPOT!

I bought 15 books from that garage sale at .25 cents each. Most all in like-new condition. (most of these weren't ones I would have purchased new anyway, but for a quarter I'd give them a try, so no writer's guilt...)

The writer I am had to ask who the reader of the house was. Come to find out, it was an elderly woman who was "downsizing" and moving into an apartment/assisted living.

Instantly my mind went to my own grandma. Memories of going to her house and searching her bookshelf flooded my heart. My grandma's bookshelf held my first taste of Christian Fiction, Janette Oke, Lori Wick, and Grace Livingston Hill, to be exact.

A few years ago, my grandparents moved into a nursing home/assisted living facility, and my mother salvaged a few of the books for me from the similar garage sale.  There are no words to tell you how special those books are to me. They are how I fell in love with books, they are what birthed the dream of being a writer someday.

Sometimes, in all the craziness of everything, I like to pick one of them up, snuggle up with a blanket, and read one of those "old" books of grandma's. They make me smile, they made me remember, and they make me appreciate the journey.

Because this writing life IS a journey, a crazy, fun, scary, wild, sweet, wonderful journey.

It also makes me appreciate anew the simple act and pleasure of reading a book.

Those "non"-bookies don't always understand this emotional connection we have to a book. It doesn't really make a lot of sense. But it's special. I can't aptly put it into words (oddly enough!) but it just plain is!

Discussion: What was your first "memorable" book you read? Who inspired YOUR writing journey at it's infant stage?

*************************************************

 

Krista is a follower of Jesus, a wife, a mother, and a contemporary romance author. She recognizes that life can be frustrating and just plain not fun sometimes, but believes that laughter and smiles can make the not-so-fun a little better! She blogs about the amazing things God has been doing and her journey as a busy momma of 4 and caregiver to a daughter with a rare congenital heart defect at http://reflectionsbykrista.blogspot.com. She is represented by the fab agent, Rachelle Gardner, and her debut novel, Sandwich, With a Side of Romance, releases in September 2012.

A God's Eye POV of Character Development

Pepper here :-)

As many of you know, last weekend I attended the American Christian Fiction Writers Conference in Indianapolis.
Leave a comment today for a chance to win Making Waves by Lorna Seistland - she was signing books at ACFW!!!!

 Tim Downs was the keynote speaker. His presentations were fabulous – filled with humor, insight, and enough gravity to weigh your heart down to your shoes. In a very good way.

Seriously. He challenged us.

So it got me to thinking. That’s right. Me. Thinking. Are you scared yet? ;-)

One of the elements which make for a fabulous story is the ensemble of characters in a book. The mesh of various personalities.

Is your heroine memorable? Your hero?

How about the way they blend together, your whole cast, to bring about the journey you started on page one?

Characters are important, vital, the heartbeat of a novel– a masterpiece of the author’s skill, creativity, and design. Each one serves a specific purpose within the grand scheme of your novel. You shouldn’t just toss in Cousin Melville unless he has something to contribute to the overall story. He’s strategically placed.

Just like you and me from God’s POV.

Each character He’s placed in His story is specifically designed to serve a purpose. All parts of the body of His best prose.

In the writing industry we hear so much about…

What editors want for their publishing houses?


Where publishing trends are heading?


Which rules to keep and which ones to break.


How to create memorable characters, page turning plots, and meaningful conflict –

And all of those hold important places in making us better writers who write compelling stories…

But at the bottom of it all, of our writing and our lives, there is one simple truth:

We are called to glorify God.

From the words of our mouths to the ones that flow from our fingertips – we have a unique calling. We are all characters in a massive story, a saga from the beginning of time. In this compilation of dramas, comedies, tragedies, and adventures, there is the scarlet ink of God’s redemption stamped on each page – within each soul. It marks us, motivates us, and modifies our thinking.

And we can’t help but express it. Not if we understand what that red-stained hope really means.

If we view ourselves from the vantage point of God’s creation, characters developed for a specific purpose in His story, then it changes the way we live AND the way we write.

The bottom line is that the attitudes of our hearts guides the direction of our pens

Or

Our perspectives influence the choices in our keystrokes

Who we believe God is – and how we see ourselves within His world directs everything we do.

To say it from a Biblical POV, “Out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks…” (or writes).

And this overflow may come out in an overt way, splashing onto the pages of our novels through Bible verses and conversion scenes – or it may weave its way subtly through the message of our books, barely noticeable except to a reader who is ready to ‘see’ it.

We are each uniquely gifted to make an impression on the people God brings into our lives in the flesh, or vicariously through our writing.

And in God’s story, no one is a minor character. Some may end up being recognizable names like David, Peter, Mary, or Paul – and others names we may never know, but they are strategically placed in God’s story to fulfill a mighty purpose in a quiet way. Just like the characters we write.

Stories are the same way. Some will SCREAM of God’s redemption – shouting for the sinner to find hope in Jesus, but others will woo with words and paint pictures through stories, without one overt mention of the salvation plan.

And God will use them both – for His glory.

God’s characters are all paged together for the perfect story, all moving the story forward to its climactic and glorious ending ;-)

At the ACFW banquet, author Janette Oke called our books “paper missionaries”. I like that, because missionaries know, as the rest of us should understand, the call to change someone’s character isn’t up to us – but the AUTHOR of that character’s life. Only the creator of that character can truly change him/her.

In the grand story of life –

We may write the words

but God writes the heart.


What's some of the best writing advice that's ever reprioritized your writing?

ACFW RECAP

Well, here I am - sitting at the computer at 12:21am on Monday, just in from visiting with the Seeker gals after the BIG night.

It's been a fabulous experience and I really hope those of you who've never had the opportunity can go soon (Sherrinda, Casey, Mary).

So - here's a bit of a recap from the Sunday Night's Award Ceremony where Seekerville and Cowboy Writer, Mary Connealy, won the Carol Award for Long Historical Romance with her novel, Cowboy Christmas.

Here's a pic.

And here are some more pics.
To the right is a pic with author, Cathy Marie Hake - a wonderful encourager and overcomer. Her personal story is fascinating and her novels are a delightful journey.

Here's a pic of some of the Seekers - Audra Harders, Janet Dean,

Debbie Guisti, and Cara Lynn James.

They were all so nice and encouraging. Audra took extra time with me to pray for my writing. I loved spending time with her - with all of them. They truly are as sweet and genuine as they appear on Seekerville.

Okay - so here's a bonus picture. ONe of the highlights of yesterday. Janette Oake came!!! And here she is. What a fabulous lady. It's hard to believe her book, Love Comes Softly, came out in 1979 and was one of the catalysts for the growth of Christian fiction.

I'll be posting more of the lessons and information I've learned over on my personal blog at http://www.pepperbasham.wordpress.com/ , but let me just leave you with a few nuggets to chew on:

1. God's timing is perfect to fufill the Call He has on your heart

2. Fellowship is just as rewarding (if not more) as good teaching. I cannot tell you how encouraged I've been just by spending time with some of these wonderful pubbed and pre-pubbed authors this weekend.

3. Some of the 'rules' you've heard about on this site are still enforced - strongly- Show Don't Tell being one of the big ones :-)

4. The main purpose of what you write is to glorify God the way He's called YOU to do it. For each author it will look different, and I want to make a longer post about that point later.

Hope you enjoy the pics. There are more to come :-)