2018 Recap // 2019 Goals

A crisp new morning. The wide open feeling of new potential. This is January--or rather, it's my idealized January. At this time of year, I find myself reflecting on what the past 365 days have been like and where I hope to go in the next 365. It's definitely been a journey.


At the beginning of 2018, I slowed down and took a different approach to goal-setting. You can read about it here: What Lies on the Horizon. Today let's look at those goals and see if I hit them.

2018 Goals

Organize my beta readers' feedback on The Brightest Thread. Check! It was one whale of a job, but I did manage to wrangle all the feedback into one place and took an objective look at the critiques. (And smiled at the fangirly comments, let's be honest.)


Try my hand at flash fiction and submit to a magazine. What do you know, I managed that too! I wrote a few flash fics, and Dead Magic was accepted by Havok. Details coming VERY soon!


Edit The Brightest Thread. I made progress on that front, for sure. The beginning of the novel gave me a hard time (how dare it), but the first 22,000 words are now in pretty good shape. I think. It's been a while since I looked at it, thanks to college.


Start querying literary agents. Nope, I didn't make it that far, since I didn't finish editing TBT.

Attend Realm Makers in St. Louis and pitch TBT again there. I did make it to Realm Makers for the second time and pitched twice, with promising results. I'm excited to pursue that in the future.

Finish The Creative Way course. Ahahaha . . . no. This was on my list of goals last year too, and I worked through even fewer lessons in 2018 than I did in 2017. College swallowed my LIFE.


Get my secret project off the ground. Aside from brainstorming, I made no progress here either. See the above reason.


Spiff up the blog. Again, nope.


Maybe plan my next novel? Nuh-uh. You know the drill by now. #collegelife



Three and a half achieved out of nine.

A couple years ago, that might have made me depressed. But now? I can smile, nod, and turn my face toward the new year. Because I know that list of goals doesn't paint the whole picture. There were more important things I wanted out of 2018, bigger wins to achieve. Most of them can't be quantified.


I took more time for people. I noticed a marked difference in how I treated time spent with family and friends. Not that I'm oh-so-generous now, but I've become a little more willing, a little more able to shut up my inner critic when it wants to yak about the looming to-do list. The people in my life mean more than getting that blog post up in time or editing another chapter.

I carved out time to read and recharge. I skidded too close to burnout in 2017 and 2016, so with college ramping up this year, I knew it was even more crucial to stay rested. Again, I wasn't perfect at this, but there were many, many occasions I made the decision to pick up a book instead of a task in my free time. Sure, there were weeks in summer when I went full-steam ahead in editing my novel, and most definitely times during the school months that I worked my fingers to the bone. BUT. Overall, I took steps to nurture my mental health, and now I'm thanking myself for it.

Most importantly, I grew closer to God and forged a new devotional habit. Recently, I reread the What Lies on the Horizon post from last January . . . and it almost made me cry. Many of those words had faded from memory since writing them down, including this thought:

"What I know right now is that every time I have hungered for more of God and cried out for a deeper knowing of Him, He has responded. And every time, all it took was asking... and then putting one foot in front of the other with my eyes open for an answer. Another thing I know right now is that I miss digging into the Word." [Jan. 2018]

Since writing that, I started a contemplative Bible-reading plan--and kept up with it all year. Coming from a 2017 of very sporadic times spent with God, that's huge for me.


And when I look back at all the things God has whispered to my heart in 2018, I am moved by how kind and wise He is. All year, He encouraged me to rest, to accept grace, to trust Him. To do everything WITH Him. This was made especially clear at Realm Makers, where author Allen Arnold taught a class called Chaos and Creativity.

Books I read, people I talked to, messages from church I listened to, songs I heard . . they wove together into a beautiful melody threaded through the year, snagging my wandering attention when I strayed too far.

(And on the more superficial side of things, I finished two semesters of business college, had Mirrors Never Lie place as a finalist in Five Poisoned Apples, and read 50 books.)

I'm proud of 2018.

But now it's time to look to the new year.

2019 Goals

Continue my devotional habit. But more than just continuing, I want to build more thought, study, and variety into it as time goes on.


Give myself more grace. This one goes without explanation.


Take better care of myself. This includes getting the right amount of sleep, being intentional about unplugging, and making space for just being still.


Graduate college and get a great job. I can't wait! As much as I grumble about college (which is something else I need to work on), it really has been a valuable experience. One of these days I'll share some survival tips for fellow students. Anyway, before I graduate in April, I'll be looking for the kind of job that will make me excited to get up in the morning.


Finish editing The Brightest Thread. I'm so looking forward to brushing up this darling child of mine . . .

Send TBT to a literary agent. . . . And I'm looking forward to engaging in some serious querying!

Attend Realm Makers for the third time. It's my tentative plan, and I'm hoping it'll fit in the budget again this summer.

Actually finish The Creative Way writing course by Ted Dekker. Because there's cool stuff to learn and it's about time I finish what I started an embarrassingly long time ago.


Move Adventure Awaits to a self-hosted website. You heard it here first, folks! Rather than simply spruce up the blog, I'm seriously contemplating moving to a bona-fide website later this year. I foresee many inquiries being sent to the more technologically-minded . . .


Bring that secret project into existence. And that's all I'll say about that. *wink*


I do have a handful of "bonus goals," smaller and easier-to-achieve things that would be nice to accomplish, but not absolutely imperative. Things like purging my room, purchasing a new laptop, reading another 50 books (including my nonfiction TBR stack), even getting a personal blender with which to make smoothies. But I think ten major goals are quite enough for now, thank you!

2019 holds some big changes, that much is certain. I'm eagerly anticipating a change of season, from full-time student to . . . well, full-time something else, and also the chance to revive my writing life. In the meantime, I hope to practice grace for myself and others--and face the future with a peaceful heart.

What are you looking forward to this year, fellow questers?

How Beautiful on the Mountain

[Graphic mine; image via Unsplash]

Merry Christmas, my friends!

This time of year likes to sneak up on me, even though I should see it coming. (Y'know, it's not like it lands on December 25th every single year.) Now that I'm on Christmas break and can forget about college for a couple of weeks, I've been basking in a quieter pace at home with my family. Somehow the rushing around to mail off Christmas letters and pick up the last few gifts doesn't feel all that crazy when there are no more textbooks to study.


Something I've been doing in my quiet time with God is read a series of verses picked out for Advent. My Bible has a convenient list of suggested readings, and it's only a verse or two each day, so I get to camp out on each one for a while.


Several days ago, this was the day's passage. It's something I've read plenty of times before, but it stuck out in a new way to me.

Ah, how beautiful the feet of those on the mountain who declare the good news of victory, of peace and liberation, the voice that calls to Zion, that chosen place for God's promise people, announcing to them, "Your God rules!" (Isaiah 52:7, The Voice translation)

What are you declaring?


I want my whole life to proclaim the good news of victory, peace, and liberation that's found in Jesus. In December we sing, "Go tell it on the mountain, over the hills and everywhere." But where have I been telling it? And what have I been telling?


Do people hear God's love when I'm standing in line at the mall? Chatting with friends on Instagram? Speaking to family and relatives?


Everywhere we go, our words, demeanor, and actions are a package deal. Together, they're communicating something twenty-four seven. So what are we saying?


Are we communicating stress with our frazzled tone and frantic pace? Are we sharing frustration and discord with our snappish replies?

Or could we perhaps slow down long enough to reconnect to peace--to the source of it, our Prince of Peace--and let our lives sing out a refrain of victory?

I get it. It's hard to do when all month, our to-do lists have grown longer instead of shorter. It's hard when polarizing family members are placed in the same room and expected to get along. It's hard when a loved one is in the hospital. It's hard when bills are stacked on the counter and the boxes under the tree number fewer than you wish. It's hard when you're picking up the slack for others going through crises, or you're sifting through difficult memories of Christmases past, or things just aren't falling into place.


Those things are real. They hurt, and they're hard. But the Prince of Peace came for you, too. And the beautiful thing is that by welcoming Him into your brokenness, you let His light shine through to everyone around you. They will see the peace you carry amidst the darkness. Ah, what wonder. A small and humble miracle. A declaration of good news proclaimed from the mountain for all to hear.

Merry Christmas, friends. May this peace envelop your hearts no matter what is surrounding your life today.

Dust & Clay

Photo by Paul Robert on Unsplash // Graphics mine

On the days you feel lifeless
Hopeless
Breathless


You are more.


When all you hold is dust
Sand
Ash


There is more.


When your mind whispers lies
And the mirror tells you lies
And the world screams lies


Look for more.

Still, Eternal One, You are our Father.

We are just clay, and You are the potter.

We are the product of Your creative action, shaped and formed into something of worth.

Isaiah 64:8 (The Voice)

Clay is common. It's dirt. It's walked on, buried, and disregarded. It's worthless.


But the moment an artist scoops clay onto the potter's wheel and shapes it into something, that clay is imbued with value. Someone with expertise and creative vision has turned it into a work of art, and the artist's fingerprints are all over it. It has become a beautiful expression of the creator's heart.


It matters.

One day the Eternal God scooped dirt out of the ground,

sculpted it into the shape we call human,

breathed the breath that gives life into the nostrils of the human,

and the human became a living soul."

Genesis 2:7 (The Voice)

Photo by Quino Al on Unsplash

You are not worth anything based on what you are made of. You are worth something based on who made you. The Artist's signature on your soul is living proof. The breath in your lungs--which isn't yours--is proof.

I am dust

You are God

I am breathless

Till You fill my lungs

-Dust, Steffany Gretzinger

I feel dusty sometimes. No matter how hard I try, my earthiness persists. I would rather be a vessel of polished marble or wondrous crystal, but instead I am a jar of clay. Yet I am worth more than a marble vase created by an amateur sculptor, because I was crafted by an expert artisan, and somehow He saw fit to place the treasure of His life within me.

But this beautiful treasure is contained in us--cracked pots made of earth and clay--so that the transcendent character of this power will be clearly seen as coming from God and not from us.

...So we have no reason to despair. Despite the fact that our outer humanity is falling apart and decaying, our inner humanity is breathing in new life every day.

2 Corinthians 4:7 & 16 (The Voice)

Breathe life today, friend. Walk through the dust and keep your chin up, because you are made worthy. You are an exclusive art exhibit on display in this world, authenticated by the Artist's unmistakeable touch.

Don't Leave Change to Chance

[image mine; edited with Portra and BeFunky]

I attended a college graduation this week. It was strange to see a new batch of students on the very stage on which I stood a year ago!


For the more recent readers here, my post-high school life thus far looks like this:

• Spent a year looking for a job
• Found a retail position and just worked for a year
• Went to the aforementioned college (while still working part-time on the side) where I completed a nine-month program that focuses on building leaders who are strong in their faith and also successful in the business world
• And most recently, completed my first year of a business diploma (yep, still working in the meantime)

Anyway, life progression aside, seeing a new class graduate made me realize how fast time moves! Something the valedictorian said in her speech stuck out to me:

"Don't leave change to chance."

Something like this leadership program is only as valuable as the effort a student puts into it. Simply attending won't do a blessed thing. The same goes for a multitude of other opportunities for learning. A powerful book, a thought-provoking blog post, the wisdom of a mentor, a challenge before you, a mind-numbing job, a sandpaper person*, an informative class. All of these have the potential to mold you, change you, and catapult you to a higher level of life, but only if you do your part.


*None of us shall name names, but we all know these individuals--abrasive, prickly, uncomfortable-to-be-around people whose role in your life is to smooth your rough edges.

What is our part?

We are constantly processing information. I don't know enough science to go into the cognitive details, but your brain filters a CRAZY amount of data all the time. You discard what is unimportant, routine, and involuntary in order to function, since your focus is incredibly narrow. How does a magician fool an audience? Misdirection. If you're watching one hand wave the scarf over here, you won't see the other hand reach for the card over there. It takes concentrated effort to ignore the flashy new things your brain deems as "important" in order to focus on a crucial but mundane detail.


How often do you read or hear something and think, "Wow, that was good. I need to remember that." And then . . . don't? Yeah, me too. I don't even remember what I had for lunch yesterday. It wasn't important.


Okay, so what am I getting at? We've covered grads, brains, and magicians, oh my!


The point is this. You want to change. So do I. But we leave transformation to chance most of the time. We sit around waiting for a golden key to fall into our lap, for Gandalf to knock on our door, for someone to invent a USB port in the back of our skulls so that we can download new skills. But it doesn't work that way.


Proverbs 2 talks about pursuing wisdom (personified throughout the book as a woman), and it uses a lot of action verbs.

• Accept what I am telling you
• Store my counsel deep within you
• Listen for Lady Wisdom
• Attune your ears to her
• Engage your mind
• Cry out for insight
• Beg for understanding
• Sift through the clamor of everything around you
• Seek wisdom
• Search for it
• Grasp what it means
• Discover knowledge

And here's what this wisdom will do for you.

With this wisdom you will be able to choose the right road, seek justice, and decide what is good and fair because wisdom will penetrate deep within and knowledge will become a good friend to your soul. (Proverbs 2: 9-10, the Voice translation)

 It goes on to say that sound judgment will stand guard over you, and wisdom will keep you away from wrong paths. I don't know about you, but I could use a good dose of wisdom in my life. But it won't come to me by chance. Neither will true change.

This is our part: to take responsibility for our own growth, to seek wisdom, to listen, to reflect, to apply.

Start small. To think of changing your entire life from the ground up is overwhelming. Instead, pick one habit to replace. When you're studying, pick out one thing you can apply right now. When you step into an environment that encourages change, use it. Seek, store, discover. Sift through the clamor. Fall in love with change. Fall in love with the pursuit of wisdom. Involve God on the journey, too. He gives wisdom without finding fault in you.


It's been said that the clearest memories are made by repetition or strong emotion. Once you've grasped a nugget of wisdom, don't let it go! Find ways to repeat it to yourself, whether it's leaving notes around the house or setting a reminder on your phone or learning the discipline of reflection. Attach emotions to it if you can. Envision what your life could be like if you applied that little lesson; paint the most vivid picture you can.


And then act. The quickest way to get something from your head to your heart is to start moving your hands and feet.

What's something small you want to change this week? Don't leave it to chance.

Remember in the Dark

"Don't forget in the darkness what you learned in the light."

I first read that quote (originally by Joseph Bayly, it appears) in Circles of Seven by Bryan Davis. At least that's where I think I read it. It was so long ago that time and frequent recollection have blurred out the quote's origin. But the truth of it remains clear in my heart.


I've been grateful to live a pretty amazing twenty-two years so far. I can't say I've had a hard life; all I have to do is look around and see countless people with struggles more difficult than my own. But not one of us slips through this world unscathed. We all weather storms of varying magnitudes. I, too, have faced looming shadows and endless valleys.


And it is in the midst of the darkness that we forget.


It's easy to remember in the light. It's easy to recall the truth of who we are and the truth of the God we follow when the reminders are as warm and near as the sun shining on our faces. But when night falls, oh, how quickly we forget. We panic, groping blindly for a corner in which to hide. We cry, fear clawing up our backs. We stumble on, wandering and getting lost in the blackness. We forget so quickly that we are children of light.


But faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. Did you get that? Faith is the substance and evidence of what you cannot see. It's the paradox of holding an intangible thing, of perceiving what is not immediately visible. It is real. It's not some wayward fancy. It's not a lure-less hook tossed into the sea in the mere hopes that it will catch a fish.

It is real.

When you go to bed at night and flick off the lights, does that mean your room ceases to exist because you can no longer see it? Of course not. Sight has nothing to do with the existence of a thing. It is there regardless of whether you see it or not. But it takes a steady belief to remember that when the lights go out and your eyes fail you.


Memory is a fickle thing. Is it just me, or do you ever look at something to memorize it--be it a review sheet at school or a book cover or a name or a number or a recipe--and forget it two minutes later? "What was that again?" And you go back to check. This kind of repetition is what we need in the moment we're plunged into shadows, when our minds go blank and the fear wells up. Go back and remember. What was it you learned in the light? What was it you saw and felt and knew? Isn't that true today, right now, even if you don't see it in front of you? Go back. Remember. Remember. Remember.


What was true in yesterday's sunrise is true in today's midnight. And it will still be true when the sun rises again.

I'm still standing here // No, I didn't disappear // Now the lights are on // See, I was never gone

(Never Gone by Colton Dixon)

When He feels far away, He is near, as close as He's ever been. When everything crumbles around you, there is a rock beneath your feet. When confusion clouds your mind, you will hear a voice behind you saying, "This is the way; walk in it."

"Your word is a lamp for my steps; it lights the path before me."

(Psalm 119:105)

The thing is, you can see that light if you choose to. It's on a different frequency than the physical light around you, and sometimes it takes a focused effort on your part to switch to that frequency, to see with eyes of faith. But it's there, and it's real. The unseen really is more real than what is seen.

So today, dear soul, wherever you are and however dark it may be, never ever ever EVER forget what you have learned in the light. Hold it close to your heart. That candle will erupt into a torch, and then a burning wildfire, before long.

What Lies on the Horizon

This new year is something I've been thinking about a lot. Not just in terms of goals and resolutions, but in terms of where my heart is and what lies on the horizon. And it's finally time to catch some of those whirring, buzzing, humming fragments of thoughts. Time to string them together into something to share with you, because I'm a firm believer in the strength we can find in each other's journeys. I wouldn't blog if I didn't think that somehow, some way, the tangling threads of our stories matter to each other.


Last January, I set some lofty goals, writing-wise. (You can see them in detail HERE, if you're so inclined.) Another thing in which I am a believer is the value of looking forward to set goals, and looking back to see how far you've come. So before we look ahead, let's pause and turn around for a moment.

2017 goals

Finish the first draft of The Prophet's Key. Nope. Didn't make it. But I added 17,000 words to the rewrite I'd started in 2016, bringing the total word count up to 100k. I ground to a halt there, realizing just how bloated and huge the story was becoming. A course correction was needed, but at that point, leadership college was ramping up like crazy and I decided to put the project aside.


Began expanding The Brightest Thread into a novel. Check!


Go to Realm Makers. Another check! That was an incredible dream come true, one I hope to see come true again this summer.


Write, edit, and submit a story for Rooglewood Press's contest. Surprisingly, check again. Mirrors Never Lie is on some judge's desk right now, I imagine.


Complete the first draft of The Brightest Thread and do a round or two of edits so that it's poised to move forward (aka maybe get published) in 2018. First draft--check. A round or two-ish of edits earns another check. And is the novel "poised to move forward" now? I'd say it's poised to move into another round of edits, that's for sure, and then . . . well, we'll get to that in a minute.


Finish The Creative Way writing course by Ted Dekker. Um . . . no. This kept getting pushed back due to one reason or another, and I still have a handful of lessons to complete.


Possibly begin querying agents for TBT. I dipped my toes in the water by pitching it at the Realm Makers conference, but subsequently sent it to beta readers, knowing the novel needed more work. So querying didn't happen last year.

All in all, four out of seven, plus some progress on a couple of uncompleted goals, isn't bad!

Here's where I would turn my hopeful attention toward this year's list of aspirations . . . But again, we'll get to that soon.

The past two Januarys, I've set aggressive timelines for my writing goals. And there is a place for those kinds of plans. I don't regret pushing myself past my limits. Yes, I danced on the edge of burnout some weeks, but I learned valuable lessons about pacing myself, working hard, writing when the inspiration is gone, working under deadlines, juggling responsibilities, and what healthy (and unhealthy) creative practices look like. It was great!

But this year, I've realized I need to recognize what season of life I'm in. I am a student. And I won't be in school forever, so rather than resist the demanding schedule and the responsibilities, I want to thrive. That means balance. That means reframing school from a burden into a passion. That means taking care of myself by carving out pleasure reading and making sure I get enough sleep. That means soaking in time with family and saying yes to friends when I can (instead of no, sorry, I'm busy, come back when I graduate).

But the biggest dream I have for 2018, the one thing that I am finally allowing to overshadow everything else . . . is my friendship with God.

It's a little crazy, how even a year of Bible/leadership college didn't cause me to become more intentional about spending time with Him. I read my Bible every morning because we were given class time for it--which was so good, don't get me wrong--but the habit somehow didn't transfer to my home life. In fact, ever since leaving high school and wading into the big, wide world of adulthood, I feel like my devotion time has been irregular.

But busyness is a lousy excuse. (And please, before I go further, don't take this as a guilt trip for yourself! I simply want to be honest with what's been going through my head lately!) I am a quester, a pursuer, a dreamer, and a doer by nature. Give me a goal, and I will plot, list, track, and work my way toward it, for better or for worse. (This is not always a positive, guys.) But being a doer is little good if I'm not doing the right things in the right order. If I can devote myself to a novel I'm writing and show up day after day even if the well runs dry, can't I put the same energy into flipping open my Bible every day?

Yet this is about more than doing--although I do want to redirect that trait--this is about a relationship.

This is about Jesus being the first name on my lips in the morning and the last thought before I fall asleep.

This is about a dialogue with my Creator, the Lover of my soul.

This is about looking for Him in the everyday moments.

This is about being aware that He is here, always, and even if emotions run their own course I am never cut off from His love.

This is about a single-minded, single-hearted pursuit.

This is about seeking one kingdom above all others, and yet--

I don't know how to get there. I want to, badly, but it's not something you work up on your own or even work towards at all. It's less about my hands doing something, and more about my heart doing something. The only labor involved is that of laboring to "enter into that rest."

What I know right now is that every time I have hungered for more of God and cried out for a deeper knowing of Him, He has responded. And every time, all it took was asking . . . and then putting one foot in front of the other with my eyes open for an answer. Another thing I know right now is that I miss digging into the Word.

And those two things I know for sure? They're interconnected.

So my planning/listing/doing side is happy to have discovered a really cool Bible reading plan in the back of my new copy of The Voice translation. It's a plan that takes me slowly through the Bible in three years instead of one. That's exactly what I need right now, just a quiet, thoughtful walk through Scripture. It's not even chronological--in the past two weeks, I've dipped in and out of Genesis, Job, Psalms, and Proverbs. This plan takes up only 40 weeks a year, leaving time to investigate some suggested readings for Easter and Advent. So it's not a high pressure thing, and so far I'm loving it.

I'm journaling as I go, just jotting down whatever means something to me today, rather than trying to encompass everything as if I'm writing a scholarly essay. I'm rediscovering glimpses of this great narrative God has been weaving throughout history, and I'm stumbling upon little bits of it that are woven into my own life today.

Am I a changed person? Am I on some spiritual mountain right now? No. But this is slowly, surely being built into a habit, and I hope that the more I do it, the more it will pervade my thoughts and attitudes throughout the day.

It's a simple thing: seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things--all these dreams and lists and goals--will be added to you. This year, I want to actually try that, and not just fool myself into thinking I'm already doing it.

If you're anticipating some grandiose announcement of a hiatus, that's not coming! I'm not scrapping anything entirely, just shifting some priorities around. Like I said, I need to give myself room to enjoy my school studies and get back into a regular daily time with God.

So for the next few months, writing is taking a backseat. It's not out of the car entirely, but it's not the driver right now. Here's what I'm aiming for:

January-April: Slowly start organizing the beta feedback on The Brightest Thread. Possibly start working on a secret project I hinted at a couple months ago, which is still stewing in my mind. Possibly try my hand at some flash fiction to submit to magazines and whatnot. I'm giving myself the freedom to be sporadic and to take time off whenever needed. This is going to be playtime, not work time.

May-August: Edit The Brightest Thread. Assemble a list of literary agents and actually start querying. Attend Realm Makers in St. Louis (hopefully!!!) and pitch TBT again there. Finish The Creative Way course. Get that secret project off the ground for real. Maybe even make some tweaks to the blog to spiff it up and make it look more professional. It'll be summer, which means there will be time to power through some goals!

September-December: Totally depends on how the previous goals are going. Likely, I'll continue querying TBT, working on the secret project, and who knows? I might even be in a good spot to start casually planning my next novel. I'll be back in school, so I may ease off a bit again, though.

that's our heart-to-heart for today, friends.

I kind of hesitated to talk about the deep stuff, because I know things like prayer and devotions are highly personal (and I've been guilt-tripped by well-meaning writers and bloggers before, which I wanted to avoid here), and maybe you're not into that to begin with . . . But I think it's a good and healthy thing to be honest with each other. We've all been through dry spells, all struggled to form good habits in this area. And I couldn't talk about my writing goals without talking about why my approach is different this year.

What are YOU aiming for and dreaming about for 2018? Big or small, deep or more superficial, I'd love to hear it!

Wonder in the Ordinary

[image via Pinterest; graphic mine]

I've been moving too fast to think much about Christmas--I mean really think about it, settle into the Scriptures, stare out the snowy window, and journal whatever comes to mind. I plan to make time for that soon. In the meantime, though, a single thought has nestled into my heart. A tiny thought. Not a new thought or flashy thought, just a true one. In fact, this little thought starts with a single word:

ordinary

After being repeated for millennia, the Christmas story is sometimes glossed over like a too-beautiful-to-touch trinket we bring out once a year to place on a shelf where we can admire it from afar. At times I forget how very humble, tangible, and imperfect it all was. How very ordinary.


Mary, an ordinary young woman. She was probably going about her wedding preparations like any other fiancée at the time would have done. Maybe she was planning the feast or washing dishes or sweeping the floor when an angel interrupted her ordinary day and dropped life-shattering news into her lap.


Joseph, an ordinary young man. Also preparing for his upcoming wedding. Startled by Mary's news that she was pregnant, of all outrageous things. And then an ordinary night gave way to a decidedly extraordinary vision confirming Mary's words.


A census. A dusty travel, uncomfortable and inconvenient. (Surely we've all been there? Road-weary and impatient and wanting nothing more than a meal and a familiar bed?)


A stable with ordinary animals, ordinary stink, ordinary cold. Nothing special about it at all, except for the baby born inside.


Shepherds--oh, the shepherds. I've always been fascinated by them most of all. These men weren't all that high on the social ladder. I don't imagine they made much money at their jobs. Just think--long hours out in the elements. Smelly, bleating sheep all around. Sore feet in worn sandals. Only the stars above their heads as they stared blearily into the darkness, trying to stay awake and watch for predators. I'm sure this particular nightly watch looked and felt and smelled much like any other, with the same old frustrations, little pleasures, and predictable routine. It was an ordinary night. Perhaps boring. Quite likely unremarkable.


That is, until the heavens exploded with light and song and the kind of news that drives you to your knees.


Emmanuel--God with us.


After half a millennia of utter silence between God and man, even the staunchest believer might have wondered if the faith of their history was little more than a fairy tale, or if God was ever planning to speak again. Maybe He'd moved on. Lost interest. Shut mankind out. Forgotten the rescue He promised.


But no, not even close. On this ordinary night, above an ordinary field, an indescribable army of angels sang of the long-awaited Answer.


I have to smile at what the first angel announcer said: "You will know you have found Him when you see a baby, wrapped in a blanket, lying in a feeding trough." (Luke 2:12, the Voice)


He didn't announce a king or conquering warrior. He didn't point the way toward a coronation ceremony or a battlefield or a palace or even a busy corner of the city.


The angel sent the shepherds to look for an inconspicuous newborn, wrapped in a definitely not new blanket, sleeping in a rough-hewn, straw-filled feeding trough. A kid in a barn. That was Jesus: fresh from heaven, expelled into an ordinary, messed up world fighting to hold onto hope.


And that's when the ordinary was never the same again.


This Christmas might not be anything special for you this year. It might look the same as it's always been. Maybe it looks a little gloomy this time around. Maybe it's good and happy. Whatever the case, chances are it's a fairly ordinary Christmas. But keep your eyes open for a glimmer of the extraordinary--a glimpse of majesty, a flicker of awe-inspiring wonder--nestled in amongst the trimming of just another day.


Because the ordinary is exactly where you're living right now, and it's exactly where Jesus loves to meet you.

Merry Christmas, dear souls! He is God with us indeed.

P.S. Currently listening to Brandon Heath's The Night Before Christmas, which fits pretty nicely. I won't be active online for the next couple of days, but afterwards I'll be back to reply to comments!

What I'm Looking & Listening For

"Give thanks to God no matter what circumstances you find yourself in." (1 Thessalonians 5:18a)

Can I be completely honest with you? Canadian Thanksgiving is coming on Monday, and while I am relieved and grateful for a long weekend . . . today I'm not feeling it. Holidays are supposed to bring warm fuzzy feelings, but sometimes we're just too tired or frazzled or upset or sad to get in the spirit.


I'm not all of those things, although I've had a busy couple of weeks with frustratingly long hours of homework. My creative soul feels stifled. My to-do list doesn't seem to be getting any shorter.


But that's just it--thankfulness is not about feelings. In this social media age where all we see are the highlight reels of people's lives, it's easy to think everyone else is so much happier than we are. Yet neither life nor emotions are static; they're constantly changing like the seasons. And the truth is that if I can find reasons to complain, I can find at least as many reasons to rejoice.


To remind myself, here's a brief list. (Perhaps it will remind you, too, of the good things in life.)

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I have a wonderful, fun, supportive family who loves me.

I have friends checking in on me and praying for me.

I get to walk to school each day, enjoying the crisp air of autumn mornings.

I can still make money at my job despite going to school full-time.

There's a stack of good books on my desk almost two feet high, all waiting to be read.

I've been in college only six weeks, and already I understand how to make an income statement, what factors change supply and demand, how to write memos, how to calculate equivalent payments of compound interest, all kinds of things that Microsoft Word can do, and how business is all about creating value for customers.

I have an amazing church that makes every Sunday morning feel like coming home.

I'm healthy.

I have opportunities every day to laugh.

Great movies are a thing.

So is good music, such as:

Reckless Love by Cory Asbury (a long one, but so, so good)

Deeper by SVRCINA (thanks to Katie Grace for introducing me to this singer)

Clap Your Hands by Owl City (it's about golf? but it's really fun)

Something in the Water by Tim Neufeld (this cover never fails to make me happy)

I Need Thee Every Hour by Anthem Lights (their entire Hymns album is so peaceful)

I haven't run out of things to write about, and after a week of no writing, Snow White is waiting for me to pen the next part of her adventure.

I get to connect with faraway friends through the internet and snail mail.

The sun rises.

Seeing the full moon shining over the harvested fields makes me want to shut my car headlights off and stare for a while.

Watercolor pencils are magical.

So is pumpkin pie.

Dreams aren't out of reach--I'm on my way, and you know, the days of small beginnings are actually exciting when I stop and climb to a new vantage point.

It's sweater weather.

Tea. (What else needs to be said about that?)

The blue jays have returned.

Asking customers at work what their plans are for Thanksgiving transforms mediocre small talk into real conversations and real smiles.

Journaling late at night when my brain is tired and filters are down is relaxing.

God is there. Quietly faithful. The same today as He was yesterday. The same as He will be tomorrow.

***

Sometimes we need to stop, breathe, and consciously think of all the things we have to be grateful for. And to be completely honest with you again--after writing this list, I feel a lot lighter. Happy Thanksgiving!

What are you thankful for today?

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God in Fantasy Fiction - To Be or Not to Be?

A Forward

About five weeks ago, while slogging through edits on The Brightest Thread, I hit a substantial snag. A capital G snag--God. In the novella version of the story, there was no mention of a deity at all, and I was quite all right with that. (More on that later.) But now that I was fleshing out the storyworld, I was finding it increasingly difficult to deal with


a) magic with no explained source,
b) a vaguely referenced act of creation,
and c) the existence of false gods but no True God.


I avoided the issue for as long as I could. When I was forced to face it head on, I hemmed and hawed, I complained to my family, and then I dumped the contents of my brain into a fresh document, which I promptly sent as an S.O.S.: DESPERATE HELP NEEDED to a writing buddy.


Turns out the brain dump and the following conversation were rather insightful, and probably a topic of interest to both writers and readers.

To Be or Not to Be?

Christian writers get hung up on a lot of things. One of the biggest? God in fiction. Should we include Him or omit Him? If we include Him, how do we keep from being preachy or trite? Will "religion" (for lack of a better term) feature heavily in the story, or will it be a light dose? If we omit God, does that run contrary to our faith, or can it be done in a way that still glorifies Him? Should we even be having this dilemma? Shouldn't it be a question of incorporating our fiction into God, not the other way around?


As you can see, many of us are bound up in fear over getting it right. How can we possibly fit all of God into a finite story? But that’s the thing. We can’t.


Even when writing a human character that literally exists only in your brain, you can't fit everything about them onto the page. Whether you're the kind of writer who keeps pages of details on your characters' personalities, appearances, and histories, or the kind of writer who keeps their characters as a cast of imaginary friends in your head, the fact remains. You know more about your character than what appears in the story. (And if you don't, you don't know them well enough yet.)


Now try writing yourself as a character—you can't fit even half of your personality on the page, and the bits you do write, you may struggle to portray accurately. (I suppose authors of memoirs and autobiographies have room for more of themselves, but even reading a book entirely about a single individual is still vastly different from sitting down and getting to know them face to face. There is always—always—more in person.)


So try writing everything about God's nature into a book. The only book that succeeded in that is the Bible, and I'm pretty sure there's even more we'll learn about Him in heaven! He is infinite, after all. Therefore . . .

Point #1: You can't fit all of God into your book. Instead, try to convey one or two aspects about Him, something that can be grasped or explored throughout the story.

And here's another:

Point #2: God can show up in fiction in two ways: as a theme or as a character.

Truth, love, and light show up anytime I write. That's just who I am. God is love, and He is the source of truth and light. So whether He is directly named or not, stories containing truth, love, and light bring Him honor because they are aspects of His nature. This is where God can be woven into a story's theme.

But sometimes a fantasy story calls for an allegorical representation of God. This is where He shows up as a character, and this is possibly the hardest thing to get right. (But remember point #1!) He may be visible to other characters and may interact with them face to face. Or He may be invisible, referenced only as other characters pray, worship, or think about Him.

Or there's a third option where God may show up as a character and as part of the theme.

So which is right for your story?

I can't answer that for you. That's something for you to think about, pray about, and experiment with. But I can offer a few thoughts and questions to get you going!

Pros and cons of God as a character

Pros

• We've all wished God was physically here in front of us (at least I have!). Living vicariously through the characters, we get to imagine what it will be like to talk to Him face to face, touch Him, and hear Him speak. If written well, this can be very powerful for you, the characters, and the readers.
• If you're writing an allegory, particularly if it's an allegory of Jesus's life on earth, you'll likely need a God-figure walking around.
• It brings across an immediacy, a tangible presence.
• It can breathe fresh life into our perception of God, especially when you shake up the uber religious picture of God as a stern, old man with a beard who zaps people from heaven. Let's see Him laughing, enjoying life and people! Let's see Him cry. Let's see the real Jesus of the Bible, but with different skin on.

Cons

• You have to put words into God's mouth. That leaves you with two options: quoting directly from Scripture (which can feel shoehorned into the story), or penning your own words (and running the risk of portraying God inaccurately).
• Therefore you may not feel comfortable writing Him as a character.
• It takes a great deal of skill to write a God-figure that feels authentic and true to His nature. If your character falls short, well . . . Let's just say that chances are high He's quite important to your story, so a lot of it may crumble with Him.
• Limiting an infinite being to a finite body can make Him come across as too small.

Examples that shone

• Aslan (Chronicles of Narnia, C.S. Lewis) - Warm, mighty, mysterious, faithful, sacrificial. It's hard to even begin to sum him up! Perhaps the most succinct description is, "He's not a tame lion, you know." There's something wild, something awe-inspiring, about him. In this case, putting God in the finite body of a lion was not a disadvantage at all--as a reader, I always felt there was something more to him than what I could see. Something otherworldly.
• Prince Aethelbald (Tales of Goldstone Wood, Anne Elisabeth Stengl) - As a picture of Jesus as the Lover of our souls, he persistently woos Una though she rejects him time and time again. Aethelbald is nothing remarkable to look at. Even his name is the furthest thing from romantic. But his heart beats truer and stronger than any of her other suitors, and by the time I finished reading Heartless, I was stunned by the incredible allegory. Again, presenting God as a flesh-and-blood character could have come across badly, but Anne Elisabeth Stengl gave him the same "something more" element that Aslan has. (Coincidentally, both characters hail from across the sea. Interesting.)

Pros and cons of God as a theme

Pros

• This approach is more subtle.
• It leaves the spotlight on human beings exemplifying Christ-like attributes, rather than putting them all into one character who represents God. These humans don't have to be perfect (in fact, please don't make them that way!), but they serve as examples for us to reach toward.
• This can make your story more accessible to readers who don't consider themselves to be Christians, while still reflecting God in a beautiful way.
• Not every story needs a Savior or Creator. Some are actually better off without it. It's all about the story's scope and purpose.

Cons

• On the other hand, some stories do need a Savior/Creator character. In the case of The Brightest Thread, I had written in some false gods to give the storyworld more depth and texture. But by doing so, I created an imbalance, and then had to invent a God-like figure. If I had left God solely as the immaterial theme of the story, it wouldn't have sat well with me.
• Without a God to rely on, your heroes' journeys may feel like they fall flat. Depending on what kind of story you're writing, your characters may need a higher power to bring about true transformation.
•  Again, depending on the scope of your story, the themes you've so carefully woven into your story may be misconstrued as new age or a Disney-fied "follow your heart" sort of message.

Examples that shone

• Lord of the Rings (J.R.R. Tolkien)- Okay, okay, I know there technically is a God-figure (Ilúvatar), but to my knowledge he isn't really mentioned in LotR. However, we can all agree that numerous characters exemplify godly attributes like courage, love, kindness, wisdom, justice, grace, etc. Watching Frodo suffer as he carried the ring to Mordor, seeing Sam remain faithful to his friend the whole way, witnessing Gandalf face the Balrog . . . these examples impacted me more than some fictional God-figures have.
• Reapers (Bryan Davis) - Technically this isn't fantasy, it's dystopian. (And God may come up later in the trilogy, I don't know.) But despite the fact that God isn't talked about, Phoenix embarks on a journey that will position him as a hero. A person who rescues the oppressed, who speaks for the voiceless, who defends the defenseless. All qualities that inspire us to do the same.

A note: these lists are in no way exhaustive, and they're not meant to sow doubt in your mind, dear writer! There are so many combinations of writing God as a character and/or as a theme (because you can definitely do both in the same story), and so many degrees therein. This whole post is meant simply to inspire careful consideration and deeper thought.

This isn't a salvation story

That's what I said when wrestling with the God question for The Brightest Thread. And even after deciding to incorporate a fictional God, the fact remained. This novel is not about a character "getting saved" or "finding Jesus." Some novels are, and that's great! But this particular novel is about two people sharing a love strong enough that they would each risk everything for the sake of the other; and about being willing to receive that kind of sacrificial love. That's it.

Characters briefly question God (who goes by another name in the novel), and they briefly reach out for His help. But these protagonists' journeys are not about faith.

I was discussing this with my writing buddy, and brought up the topic of evangelism. In leadership college last year, my leader said something that revolutionized the way I look at evangelizing. To paraphrase:

If a 0 is not knowing Christ, and a 10 is giving your life to Him, we often think that we have to bring someone from 0 to 10 all at once. But maybe all you're supposed to do in that encounter is bring someone from, say, a 3 to a 4. Just one step closer to knowing Jesus. You don't need to force a conversion on the spot. The next Christian to come along may bump that person up to a 5. Or you might be the person to meet someone at 9, and you get the chance to pray with them and see them become a 10.

"I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow." 1 Corinthians 3:6

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Maybe it's the same in fiction. We don't have to bring every character to a 10, nor do we have to do that for every reader. Maybe we just plant a seed. Or maybe the story is the water making it grow. What's important is that we are discipling.

Playing matchmaker

My writing buddy subconsciously uses a really cool method of figuring out how to portray God in her stories. She looks at what her story's theme is about--aka, what her main characters need to learn--and she traces that back to an aspect of God.


For example, one of her characters needed to learn about the importance of mercy over justice. So in that particular story, the God-figure's mercy and love are highlighted. She doesn't spend a lot of time on other topics, like God's wisdom or power or holiness. Just what's central to the theme. The result is a beautifully woven tapestry that doesn't bonk the reader over the head with an ill-written sermon.

However . . .

Please, please, PLEASE don't preach.


All of this stuff about figuring out how to portray God and tie in themes and character arcs may be better left as something to study after you've written your story! Especially if you're prone to write from a soapbox.


More and more, I'm learning that the process of writing a transformative story is supposed to transform me first, otherwise it's not authentic.


Writing themes that spring organically from the soil of character conflict and worldbuilding takes practice. A lot of it. But don't let that discourage you from trying, because that's how we all grow.


My friend told me, "Most of the time my characters teach ME things, instead of me trying to teach readers things." Couldn't have said it better myself! So when you're writing God into your stories, let Him surprise you. Let go of what you think you know, and see what happens.

"He who has ears, let him hear."

How and if you choose to convey God in fiction depends largely on your intended audience. But regardless of whether you're writing mainstream or for the Christian community, regardless of whether it's YA or middle grade or adult, resist the urge to explain yourself.


Jesus didn't. In the parables He told to the masses, His Father sometimes appeared as a landowner, a farmer sowing seed, a shepherd, a literal father, a master, a groom, and more. But most of the time, Jesus didn't explain the metaphor to His listeners. He left that up to them. Because when a person puzzles out the hidden meaning of a story themselves, the meaning sticks.

I think Jesus knew that those who were ready to know Him would find Him.

Fantasy in My Veins (#SilmAwards2017)

Well, my friends, the 2017 SilmAwards have come to a glorious and bittersweet end. If you missed any of the presentations, I finally got around to putting a list at the end of my own presentation post, which you can find HERE. Thanks for joining us in this epic event!


Now, to wind it all down on the very birthday of Lord of the Rings, we're throwing a party to celebrate Tolkien and all things fantasy! Feel free to join in with your own blog post or update on Facebook/Twitter/Instagram/whatever, using #SilmAwards2017. The more the merrier, of course. (And one side of me is chuffed as chips that this coincides with Realm Makers--how appropriate!)


Last year I presented a small smorgasbord of Lord of the Rings stuff--quotes, pictures, musings on what the books and movies and soundtracks mean to me, etc. Today I wish to broaden my view with a reflection on my reading history, and fantasy as a genre.

* * *

picture via Pinterest, graphics my own

Fantasy is my literary homeland.

See, I grew up in a family that treasured stories. My parents read to me copiously as a child. I vividly remember afternoons snuggled up next to my mom with a picture book, prodding her awake and asking her to reread pages when she grew sleepy and began slurring the words I'd memorized . . . evenings gathered around the kitchen table to eat night snack with my siblings while my father read a storybook of our choice . . . trips to the library every three weeks, during which my family of six would haul out 60-70 books at a time . . . lonely bus rides during my earliest elementary school years (prior to homeschooling) when I would bury my nose in a book and ignore the noisy teenagers in the back seats . . . I even recall bedtimes as a teenager, when my dad read a chapter of a novel to me every night just for old time's sake.


I remember learning to read. I remember my parents telling me that books were like picture windows. When one learns how to read, one can go through those windows into another place.


I remember grade one, when a beloved teacher taught me the bare bones of crafting a story: beginning, middle, and end. She unlocked the first of many doors into a world of making my own magic.

I was hooked.

The moment I mastered beginner readers with stories like "The cat sat on the mat," I reached for bigger books with longer sentences. From there I jumped to novels like Anne of Green Gables, which was marvellously long and dense for such a young mind, and full of words I didn't yet understand. As I outgrew animal stories about puppies and horses, I discovered the mystery genre. The Boxcar Children, Jigsaw Jones, Nancy Drew, and Mandy Shaw books held me in suspense and piqued my fascination with the unknown, with secrets to be discovered and trails to be followed.


But the moment a young classmate recommended The Chronicles of Narnia to me was the moment that changed the course of my reading years. I distinctly remember climbing to the second floor of my school library and hunting down the name C.S. Lewis. That day I went home with a copy of The Magician's Nephew, and I was utterly enchanted.


I was rather young at the time, perhaps eight years old. My parents were wise enough to put the rest of the series, which was a wee bit over my head, on hold for when I turned ten. Yet another clear memory: the day they put a massive tome containing all seven Narnia books in my hands.


There was no looking back. I had found a world that entranced me, inspired me, kept me captive and set me free all at once. The idea that another world might be as close as the next wardrobe nestled somewhere deep inside my heart. Here was a genre that deepened my understanding of reality by stretching my vision into realms beyond my own. Here was a genre that strengthened my hands with the courage of a knight and filled my heart with the compassion of a hero. A genre that allowed me to soar on dragon's wings.


Thereafter followed several years of testing my mother's patience every single time we visited the library. I very quickly exhausted their supply of age-appropriate fantasy, plagued my mother with cries of "I have nothing to read!" and subsequently turned down every thoughtful suggestion she made that fell outside the realm of my beloved fantasy. (God bless Mom.) She eventually managed to help me stretch my horizons, and I found enjoyment in a collection of other genres as well.


Older horse stories took me to Thoroughbred races and equestrian shows. Frank Peretti took me to wild jungles with the Cooper family. Melody Carlson immersed me in the elitist ranks of drama-loving high school girls. Countless other authors introduced me to all sorts of wonderful things.


But fantasy remained my One True Love. From the beginning of my teenage years, Bryan Davis and Wayne Thomas Batson pulled me into worlds of dragons, slayers, quests, and swords. More recently, authors like Anne Elisabeth Stengl have painted heart-rending images in my mind's eye of love and loss and beauty all wrapped up in another realm. And so many other authors in between have done the same.


I'm thankful for all the genres I've read, no doubt. But fantasy is where I feel most at home. Fantasy is often where I experience the greatest joys and deepest sorrows as a reader. It's where my imagination takes flight. And most importantly, it's where I see facets of the real Author's character the clearest.

pictured above: The Chronicles of Narnia, C.S. Lewis // Liberator, Bryan Davis //
The Hobbit, J.R.R. Tolkien // Halt's Peril, John Flanagan // The Door Within,
Wayne Thomas Batson // Heartless, Anne Elisabeth Stengl // The Bones of Makaidos,
Bryan Davis // White, Ted Dekker // The Return of the King, J.R.R. Tolkien //
Prophet, R.J. Larson // Raven's Ladder, Jeffrey Overstreet

In Aslan of The Chronicles of Narnia, I witness His sacrificial love.


In King Eliam of The Door Within, I see His blinding glory.


In the actions of Billy, Bonnie, Professor Hamilton, Sapphira, and their friends from the world of Dragons in Our Midst, I see what great warriors of the faith are capable of doing.


In the Prince of Farthestshore of Tales of Goldstone Wood, I see my Savior wooing me to His side, and in the song of the wood thrush I hear Him calling me to His path.


In the waters of Elyon from the Circle quartet, I find transformative joy.


In the Keeper of the Auralia Thread, I sense His mystery.


In the courage of hobbits, the strength of men, the wisdom of elves, and the determination of dwarves in Lord of the Rings, I see treasure hidden in jars of clay. I see what happens to the small and insignificant when committed to the hands of One much greater.

I escape into fantasy not to avoid the trials of this life here on earth, but to find wells of inspiration that bolster my faith to face them.

And that, my friends, is why I call fantasy my homeland. These books and more echo the cry of my heart for something beyond this world, for something greater than myself, for wonders hidden beneath what my eyes can see--and to all those desires, I hear my Father answering yes, yes, yes.

Yes, the unseen is more real than the seen. Yes, I AM greater than you yet know. Yes, I have hidden jewels of wonder in the crevices of your days, and the final treasure trove awaits beyond the veil of this life. Yes, I am here. Yes, I am present. Yes, I care. Yes, I am the One who compels you to a quest of your own, the One who charts your best path, the One who infuses your weary limbs with strength, the One who promises a crown to all those who stay the course.

Perhaps I stray too close to the ditch of exaggeration, but I think not. God knows what best speaks to our hearts, and I think He finds pleasure in my delight over the fictional worlds I travel. Whatever mouthpiece will speak the loudest, the clearest, is different from person to person. But as for me, the far-flung reach of fantasy is one of the greatest calls I hear.

It's a call I have listened to for years, and it is one I shall return to again and again for years to come. For me, fantasy is woven into the song of my Father.

11 Things to Do When Your Writing Feels Like Rubbish

graphics mine, image via Pinterest 

What happens when you spend your week absorbed in writing and putting in your hours at work and neglect to plan ahead? The blog schedule falls by the wayside, that's what! I apologize for missing Saturday, folks. (Although you did get a bonus post last Wednesday, so you can't complain too much.) I decided to pop in this fine Wednesday as well, because I've got something important to discuss with you.


A couple days ago, a lovely young lady reached out and asked for advice on her writing dilemma.

"I've had a lot of trouble writing lately, feeling like my work is rubbish, and sounds cheap. I took a little break and want to get back to it now but I still feel like my work is not cutting it."

Her timing was uncanny, because that's similar to what I was going through last week. In fact, it's something every writer contends with. So here are some ideas to get out of that slump!*


*I'm pretty sure about 72.8% of the items on my list are things I've unconsciously pilfered from other sources, but that's neither here nor there.

1. Study other writers' work

Sometimes when you feel like your writing is junk, it's not because you've fallen out of love with your idea, your plot, or your characters, but with the very writing itself. I sporadically go through slumps where it feels like I've forgotten how to string one word after another. Every paragraph sounds the same, and I get sick of it very quickly.


One way to jumpstart your way out of that is to pick up a book by a favorite author, someone who really knows his or her craft. Copy a few pages of their book out on paper or a fresh Word doc. The physical act of retyping every word will make you pay attention to their style, voice, and sentence construction--and it may just breathe some fresh life into your own.


A slight caveat: when you return to writing your story, this may make your first chapter or two sound like Jane Austen or J.R.R. Tolkien or Maggie Stiefvater or whomever you copied. (That happens to me sometimes even when I'm just casually reading! Suddenly half a page sounds like a knockoff of somebody else before it returns to my voice.) It's pretty much the writer's version of osmosis, but it will pass, and some editing later on will get those copycat words to sound more like your own.

2. Reread the parts of your writing that you love

I wrote/edited my way to the end of The Brightest Thread recently, but it's still too short, so I'm rereading everything to see where else I can make additions. As I was reading over it, my mom pointed out that I was grinning at my laptop. The scene I'd been reading was just too wonderful not to smile!


I don't say that as a pat on the back, but merely to point out that remembering the scenes you're proud of is a great way to produce another good one. When you're deep in the drafting or editing stage, your focus is often on one scene, one sentence--goodness, even one word--at a time. You're too close to your work, especially when editing, and so it's easy to see all the flaws. But going back to refresh your memory will bring to mind the parts that really shine, which may be just the boost of confidence you need.

3. Give yourself permission to write junk

I picked this lesson up from Gail Carson Levine's lovely little book called Writing Magic: Creating Stories That Fly. Sometimes you're just in a slump, okay? That's no reason to beat yourself up, because we all have been there, and unless you find the magical elixir that allows you to transfer your brilliant stories from your mind to the page with a snap of your fingers, you'll fall into a slump again. That's not meant to be a discouragement, dear writer. Just a reminder that you've been there before, and you got out of it. You're in it now, but you'll get out of it. And you'll be there again, and once more you'll get out of it.


In the meantime, allow yourself to write junk.

Even if it means typing I AM NOW COMMENCING THE GARBAGE FEST AND ALL WORDS FOLLOWING ARE JUNK, JUNK, JUNK on the page, do it. Even if it means talking to yourself in the middle of a scene--Bartholomew drew his sword and yelled, "That's the last time you'll do anything of the sort!" Good grief, this is lame. Bart has obviously been reading cheap comic books and picking up bad habits. Gotta get him some better reading material. The dark knight chuckled darkly and replied, "The dark will always win, little hero." AYE KARUMBA, EVERYTHING IS DARK AND DASTARDLY AND UTTER GARBAGE--

Do it.

Eventually, you'll find that the junk gives way to something halfway decent. Write yourself straight through that slump! I've heard it said that done is better than perfect.

4. Write something else

Take a break from that story you're so worried is rubbish, and switch gears. Pull out a writing prompt, make up a writing exercise, write some fanfiction, whatever! Try your hand at a genre you've never attempted and scribble out a page or two. Dream up some new narrative technique and experiment. If you normally write lyrically, go for something stark. If you've been writing in first person, try omniscient. If fantasy is your gig, try out a Victorian mystery. You don't have to finish it; the point is simply to limber up those writing muscles again. Creativity feeds creativity.

5. Stop comparing

One of the quickest routes to feeling depressed as a writer (or as a person) is to play the comparison game. We tend to place our worst flaws alongside someone else's greatest strengths. Of course that's going to be discouraging! Put everyone else out of your mind and just write. Write your story, your way. This is especially crucial when you're on a first draft! They're never perfect.

It's also important to remember that everyone is at a different place on their journey. It isn't fair to yourself to compare your WIP with a bestselling author's thirtieth novel. I would even go so far as to say, if you've completed stories in the past, don't even compare your WIP to your polished drafts. Those two stories are at different stages. It's like complaining your apple tree is dying because the apple you just picked is green and unripe, and not at all like the beautiful red one you bought at the store.

6. Give yourself time

I can be straight with you brave souls, right? If you're sensitive to criticism, skip to the next point, but if you want the unvarnished truth, then here it is:


If you feel like your writing is rubbish, you might be right.


I refused to even think it back when I started writing seriously. I thought my stories were amazing. Some of them were amazingly awful, but I didn't realize it at the time, and that's okay. It's okay I didn't see it, and it's okay that they were awful. The beautiful thing about any skill is that it can be grown. And when it comes to something growing, time is absolutely necessary. You may not be where you want to be as a writer just yet, but you're on your way! Accept where you are right now, dream about where you're going, and then put in the work to get there.


Malcolm Gladwell said in his book Outliers that it takes 10,000 hours of deliberate practice to become an expert at anything. Whether that's scientifically accurate or not, the principle remains: you need practice and time to grow your skill set.


On another note, you need to give yourself time with this particular story. Maybe it hasn't had a chance to fully develop, and both you and the story are experiencing growing pains. Be patient, and as I said before--you can write your way through this.

7. Read voraciously

This is the more organic sibling of point number 1 (study other writers' work). When my writing is suffering, one of the frequent common denominators is that my reading is suffering too. Give yourself a few days away from your manuscript--or weeks if you're in a really bad place--and consume someone else's stories for a change!

8. Learn voraciously

As you're giving yourself time and giving yourself permission to write junk, you know you don't want to stay there. You want to improve. So if writing is something you're serious about pursuing, read some good books or blog posts about the writing craft! If you can afford it, attend a workshop or a conference. Go to book signings or author events. Ask questions.

On the topic of blog posts, by the way--you may want to be choosy. I'm totally undermining myself here, but look for the blogs/websites of people who are "ahead of you" on the writing road, so to speak. Of course, I believe you can learn from absolutely anyone, including peers and also those who may be "behind you." But you're more likely to learn something new from someone who's more experienced than you are. Many published authors provide helpful advice online. (I've actually wanted to do a post on writing resources ever since I started blogging. One of these days!)


But the main thing is that you learn.

9. Get critiqued

Alone, you can only see 180 degrees, yes? But with a friend, you can see 360 degrees. No matter how good you are at writing, you'll miss something, so it's helpful to get a few more sets of eyes on your work to help you pick out the trouble spots, inconsistencies, and snags.


Peers make great beta readers, and if you can manage to get feedback from a professional, that's golden! You might not be able to pinpoint what's wrong with your writing, you just know something feels off. But someone with more distance might be able to give you that eureka moment.

10. Recognize outside factors

I mentioned earlier that last week was rough writing-wise. Partway through, I realized it wasn't just because the actual writing was slow. So, feeling frustrated and unhappy, I examined the issue and found out that:


a) I was filling all my free time with writing, and then staying up too late doing things like reading books or blogs to relax--so I wasn't getting the rest I needed
and b) there had been a few stressful incidents at work that made my shifts more draining than usual.


Feelings are just signals! A negative feeling is like a window popping up on your computer to tell you that something is wrong. It doesn't always mean your writing is trash, and it certainly never means that you are trash.


Life isn't separated into neat little boxes. So many things can affect your writing: health, sleep, relationships, stress, finances. So when you hit an authorial slump, consider what else might be a contributing factor, and give yourself the grace to deal with that situation.

11. Pray

Everyone makes tidy lists of ten, but I couldn't leave this eleventh point out. The biggest outside factor is your relationship with God. Take this from someone struggling with her devotional life as we speak: when you're not spending time with God, whether that be reading the Bible, praying, or taking a walk while listening to worship music, everything else in life suffers. Including your writing.


I know, I know how it feels. Not all of you are task-driven people, but for those of you who are: I understand that putting off writing to pray or even to relax with a good book feels like . . . well, not necessarily time wasted, but time not spent writing.

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. -Matthew 6:33 NIV

The thing is, you can't afford not to pursue God. And when it comes down to it, isn't He the most creative being to ever exist? Didn't He hang the stars and fashion chimpanzees and create thunderstorms with just a word? You, dear writer, dear soul, are created in the image of the Creator! You are a creative being--that's part of your very nature--but your creativity flourishes best when it is fed by a thriving bond with your Creator.

And that's all the advice I have today, my friends. I'm off to go practice what I just preached (The Brightest Thread, here I come!), but before I go . . .

Stay tuned for Saturday, because I have a very special guest joining us!