Archive for the ‘Writing’ Category

Feb
06
2012

Writing for Children Is Harder than It Seems

Sally Lloyd Jones is one of my favorite children’s book authors, mainly because she wrote the Jesus Storybook Bible, which creatively tells the big stories of the Bible while pointing each to Jesus. I highly recommended it an review here and I had the opportunity to interview Sally here.

Recently she shared a guest-post on Ed Stetzer’s blog where she wrote about the challenge of writing for children. I thought it was keen insight on what many think is an easy thing to do:

People have approached me, holding up one of my children’s books, flicking through it backwards–awful for a writer because it implies the order of the words don’t matter–and cheerfully announcing, “I’m going to do one. I mean. REALLY. How hard can it be?”

How many of us would dream of going up to a surgeon and saying, “I’m going to do an Angioplasty. I mean. REALLY. How hard can it be?”

That people feel free to say this about children’s books tells you a lot–not so much about what they think of children’s book writers. That’s not important. It tells you what they think of children.

The whole post is worth reading here: Ed Stetzer – Thursday is for Thinkers: Sally Lloyd-Jones.

Jan
27
2012

Friday Five: Laurie Alice Eakes

Today I’m honored to feature the talented novelist, Laurie Alice Eakes. She is a fellow client of my agent, Tamela Hancock Murray and an award-winning author. Her books have won numerous awards, including The National Readers Choice Award. She was also a Carol Award finalist. In the past three years, she has sold six books to Baker/Revell, five of which are set during the Regency time period, four books to Barbour Publishing, as well as two novellas to Barbour Publishing and one to Baker/Revell. Six of her books have been picked up by Thorndike Press for large print publication, and Lady in the Mist, her first book with Revell, was chosen for hardcover publication with Crossings Bookclub. She also teaches on-line writing courses and enjoys a speaking ministry that has taken her from the Gulf Coast to the East Coast. She blogs regularly here. Here latest book is  A Heart’s Safe Passage. 

Today Laurie was kind to take time out of her writing day to chat with me about the writing life: 

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Dec
16
2011

Friday Five: Kim Vogel Sawyer

Christmas is the time when a lot of folks take some time off to rest and catch up on their favorite novels. Today I have the privilege of featuring bestselling novelist, Kim Vogel Sawyer. Kim’s books have received numerous fiction awards, including: ACFW Carol Award
Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence, Inspirational Readers Choice Award, Heartsong Presents Contemporary Story of the Year (2006), and the Colorado Romance Writers Award of Excellence. Her latest books are A Whisper of Peace and Katy’s Decision. 

Today, Kim was kind enough to stop by and chat about fiction and the writing life:

How did you get your start as a writer?

I actually entered publishing through a rather unusual route. I’d always wanted to be a writer, but a series of rejections in the mid-1990s discouraged me and I threw myself into teaching. But midway through my teaching career, my health plummeted to the point that I couldn’t teach full-time. About the same time, my dad chose to self-publish one of my books so I could see my publishing dream come true. The reader feedback from that novel gave me the confidence to purse publishing again, and the part-time teaching schedule gave me the time to write. Between March and November of 2005, I signed contracts for ten books with three different publishing lines. I’ve been writing full-time ever since.

What is the most valuable part of your background that has helped you in writing such great stories?

I think being an avid reader and being painfully shy helped me a great deal as a writer. I always told my students, the best readers are the best writers because they’re exposed to vocabulary, grammar, and story elements. You rarely found me without a book in one hand and a notebook in the other when I was growing up. Being shy, I stood on the fringes and became a keen observer of people. That contributed greatly toward character development. As a child, I often lost myself in story worlds–writing tales with strong, confident heroines very unlike myself and now as an adult I have the opportunity to bring story-worlds to life…but not to lose myself. Now, my goal is to point readers toward a deeper relationship with God.

Bestselling author Janette Oke has endorsed your work. Tell us about what how her endorsement came to be, and/or how she influenced your work. 

When my novel, which I called Summer’s Joy, landed on an editor’s desk at Bethany House, she shared it with Carol Johnson, who had originally signed Janette Oke. Carol felt my writing style gave her the same feeling as a Janette Oke novel–a peaceful, uplifting feeling. So she shared it with Janette, who offered to endorse it. I was unaware of all of this until after Janette committed to endorsing it, which is probably good. Had I known JANETTE OKE was reading MY story, I probably would have had a nervous breakdown. LOL I truly feel blessed to have been kindly received by the woman I consider the “queen” of Christian fiction. I hope my stories are as full of warmth and Spirit as hers.

You are extremely productive and keep up a high quality of work. Can you offer tips for new writers on how to accomplish this?

I hope I maintain a high quality of work! That’s important to me. With the arrival of contracts came the realization that stories had to be completed by a certain date (i.e.–deadline). To meet the obligation, I began treating my writing as my “job”–a rather awkward transition for all of us after all the years of writing for fun–but I had to set aside a certain number of hours each day for WRITING. I enter my home writing studio at the same time I used to enter my classroom. I start with Bible-study and prayer to get my thoughts centered, and then I write. I am in my office a minimum of six hours a day. I encourage writers trying to break into publishing to establish a habit of consistent writing now, because when the contracts come, they’ll be ready to meet the challenge.

You talk a lot about your grandchildren. Tell us about them:

I have a quiverful of grandkiddos–six Sweeties, two Bugaboos, and one little Wugmump. They range in age from third grade to four months old, and when they’re all here at the same time it is happy chaos! I can’t wait for Christmas. Please feel free to visit my Facebook page.

 

Dec
02
2011

Friday Five: Jennifer Schuchman


Jennifer Schuchman is a bestselling author and speaker. Her recent work includes a collaboration with former NFL MVP, Kurt Warner on his New York Times Bestseller, First Things First and a collaboration with Brenda Warner on her latest, One Call Away.

Jennifer has written or co-written numerous books, has contributed articles to leading evangelical publications and has garnered several prestigious writing awards.

I met Jennifer several years ago at the Write to Publish Conference where we were both sort of exploring the idea of publishing. It’s amazing how far God has brought her ministry.

Today I asked her to stop by and answer some questions about the writing life. 

 

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Aug
12
2011

Friday Five: Michael Hyatt

 

Michael Hyatt, Chairman, Thomas Nelson PublishersToday it’s a privilege to welcome Michael Hyatt to the Friday Five. Michael Hyatt is Chairman of Thomas Nelson, the seventh largest trade book publishing company in the world. A respected leader in the Christian publishing community, he is a sought-after speaker on the topics of leadership, time management, and the integration of faith and technology. He has served as a literary agent, CEO, and business owner. His blog, Intentional Leadership, is one of the most highly trafficked blogs on the Internet.

Today Mike answers my questions about the future of Christian publishing, the essentials of good leadership, and his use of technology.

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Jul
28
2011

The Importance of a Good Editor (In writing and in life)

I’m currently working on my fourth book, a look at the unique struggles of those who grow up in the church. It’s the most difficult book I’ve written and probably the most ambitious. I have learned over the course of writing three books and numerous articles the importance of having a good editor. I’m not talking about the editor at the publisher, who is also very, very good. I’m talking about someone willing to look at your chapters when they are 80% done but you don’t know how to put them over the top. I’m talking about someone willing to go through your pride and joy and highlight areas that need to change and areas that are good. This is what makes your work good, if not great.

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Jul
19
2011

How to Do a Radio Interview

Micphoto © 2009 Renée Johnson | more info (via: Wylio)

 

 

With the publication of my three books, I’ve had to quite a few radio interviews, mostly on Christian radio. I’ve also done some TV interviews as well, but mainly I do radio, because it enables me to do it from home or office and is a good way to promote the message of my books.

I’m not an expert and I still have a long ways to go as a communicator, but along the way I’ve picked up a few tips. I thought I’d share them with you:

  1. Try to use a landline. Cell phones have a come along way, but they are still less reliable than landlines. Producers and hosts prefer landlines, because they produce better audio. Plus there is less a chance that they will cut off in the middle. I once had a great radio interview lined up, one that I’d worked hard to get, only to have it cut off in the middle. I was able to come back on and do the interview, but it was embarrassing. (Oh, and online phones like Magic Jack don’t count!)
  2. If you have to use your cell phone . . . I schedule 90% of my interviews for when I’m in the office here at church and can use the landline. But sometimes I’m scheduled to do it when I’m on an off-day at home. Because we don’t have a landline at home, I’m forced to use my iPhone. I’ve learned a few tricks to making the iPhone sound fairly good. First, I disable the wifi search and the bluetooth capability. Sometimes these tools interfere with the phone’s reception. I also make sure I’m in a good cell area in our home (for me, it’s upstairs in our master bedroom).
  3. Make sure you’re in a quiet room. For me this is pretty easy, because my office is at church and there is typically few if any people here. I usually close my door, however and put the shade down so people know not to disturb me. At home, I go in our master bedroom and lock the door and my wife keeps the kids from disturbing. There have been a few times that I’m home and one of my kids has tried to get in. This is where I master the angry Dad look that lets them know not to bother me!
  4. Be mentally ready. Take a few deep breaths before you start, sit in a comfortable place, drink your favorite beverage, then pray and be ready to minister to the needs of the audience you are about to serve. It’s so important not to be rushed, distracted, or otherwise taken away from task at hand.
  5. Have your talking points ready, but be flexible in your answers. It’s good to know what you’re going to say about your book, but it’s also important to be flexible and draw on the wisdom from God’s Word that you’ve internalized in you. I have found it helpful to answer the hosts questions with answers that eventually lead to the content of your book. And the more you do radio, the easier this gets.
  6. Give short, sound-byte-answers. Remember hosts have segments, time to fill. They have to take breaks. They also have to continue to educate their audience as to who you are and what this show is about. So you need to have a “clock in your head.” If you’re answers are longwinded, you make it tougher for the host. Also, you need to “land the plane” with every answer in that as you are in the middle of sharing, think of how you will draw this answer to a close. Then when you finish your answer, pause, so you can let the host know you are finished and he/she can jump in.
  7. Don’t interrupt. This is a hard one for me. I’m a serial interrupter in conversation, something God is slowly working out of me. It’s important to let a host finish her statement. You will know it’s your turn when he/she inflects her voice for a question and then pauses.
  8. Give them something to chew on. When it’s your turn to speak, speak. Don’t wait too long. Have some content to share. When a book of mine is first being released, I usually have it in front of me and I have some sheets with info. But as a book campaign progresses, I find this stuff becomes internalized and I don’t need that. But it’s always better to have content in front of you, to jog your thoughts so you can give the audience something. It’s also helpful to be energized. I find that walking around and moving my hands like I’m speaking gives me energy. I think that transfers to the audience.
  9. Don’t make it about you, but about the message God has given you. I listen to quite a bit of Christian radio. I find that the interviews that prompt me to buy books are not the ones with the author constantly talking about himself and his book and his wildly successful ministry. They are the interviews where the author pours himself out and offers solid, biblical advice. I have bought a number of books after being in my car and thinking, Wow, this is really good. I need this. I know people who need this. If God has given you a message, share that message and the results, the sales, will take care of themselves.
  10. Don’t expect one interview to be the magic bullet. Unless you’re on Oprah, rarely will a media appearance automatically boost your Amazon rankings. But that doesn’t mean it’s a failure. You have to see each media appearance, each blog review/interview, each speech as adding one more plank to your platform. And each is an opportunity for ministry. This relieves the pressure of having to sell yourself on each interview and having to hit a home run with each appearance. Just be faithful in the opportunities God calls you to and let Him manage the results. He’s pretty good at that.
  11. Be gracious and appreciative. It’s an honor to be featured on any media platform. Producers chose you over hundreds, maybe thousands of options. So be grateful for the appearance. Seek to serve the people at the radio station. And always say, “thank-you” and perhaps send a hand-written note or at least a nice email of thanks.

 

 

Jul
05
2011

How to get (and capture) ideas

Ideas are the lifeblood of the creative life. Whether you’re a poet, a pastor, or a professional contractor, ideas fuel your work. But even the most creative folks run out of ideas. So how do we stimulate more? Here are some things I do that seem to get the juices flowing again:

1) Move away from the computer. Sometimes you just got to get away from your laptop. This is hard for me to do, because there is always something to be done. But I find that when I’m in the middle of a all-consuming project, I get ideas on the commute home or on a walk with my wife and kids.

2) Listen to music. I find that music stirs my soul. I can be the world’s biggest crank with nothing in my creative tank. But if I turn on my iTunes playlist or use Pandora, the creative flow begins again.

3) Pray. Actually prayer should be the first thing you do, but it usually isn’t. Let’s be honest. We typically try everything else, then remember, “Duh, I can pray!”. We most reflect the Creator when we create, so His Spirit naturally desires to free our hearts from distraction and let our mind center on what is most important to Him.

4) Read. I find reading especially helpful. But I usually have to keep reading, because the first few pages don’t bring back my creativity. Sometimes it’s a whole chapter. Other times its a web article or blog post.

5) Have a conversation. The creative life can be solitary–you and the computer screen. But we were created for community. Sometimes the best thing you can do is pick up the phone and call a friend. Engage in a conversation, even if its about nothing. Or you might discuss your project and see if they have an angle on it you’ve missed.

6) Edit. When I’m working on a book-length project, I use the write-edit-write method. I start that day’s work by editing the previous day’s work. Fresh eyes bring out new and different angles on the manuscript and start those creative engines.

7) Watch an epic movie. This is difficult to do if you’re at work or on deadline. It’s not like you can ask your boss if it’s okay to pop in Ben Hur and break out the popcorn. But, perhaps you’ve finished your day completely and emotionally spent. It does your mind good to go home and relax with an epic movie whose story might recenter your creative impulses.

What stirs your creative impulses?