The Story Behind the Story - An Interview on Liz Tolsma's Website

It all began with a conversation.

My wife Cindy and I are both in the field of public education. We were having a discussion one evening about some of the laws affecting education and how they are getting manipulated into something far different from the original intent.

For example, the laws concerning homeless children were originally designed to benefit a student who was suddenly homeless due to some catastrophic event, like the family’s house burning down or being irreparably damaged due to some natural disaster, like a tornado or flood. Or maybe the husband and/or wife lost his or her job and the family’s been evicted because they cannot pay the rent or mortgage. The McKinney-Vento Homeless Act was designed to help in these situations, so that children could still get their education without being penalized in any way for something out of their control (i.e., not be held accountable of lost textbooks, not be held accountable for unexcused absences due to the event, be provided special bus transportation, if needed, etc.).

However, as in many cases, students get savvier as they get older and learn how to find loopholes in laws.

High school students under the age of 18 who google “How can I become emancipated from my parents?” are finding out they too can fall under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Act, and it’s as easy as 1-2-3:

1. Get into an argument with their parents and manipulate their parents to offer up the golden ultimatum: “If you live under my roof, you live by my rules. Otherwise, you can move out.”
2. Once those magic words are given, the student moves out of the parent’s house and moves in with a friend’s family.
3. Once this occurs, the student in considered “homeless,” and is afforded all the privileges McKinney-Vento has to offer.

At this point, students cannot be held accountable for attendance.  They cannot be held accountable if they lose or damage school-assigned property (i.e., textbooks, iPads, etc.). They can go to school when they wish. Stay home when they wish. There is no one who can hold the students accountable legally because the law protects them.

We also noted how many of these same “privileges” are afforded to English Language Learners, formerly known as ESOL. If students are considered ELL students, because of their language barrier, they too cannot be held accountable for many things until they reach a certain level of language proficiency and are dismissed from the program. This usually takes years.

In the midst of our conversation about how these laws get abused, my writer’s mind ran with it. “So, what if some terrorist organization used these laws against us? To their advantage, like high school students use the McKinney-Vento Homeless Act? And what if they coupled this with the issue of illegal immigration? Used unwitting illegal immigrants in a diabolical plan against our country? There would be nothing legally anyone could do about it.”

And that, my friends, is how 30 Days Hath Revenge was born.

To see this interview on Liz Tolsma's Website, click HERE

Blooming Where We Are Planted (A Seriously Write Blog Post)

“I want to write full-time.”

“Oh, how I wish I could write all day long.”

“I’d write more if the day job didn’t get in the way.”

Ever utter these kinds of words? I would wager there are few if any writers out there who haven’t at some point in their life. Some writers are fortunate enough to realize those dreams. Others, not-so-much.

But are we less fortunate?

I had a birthday recently. Over half the student body wished me a happy birthday as they passed me in the halls, saw me in the cafeteria, or in a classroom. As an assistant principal, it meant a lot, because I’m usually viewed as the “bad guy” (it’s an occupational hazard).

Then, I received a letter from an 8th grade girl. The letter wished me well on this day of my birth. But it also said so much more.

The young lady thanked me for being there for her, looking out for her, urging her to strive harder to make the very best life she can muster at this precarious age, and believing in her.

As I read the letter, it reminded me of another one I received several years ago from a troubled young lady at the high school where I began my administrative career. It too spoke of how I was the only person who listened to her, showed that I cared for her by holding her accountable, even though she was making a tough choice to drop out of school. I would later see her in another setting where she beamed of great joy at the telling of how she had gone back to school, received her GED, and had been accepted into a college down south. She was chasing dreams, and she reminded me it was my encouragement that set her on this path.

I often get discouraged at this career we call “writing.” It’s an up and down, roller-coaster, whirlwind kind of life that has its own peaks and valleys to say the least. However, in the midst of crafting a tale about some fictional characters, are we blooming where we are planted to make a difference in the lives of real people?

I hope we are.

As we enter into the season of giving, may He who gave us life everlasting help us bloom into abundant trees bearing good fruit (Colossians 1:9-14).

To see this article on the Seriously Write website, click on the following link: HERE 

Deadly Research Can Be So Uplifting (A Seriously Write Blog)

I wrote a series of articles several years ago when 30 Days Hath Revenge originally came out. It was a quick history of The Plague. It covered The Justinian Plague of 542 A.D., The Black Death, or Black Plague, in the 14th century, and the Third Great Plague of the 17th century. There were other, more recent outbreaks, too, which I discussed, like The Barbary Plague in San Francisco during the early 1900s, and smaller outbreaks in Chandigarh, India (1994) and in Bunia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Africa (2003).

As I researched for my book, I became fascinated by a portion of Old testament scripture I had read numerous times in the past, but it was an author who specialized in germ warfare who pointed out to me what I had missed.

In 1 Samuel 5:1-7:1, we have the story of the Ark of God being captured by the Philistines. They take the Ark back home and place it in the temple of Dagon in the city of Ashdod. At first, the Lord God sends a little message to the Philistines by causing the image of Dagon to fall on its face. The priests of the pagan temple, finding their god on the ground that next morning, picked up the image and put it back in its place.

(As an aside, how much does this look like us? God knocks down an image we tend to worship, and we, like the priests, pick it up, dust it off, and continue to live our lives in the same fashion, missing the inherent warning? Hmmm…Now, back to our story.)

So, the Lord God does it again. When the image of Dagon fell a second time the very next morning, the head and hands also broke off. They were found lying on the threshold of the temple. A very symbolic act by the Lord God to denote His dominion and power over the pagan god. Problem is, neither the priests nor the people of Ashdod got the message. You would think they would have put two and two together and thought to themselves, “Hey, we didn’t have this problem until the Ark of God arrived.” But, they didn’t. So, God proceeded to Plan B.

(One more aside: This, by the way, shows how merciful God is. He could have just gone ahead and enacted Plan B, but He tried to get their attention by other means first. This is often how God operates. Unfortunately, we often miss the earlier messages and only see the bad ones that follow, like the people of Ashdod. Then, we have the audacity to criticize God and ask why He is so vicious, so uncaring, and so malevolent in His ways. “Why does He allow bad things to happen to good people?” Had we listened the first time, He wouldn’t have to enact Plan B. Hmmm… Now, back to our story.)

In verse six and following, it says the Lord God’s hand was heavy upon the people of Ashdod, and He inflicted them with “tumors.” In the Septuagint and Latin Vulgate, they add this line (NIV): “And rats appeared in their land, and death and destruction were throughout the city.”

That’s when the priests and people of Ashdod finally figured it out. Oh, it’s the Ark… So, they called for a meeting and decided to move the Ark. To Ekron. Duh. Now, two cities were infected because God did not stop the affliction in Ashdod. Verse 9 says the people in Ekron were also infected with “tumors.” In the Septuagint, it adds: “in the groin.”

The Bubonic Plague was referred to by that name because of the buboes (in the Biblical account = tumors) which appear under the arms and in the groin area. Lymph nodes swell with a mixture of the bacteria, both alive and dead, and puss (hence the stories about the “stench” and “smell of death” often recorded by historians).

In 1 Samuel 6, seven months passed before the Philistines called a major conference. Seven months of the plague devastating five major cities of the kingdom. Such is sin. It causes great suffering and stubbornness. So, when the conferees arrived and discussed the situation, they decided the Ark of God must be sent back to Israel. They also decided a guilt offering be sent with it: five golden tumors and five golden rats, to symbolize the affliction, and one for each ruler of the five major cities of Philistia (vv. 1-18). They finally got it.

Historians believe that this account in 1 Samuel is the first recorded account of a bubonic plague. There may have been other outbreaks in biblical times, too. They just didn’t get recorded.

What can we take away from this? It’s interesting how God uses the effects of sin (in this case, war, pride, and disease) to “preach a sermon,” of sorts (cf. Romans 1:19). In one of the worst accounts in recorded history, it started with one little microscopic bacteria and a flea. But that’s how sin operates. One seemingly small incident, decision, or choice against the laws of God, even by those who seem religiously devout, hatches in one individual and spreads throughout that person’s body, who in turn, comes in contact with another and another.

And the rest, they say, is history.

If only we would listen to the first message, we’d never have to experience God’s Plan B.

To see this article on the Seriously Write website, click on the following link: HERE!

Reviewing the Mindset of Reviews (An ACFW Blog Post)

As many authors know, good, critical, honest reviews are important. Future readers often base their purchases on them. Therefore, reviews are gold when talking bottom lines.

Because Amazon uses the review system as one of its major marketing arms, keeping reviews as pure as possible is paramount to good customer service.

To prevent others from manipulating this system, Amazon has vowed to pronounce an author anathema if they seek to manipulate reviews. The consequence? Banishment from the Amazon kingdom. They sued four companies for doing exactly that: contaminating the overall quality of the review process. One of them had a very inconspicuous name: buyamazonreviews.com.

Then, there was the not-so-blatant, in-your-face 5-star review scandal. A company was manipulating reviews via a buyer-friendly return policy, proving there is more than one way to skin the proverbial cat.

We know book companies have used the method of “giving away books for honest reviews” for years. So long as the reviewer stated in the review he or she received the book for free in exchange for an honest review, most people were okay with it. Even that game has changed a little with Amazon upping their purchase requirement from $5 to $50 per year. In other words, anyone who receives books for free and reviews them can no longer do so if they do not spend $50 a year on Amazon. This is actually a good thing on multiple levels.

However, what hurts authors as much as a one-star or malicious review is the poorly written one.

Assuming the reader is being honest and would give the product an honest review, how the review is written can make a 5-star review seem either real or fake. It’s all in the syntax.

For example, let’s say the reader–we’ll call her Carol Critique–reads her favorite author-friend’s book–we’ll call her author-friend Wynona Writer. There are two ways Carol can write the review. A good way and a bad way. The bad way is to write it like she knows Linda:

I haven’t read Linda’s newest book, Can’t Buy Me Amish Love, but I know it’s going to be one of the best Amish romance novels ever written because I read her last book as soon as it came out. Better than Beverly Lewis! I can’t believe she’s not on the New York Times Best Seller List! All I can say is, When’s the movie coming out?????!!!

If you’re a reader who does not know the author, is that how you write your reviews? I hope not. I’ll wager there aren’t too many reviews of Debbie Macomber’s books wherein the reviewer speaks as if she knows Debbie like a next-door neighbor. Phrases only a mother could write, like, “I’ve known Debbie for years, so I can vouch for this book!” or “Everyone must read this book!!! It will change your life!” garner the same respect as a political ad with the disclaimer at the end: “This message is sponsored by Who Cares PAC NSCF and not associated with any political candidate.”

The good way is to pen a professional-looking review:

In her latest book, Can’t Buy Me Amish Love, Linda Writer has crafted a wonderful sequel to the first book in this series, I Want to Hold Your Amish Hand. The story of Yenta Yoder continues when she…(blah, blah, blah…you get the picture).

To simply write it in a more professional manner makes the review seem more “honest.”

But wait. Rumors abound concerning Amazon searching your social media sites, looking for friends and relatives who also review your works. “Shills,” they call them. If the Amazon Review Board thinks the reviewer is related or a good friend, she will get a Nastygram stating her review has been removed. If Amazon thinks you’re recruiting reviews in a nefarious manner, your author page could be history.

So, what’s a writer to do? Well, first off, we can’t (nor should we) discourage friends and family from writing reviews. Writing them honestly and professionally should be encouraged, though.

Second, to garner more reviews, you could:
• Employ the likes of a buyamazonreviews.com? I wouldn’t advise it, though.

• Give away massive amounts of books to targeted reviewers who will, no doubt, give you nothing lower than three stars? They may help you get to the magic number of 100 faster, but at what cost?

Or how about this for a third option? Simply write the best book you can muster and allow God to work? From there, it’s in God’s hands. Of course, we’ll travel down the free eBook giveaway avenue and all those other four-letter marketing streets we introverted authors just can’t wait to travel. And sure, some people won’t like what you’ve written. Others might even boldface lie about your book (and Amazon has an abuse policy to address this, too). Don’t fret, though. Even the Bible has its detractors. The point is, we live in a fallen world. Enemy territory. And we write Christian fiction.

It’s a wonder we don’t get more one-star reviews than we do.

To see this blog on the ACFW website, click on the following link: HERE!

Keep Writing...and Get Better Along the Way (A Seriously Write Blog Post)

 

      

I’m reading Robert Benson’s book, Dancing on the Head of a Pen. It’s a thought-provoking, journal-of-sorts on the career of writing. Robert’s life experiences are woven into the fabric of this work, helping to bring to light some topics writers must tackle, whether they like it or not.

Although I’ve chuckled numerous times at Robert’s singular wit, one section, in particular, made me laugh out loud. Robert gets asked the question we all do from time to time: “So, how’s the job going?” But as you know, our friends and acquaintances don’t use those exact words like they would of their doctor friend or their school teacher buddy. Instead, we often get the question put to us this way: “So, are you still writing?”

Like Robert observes, no one asks the doctor if she is still seeing patients. No one asks the school teacher if he still goes to class every morning. No one asks the pastor if he still drops by the church on Sundays. Yet, when confronted with a writer, people feel compelled to ask, “Are you still writing?” In Robert’s words, it’s as if they just can’t believe someone would want to accomplish the feat of writing a book more than once.

Sometimes, we ask ourselves the same questions, don’t we? Do I have any more books in me? Good books? Books people would actually want to read? And enjoy?

For some, one book is all they have in them. Nothing wrong with that, per se. So long as they realize it. (I wish M. Night Shyamalan would have realized that when it came to his movies.) For others, life simply gets in the way. However, as Robert observes, for the true writer, writing is a much a calling and passion as the doctor who must operate, not to make money, but to save lives. Or the teacher who will not stop until her students understand with proficiency. Or the pastor who feels his mission is from On High.

If you ask any of those other professionals how they accomplish such feats, they will tell you two things: 1) They never stop. They keep “Keeping On” when the skies are blue and when the ominous clouds roil in the heavens. Those old wild horses are no match; and 2) They never cease to want to grow, learn, or improve at what they do. There’s an internal gas pedal always pressed firmly against the floorboard. Their minds are always working on the task, even if in the background while at dinner with a friend or spouse. Their passion will often find its way into conversations as they “test” thoughts and ideas on others in an attempt to fine tune for future use.Also, their noses are always in journals, books, and articles on their craft. Learning is just as important as doing. They know the former makes the latter better.

Do you write when nothing is selling? When there are no prospects on the horizon of a contract? Do you take the reviewers’ 2-star critique to heart and seek to determine where the weak sentence structure lies?And do you keep the 5-star reviews tucked away for encouragement but careful not to let them swell the ego?

As Robert Benson says, rewriting and rewriting sentences, organizing the words in the best possible positions, is an art. No artist with a chisel chipped away a statue in a day or two. No artist with a brush ever placed bristles to canvas, satisfied with the very first stroke of each color. Time, care, skill, and diligence—they all rest in the artist’s quiver, to be used with forethought, so something wondrous can emerge. Something with which the artist will never be truly satisfied because of the passion within.

(Oh, and Robert would be proud of this article, too. I kept it to approximately 600 words.)

To see this article on the Seriously Write website, click on the following link: Keep Writing...and Get Better Along the Way

T-Shirt Revelations (A Seriously Write Blog Post)

As an assistant principal at a middle school, I see a lot of what is deemed “fashion.” Much of it comes in pithy sayings, cartoonish figures, and sparkling letters. Rarely are all three of those combined, though. But they say a lot about us, nevertheless.

One shirt showed a slice of bacon and a cracked egg lying in the street with crime scene tape around it. Standing at the tape was a chicken and a pig. The pig says to the chicken, “Oh no! That looks like Harry.” To which the chicken replies, “Yeah. I think that’s Mildred with him.” My guess was, this kid’s a goof. Likes to laugh. Probably a class clown. Will be the next Gary Larson.

Another shirt said, “Sister for sale. Will trade for old Nintendo games.” This kid suffers from sibling rivalry. And he knows what causes sibling rivalry. Having more than one kid. Lack of empathy. Familial ties aren’t important. Will probably be the next Lex Luthor. 

Still another shirt said, “I give 100%: 32% to homework; 23% to chores; 18% to cleaning my room; 12% to playing outside; 24% to math.” A lack of effort is implied (how each part is broken down). This is coupled with a lack of mathematical skills (Did you do the math?). Yet, a feeling of accomplishment is also implied (He gave 100%!). This kid will be a politician. No probably about it.

People read into things. Including what they read. T-shirts are like paintings, some convey a strong meaning most people get. Others are more “abstract.” The wearer of the t-shirt is like the painter. We who see the art judge the artist.

As authors, our art is our writing. Whether it be fiction or non-fiction, it conveys a persona all its own. And like paintings, it seems we can get about as many interpretations as there are readers. Comes with the territory of Art.

However, our words on a page do convey something about us. Something beyond the usual stigmas, like knowing we are Christian authors by the topics or words chosen (or not chosen!). From a literary standpoint, the revelations garnered about us from our writing start with issues like, the story’s merit, the author’s effort in putting it together, the author’s ability to command the English language (if English is your primary), and more.

When you read an author you’ve never read before, what questions go through your mind? When you start researching that author, what things are you looking for as a reader? The answers to those questions go beyond the words on the page, just like my questions went beyond the words on those t-shirts. What drives a girl to wear a shirt that says, “I’m awesome!” Besides the face value, snap judgments one could make, what really made that child snatch that shirt off the rack and spend $20? What caused that author to write the way he did? Use that imagery? Use that setting? Develop those characters? Pick that topic? Arrange the book the way he did? Associate with those organizations?

But always remember, it was your words on the page that started the whole snowball downhill in the first place. The better they are, the deeper the reader wishes to get to know you. Good writing creates deeper literary friendships.

When I entered the administrative ranks, I vowed to never forget what it was like to be a classroom teacher. I’ve had many teachers tell me how much they appreciate that. They see my efforts “on the page” via my conversations with them, my respect for them and what they do, my incessant efforts to help them in any way I can. As authors, we can never forget what it’s like to be a reader, either. We all have certain authors we love. And those authors used “tricks of the trade” to make our job of reading some much easier and enjoyable.

How deep can you make your literary friendships go?

To see this article on the Seriously Write website, click on the following link: T-shirt Revelations

What is Truth? (A Seriously Write Blog Post)

 What is Truth?

Over the last year or so, as we watch our nation literally burn, both physically and figuratively, I’ve been wrestling with an ideal. The ideal of “truth.”

My personal dialogue comes from the conversation between Jesus and Pontius Pilate in John 18. By this time in the narrative, Jesus has been:

• arrested
• taken before Annas
• sent to Caiaphas
• presented to the Sanhedrin
• accused of blasphemy
• sentenced to death
• sent to Pontius Pilate for execution
• found not guilty by Pilate
• sent to Herod Antipas for adjudication
• sent back to Pilate for execution

Pilate still disagrees with the sentence, and decides to question Jesus privately in his palace, thus creating a very intricate conversation in John 18.

Pilate asks Jesus if He is the “King of the Jews.” Jesus responds, “Is that your own idea, or did others talk to you about me (v. 34)?” In other words, Jesus was saying, “What do you think, Pilate? And don’t listen to the crowds. Decide for yourself.”

Pilate’s response was one of confusion in verse 35. “Am I a Jew? It was your people and your chief priests who handed you over to me.” Translation: “I’m not Jewish, so I don’t really care whether you are what they say you are or not. Besides, it was your fellow Jews who arrested you. Not me. Not Rome. Not even Herod Antipas. So, if you are not the king of these people, then I understand why they might be upset. However, if you are the king of the Jews, then none of this makes sense. For why would they want their king dead? By my hand, no less?”

So, in an attempt to gain understanding, Pilate asks a very interesting question. “What is it you have done?” Why does Pilate ask this? By this time in the narrative, the chief priests and ranking officials have stated twice what the indictment is. Apparently, Pilate doesn’t understand the nuances and meanings of Jewish Law. He knows the procedures, as evidenced in verse 39 when he references a Jewish custom. But he doesn’t seem to understand the concept of blasphemy, a theological term.

Jesus answers in verse 36, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place.” Did you catch all that? Jesus was saying, “If I was the kind of king you all are thinking of, my servants would wage a war, because that’s how earthly kingdoms operate. But my kingdom is different. It’s not like all the others you have known throughout the centuries. Hence, my kingship is also different.”

Pilate, still not understanding, asks, “You are a king then?” Well, yes and no, Pilate. Yes, Jesus is a king. He’s “The King, the One and Only” (John 1:1; 3:16; 14:6). Yet, the answer is also no. He’s not like Herod. Nor Rome’s Emperor. Nor the king of Persia. Or any other earthly king.

So, Jesus qualifies things for Pilate: “You are right in saying I’m a king. In fact, for this reason, I was born, and for this reason, I came into the world to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”

Pilate’s answer is more than telling in verse 38: “What is truth?”

You see, because of sin, the world has a hard time with the truth. We all do, if we’re completely honest. It was so bad in the eyes of Pilate, he was questioning if such an ideal even existed. I don’t believe he was making some metaphysical statement here, advocating an ancient form of situational ethics. He was confused. A group of people who claimed to be God’s People were trying to kill a man named Jesus. Pilate was wrestling with their decision. He felt an innocent man was being accused of wrongdoing. At this moment in time, in his mind, to crucify Jesus was to make wrong right and right wrong. He really needed more time to investigate these claims, but the crowds were not affording him that opportunity.

However, instead of taking a stand against wrong, investigating for himself the claims of both the crowds and Jesus, and arriving at a proper decision, Pilate figuratively throws up his hands in disgust with his response in verse 38. Unwittingly, Pilate answers Jesus inquiry in verse 34 by sheepishly washing his hands of what he is now deeming a crime against an innocent man. And to add more grief to Pilate’s plate, he must now release a known murderer by the name of Barabbas.

An innocent man is to be sentenced to death. A guilty man is to be set free. Right is wrong. Wrong is right. In this kind of world, truth only exists when it benefits the deceitful and their agendas.

I believe Pilate understood this, but he took the easy road out instead of seeking a truly truthful decision. Why? Because he believes truth doesn’t exist. Otherwise, I don’t believe he would have made the decisions he did.

Ironically, The Truth was standing right in front of him, but all Pilate saw was the physical world around him, with all its troubles. And all the troubles to come, if he didn’t give in to the crowds demands.

As a writer, poignant dialogue, transfixed within a scene which captures the human condition juxtaposed against the truth is (or should be) our goal. This path may, and probably will, take us down roads we may not wish to go because they are too troubling to write. Why? One reason is because it forces us to slide our most secretive parts under the microscope of God’s Word. Then, the Word, doing its work, magnifies what we’ve rationalized in our minds to be miniscule and unpretentious into something so detailed and contradictory to our gracious facade that we want to simply write it a different way, or just wash our hands of it altogether.

Another reason is that we’re afraid the crowds will “shout us down” and threaten our livelihood. Easier to write entertaining fluff than sin-challenging stuff in a world without truth.

But I’m reminded of the simple fact that the Bible is one of a few, if not the only, historical record of kings and rulers wherein battles depict both wins and losses. The stories tell us of the good characteristics of the kings and rulers and the not-so-pleasant sides of their personalities. The accounts are even-handed. Why? Because Truth exposes the warts of sin. And truth also exposes the mercy of God. Both of which are exposed in John 18, as they are in all of scripture.

How do you show truth in your writing? How deep does it go? Does the dialogue challenge and inspire right living? Do the questions engage our spiritual side as well as our intellectual side? Do you do it justice when creating a scene in your work of fiction? Do you give the reader “the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God” when you write those non-fiction books?

How do you answer Pilate’s question with your writing?

To see this article on the Seriously Write website, click on the following link: "What is Truth?"

*Photo used courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net

Am I the Only One Who Struggles? (An ACFW Blog Post)

Watch this video, then we’ll talk.

Do you feel a little small after watching that video? Insignificant, perhaps? Hopefully awestruck, though, right?

Now, read this article, then come back for the finale.

I watched this video and read this article within a couple of weeks of one another. Although the article was not quite so factual, as Dan Balow notes at the end, it still caused me to do some thinking.

When we got into this business, regardless of our place in it (i.e., unpublished author, icon status, or anywhere in between), we would be exceptions rather than the rule if we didn’t think, even for a few seconds, how nice it would be to be a bestselling author. Most authors I know had dreams (have dreams?) of writing full-time, seeing their books on the store shelves of every brick and mortar store across the fruited plain, that sort of thing. I think you know what I’m talking about, or am I the only one who struggles with this issue?

When you take the statistics of Balow’s piece, factor in numbers like present world population, the population of people to have existed between the years of publication of each book, something amazing–and humbling–happens.

Take Heaven Is for Real by Todd Burpo, for example. If the estimates of ten million copies sold are accurate since its publication date of 2010, there have been well over eight billion people in existence since that time. If you consider 60% of those to be of reading age, then 4,800,000,000 possible readers existed between 2010 and now (I know they all don’t read books in English, but just go with the flow for a moment because we do have international rights, and they could have picked up the book in their primary language ?).

When you divide the number of copies sold by the number of possible readers, you end up with 0.0020833333 or 0.20833333%. Not even one percent. If you consider the Book of Common Prayer or The Imitation of Christ with their top notch numbers of 300 million-plus and do the math, the percentage would be even lower because billions and billions of people have lived and died since 1418 and the mid-16th century, respectively.

Now, bring in the facet of us living on a planet so very small in this massive universe we call the cosmos, with billions of galaxies swirling in the inky blackness of space, and those sales numbers become even more miniscule by comparison.

What’s the point? We serve a mighty God. We may accomplish great things with our writing, but it’s all dross and rubbish compared to His infinite greatness.

To think that anyone would want to buy a book I wrote when there is so much good reading out there to be had is humbling. To think our God would even wish to use my feeble attempts at crafting a sentence to possibly reach a soul for His kingdom is awe-inspiring. To think He rules this vast cosmos yet has time to be concerned about my whether or not my manuscript gets published is wondrous.

This fills me with awe because I know how great God is in comparison to me.

When I hear students at my school parrot the chants of the masses, “The struggle is real,” I think to myself now, “Yes, it is. Because of sin. That is why we all struggle. Against God. Against each other. Even with ourselves.” But it wasn’t meant to be that way.

This fills me with humility. And sadness. Because as I contemplate the Lord’s glory, I know how much of me still needs to be transformed into the likeness of Christ (2 Corinthians 3:18).

Hence, the struggle. A heart of joy for salvation’s gift hindered by a heart of pride because of a generous gift from God we call writing.

“Heavenly Father, the pen is yours. The paper is yours. The computer is yours. The words are yours. The books are yours. I am yours. Now, help me avoid the struggle and keep it that way. Everyday. “I am not the Creator, but a scribe with a pen. I’m recreating visions through a cracked and broken lens. And only One has ever seen the hope for which we long, and I am just a beggar who gives alms. Amen.”

To see this blog on the ACFW website, click on the following link: "Am I the Only One Who Struggles?"

The Birth of a Serpent (A Seriously Write Blog Post)

Ever wonder how other novelists get their ideas?

We were strolling out of Islands of Adventure years ago. It had been a good day. Our family had enjoyed a sun-soaked, July afternoon in the Orlando-based theme park, but it was late. It was still hot. We were tired and on a quest—for A/C.

The park has a central corridor leading into (and out of) the complex designed to mimic storefronts one might find nestled in a fairy tale land. It’s a quaint section—one I’d like to pattern my backyard after someday. However, air conditioning beckoned us inside a long string of shops instead of enjoying the scenery.

Our tribe slowly traipsed through the aisles of wares. No one wanted to buy anything material. We just wanted to get cool before we made the long trek to the parking lot.

           

During the slow walk through the displays or merchandise, I was drawn to the far end of the store. Hanging from the ceiling, suspended by wires, was a replica of a dinosaur. A fossil of a marine reptile, to be precise. The placard on the wall told the story of the real fossil, found in Ulianova, Russia. Now possessed by the Iwaki Museum of Coal and Fossils in Tokyo, Japan, the real fossil was supposed to look just like the one overhead.

I don’t know where Ulianova, Russia is exactly. Google can’t find a city by that name, but it does find “Ulyanovsk.” If that city is the correct location of the find, then finding any marine reptile, dinosaur-like or not, in that specific location is quite a feat. Just click on the link above and see for yourself. Yes, it’s near a water source, but there are only cold waters around there. Too cold for any marine reptiles to exist and a long way from the nearest warm water sea or ocean. Thus the importance of the find.

And thus the pique of my curiosity.

The replica was classified in the pliosaur family due to its alligator-like body and flipper-like appendages. The thing looked like an obese, 25-foot long crocodile with flippers. And here’s the kicker. Paleontologists, scientists, archeologists, and the like had never seen a fossil like this one before. Hence, they called it pliosaur sp. It was a “new” species. Well, new to scientists, that is.

I stood there studying the fossil, imagining what it would be like to meet that bad boy in the ocean. Then, it hit me. It was a species of animal never before known to exist. Now, suddenly, here it was in fossilized form, telling us we don’t know as much as we think we do.

Then, I remembered reading back in middle school of an extinct species caught off the coast of Africa in 1938. They were thought to be long gone. Fossils to be dug up in some bank of dirt or rock from eons long past. But there they were, alive and well, swimming around in the Indian Ocean.

I grabbed a map of the theme park, jotted down the information on the placard, and tucked the information away in my files when I got home.

Some months later on vacation, sitting on a balcony of a condo in Cocoa Beach, Florida, I overlooked the ocean, watching the boats move across the horizon. People were swimming and surfing in the breakers. Others were strolling on the beach. Still others rode bicycles or jogged. The roar of the surf, mixed with a steady breeze off the water, easily relaxed me as I stretched out on the little love seat. With my feet propped, my imagination began to race ahead again. Remembering the fossil hanging from the ceiling along with the rest of the background knowledge I had accumulated over the years, a question began to percolate. What if there was a species still out there…one that still existed…yet was still unknown to modern science? And not only unknown, but prehistoric? And a deep diver? How would that impact scientific belief?

Snatching a legal pad and pen from my belongings, a scene began to emerge in the movie screen of my mind. I started scribbling words. Those words became Chapter 1 and 2 of the soon-to-be-reprinted version of my book.

Over the next several months, as I wrote in my spare time, often in the wee hours of the morning or burning that last inch of midnight oil, I spent hours researching in an attempt to make the book as believable as possible while at the same time giving the reader appealing facts to hold their interest. It was in several of those research forays where I came across articles and books pertaining to incidents occurring in my book. It was like the news was checking to see what I needed at the time. Articles about monkeys, rodents, and other species being found by scientists for the first time…stories telling about new prehistoric fossils being discovered…remarkable tales of scientific discoveries by reputable scientists and organizations were steadily quantifying, verifying, and solidifying my beliefs. What was portrayed in the book by the characters was becoming increasingly exhilarating, to say the least. 

The answering of those questions referenced above, coupled with the Atlantic Ocean on the horizon acting as a sudden, yet apropos, source of inspiration, is how The Serpent’s Grasp was born.

To see this article on the Seriously Write website, click on the following link:  "The Birth of a Serpent."

*Photo used courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net

A Reason for Being (A Seriously Write Blog Post)

Lajos Egri, in his book The Art of Dramatic Writing: Its Basis in the Creative Interpretation of Human Emotions, calls it premise. He says that without a premise, a writer doesn’t know where he or she is going. The writer is wandering through a self-made, literary desert, looking for a reason to continue and having no earthly idea which direction to go.

Rick Warren, in his book The Purpose-Driven Church: Growth Without Compromising Your Message and Mission, believes if a church doesn’t know it’s purpose, then it can easily get sidetracked or bogged down in earthly matters which have no heavenly relevance.

Robert Marzano, in his book The Art and Science of Teaching: A Comprehensive Framework for Effective Instruction, gives the basis for his growth model which focuses on the Learning Goals in a classroom. If the goals are not the focus, then much of what is taught in the classroom denigrates into simple but boring busywork, or it shapes up into well-intended but misguided assignments which leave the students wondering how their work is relevant to life and worth their time to complete.

It seems that no matter what profession you enter, you can find a book, read an article, or hear an expert say virtually the same thing. I find this interesting and opportunistic. To me, it proves our world is searching for answers to the eternal. People inside and outside the church long for meaning to this life. The “Why am I here?” question arises within all souls, I believe. And Heaven knows they try to find the answer in everything but God, it seems. Nevertheless, the fact they are looking for it is good news for us as writers.

Within the realm of writing, Egri states other writers have used different words to describe this concept: theme, thesis, root idea, central idea, goal, aim, driving force, subject, plan, plot, and basic emotion.[1]  Of course, he believes the term “premise” encapsulates all of these ideas, including the term “purpose.” I believe arguing over which word best describes what an author is to do is a bit of a “potatoe-pototoe” squabble, personally.

The point is, if a writer starts a fiction manuscript, a poem, a non-fiction article, or whatever floats her boat, and she doesn’t know where it will start, doesn’t know how it will end, and really doesn’t understand why the piece needs to be written in the first place, then the writing will show it. It will wander aimlessly, filling page after page with helpless details and hopeless dialogue. The reader—if she gets very far into it—will plow through these meandering sentences searching, even hoping, for anything meaningful. Why? Because there was a purpose in their purchasing of the book.

They spent money making a decision to buy your book over the 10,000,000+ books out there from which to choose (Wow! Chew on that for a minute.). They also made a conscious decision to set aside valuable time from their busy schedule to read your work. So, why would an author sit down and start plucking away at the keyboard if he or she doesn’t have a clue what they are ultimately writing? Egri would say you need to be very specific. Writing about love isn’t good enough. What kind of love are you targeting? How deep does that love go? What direction? And is it engaging? Does it have a goal? A purpose? A reason for being?

We would call a family who jumps into their car and takes off for the family vacation with no destination in mind a bunch of buffoons, right? Who does that? Not only do they need all those things decided BEFORE they start the engine, they also need to ask some deeper questions, like did they want to stay busy? Or do they want to relax? Did they want to sightsee? Or do they want to “get away from it all”? City or country? Hotels or camping? With no specificity—i.e., a reason for being—vacations, like writing forays, become beyond silly.

When I write, I have overarching themes which drive the tenor of the book or series. There might be underlying themes—subplots which carry their own reason for being—but they are subservient to the overarching purpose of the story. For example, in The Serpent’s Grasp, the purpose/overarching theme is, “What is truth in light of scientific discovery?” In other words, science isn’t going away, nor should it. But how do we as Christians take scientific discoveries—viewing them through the lens of scripture—and help explain it all to a world searching for its own reason for being?

In my Blake Meyer series, the purpose/overarching theme is: “What is true peace in light of patriotism and nationalism?” In other words, where does being a patriot and protecting your country—while trying to bring about peace to your country—cross paths with what true peace is and is not? Can they coexist? And if so, how?

These bedrock questions help keep me grounded when I want to write my way off the grid or into a corner.

If you want your writing to be money and time well spent in the mind of your reader, then before you type the first word of the first line of the first chapter, figure it out. What is the premise to your story? Why are you writing it in the first place? What is your story’s reason for being? If your answer is, I just want the reader to feel good or be entertained, that’s not good enough. There are too many other things clamoring for people’s time and money that can bring about the same end result.

How do you determine your story’s reason for being? How do your novels’ premises differ from one story to the next?

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[1] Egri, Lajos. The Art of Dramatic Writing: Its Basis in the Creative Interpretation of Human Emotions. Touchstone; New York, NY. 2004 ed. p. 2.

To see this article on the Seriously Write website, click on the following link:  "A Reason for Being"





*Photo used courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net