Finish storyline for: Silver and Iron -|- 85%
Finish storyline for: Broken Angel -|- 65%
Complete proof revision for: Searching for Sara -|- 10% (on hold)
Put together a synopsis for: Resurrected Honor -|- On hold
Finish website content for:
Mintfield.net -|- 100%
NonaKing.com -|- 100% (constant state of flux)
ResurrectedHonor.com -|- 55%
AngelBreathBooks.com
Everyone should have an outlet for their passion, at least in some form. But a step back from even that is finding something to be passionate about.
As children we are passionate about seemingly every new thing, be it a new kitten/puppy, a new pair of pants, or the newest Lego box at the toy store. Life as a whole is a passion for us and nothing – or almost nothing – beats down that energy for experiencing all that we can.
As we mature in our life view, we begin to hone our passions and focus more energy on a few select items that give us joy, be it singing or sports or sketching or shopping… the list could go on for miles I’m certain. These passions begin to propel us forward on our life’s journey. They determine the path we take, the classes we excel at, the school we decide to attend, the friends we make and draw close to…. These passions mold who we are and how we react to life.
If we have no passion, that is to say that if we simply exist in our daily life, we have no motivation to excel. No desire to create. Nothing to live for.
Nothing to live for… Perhaps that is the biggest motivator behind my faith as a Christian? Jesus’ death on the cross gave me something to live for. His sacrifice for my spiritual freedom gave me a reason to live each morning to its fullest, because I now have hope for a future beyond the horizon. It is no longer marred with the hopelessness of a sin that cannot be wiped away…. but that’s another blog post. 
Excuse the tangent.
Passions. Their importance is immeasurable, if for no other reason than to make our imaginations soar. So many of the wonderful things in history were made possible because of a person’s passion to discover, to succeed, to create, to live!
For me, it is a passion for my characters. Not necessarily the story itself, but the characters that are living that story. Their loves. Their hates. Their life adventure. That is what drives me forward. When a story hangs on that infernal writer’s block, it is the thought of the characters and the life that hangs in the balance which keeps dragging my mind back to the next sentence, the next event, the next chapter of their life. If I don’t at least keep the characters alive in my mind, I feel as if I have killed someone before they had the opportunity to teach me [and others] what it was their destiny to bestow.
In my 20+ years of writing I have met so many interesting characters! Many of them were a joy to hate. Still others were a joy to mold into the people they became at the end of the story. I think my favorite… favorite? What can I be thinking? I love/hate all of my characters with an equal passion. I might have a favorite story or three, but even that is a dangerous and difficult classification.
Okay, so my favorite villain turned hero is a young man from a SQUARE-ENIX video game. He was a villain in the game and I molded him into a reluctant hero. I even crafted him a feisty girl-friend, whom he later married. The story of these two was an adventure in passion itself, as this was the driving force behind these two characters. They taught me about discipline, control, passion, and living. They taught me about fear, also, and how to not be swayed by that. If anything, they taught me to use fear as a propulsion forward into the unknown.
An extremely relevant lesson, especially in the field of writing.
This is the passion we need to grip with both hands about something, anything that will teach us about the joys [and heartaches] of life. Something that will get us out into the world of people and learn about them… about us… about our faith… about God… about anything and everything that we ask questions about. As long as we are willing and ready to receive the adventure [and the struggle that comes with it], there is nothing that we can’t accomplish.
Believe me when I say God wishes us the best in our daily adventure with life. In fact, He comes along with us so that He can share our joys and our pains.
Of late I have been fighting with motivation to post articles to my blog.
Mostly it’s due to the fact that most of my mental ability is drained by work. So, understandably, I nap on the 30-minute train ride home.
The past week I have succeeded reading articles in The Writer, or By Darkness Hid (by Jill Williamson, Marcher Lord Press). A couple days I was even able to write a couple hundred words in my 2009 NaNovel WIP, Silver and Iron.
It will be an exercise in practicing diligence and discipline, and that is definitely something I am willing to practice. Writing would be lost without diligence, and my life would not be the same without writing.
This past week I have also been fighting with the PDF proof review process at CreateSpace. I don’t remember it being this much of a horror last year, and that has me wondering if it is due to the fact they have merged with BookSurge.
Why would that make a difference?
BookSurge was a P-O-D publisher that charged money for each individual publishing plan. Now that they have merged with CreateSpace, they have begun marketing their different publishing plans.
Don’t get me wrong! All of those additional options are fantastic, but I am a very hands-on type of person who has the necessary tools at her disposal to create the covers and insides herself. I don’t need help. So it is understandably aggravating when the dpi is at the recommended level (300) and yet they tell me it isn’t… o.O
Just a frustration that has been costing me a lot of time babying the document when I can see by the specs that it is just fine!
*ahem*back on task
SO, in order to try and keep busy with some aspect of my ‘writing career’, I perform marketing of To Save a Soul on goodreads.com and authonomy.com in hopes that it will boost awareness and get more manuscripts sold.
Thanks to Tommie Lyn for the nudges she gives me to different websites here and there that help with that process. She has been instrumental, especially with getting me the names and links of those people who are willing to review my manuscript for free. It’s nice to be able to see the reviews on a website, or the quotes on the back cover of my book. I hope all you writers out there experience that same thrill at least one point in your life before you give up on the pursuit of being a novelist… or you die.
Morbid, I know. My apologies. I’m tired and a bit punchy.
The reading and interaction with other writers is priceless – I cannot stress that enough. Not only does it allow me the opportunity of viewing other styles, but it influences my own voice. The encouragement I feel, the gumption to press onward, the determination to try yet another draft or turn of page… I wouldn’t have them without the interactions with others.
I probably wouldn’t be in print, and on Kindle, now if it wasn’t for the firm and loving words of my husband and my friends at CW. After all, I can’t hold my manuscripts close forever. Like children, they must be set free so that they – and I – can grow.
Support a writer: Read Books!
To Save a Soul proof required alterations to the cover. Can’t settle for anything less than perfect. So, I resubmitted the cover and the inside and now await their approval. Then I will need to order yet another proof and wait for it to arrive before I can approve it and send it to the presses!
Another lesson for patience. -_-
What is still on my list to do today?
Blogging is a great way to receive instant gratification for the writing craft.
The past few weeks I have been experiencing the rising conviction of needing to spice up the life of my blog. All the other writer blogs (and articles about blogging) I have read of late may be to blame.
Not a bad thing.
Yesterday I made the decision that it is/was a good conviction. One that I should act upon, especially if I am dedicated to fanning the fire of my writing passion after a 3-year cold spell.
My challenge now is deciding how to find the purpose for my blog. What do I have to say that is unique to anyone else? What do I offer as a writer, and as a Christian woman, that has not been said multiple times before? What can I relay about my escapades with writing, and the writing craft in general, that will help others who venture down this same path?
The other conviction came while I watched TBN (trinity broadcasting network) and their round-table discussion about the prophetic voice. It wasn’t the first time the conviction had smacked me upside the back of the head, either.
What conviction? you ask?
That of needing to dedicate more [serious] time with the Lord, be it reading the Bible, prayer, prayer journaling, or reading a devotional. Something must be done if I am to re-ignite my passion for Him as well.
In fact, it is the passion for Christ which allows me to be so passionate about writing and living the life He has blessed me with.
SO – my first step is to find a new focus for my blog. To hone it, if you will, and dedicate myself to a scheduled update. No more willy-nilly frittering.
Writing is fun. It is enlightening [at times]. But it is still hard work.
Long live the glutton for [writing] punishment!
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