Rules Were Made To Be Broken. Maybe.
My daughter was washing her hair. Through the door, I heard her counting. She was up to 120.
“What are you doing?” I asked. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah. I’m counting,” she answered.
“Why?”
“I have to count to 180.”
“Uh huh.”
“Because I have to keep the conditioner in my hair for exactly 3 minutes.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because that’s what the bottle says. That’s the rule.” Splash, splash. “And I have to keep the rules. Now I’m over the 3 minutes.”
***
My daughter is my first born. She loves rules. Thrives under them. Desires them. Makes them up to enforce with her brothers.
I’m the youngest of four. I buck against rules. Dislike them. Wither under them.
Don’t get me wrong. I follow the rules. The ones that matter, at least. I drive the speed limit (usually). Wait my turn. Use the correct amount of detergent in my washing.
But I certainly do not leave the conditioner on my hair for the correct amount of time. Or steep my tea for only 5 minutes. Or play music to the exact key signature (metronomes are SO rule followers).
I like to do things my own way every once in awhile. And sometimes that means I break a rule here or there.
I’m working on my third novel. And I adore this story. I have my protagonist and antagonist. Supporting characters. Plot. Conflict. I found the hope in the story (which, to me, is essential in all my writing).
Now I have to decide. Keep all the novel writing rules. Or break a couple.
Keeping the rules is safe. Kind of. Breaking the rules is risky. Sometimes.
Confusing. Right?
But writing this novel is different. With Paint Chips I truly did NOT know the rules. I just wrote. With My Mother’s Chamomile I opted to follow the rules. And I’m glad I did.
So. With this work. Should I play it safe or take a risk or two?
That’s the question. What do you think?
Picasso once said, “Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.”
Are you a rule keeper? Or do you tend to go against them?
Pearl Louise at Age 7
This is a picture of my grandma. Pearl Louise. I’d guess she’s about 7 years old in this picture.
The same age as my daughter.
This picture must have been taken in 1922.
Good golly. That seems like a lot of years. 91 of them.
In this new novel I’m writing, the protagonist (or the main character) is a whole lot like my grandma. Some of the stories my grandma told me are influencing the plot of my fictional world.
She had some pretty crazy stories. And she was naughty!
But, you know, spending all this time thinking about her has made me miss her terribly. She died in 1998 at 82 (a month from 83). The news of her death broke my heart. Somedays it still does.
While this time of thinking about her and remembering her stories is sweet, missing her adds a little bitter to the mix.
But you know, I feel like, as I write this novel, I’m preserving a little bit of her. Pearl Louise. And, hopefully, it will mean something to my kids and nieces and nephews. A little bit of their heritage to learn from.
Because my grandma had a whole lot of life packed into her 82 years and 11 months.
How about you? Do you have a family member who would make a good character in a novel? What makes their life so important or interesting?
Smell Ya Later, NaNoWriMo
I made the official call. I’m not going to “win” NaNoWriMo this year.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I think it’s a great thing, this writing a novel in a month thing. I did it last year and that novel releases in February.
But, for this new project, the time frame wasn’t right. This new novel is a little more needy. It deserves my focus and attention to detail.
I need to spend a lot of time researching for this novel. I can’t cut corners or look things up later. They need to be correct.
And I’m enjoying the research a great deal.
I also want to cultivate the characters in a more intimate way. Not rushing them. Had I planned a little more on the front end of this autumn, I would have been ready to write them. But I didn’t have the time.
I do now, though.
And I intend to make good use of my time.
So. I didn’t get my 50,000 words in. No biggie. I got 25,000. And some of them are good. A few of them are keepers. My character has a voice that I like. The antagonist is slimy, but sympathetic.
And I’m happy I had a little nudge from the NaNoWriMo program.
But, for this year, I say farewell to National Novel Writing Month. Maybe next year.
Have you ever started a project that you didn’t finish in the time you expected? Have you ever had to quit something? Did you feel badly or relieved? I’d love to hear from you!
Why I Write. A guest post from Heather Day Gilbert
Hey, Everybody! I hope you’ll join me in welcoming Heather Day Gilbert. She’s one remarkable lady with her debut novel just now releasing.
When Susie asked me over (thank you, Susie!), she suggested I could blog on why I write. That got the wheels turning, and several answers came to mind.
“I’ve done it since I was a kid! I used to win contests.” True, but writing for publication is no contest. It’s more of a long-haul win…not the easiest thing for sure! So why have I stuck with it for five and a half years now?
“It’s what God has called me to do.” Nothing wrong with this response. I do think it’s something we have to evaluate all the time (especially if we’re moms!). We have to know we’re pressing on because God wants us to.
And yet recently, my author friend Wendy Paine Miller said something that hit me in a fresh way. She said her writing is an act of worship to God. I’d never thought of that, but isn’t it true?
It’s worship, every time I create characters and experience that thrill of getting to know them through writing. Every time I weep over someone who has to die, or laugh hysterically at something one of my characters says. Every time I pray and wrestle with the direction my story is taking. Every time I get to THE END and feel that massive sense of happiness and completion.
It is all as to the Lord.
Our pastor once said that when we use our abilities for God, we’re laying up rewards in heaven–and they’ll be tangible things. I could picture a bookshelf, with all my finished books sitting on it.
Books that might have stayed on my hard drive, with no one to read them. And yet God saw and marked every bit of me I invested into each book, every dream I had of who they could reach, every sacrifice I made to get them finished.
I once wrote a Viking historical book, God’s Daughter. In it, I wrapped up facts from the Icelandic sagas with characters and scenarios my mind fleshed out. I wanted to touch on those hidden, unspoken longings in marriage, and expose lies we often believe. I wanted to show how Christianity was not the bad guy for the Vikings–in fact, it was more freeing than paganism. I wanted to write a historical novel that changed the way readers viewed Vikings and an entire time period.
I had lofty goals. After over a year out on submission and plenty of publisher rejections, my dreams might have crumbled. But God opened another door–showing me it was time to self-publish God’s Daughter and get it into readers’ hands. I can’t express how thrilling it is now–to have readers getting to know my beloved Viking characters, and relating to the situations my main character, Gudrid, faces.
So I write as an act of worship, to touch readers with new thoughts and characters they hopefully won’t forget.
Even if those two as-yet-unpublished novels on my hard drive never see the light of day, they might be waiting for me in heaven. And I hope God will say, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant,” because I used the talents He gave me and didn’t bury them, even though I was tempted to throw in the towel countless times.
He sees our writing efforts and He knows our hearts as we write. This is honestly the biggest comfort of all, even though I have an extremely supportive husband, family, and friends. In the end, He sees us. He is El Roi, and He understands how much we love to write.
Author Bio:
Heather enjoys writing stories about authentic, believable marriages. Sixteen years of marriage to her sweet Yankee husband have given her some perspective, as well as ten years spent homeschooling her three children. Heather is the ACFW West Virginia Area Coordinator.
You can find Heather at her website, Heather Day Gilbert–Author, and at her Facebook Author Page, as well as Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, and Goodreads. Look for her Viking novel, God’s Daughter, on Amazon or Smashwords.
About God’s Daughter:
One Viking woman. One God. One legendary journey to North America.
In the tenth century, when pagan holy women rule the Viking lands, Gudrid turns her back on her training as a seeress to embrace Christianity. Clinging to her faith, she joins her husband, Finn, on a voyage to North America.
But even as Gudrid faces down murderous crewmen, raging sickness, and hostile natives, she realizes her greatest enemy is herself–and the secrets she hides might just tear her marriage apart.
Almost five centuries before Columbus, Viking women sailed to North America with their husbands. God’s Daughter, Book One in the Vikings of the New World Saga, offers an expansive yet intimate look into the world of Gudrid Thorbjarnardottir–daughter-in-law of Eirik the Red, and the first documented European woman to have a child in North America.
Mercy For The Philippines
The other day, I wrote about feeling helpless.
Today, I’m writing about feeling empowered to do something to help. Specifically to help those in the Philippines who are suffering in the aftermath of the Typhoon.
We serve a God who moves and loves and hears us. Yes. Even when we feel lost and abandoned. He’s with us.
And He often calls us to be His hands and feet.
Today, I’m giving you a couple options. We might only be able to send money. And just a small amount. But, if we all do that, it will make a huge impact on people who desperately need us to pour out mercy.
-The International Disaster Emergency Service is collecting funds to help with relief efforts. 100% of moneys donated will go directly to help. Click HERE to check out their ministry and how to donate.
-Colon Church of Christ (here in Michigan) is collecting money to go directly to a missionary they support who lives in the Philippines. Again, 100% of your donation will go to aid in relief. You can make checks payable to Colon Church of Christ. Be sure to write “Typhoon” in the memo line. You can send those checks to the following address…
Colon Church of Christ
c/o Philippines Mission
First Church of Christ, PO Box 70
Colon, MI 49040
-Be sure to PRAY! If you’re like me and struggle at times to know what to pray, then just say the words “help them”. Pray for peace. For the food and money and water to get to the people who need it. Pray against corruption and violence. And pray that God is seen in this time.
-Encourage your community to act generously to help. It might be your church or school or social media buddies. But if we pool money together, it will add up quickly!
-Don’t forget about them. It is SO easy for us to move on to the next big news clip. But just because we may have forgotten, they are still in need.
One passage of scripture that has been refining me lately is 2 Corinthians 1:3-7. God has given us comfort. We need to follow His example and pour out comfort onto others in their suffering. And in abundance.
When Your Heart Is Heavy and Troubled
Can I be perfectly and totally honest with you?
My heart is heavy. Troubled. Burdened. I’ve been biting the inside of my cheek a lot the last few days (one of my don’t-cry coping skills).
Oh. I’m fine. The kids are great. Marriage is beautiful. Bills are paid. My life is happy. Don’t worry about me.
But a whole lot of people I love are going through…
things.
A friend living in the Philippines is safe. But thousands around her are not. A country already struggling with poverty has hardship piled on top of it.
People I love having family problems. Health issues. Rifts in marriages.
Most of all (for me, at least), watching a young lady falling into dangerous, terrifying traps. I’ve watched her grow up for the last ten years. Her life has been tough. Decisions others have made hurt her. Now she’s hurting herself. And she’s fighting off just about everyone who wants to help her.
Heavy situations. Troubled heart.
When I got up this morning I prayed. I didn’t have any words to say, really. But that didn’t seem to matter. Prayer is a weird thing that I will never understand. And I think that’s okay. But, in that wordless prayer, I let my emotions surge through me.
“Do not let your heart be troubled.” The words came to me like a song. One I sang in church choir so long ago. “Do not let your heart be troubled.”
Yeah. Like that’s easy.
“Believe in God. Believe in Me (Jesus).”
I’m trying. I’ve been trying all my life to believe. To have faith. To know that what Jesus says is true. But somedays it is hard.
And if I’m honest with you, sometimes I get angry. I doubt the goodness of God.
When the “it’s a fallen world and we are fallen people and sin happens and bad things happen and we’ll understand later, but God won’t give you more than you can handle (which isn’t Biblical, by the way)” talk comes around, sometimes, in my mind, I say “Yeah. Blah, blah, blah. Easy to say.” And I feel like my attitude is stinky.
I feel like a bad Christian.
A lot.
I mean, I write novels about people who are redeemed. Who live on a diet of hope and mercy. Who have these groundbreaking moments of KNOWING God and Jesus and the Holy Spirit.
What is wrong with me?
But the words keep coming. “Don’t be troubled. Believe in Me.”
And as hard as that is, it is all I can do. Seriously.
I can’t stop typhoons. I can’t send the millions of dollars to fix houses and schools and provide food to the beautiful people in the Philippines**. I can’t magically make my friends’ family problems better. I can’t.
And I can’t force this young lady to stop what she’s doing. I can’t scoop her up, make her know that she’s loved, heal that pain that is so deep inside her.
But I can believe. As much strength as that takes. And in that struggling belief, I pray without words and try to listen. And let myself feel some kind of peace that is so beyond my understanding that I’ll never be able to explain it.
Because He’s done it before.
By the way, sometimes wise people post beautiful words that help in my moments of doubt and strain. One of those wise people did so this morning. His name is John Blase and he’s a poet and gentleman cowboy. I’m sure he’d say he’s not so wise. But he is. You can read his poem here.
**I may not be able to send a million dollars, but I can send some. And if you’d like to send some money to aid in the Philippine relief efforts, here’s a link to the Philippine Red Cross. Click HERE.
5 Ways to “Fake It Till You Make It” — Novelist Edition
Yesterday I posted the following status on my novelist fan page (like me, please…)
“The more time I spend writing novels, the more I realize I have NO idea what I’m doing. Isn’t that hilarious?”
So, I thought I’d let you in on 5 ways to “Fake It”. How to make other people think you know what you’re doing, if you don’t. (By the way, these work for just about any profession).
1. Wear Glasses: We all know that the smarter you are, the weaker your eyes. If you wear glasses, people will automatically assume you’re a genius. I think that’s the lesson that Steve Urkle taught all of us.
2. Read hard books. Or at least pretend to: Everyone knows that writers have to be voracious readers…if not just so we know what voracious means. So, read it up, my friends. Or at least pretend to.
3. Instagram: Everything we post online is the best good perception of ourselves, right? Then use social media to fake it! Instagram pics of you writing at Starbucks (I totally do that once a week, myself). Even if you spend the whole time on Facebook waiting for people to “like” said picture.
4. Collect Notebooks: We are all aware that inspiration hits at the craziest times. So, most writers I know carry around a stack of notebooks or journals everywhere they go. If you want to look like a writer, you need to have one. Make sure it reflects your style. And, periodically, pull it out of your pocket/purse/briefcase and jot furiously…even if they are just scribbles. People will think you’re deep in the muse.
5. Post pictures of editing: Anybody can take a picture of blurry text with a pen resting gently on top. But, if you say something about editing, people will think you’re in agony, killing your darlings, marking up your masterpiece. Really, it could just be the report you wrote in ninth grade about polar bears. No one would ever know. But they would still think you’re pretty awesome.
Or…
And this is a crazy idea…
But it might be a good one, too…
You
Could
Just
WRITE!
Or paint. Or take pictures. Or homeschool. Or clean the kitchen. Or do your job.
This whole faking thing is kind of fun and it makes us look good. But. Dare I say. It’s kind of a big distraction from what we really need to be doing.
I know you can do it. You’re fabulous without having to fake it!
5 Ways to Fail At Writing a Novel in 30 Days
As you may know, I’m writing a novel this month. 30 days. 50,000 words. I did it last year. Whoop. And that novel releases with WhiteFire Publishing in February.
I’d thought about writing a post about how to write a novel in 30 days. But there are plenty of those out there. I thought I’d take the how to FAIL at it.
Avoid these traps, my friends. As a matter of fact, avoid these traps in just about every aspect of your lives.
Let me tell you something. Come close. This is important.
You are fearfully and wonderfully made. In the very image of the Father who dearly loves you. He’s given you abilities to enrich the lives of others and give glory to Him. Don’t let anything get in the way of what He’s given you to do.
You. Are. A gift to this world. Not THE gift, though. But you can be a blessing. Believe it. And live it.
I know you can.
What about you? What are some goals in your life? What keeps you from them? What helps you achieve? I love hearing what you have to say!
Boasting Like Beowulf
Yesterday on Novel Matters Latayne Scott challenged us to a Beowulfian Boast. The elements of such a boast are 1. Declaring identity (who he or she is) 2. Place of origin (where he or she is from) and 3. Why he or she is fit for challenges ahead (like fighting Grendel’s mother or putting together a spreadsheet). So, the following is what I came up with.
I be Susie Marie of the Riggs line married into the Finkbeiner Family.
Writer of novels. Weaver of tales. Wonderer of words.
Wrought in the palm of Michigan’s hand
Whilst blizzard blanketed the land.
Descendant of author and sometime postal worker,
Artist and most time administrative assistant.
Immigrants and Germans and Jews and Protestants
The leaves on the tree of heritage.
Trained in the classics.
Sophocles and Shakespeare and Dostoevsky.
Enamored of the Americans.
Steinbeck and O’Connor and Lee.
Studied their words. Stories. Craft.
Ventured my own.
Pushed it to fly.
Tried another. And another.
And more still to come.
Out from mire and wreckage.
Seeing glory and light and wonder.
Marveled by mercy and gobsmacked by grace.
Looking back to the thrashing,
The frantic struggle.
Writing it. The pain.
Tapping it out on keyboard. The tension of determination.
Scratching it on paper with pen of purple. The victory of daily waking eyes.
YOUR TURN! Come up with a boast of your own! Boast of your ability to drive through rush hour traffic without burning with road rage. Or that you keep your laundry pile down. Or…well…just about anything! This is for FUN! No pressure to be whoever the dude was who wrote Beowulf.
T-minus One Day
I look well rested. Sane. Happy.
That’s because NaNoWriMo has not yet begun. My mad dash marathon to write 50,000 words (good ones, too, hopefully) in one month begins tomorrow. November 1. 12 am.
Oh. And at some point, I’ll receive edits for My Mother’s Chamomile. I’ll very happily switch gears then to work on those. Priorities.
Throughout the month, I’ll log my progress on my Facebook Author Page (have you liked me yet?). I’d prefer not to put it on my personal page. I don’t want to annoy all my buddies. But I’m happy to annoy anyone who is interested in keeping up with things.
Also, I’ll blog about the experience when I’ve got the time. If you don’t want to miss a post, you can go ahead and subscribe to receive posts in your email.
Alrighty. I’m off to do a little outlining and buy paper plates and a fridge full of convenience food. Sorry, kids. Mac n Cheese it is.
susiefinkbeiner.com 