Idea Journal
Happy Day for Scott Wangen! You win the “Picking Dandelions” book! I’ll get that out to you ASAP!
Last week in church, during the sermon, I realized something about one of my characters. Something huge. Something that will change the entire novel. Something that I didn’t want to forget.
A few months ago, while looking at a woman’s hands, I understood that another character was all wrong. She needed to be older. I didn’t want to forget about that, either.
Last year, while grocery shopping (or…really…while getting my Starbucks before shopping…bless grocery stores with built in coffee), I saw a woman that I didn’t want to forget.
So…so…so…
I wrote all of those ideas in my journal.
I love my journal. I really do. This is the 3rd journal of its kind that has become full up of story ideas, characters, sassy lines for someone to say, dumb thoughts, ideas that won’t work, ideas that change the whole landscape of my story…
…I would be lost without my journal.
And, let me tell you something…and this is serious…someone else would be lost without that journal, too.
What does that mean?
My journal was crafted thousands of miles away from my house. In India. By a woman who doesn’t have to resort to the sex trade for a means of feeding her children. Not that she’d willingly and joyfully choose the life of a brothel. But, in this broken world, sometimes the other option is starvation.
My journal has a cover of recycled sari (traditional Indian garb). It has been glued onto a book made of handmade paper. Paper that has been in the very hands of a woman who has a good life.
I purchased this journal from Better Way Imports, a West Michigan business that strives to improve the lives of woman in all different parts of the world. They do this by selling what the women make here in the United States and Canada. Bags. Jewelry. Cards. Pj pants. Tshirts. Housewares. All made by women who don’t have to be slaves any longer. Women who never had to enter that trade at all.
My journal is more than fabric and paper and trails of ink. It is the story…God’s story…of redemption and mercy and the beauty that comes from the darkest of places and into the light.
That’s the story I want to write always, always, always.
And I want that to be your story, too.
Today, I’m collecting names to give away one of these gorgeous journals. All you need to do is comment below to enter. And, if you order something from Better Way Imports (yes…something new…today…December 5, 2012), I’ll enter your name 5 times (just leave a comment telling me what you purchased…extra points for extra items…and no lying…pretty please).
Better Way Imports also does home parties…a celebration of freedom that you can be involved in. Let me know if you’re interested. I can hook you up with someone who can help you host this.
By the way, BWI isn’t paying me for this plug. I just love their purpose so much. And I love mercy. So, get your Christmas shopping in, my friends. Buy a gift that will make a difference!
Merry Christmas!!! Welcome to Give-Away December!
Can you believe it’s December already? Well, maybe you can. But I’m having a hard time letting it sink in.
Well. No. Not a grinch. Or a scrooge. Or a humbug. Or…or…or anti-Christmas.
I’m having a hard time realizing that it’s December for a few other reasons.
1. Here in Michigan, it’s supposed to be 63 degrees today. It feels more like May than December. Crazy.
2. I haven’t gotten my BIG tree up yet. It’s just been that kind of Thanksgiving to Christmas transition. I do, however have the little tree up. It just isn’t the same, though.
3. This is the big one. This one has me falling into heart palpitations and cold sweats. I’ve been looking forward to December for 8 months. Now that anticipation has turned to an emotional cocktail of fear and excitement. December means that January is next. And January means that “PAINT CHIPS” releases. (43 days…in case you were wondering)
So…I need to get into a celebratory mood. And what better way to celebrate than with a whole bunch of give-aways!
3 days a week for the whole month of December, I am going to give one of you a gift. Sounds fun, huh?
The very first give-away for the month is Sarah Cunningham‘s book “Picking Dandelions: A Search for Eden Among Life’s Weeds“.
I’ve got a few easy ways to enter your name into the drawing for this book.
1. Leave a comment below.
2. “Follow” my blog. You can do this by clicking the “email subscription” link to the right of your screen. Or, if you’re a WordPress blogger, you can hit “follow” at the top of the screen. Well. Don’t really hit it. That would be hard on your screen. If you already follow, let me know in your comment.
3. Post this for your friends. You can post it on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+ (if you use it…), Linkedin…um…did I get them all? Well, post a link in a comment here for each of your posts. You will get an entry for each time you post it.
Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy.
I will draw a name on Tuesday night (late, late, late, cause that’s how I roll) and announce the winner on Wednesday!
Ready? Steady? GO!
*Rules and such stuff: You may only win once per week…just to give somebody else a chance. If you live outside of the US of A, you may enter…PLEASE enter…but I might swap out the prize for something smaller…like a necklace or bracelet. Cool?
How Much is Too Much? Coffee, That Is.
When I was a teenager, attending a Christian school, the question on all of our minds was…
“How Far Is TOO Far?”
If you spent any amount of time in a youth group, I bet you either asked that question or heard others asking it.
It’s a silly question.
Now that I’m an adult, the question on my mind is…
“How Much Coffee Is TOO Much?”
Not such a silly question.
The last month has required stupid amounts of mud in my mug.
*NaNoWriMo. Writing 50,000+ words in 15 days.
*Cleaning my house for a guest.
*Having said guest here…which was fantastic.
*Thanksgiving…2 of them.
*Working on a collection of short stories.
*Getting myself ready for the “Great Give-Away Month of December” (more details on Monday).
*Talking with the fellers at Yellow Jacket Films and Jungle Light Studios about my super fantastic soon to be filmed book trailer for “Paint Chips”.
*Counting down the days to the release of “Paint Chips” (46 as of today)
*Home schooling, mothering, and general life
So. How much coffee is too much?
Today, in this gloomy West Michigan atmosphere, I say…
As Much As It Takes.
Now, I KNOW that I’m not the busiest person in the whole world. And I KNOW that you’re busy, too. So, make sure you give yourself a little grace. Drink another cup of Joe. Breathe deeply. We’re going to make it.
Tell me, what do you do when life is overwhelming? What’s your favorite coffee? You wanna share a cuppa with me sometime?
What’s Your Story? Guest Post with Brandon Clements
I met Brandon Clements this September in Chicago at the STORY conference. We were in line for a deep dish pizza. We discovered that we were both novelists. His novel Every Bush Is Burning is available through Amazon.com. I’m warning you: don’t go into reading his work expecting a feel good, comfy cozy book. You will feel a bit uncomfortable at times. And, judging from a few of his reviews on Amazon, you might get a bit upset. But, push through and finish the book. Just trust me.
Today, Brandon shares how he came upon the writing of this novel.
Every time I read a novel that stirs me, I always ask the question: “Where did that book come from?”
What kind of background or story does the author have that birthed such a narrative? What inspired it to come to life, and what made it so meaningful that the author spent that much time writing it?
I think those are worthy questions, and I wish I could sit down with some of my favorite authors and ask them.
In the past year, I’ve been honored to have people read my first novel, Every Bush Is Burning, and ask the same question. (Like one reader I got coffee with that bluntly asked, “So what happened to you?” I laughed.)
The short answer to that question for me is, my book came from angst. It came from a calling from God, a love for Jesus and a simultaneous bad taste in my mouth for much of what I’d seen in the church. It came from sitting down and having gut-wrenching conversations with people I loved that had been hurt by the sins of the church, while begging them not to transfer that distaste to Jesus. It came from a hometown church business meeting fight that called in the cops, then later being part of a church family so beautiful that it made my eyes water.
I started writing it in college–a Donald Miller-esque apology to the world for the ways the church had misrepresented Jesus. Then, much to my dismay, I discovered that I was not in fact Donald Miller (something that I’m still getting over to this day:) I discovered that I was not near as funny or hopelessly charming and would have to take a different route.
Then at a pastor’s conference, I heard an Australian pastor talk about Revelation 3:20 say something that shocked all of us: “My question is, what the h@## is Jesus doing locked outside of a church?”
And that was the moment that the light bulb went off for me. I saw a homeless man claiming to be Jesus knocking on the door of a locked church service. The rest, as they say, is history (and blood, sweat, and tears).
That, in a nutshell, is the story behind my book.
I’d love to hear about any meaningful stories behind a book (that you wrote or just a book that’s important to you).
Back At It
I’ve had a small vacation from writing.
I needed it desperately after finishing my NaNoWriMo in 15 days.
The time with my friend Megan Sayer turned out to be a great, 5 day celebration of food, cultural funnies, and introducing her to some good Americans.
And eating pizza with pineapple, black olives, and anchovies on top…but that’s a post for another day.
I need to finish the last seven chapters of the book to complete the first draft. My goal is to have that done by the end of this week. Then I need to edit. This edit is going to require a major, massive, enormous re-write. I’m changing up the point of view, the main person telling the story…I’m restructuring the entire thing. And I feel good about it.
So…back at the grind…er…laptop.
I’m ready!
Day 21 — Hmm…
The other day, I had an award winning novelist look at the first 3 pages of my NaNoWriMo novel.
No…that’s not a little intimidating. That’s A LOT intimidating.
She knows, though, that I’ve written my words as part of a massive “get it all on the page…QUICK” effort. She also knows the rule of the poopy first draft. However, I wanted to make sure to remind her. And to tell her that she’s the first (and only) person to see those pages unedited.
The author kindly looked over the 3 pages and made gentle comments. She added her understanding of the goal of getting word on page.
I so appreciate her taking the time. Especially knowing how rough the writing is. It’s helpful to have others look at our work. It shows us the glimmer of something that we knew was there, but couldn’t understand.
This author pointed right at what I knew wasn’t right and helped me see why it wasn’t right.
I’ve written 51,000+ words of this novel. I have no idea WHO the story is about. And WHO is telling it. I know what it’s about. What happens. The characters. The plot. The story arch. But WHO holds the point of view? WHO? WHO?
Thankfully, I have a little bit left to finish the novel. Then I can put it aside for a month before beginning edits and rewrites. Two voices are vying for the spot light. I may not have to choose one of them. We shall see.
But, for now, I have a house guest. I will have plenty of time for the novel soon enough.
Happy Thanksgiving, Friends! I really am thankful for you!
Day 19 — Where I Work
I have a house guest coming in 36 hours. So…I’ve been cleaning like a crazy person.
Sometimes cleaning like a crazy person means that you discover that the shower is crumbling…oops.
So, I haven’t done as much writing the past few days as I would like. However, I have found a desk under the constant paper avalanche that surrounds me most of the time. I decided that I would like to show you where I work.
I guess it’s “Take Your Blog Friends To Work Day”!
This is my desk. it’s in a corner of my kitchen. I can see all that’s going on in the living room from my chair. I can also stir the soup, write a few words, do the dishes, write a few words, etc. Notice the mason jar full of pens…I have a thing with pens.
When I sit in my chair, this is my view. Yes. That’s a cuckoo clock. No, sadly, it doesn’t work.
And here is my lap top. And the #1 biggest distraction. But, on this computer, I’ve written one full novel, PAINT CHIPS (11 drafts of it). Part of another novel (my NaNoWriMo novel). Countless short stories and blog posts. On this computer I received the “Yes” email from WhiteFire Publishing. It’s been a good and important tool for me.
That’s where I work. I guarantee that it will be covered with papers and books soon (when I get some writing in this afternoon).
Where do you do your best work?
What’s Your Story — Guest Post with Amelia Rhodes
Today, I welcome Amelia Rhodes to the blog. Amelia is my good friend and writing gal pal! Her book Isn’t It Time For A Coffee Break: Doing Life Together in an All About Me Kind of World releases January 1 and is available for pre-order now. Amelia blogs at www.ameliarhodes.com
The Magician’s Daughter
When I was five years old, my Dad became a magician. He kept his day job, and the magic thing was his hobby. It was kind of like his not-so-secret superhero identity. And from the beginning I wanted to be his sidekick.
“Please, please, please can I be your helper? I could dress up like a clown and mom could make me a costume!” I did a little dance on the brown shag carpet of our living room. “Puh-leaaase?”
Dad looked at me over the top of a children’s ministry magazine from where he sat on the brown plaid couch. He was inspecting the ad on the inside cover for a Christian Magician’s conference that summer in Indiana. It was the ad that convinced him he could fulfill his dream of becoming a magician. Mom and Dad were discussing the possibility of making the conference our summer vacation when I started to beg to be involved.
I had looked at the pictures in the ad of clowns in a park and ventriloquists on stage, and formulated plans for my stage debut.
“I think we can make that work. What do you think, Mom?” Dad shifted his gaze across the room to where my Mom sat.
I knew she’d make it work. She can make anything work with her sewing machine. I decided to add to my list.
“And a puppet too! So I can do ventriloquism. Please?” I had seen a ventriloquist on Sesame Street once. It looked easy enough.
Mom raised her eyebrows and pursed her lips for a second. “Ok. We’ll have to start looking at patterns so we have time to make all this before the conference,” she said.
“Yes! Thank you, thank you!” I jumped up and twirled around so excited that I didn’t know what to do with my little body.
As the weeks passed, I hovered over my Mom’s shoulder as she fashioned fabric into a clown costume and yellow fur into a duck with legs and arms that wrapped around my waist and neck.
Other kids played on the playground and went swimming during the conference. I dragged my mom to classes. She knitted in the back row while I listened to adults explain how to say letters like “B” and “F” without moving your lips. I’d rush back to the hotel and stand on my tiptoes to look into the mirror and practice replacing “b” with a soft “d” and “f” with a soft “th.”
The highlight of the week was the afternoon of clowning in the park. The conference advertised the event in the local papers inviting children and their families for an afternoon of free entertainment with the clowns from the conference.
We had packed my new clown outfit in hopes that I could join in. The only problem was my parents didn’t know how to do clown makeup.
Early in the week, my Dad met an older magician named Paul. Paul and his brother had performed as clowns on Vaudeville. He’d been around the business a long time and had the deep wrinkles in his face to prove it. My Dad asked if he could teach us how to do clown makeup.
In the hour leading up to the event in the park, we met Paul and his wife in the parking lot. Paul opened up the back of his conversion van and spread out the contents of his tackle box turned makeup kit. I sat on the bumper while he knelt next to me. My parents hovered next to him taking pictures and watching his every move so they could replicate my face at home.
“Now we will probably want to keep this simple. She’s still so young and less makeup on her skin is better for now,” Paul said as his rough finger carefully swiped a bit of red around my mouth.
“That will make it easier on us too” Dad replied.
I sat as still as possible, fearing if I breathed I might mess up my makeup and look like something from a scary movie.
“Ok, almost finished” Paul said as my Dad handed him a clean sock.
“Now, we just fill this sock with baby powder, and then we’ll gently pat it on your face. That will set the clown makeup so it won’t smear if you get sweaty or brush something against it. Take a deep breath.”
I gulped some air and squeezed my eyes shut. A cloud of baby powder encased my face.
Then Dad pulled out a small red sponge ball he’d purchased to use as my nose. Paul carefully cut a slit in the ball then put a strong scented sticky solution on the tip of my nose. He gently pushed the sponge on my nose, then held up a mirror for me to inspect. I grinned. A clown smiled back at me.
I was just excited to be part of the event. I knew this was where I belonged. Dressed up. Performing. Making others smile.
There was no turning back now.
Dad’s hobby and my parents’ willingness to let me participate shaped my life.
My family spent at least the next 15 summer vacations at that conference. I made some lifelong friends and even met my husband.
Dad and I performed together at local libraries, nursing homes, churches, and even the county fair until I graduated from high school.
Day 15 — Done…But Not Done
First, Good Pals, I need to tell you about a FREE book! Yeah. FREE! Bonnie Grove‘s spectacular novel “Talking To The Dead” is FREE for today and tomorrow (November 15 and 16 only) for your digital reading device. I read this book with my eyes wide and mouth dropped open…it’s that good. You won’t be able to put it down. Find it at Amazon and Barnes and Noble .
Last night, I wrote the 50,000th word in my first draft. The word was “them”. Why couldn’t it have been a more colorful word? It could have been “bereft” or “dubious”?
Oh. Yeah. Because those words would not have made sense.
Anyway, I’ve had a few people ask how I had time to hit my mark. I thought I’d give you a few of my trade secrets…
*Copious amounts of coffee
*I didn’t edit. Not even a little. My manuscript will be rife with spelling/grammar errors. There were a lot of passive verbs. Sentence. Fragments. Excessive, comma,s.
*I decided what was essential for me to do (homeschooling my 3) and what could go (mopping).
*I worked around my busy schedule. I homeschool, attend a Bible study that includes homework, am trying to pull together a book trailer, am the executive chef and dish washer at the Finkbeiner Cafe. But I worked between my duties. Sometimes shoving 15 minutes into the writing.
*I have really amazing friends. Truly. You are all on my “Thanksgiving” list of ways God has blessed me. I don’t think that you will know how you have all pushed me and encouraged me and kept me going when I had to write the hard scenes of this book (my friend Andy even yelled at me to get to work, personally, twice…at church).
I’m not done yet. This novel hasn’t reached the end. It still has a good 6-8 chapters left. Then I’ll put it away for a month before I grab my purple pen for my first edits. Those will start in January amid promoting “Paint Chips”.
Have I mentioned that I love this job?
Thanks, friends. Many hugs to all of you!
Day 14 — The End is Near
The end is near.
Wait. What are YOU talking about? No…I’m not talking about Mayan Calendar or the Zombie Apocalypse.
Dude, I’m talking about my novel. The end is near. I’m closing in on the end.
I only have 3,650 words left to hit the 50,000 word mark (I’m totally not bragging. This draft is rougher than sandpaper).
But, closing in on 50,000 words doesn’t mean that I’m done.
No, Buddy.
I just finished chapter 52 out of 66 (again, the chapter sequence is rough). That’s easily another 20,000+ words. Whoo Doggy.
And when I get to the end, that’s when the real gut wrenching work begins.
Editing.
Cutting.
Rewriting.
Wash, Rinse, Repeat.
Wanna know something? “Paint Chips” went through 11 re-writes. If only I could tell you how much of that novel got cut, how many characters were removed or merged into another character, how much different the 11th edition is from the 1st.
The end is near.
But then, I’m going to start all over again. With a BIG HUGE SMILE on my face.
Editing is when the real fun begins.
Okey Doke. I need to get back to writing/sleeping/drinking coffee/all of the above.
Best of days to you!
Oh! And we have a winner from Monday’s Drawing for “Until We All Come Home”! Congratulations to LeighAnn P. Your book is on its way!
susiefinkbeiner.com 