Baby Moose in Sprinkler

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If you're having a tough day or just need a smile, then you've got to see this adorable video of baby moose playing in a sprinkler!

When Your Characters Don't Behave

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Last week almost every day of my writing felt like pulling teeth. I'd sit down at my laptop, bring up my chapter and . . . stare at the screen. Then when I'd start to type, something didn't seem right. I knew I needed to push through no matter what I felt, but still. It's one thing to be at my muse's mercy, it's another to sense something isn't flowing.

I should've learned this by now. What I finally realized was I was forcing situations on my characters. I had one direction I wanted the plot to follow, but my poor character was having none of it.

I've attended several years of the National Book Festival down in D.C. I've heard the likes of Sue Grafton, Nevada Barr, Mary Higgins Clark, John Sandford, and Clive Cussler talke about their characters as if they're real. As if they run the show. They'd say things like, "I got to Chapter 3 and my character wouldn't do what I wanted." I remember looking at these authors with skepticism. They sounded insane. Um, excuse me, but aren't you the author of these fictional characters?

Yeah, well, that was before I had characters of my own to wrangle. Now I know what they mean. It's all about the human condition, I suppose. If you have a character with this personality put into this situation, then 9 times out of 10 they're going to respond thus. And I was trying to force a round peg into a square hole.

So I gave up and let my character do what she wanted.

Lo and behold, I got unstuck! The words flowed again. Does this mean my characters know more about the story than I do? Hmm. Scary thought.

And just in case you're wondering, this character is the lead in my third novel (working title Flesh and Blood). Her name's Brynn Taylor, and she's definitely got some issues. I look forward to watching her figure her way out of them. :)

The Comparison Trap

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The first time it happened was after reading a book that was everything I wanted my novels to be. The plot moved me, the characters were real, and the message was powerful. You’d think I would’ve been inspired to head to my keyboard, but instead I felt like throwing in the towel. Every time I sat down to write my own fiction I would think about this other author. There was no way I could write like her. My characters were cardboard. My plots lame. What was the point? How could I possibly write that well?

I didn’t realize I’d fallen into the comparison trap. All I knew was that I was miserable and ready to quit. In desperation I asked for advice from novelist James Scott Bell. He’s been my writing mentor for almost ten years, and as usual, his words hit home. He assured me I wasn’t alone in feeling this way. All serious writers and artists have been in my shoes, he said. What I needed to understand was that no two writers are the same. I had my story that no one could ever write like me.

Doubts come to all of us. Even best-selling, award-winning authors like Francine Rivers or Frank Peretti. It helped me to realize that others who are much further along on this journey still struggle at times. It showed me feelings of inadequacy are just that—feelings. They often have no bearing whatsoever on the real quality of what I write. We’ll always need to improve in our craft, but there are times when we must forget about what we lack and ignore the negative thoughts swirling in our heads.

As Jim Bell said, we all have a story to tell from our own unique perspective. Several years ago a bunch of CBA novelists got together to prove it. They decided to each write short pieces of fiction based on the same strict guidelines. All the stories had to include the same first and last lines. They had to include a case of mistaken identity, pursuit at a noted landmark, and an unusual form of transportation. Do you think these stories ended up sounding similar? Hardly. The authors wrote an amazing variety of tales (one even wrote in the point of view of a dog). Why were none of them the same? Because all the authors came to the challenge with their own toolbox of life experiences, and they wrote from their one-of-a-kind view of the world. (Those stories were published in book form, by the way. Check out What the Wind Picked Up.)

Jim shared something else with me. He compared writing to what God does with spiritual gifts. Not everyone has the same gift, but when we develop what God has given us, it contributes to the whole tapestry of the body of Christ in the world. He told me I needed to be the best C.J. I could be. And if I gave my full attention to my own writing, not comparing myself to anyone but just digging deeper into my story, the doubts would go away.

What would happen if we stopped looking to others for validation? My writing is never going to be like Karen Kingsbury’s. But on the other hand, Karen’s writing is never going to be like mine. Or yours. That’s the way God designed it. We’re all different, to reach different people. Someone who will snatch up the latest Ted Dekker might never crack open a Janette Oke.

In his latest writing how-to book The Art of War for Writers Jim says: “One of the biggest obstacles of all comes from comparison with other writers and worrying about your status in the publishing world. This is the way to ultimate madness. The writing life is crazy enough without you making it worse on yourself.”

Escaping the comparison trap is not only vital to your mental health as a writer, it’s also biblical. “Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else . . .” Galatians 6:4. So dive into your writing without distraction. There are readers out there God is preparing right now to read the stories only you can write.

[Originally posted on Rachelle Gardner's CBA Ramblings blog]

James Pence (Advice for Novelists, Part 111)

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Here's another post in my Advice for Novelists series in which editors, authors, agents and publicists answer the question:

"If you could say one thing to aspiring novelists, what would you say?"

Learn your craft. The overwhelming weakness of most fiction manuscripts I see is that the writer hasn't taken time to learn the craft of writing fiction.

When I decided I wanted to write novels I began reading books on the craft of fiction. I've lost count of how many books I read. I read and studied novels. I marked them up like you would mark your Bible. I took notes. I listened to audio books. I did everything I could to help me learn the art of writing fiction. So take time to learn your craft. From the time I started studying fiction to the time my first novel was published was close to 12 years. I'm not saying you should take that long, but don't rush things either.

--James Pence, author of Terror by Night (w/ Terry Caffey), Blind Sight, and more. Visit his website.

Summer 2010 Tyndale House fiction

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Check out some of the Summer 2010 releases coming from Tyndale House. I can't believe I get to be at the same publisher as these authors! Aren't these some amazing covers? Which one grabs your attention?

How Writing is Like Fly Fishing

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During an interview talented author Candace Calvert recently did with me on her blog, she asked me a question I've never received before. She found out one of my hobbies is fly fishing and challenged me to find some similarities between fly fishing and writing. At first I was stumped. But as I began to think, I realized there was a metaphor sitting right in front of me.

Fly fishing is like the process of a writer searching for a publisher. Our flies are our manuscripts. Each cast is us sending out a query letter or proposal. The fish are the editors searching for a project to buy. It’s important to research what the fish like and when they like it.

But just because we cast the line, doesn’t mean the fish will bite. Maybe they’re not hungry. What if the trout aren’t interested in mosquitoes today? Our fly might be tied perfectly, but the fish just aren’t hungry for it right now.

Then sometimes a fish will bite, but right when we think we have them, they spit out the hook. Does that mean we should give up and never fish again? No, it just means we need to keep on casting. Maybe today isn’t our day. But tomorrow might be.

Candace asked me many other fun questions, by the way. If you'd like to read her whole interview, check it out here. She's also giving away a copy of my debut novel Thicker than Blood. Deadline to enter is January 25th.

Need A Refill?

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I shared this post over at the Scribble Chicks blog today, and I'd like to share it with you too:

Have you ever hit a point in your writing where nothing seems to flow? Where it feels like you're pulling teeth to get out one single sentence? Rest assured, you're not alone. Every writer feels this way from time to time. Here's something I'm learning that helps unstop the pipes and allows your creative waters to start flowing again ... living life.

Sometimes as writers we will devote so much time to pouring out our thoughts and emotions on the page that we don't take time to refill. The well runs dry. If that's you today, why not try this: take a day off and play with a ten-year-old. Go to the movies. Pull out a pad of paper and just start sketching what you see. Or ask someone who works in the profession of your main character if you can follow them around and soak up what they do.

I found the latter suggestion especially helpful recently. Several of my novels take place on a working cattle ranch. And when you're working on a ranch, you're going to be riding horses. For the month of January I've been volunteering at a local horse barn. In the morning we feed the horses and turn them out to their pastures. In the evening we bring them in and feed them again. I've learned a ton just from being around these great animals. But I've especially learned from watching others much more experienced and seeing how they handle situations. Soaking in their expertise has helped me immeasurably.

So if you're stuck today, may I suggest take a deep breath and chilling for a bit? :) It's okay to take a break. Trust me, you'll come back super-charged and ready to tackle that next chapter!

Fun Christian Devotions SPEAK-UP Interview

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I had the wonderful opportunity of being interviewed by Marianne Jordan of Christian Devotions Speak Up yesterday. It's now archived, and you can listen to it below if you'd like. We talked about when I knew I wanted to write, homeschooling, the whole story of how Thicker than Blood won Operation First Novel, how much research I do, and much more!

Susan Meissner (Advice for Novelists, Part 110)

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And you thought I forgot about this series! :) No, my friends, here's another post in my Advice for Novelists series in which editors, authors, agents and publicists answer the question:

"If you could say one thing to aspiring novelists, what would you say?"

Writing in anonymity is like swimming laps in a pool while no one is watching. It doesn’t seem like you are getting anywhere. But you are. You are strengthening your writing muscle. You are becoming a better writer just like someone who swims twenty laps a day becomes a better swimmer. I am sure Michael Phelps started out like everyone else who swims competitively. In a pool. No one cheering. Putting one arm ahead of the other and kicking relentlessly. Don’t give up. Don’t give in. Keep swimming.

--Susan Meissner, author of White Picket Fences, The Shape of Mercy, and other books. Visit her website.

Thicker than Blood featured in Christianbook.com Weekly Insider

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How exciting. Thicker than Blood is one of 4 novels featured in this week's Christianbook.com Weekly Insider. Also featured are Colleen Coble's The LightKeeper's Daughter, Jenna's Cowboy by Sharon Gillenwater and Beguiled by Deeanne Gist and J. Mark Bertrand:

Pick the next Marcher Lord Press novel!

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By now you may have heard of Marcher Lord Press. Founded by industry veteran Jeff Gerke, the press specializes in speculative fiction from a Christian perspective. So far they've published 9 novels, including their best-selling By Darkness Hid by Jill Williamson.

For their Spring 2010 season of titles, they're doing something a little different. Jeff is allowing us, the readers, to choose one of the novels in the next set of books. The contest started several weeks ago as the competition was narrowed down in synopsis contests, and then first chapter contests. Now three contestants remain, and we have until New Year's Eve to vote! The winner is set to be announced at midnight.

Your vote really does matter. Some of the finalists were chosen by one or two votes.

Here are the three titles currently in the running:

This Side of Eden

Premise: What would the world be like today if no one had ever sinned? Carter Friese is about to find out.

The Sending

Premise: The Garden of Eden holds a 4,000 year old secret. One believer must risk his faith to find it.

The Last Apostle

Premise: Imagine that John, the last Apostle, never died, because nineteen centuries ago Christ sent him on a special mission.

Click here to download the full synopses and sample chapters of the finalists.

And then head here to cast your vote! You do have to become a member of the message board, but it's really quick and easy. Click on "Marcher Lord Select" and then "Phase 4 Poll for Main Contest".

I voted for "The Sending". The author, Matt Koceich, is a friend of mine. His wife, Cindi, even took all my author photos at the Writing for the Soul conference last year.

22 Authors Share Their Most Memorable Christmas Gifts

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What was the most memorable Christmas gift you ever received and why was it special?

One of mine came when I was eight years old and had just discovered the Chronicles of Narnia at my local library. I was working through the books one at a time, but that Christmas morning my sister and I opened up a gift that contained the whole set! I remember peeking in the top of the box and just seeing the words "Narnia" and getting all excited.

I asked 22 popular Christian novelists what their most memorable gifts have been, and their answers are now posted on TitleTrakk.com. Read them here. Included are Jerry B. Jenkins, Francine Rivers, Beverly Lewis, Erin Healy, and many more.

Your turn. What was your most memorable Christmas gift?

Merry Christmas!

Thicker than Blood book trailer unveiled!

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Created by The Perrodin Bros., the book trailer for Thicker than Blood is here! Brothers Jace and Patch did a fantastic job capturing the themes and story of the novel while including some really cool special effects. Jace is a homeschool graduate, and Patch is currently a homeschooler. Thanks, guys!

Neta Jackson (Advice for Novelists, Part 109)

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Here's another post in my Advice for Novelists series in which editors, authors, agents and publicists answer the question:

"If you could say one thing to aspiring novelists, what would you say?"

Don’t wait for inspiration. Sit down and apply perspiration. Discipline yourself to write. It’s a job (as well as a joy).

--Neta Jackson, author of the Yada Yada Prayer group series, and many more. Visit her website.

Survey: What Christmas Question Would You Most Like To Ask Your Favorite Author?

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I'm putting together a Christmas feature for TitleTrakk.com, and I need your feedback. If you could ask your favorite author only one of these four questions, which would you pick? Whichever one receives the most votes is what I'm going to ask the authors in the feature! Unless one of you suggests a better question in the comments, of course. :)