Writers Are Painters

When I was a teen, I took up oil painting. One of my favorite shows was The Joy of Painting on PBS, and I figured if Bob Ross could make happy little trees, maybe I could too. For awhile I actually thought I was going to be a painter rather than a writer, but that was before the writing bug bit me really hard. But here's the thing, and probably why I was confused for a little while---writing really is like painting.

These days I occasionally take up my oil painting between projects. Even though they're different (one changes a canvas, the other a computer screen) writing and painting have many similarities. One of the paintings I hope to finish someday features a rough looking cowboy (he's pictured above). He's been a work in progress for longer than I care to admit, but as I work on this painting, here's what I'm noticing:

Underpainting/rough draft
For this project I started with an acrylic underpainting, made up mostly of grays. It's like a rough draft. I can see the outline of what I want to accomplish, and the hints of where I want to be, but in no way is it complete.

Laying down the color/second draft
Then it's onto the color. I applied it generally with little thought to detail. The important thing was to get the darker colors where the shadows would be, and the brighter colors where the light would hit this character's face. Second drafts are like this for me. Since I tend to underwrite, often I'll be going back and adding layers of dialogue, character thoughts, etc. It's at this point I'll probably doubt my ability to see this project through. What was I thinking?

Getting the likeness/third draft
This is where things get tricky. This portrait must look like a human being. All the nuances of my character's face must be just right. It's the same with writing. The story needs to make sense. The character's motivations need to ring true. I'll need to sculpt away the excess, keeping only the important.

The fine details/final draft
I enjoy this step the most in both painting and writing. I can finally see I'm going to make it! I'm going to complete this project. The image in my head has finally (if I've done everything right) materialized. It's now I really step back and examine to make sure I'm satisfied. There might be some fine tuning still. I might decide I have to make the nose or chapter longer. That's okay. The hard part is done. The hardest part now is knowing when to sign the picture or type "The End".

Setting a New Creative Standard

Betsy's recent post really got me thinking about God and writing and how those fit together in our respective WIPs, so thank you for that, fellow Scribble Chick. :)

I'll be honest, sometimes I don't always love being referred to as a "Christian writer." Not because I don't love Jesus, of course, I do. He not only saved my life, but He's my best friend, and I've enjoyed my journey of walking with Him for more than 21 (!!!) years now.

But when it comes to art, specifically art with the word "Christian" in front of it, there's an undeniable stigma that goes along with it, and I feel it all the time...when I'm doing a book signing at Barnes & Noble or Borders and I'm relegated to the "Christian Fiction" section (where people are naturally afraid to go unless they already believe), when my books are reviewed in a publication that's not faith-based or when I'm describing my novels to would-be readers whenever someone asks me what I do for a living.

It's not always fun, but I'm always hoping to win people over.

Not only is there a lot of baggage with the word "Christian" because of the many ways we've all fallen short in the eyes of those who don't know Christ personally, but our art is often thought of as "subpar" or a mere copycat of something that's already popular (i.e. the slew of "Christian" vampire books that are releasing, thanks to the Twilight phenomenon or all the Donald Miller-esque memoirs that have popped up following the release of Blue Like Jazz). And I don't know about you, but I'm ready to put those assumptions to rest. For good.

Although I write chick-lit, or as I like to call them, romantic comedies in book form, I deliberately tried to switch things up and paint with a different brush if you will. I wasn't interested in simply being the "Christian" Bridget Jones or a "safe" alternative for believers looking for something fun to read. Instead, I hoped to tell an intriguing story with real, living breathing characters that resonated with people—all people.

Since I am a Christian, that worldview can't help permeate what I do. So no, you didn't find a string of expletives in my books. Or a push-the-envelope plot in terms of gratuitous sex or violence. But what I was intent on was creating genuine conflict where my characters were dealing with real-life struggles and pain. After all, Christians are also hurting people in a hurting world, so I didn't create a world that was all daisies and butterflies and Bible studies.

And I've found that's exactly what readers are looking for, too. In e-mails I've received the past couple of years, countless people have talked about their disillusionment with "Christian" art and thanked me for writing something that exceeded their expectations. Imagine that? Something a fellow believer created "exceeded their expectations?" I don't know about you, but I'm ready to rock their socks off, and I share that only to serve as an encouragement in whatever you're working on, too.

Let's continue to defy people's expectations of what Christian art can look and read like. After all,
we serve the Creator of the universe—the same God who created stars, rainbows, oceans and yes, even llamas. So if we've got a little of that Creator living inside of us, just think what we can create! It can lovely, unique and truly breathtaking because of God's influence and presence in our lives...not just something worth skipping over because it's "Christian."

Empty words...

As Christian writers, I believe we have a pretty heavy-duty responsibility on our shoulders. This responsibility is a gift and a burden. It's the choice we make, the choice to use the words God gives us to show the world His grace. His mercy. His love. The world is dark, and our novels are a light. Some books feel more like pinpricks in the dark than a bright, light-house worthy beacon, but nevertheless, light is light. Light always brightens the dark, no matter how small in quantity.



Have you heard the song by Addison Road called "What Do I Know of Holy?" I blare it loudly in my car almost every day, and no matter how often I play it, the meaning grabs my heart every time and I usually tear up. (not good for interstate driving!) There's one line that really gets me.



Here's a blurb of lyrics...I bolded the line I'm talking about. Please find this song online and download it if you haven't heard it yet.




(CHORUS)



What do I know of You

Who spoke me into motion?

Where have I even stood

But the shore along Your ocean?

Are You fire? Are You fury?

Are You sacred? Are You beautiful?

What do I know? What do I know of Holy?



(VERSE)



I guess I thought that I had figured You out

I knew all the stories and I learned to talk about

How You were mighty to save

Those were only empty words on a page

Then I caught a glimpse of who You might be

The slightest hint of You brought me down to my knees



WOW!



Empty words on a page. The Bible is the living, breathing word of God. It's not empty. But I know what the artist means here - it's all in how she translated it, how she comprehended. Only reading the words doesn't make them effective. It's got to be a process of soaking in. When she really read the words, they changed. When she really heard the heartbeat of God behind the words, SHE changed.



I can't get over that, and how it applies to us as every day Christian writers. Have you stopped lately and really considered the responsibility and the honor we have to write for Christ? Have you thought about what our words, the words God gives us, means to our readers? The power in them, through Christ alone, to change lives and bring souls to Jesus? We get to have a part in that. Do you have any idea how huge that is???



If you haven't thought about those things lately, then stop. Put down your WIP. Shove the keyboard or notepad away, push aside the Diet Coke and Candy Corn, and soak in the depth of it all.



I guarantee you you'll hit your knees.

Rejection and Dying Roadkill Syndrome

A while back I was hanging out with some kids. They wanted to watch Bambi (insert gag reflex) and after much begging (my begging them not to) I finally agreed.

Everything was OK until we reached the scene where Bambi's mom died and one of the little boys started to cry.

"Don't worry," his older sister comforted him, "Maybe Bambi will get a step-mother."

I love the way children think. They're so resilient. Bambi's mom is dead? No big deal. We'll find a replacement.

Me? I'm not so optimistic. Of course, I am the girl who strung herself over the sofa this week and moaned like a piece of dying roadkill because my ear hurt. I was convinced I was drawing my final breath.

Turns out I had a simple case of strep throat. (Throat? Ear? I think my pain receptors were a little confused.)

Much to my surprise, the strep throat did not kill me. This little fact may clue you into the fact that I'm not an optimist.

What about you?

• Do you find it difficult to feel positive about your writing?
• Do you experience fears and doubts that your words will ever accomplish anything?
• Do you store manuscripts on your computer in hopes that one day it will crash and you won't have to send out your work?

Are you like me? Are you a non-optimist?

I have good news for you: optimism can be developed.

And it must be developed. Because in the publishing world, optimism is like oxygen. You need it to survive. Otherwise you will curl up and die.

Eventually, you will lie on your couch and moan like a piece of injured roadkill. It will happen. Rejection will hurt.

Get up off the couch.

You are not drawing your final breath.

You are not dying.

Your manuscript is only a little sick. Get the help it needs. Go to conferences. Learn the business. Study the craft.

You can do this. Keep writing. Keep improving. Keep moving forward.

And when you are rejected, watch Bambi. Lie on the couch. Moan a while.

Then be grateful. Your life is not as bad as his.

After all, he never got that step-mother.

****

B.J. Hamrick is a journalist, newspaper columnist, and Real Teen Faith editor-est.

Pedaling Against the Metal

I have a love/hate relationship with many things in my life:

1) Walgreens. Most of the time, they don't have what I need. However, there are those rare days where they have exactly what I want and it's 50% off.

2) Tapered Candles. Love the smell, hate the drips.

3) Parking Lots. Aside from the Frogger-style dodging of cars, carts and pedestrians and discounting the fact that I can never find those cart return thingies, I have no problem with them.

4) Deadlines. Oy.

Today, I'm dutifully trying to accomplish my 2,000 word goal in my current WIP. So far, so distracted. I put a pork roast in my Crock Pot this morning for dinner and the garlic has been teasingly wafting through the house the whole day. My husband came home for lunch (which was great! Still distracting). It's freezing cold in my house, so I keep stopping to refill my coffee mug or warm my hands.

I love deadlines because I feel like I get so much more done. I'm happier, I'm focused, I stick to my daily schedule.

I hate deadlines because of the forced creativity, the poor food choices (Chex Mix. M&Ms. Candy Corn. Need I say more?), and the fact that I have friends, I just can't spend time with them.

Pros and Cons though? I think the Pros win. Which is why I highly recommend setting a deadline - whether it's a WIP under contract or one you're writing for the fun of it (or maybe one you're writing to get a contract!).

Not only would slapping a date on your manuscript and sticking to it help you stay focused, but it will also give you tons of practice for when you do get a signed contract! Publishers love writers who make their deadlines - and especially the ones who make them without having panic attacks!

The key is to stick to your date. My current deadline is February 1st. The second secret is to realize that you don't have any other options. There is no "Oh, sorry, I got busy and didn't finish it." Find a date maybe four to six months out (to really mimic a publisher!) and do whatever you need to do (legally and morally) to get that deadline met.

And don't discount the fun of working on a deadline. Chex Mix have to be the best salty snack around. And who doesn't love M&Ms?

Favorite First Lines

There's nothing like a dynamic opening line in a novel. How many books have you kept reading simply from their clever or intriguing first line? Sure, a perfect first line isn't going to redeem a bad book, but a first line is really like a fish hook. Once you catch someone on the other end, it's a whole lot easier to reel them into the story.

Here are a few of my favorite first lines.

"She ran, tree limbs and brambles scratching, grabbing, tripping, and slapping her as if they were bony hands, reaching for her out of the darkness."
--The Oath by Frank Peretti

"Valkerie woke up screaming."
--Oxygen by Randy Ingermanson & John B. Olson

"The pickup had been tailing me for at least the last thirty miles."
--On the Run by Lorena McCourtney

"Josee found the canister while seeking firewood in the thicket."
--Dark to Mortal Eyes by Eric Wilson

"'If I eat any more popcorn, I'm going to hurl.'"
--The Big Picture by Jenny B. Jones

"The dead man's mother lives on Castlewood Street, in a battered gray house guarded by a mean echo of 'No Trespassing' signs."
--The Stones Cry Out by Sibella Giorello

"Even in high school I didn't mind sleeping on the ground."
--Forsaken by James David Jordan

Your turn! What's your favorite first line? What makes it memorable to you? How about the first line of the novel you're writing? Feel free to share in the comments.

Celebrating The National Day on Writing...

Fellow writing friends...did you know that Tuesday, October 20 was the first annual National Day on Writing?

Yeah, I didn't either until someone tweeted about it (on a side note, that last sentence just cracked me up...who would've ever predicted that one day we'd be getting pertinent information from something called a "tweet?").

But I digress...

Had I known about October 20 sooner, my hubby (who also moonlights as a writer) and I could have exchanged gifts. Or at least celebrated with a few cupcakes that I whipped up especially for the occasion...you know adorable little treats with a semi-colons, commas and question marks written in yummy icing?

Hmmm, maybe next year.

Late to the party or not, however, I must say that I'm pretty thrilled that the Senate authorized a National Day on Writing. I really think it's about time that working writers get their due, even if it's just for a day. Yes, while the career is romanticized in many a film (usually rom-coms), it's still hard work, something I think people forget sometimes when they ask me (and I'm sure this has happened to you, too) what I do for a living.

After a patronizing smile and the requisite "oh that's nice, have I seen your work anywhere?" I'm pretty sure a good percentage of people who don't know me that well think I just sit around, watch Oprah and gobble down bon bons all day. Now wouldn't that be nice...

As any writer worth his/her salt knows, it's takes a lot of work to actually make a living at writing. Not only are you keeping up with deadlines and dreaming up new ways to say something worth reading, but you're constantly looking for a way to spread the word about what you're doing without being tacky about it.

It's amazing how much time I have to set aside for things that don't involve actually working on my latest manuscript at all. You know what I'm talking about...social networking. Tweeting, Facebooking, blogging, podcasting, sending out newsletters, updating your personal Website and other fun time-wasters. These days, actually writing your book is really only half the battle. Actually marketing your work is an entirely different prospect that requires just as much time and creativity.

Now if I sound like I'm complaining, please don't see it that way. I absolutely, positively, thoroughly love what I do. It's a privilege, and I feel honored to share my thoughts, ideas and crazy characters with the world. But that doesn't mean we shouldn't be recognized from time to time for our efforts, so next year I plan on celebrating The National Day on Writing in style. And maybe I won't even write at all. But I know there will be cupcakes. Who's with me on that?