Tears

Our nest has been empty about a month now -- devoid of the children that we brought into this world. Last week, I found myself growing misty-eyed as I drove to a friend's house. My thoughts were consumed with the pain of saying good-bye.

But not to our youngest.

Oh, no! The tears weren't being shed for Nate, but for a collection of characters who've been with me for the past several weeks. The inhabitants of my novel, now completed, now over. I hated saying good-bye to them.

God's timing has been so gracious. The moment I got home from our taking-Nate-to-college-trip, I became a hermit. I promised an interested publisher that my novel would be completed at the end-of-September and I intended to do everything possible to keep that promise.

So instead of wandering through a house that suddenly seems to be too big for two or sobbing over the adorable baby photos of our now-grown children, I was tied to my laptop and chair. Without the distractions of a kid who thinks lunch is at 11:00 -- even if he just ate breakfast at nine -- and the responsibilities of a home school mom, the story I wanted to write came to life beneath my fingers.

Nate's been gone a month now. The novel is completed and in the publisher's inbox.

And I'm content, at least for awhile, to just enjoy these quiet moments of reflection and accomplishment.

Novice Novelist Novel Note - Debut!

Yesterday morning at about 10:30 a.m., I did it! I emailed my completed manuscript, tentatively titled Twirl, to an interested publisher. Through the writing journey, I learned important lessons about the creative process, especially as it relates to theme, character, and plot. I am amazed at the motifs and symbolism within the story, the surprising dialog that came from the characters, and the unexpected plot twists.

The more I got into the story, the more I felt like it was an already existing entity -- all I was doing was figuring out the pieces, discerning what really had happened to these fictitious people, and recording it for others.

In the next few weeks, I'm going to share the concepts I discovered as I actually completed a novel -- the ideas that excited me the most through the process.

I hope you'll enjoy reading this novice novelist's novel notes!

Fearless by Max Lucado

I read once that we’re born with two fears: the fear of falling and the fear of loud noises. Everything else that scares us, keeps us up at nights, and gives us ulcers are fears that we pick up along the way on this journey called life. In Fearless, Max Lucado tackles some of these fears with contemporary anecdotes, Old and New Testament examples, and Scriptural principles. As he writes, “Feed your fears, and your faith will starve. Feed your faith, and your fears will” (page 74).

Similar pithy lines can be found in every chapter. Name the fear keeping you up at night, read the appropriate chapter, and you’re sure to find an easy-to-memorize quote or two. One of my favorites comes from the chapter called, “I’m Sinking Fast: Fear of Overwhelming Challenges”: “Storms prompt us to take unprecedented journeys” (page 71). Lucado goes on to explain that we can’t choose whether or not storms will come, but we can choose to stay focused on the Stormwalker (page 72).

Other chapters address such common fears as worries about our children, money, health, and death. Lucado focuses attention on familiar Bible stories, opening them up to additional insights that are encouraging and motivational.

The most compelling chapter comes near the end of the book, “The One Healthy Terror: Fear of God Getting Out of My Box.” Lucado’s retelling of the Transfiguration had me reaching for my Bible, closing his book to utter spontaneous prayers, and re-reading certain paragraphs. When we fall on our faces before the transfigured Christ, “the hand of the carpenter extends through the tongue of towering fire and touches us. ‘Arise, and do not be afraid’ (Matt. 17:7)” (page 171).

That’s the only fear I want controlling my life.

Florida Christian Writers Conference

Took a little nap this morning (feeling a bit under the weather) and had a nightmarish dream. I showed up at the Florida Christian Writers Conference without any manuscripts to submit.

Lo and behold, only a short time later, and I'm not making this up, I opened an email from the FCWC's director, the ever-gracious Billie Wilson. I'm registered. My roommate is my fellow Kindred Heart, Jeanie Wise. And registration materials, including manuscript submission forms, were attached.

This will be my fourth year to attend the I-can't-miss-it FCWC, being held at Lake Yale from March 4th through 7th, 2010. For more information on this amazing program, go to http://www.flwriters.org/.

The traveling is over, but the journey has just begun*

I'm finally back home after two weeks of traveling, visiting family and friends, and -- the primary purpose of the trip-- getting our youngest son Nathaniel settled at a college almost 1300 miles away.

He seems to be doing fine. And so was I until I stopped at the grocery store on my way home to pick up a few things. Because my husband follows his own strict diet, he does his own grocery shopping. So I'm used to shopping for two, Nate and me.

Today I shopped for one. And blinked back tears as I placed the small boxes of frozen mac and cheese, lasagna, and pizza in my cart. I debated over getting a gallon or a half-gallon of milk, finally going for the gallon but only because I couldn't bear to do otherwise.

Silly, perhaps. But it's been easy to pretend that Nate was simply "away" while I was traveling. Now that I'm home, I can't pretend anymore. He's not going to be home for awhile and I feel his absence.

Book Giveaway: On Writing

Writing "starts with this: put your desk in the corner, and every time you sit down there to write, remind yourself why it isn't in the middle of the room. Life isn't a support-system for art. It's the other way around."

This philosophical advice is one of the many gems found in an amazing little book called On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, written by the man who became a household name for his scary, creepy stories, Stephen King.

Find out how to get a copy of this must-have by reading my Thursday (Sept. 3rd) post at http://www.kindredheartwriters.com/.