Blogger: Mary Keeley
Location: Books & Such Midwest Office, Illinois
In a productive brainstorming meeting with a client about two weeks ago, three necessary parts of a writer’s whole proposal “package” came into clear view. They are not new concepts; they are basics. But the combination of the three results in a winning idea. See if they also are helpful to you in terms of adjusting your WIP and in developing future book ideas.
LOOK. This client is working on a new nonfiction series and gave me the outline for book one. Her passion for Christ’s church is authentic and deep, and she is accomplished in her writing craft. Those are necessary ingredients for a compelling book, but as we all know, those two alone don’t guarantee a publisher will offer a contract.
As Amy researched in preparation for this series, she looked for several niche topics in the area of spiritual formation that are common stumbling blocks for everyone but to which few books have been devoted. She looked to fill a gap and meet a need. This is a great strategy for giving your book a unique edge. Passion + great writing + unique approach = marketability. Marketability is the scale on which all manuscripts are weighed.
EXPECT. If you have prayed for direction, apply Proverbs 3: 4-5: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will direct your path.” Expect God to answer your request according to his will. Listen and watch. Don’t be surprised when you set goals for the year or review your day’s writing and think, where did that come from? He’ll keep his promise to direct your path.
ACT. As we dive into our work this year, we need to humbly acknowledge afresh that our gifts and abilities are from God for his purpose. Next, we must commit to take action steps—risks—to follow his direction. Spend a few minutes, or hours, to reflect on your calling in those terms, and let God energize your passion.
Don’t you love it when the cloud over your work dissipates and the sky begins to clear? Share a time when words, scenes, entire chapters, or a book idea were, all of a sudden, right there in front of you.
Amanda Dykes
“…we need to humbly acknowledge afresh that our gifts and abilities are from God for his purpose.”
I loved this. Thank you for the reminder that we are His hand-crafted tools created for His work. What a humbling truth!
As for sharing a time when the skies suddenly cleared, last week I was having great difficulty with an important scene in my WIP. Nothing I wrote seemed right, and I became frustrated as the week ran away with many of my word goals unreached. I had to put everything on hold for some other things God had going on this weekend, and through those things, God gently guided my thoughts and plans for that troublesome scene. I picked up my pen again last night, and the scene is nearly complete! Sometimes I forget to seek Him when roadblocks set in, which is silly, since He’s the one who laid this road out in the first place!
Lilly Maytree
What an exciting topic, Mary, can’t wait to read what others share. As for me… many times I will start into a story having only a vague idea of secondary characters necessary to the plot. During the rough draft, I continue writing, knowing that I will come back later and “flesh them out.” But occasionally, I get to the end with a wooden Pinocchio-type character, and still “no life in the boy.” This used to not bother me enough, and I would patch and thatch and turn things in anyway… and wonder why rejections outweighed my acceptances.
Then I fell into the habit of saying, “Um… Lord… is there anybody you might like to put in here?” And BOOM! A full blown character pops into my mind in such detail I could pick him out on the street. Complete with a strengthening purpose to the plot. To tell you the truth, that only happened to me one time, and it was many years ago.
More frequently, I have to wait, and wait… and (as the say in CASABLANCA)… wait. But the insights never fail to emerge sooner or later, and are always so much better than mine. Which is why I have learned over the years to set things aside while waiting. A practice that brings such wonderful results I now get more excited to see who’s going to show up than nervous about the waiting part anymore. I learned that God always shows up when you’re waiting for Him.
For me, that was the most valuable lesson of all.
Melissa K. Norris
Ahh, the waiting. I will wait upon the Lord. I think this is especially true for writers. 🙂
Many times the Lord will be working through an issue with me and it dawns on me, this is my characters conflict as well. I can really dig into their hurts and frustrations, as I’ve experienced them myself.
Meghan Carver
There have been many times when ideas or entire sections appeared right in front of me. Just recently, I was driving our family home from a museum trip while my husband studied in the passenger seat. Suddenly, an entire conversation between my protagonist and her boyfriend came into my head. My husband graciously pulled out a piece of paper and wrote everything down as I dictated to him so that I would have it down later! That feeling is one of the most rewarding parts of writing.
Kate
I really appreciate your post Mary. It’s good to pray and wait on the Lord, but sometimes we forget the part about “acting”….taking steps towards our vision/goals. The risk of failure looms like a thunderous cloud. We sit huddled inside waiting for the storm to pass, when we should have run outdoors and danced in the rain, umbrella or not!
Some of my best ideas come in the shower….and I pray I can remember to write them down later…LOL
Mary Keeley
Amanda, Lilly, and Melissa, you brought up an important strategy. When we hit a wall with a characters, scene, or whatever isn’t working well, step away from it, humbly ask and wait for Jesus to show us how he wants it to work. We get the best solution, and God is honored in the process.
Kate, you are so right. When we are confident of God’s direction about something, we need to take one faith step at a time and . . . dance!
Sarah Thomas
Some of those most memorable clearing moments have come with titles. I really struggle to consider a work finished until I have the “right” title. (I know it may be changed, but I still need it in MY head and it’s an important sales tool.) I was in love with the title of book one (a very English major title) when God dropped an infinitely better title into my head that was so perfect I couldn’t believe anything else had ever satisfied me. Last week I was frustrated because the title for book two wasn’t IT. Turns out I was headed down the wrong path. Prayer clarified that one, too. Whew! It’s such a relief. Like finally knowing what name to put on your child’s birth certificate.
Lee Abbott
God is leading me on a detour as I develop and teach a Christian life study that parallels my nonfiction WIP. I’ve had several “where did that come from” moments; I’m not surprised when someone in the study comments that those very words touched her life. And AMEN to Sarah’s discovery about frustration. God nudges me in a different direction, and the crooked path becomes a wide highway. Joy!
Mary Keeley
Blessed answers, Sarah. And another good strategy…for titles this time.
Anne Love
I resonate with Lily’s comments about waiting. My crit partner dreams in technicolor and wakes up with a scene to write, but not me. When I sleep, I’m out. I have to wait for inspiration to come. But I am learning that it does come if I’m patient, prayerful and expectant as Mary suggests.
Looking for a niche in nonfiction seems different than in fiction, at least on some level. Historical Romance is a selling niche right now, but I’m looking for the balance between finding the right setting and time period, and writing what I know.
Nikole Hahn
In Book 1, I wrote myself into a corner towards the end of the novel. I thought, “How in the world am I going to get out of this situation?” I prayed about it, and found the solution.