Category Archives: Blog

Just an Author?

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Lynne1-editedToday I welcome our third guest blogger in the ‘Write Life’ series – award winning author, Lynne Stringer. Lynne has a background in journalism and editing and is also the author of the Verindon trilogy (YA Romantic SciFi). A writer with a wonderful imagination and eye for detail, I’m sure you’ll enjoy what Lynne has to share.

 

One of the most interesting things about the writing journey for me has been the realisation of how much is involved.

I’m not just talking about writing. Writing a novel is something I’m good at. I can formulate a story and keep up the pace with consistency and flow. I can generally avoid plot-holes, develop a good story arc and resolve issues appropriately.

Even editing isn’t too much trouble. In fact, it’s one of my favourite parts of the whole process. I enjoy paring down my work and watching it improve as I cut away the fat.

However, there is more involved in being an author than these things, especially if you want to be published.

You also need to be a salesperson. For a start, you need to sell the merits of your writing and yourself as an author to an agent or publisher. This is one of the most difficult parts for me. My natural response when someone asks me about my work is to criticise it rather than praise it so that they don’t think I’m arrogant, but I can’t do that if I want someone to publish my work. I have to tell them how wonderful it is.
The next hardest thing is being willing to compromise on some things to see my book published. Most publishers want to change at least a few things and watching an in-house editor tear your baby to shreds and tell you to start again is never easy.

Even after publication more is required. I need to sell my book to bookstores and members of the public. I need to look for advertising and promotional opportunities. I need to make people believe in me.
All of this is not easy for an introvert, like me. However, doing all these things has stretched me and taught me a great deal, not the least that I need to appreciate myself and my work. My books may never become classics but they clearly appeal to some people and I need to congratulate myself for achieving that much.

I have learnt that I can write and there’s no shame in saying that to others. I have learnt that I can praise my work and not feel like I’m being vain. Believe me, I can still be my own worst critic, but now I can tell people the good and know I am doing the right thing.

 

theheir_cover silver award smallLynne Stringer has been passionate about writing all her life, beginning with short stories in her primary school days. She began writing professionally as a journalist and was the editor of a small newspaper (later magazine) for seven years, before turning her hand to screenplay writing and novels. Lynne currently works as a professional editor and proofreader. She lives in Australia with her husband and young son. Her debut novel, The Heir, recently received the Literary Classics’ Silver award in the YA science fiction category. To discover more about Lynne, make sure you drop on over to her website at www.lynnestringer.com and if you’d like to purchase her books, you can find them at www.verindon.com.

Let it Flow

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Today I have the pleasure of introducing our second ‘Write Life’ guest blogger, award winning author, Jo Wanmer. Despite a huge couple of weeks, Jo has still managed to bring us a blog with her characteristically real and relevant insights – just like her writing (which if you haven’t read yet, you should check out). I’m sure you’ll appreciate her wisdom.

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‘Just write. Stay in the creative brain. Don’t question and don’t edit as you go. The aim is to get words on the page.’

This advice relaunched my second novel eighteen months after I’d given up on the manuscript. I decided to write and not worry if the work was good or bad, right or wrong, showing or telling. The first few lines were gibberish. Too bad. I pushed on wanting to launch a creative flow. The more I hit the keys, the better the story flowed. Within six weeks, I finished the novel, typing 70,000 words.

Every time I paused to question what I’d written, I made myself push on. Deletion could happen later if necessary, but it was imperative to stay in the creative flow, to keep writing. This strategy bought unexpected surprises. I loved the story. It was exciting, interesting, fresh and … rough. Rough can be fixed, errors can be rewritten but the plot was fantastic.

Now I apply this principle in many of life’s creative pursuits. The most revelatory is when listening to God. When seeking Him, the beginning of an idea forms in my mind. I used to asses it and often discard the thought before it was properly formed. Now I try to continue in the flow, even with crazy or seemingly sacrilegious ideas. I maintain creative imagination and ask God to use it. Later I can test the thoughts, pictures and ideas against scripture and other standards. Then it is time to use my left brain.

Sometimes God says the most unusual things. Read the Old Testament or Jesus words in New Testament. He often surprised his listeners. Yet for years I have expected God’s words to conform to my judgement and expectations.

In my current work in progress, the protagonist talks to God. And God responds. As I let the words flow, God says the most unexpected things. Instead of stopping and using the delete button, I continue and have my heroine question God. The subsequent revelations have been fascinating, insightful and added depth to my story.

How much wisdom have I missed over the years by reducing the Lord’s voice to my understanding? Now I record everything I think He may have said. I read it and either listen, discard or revisit it in another season of my life when it may speak to those circumstances.

 

579658_3755813086413_1808561116_nJo Wanmer, a Queenslander, loves life, family, and God and writes from her experience of all three. Her first book, Though the Bud be Bruised, was written to share the amazing things God taught her through adversity. This true story is presented as novel, which sparked an interest in further writing. Jo has written two other novels which are being refined at the moment. You can find her on Facebook or trawl through her blog at jo-wanmer.blogspot.com.au

Now Why Did She Do That?

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Today I am delighted to introduce our first ‘The Write Life’ series guest blogger, Rita Stella Galieh. Rita is an inspirational author in every sense, and as you’ll discover below, a writer very in touch with her characters.

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I guess one of the most interesting aspects in my writing journey has been the ‘looking inward, digging deep’ phase. Jumping into my character’s persona and having to question myself constantly how I would feel in a particular situation.

Once I’d found myself in my character’s ‘shoes’ I’d really BE there while writing and have found it hard to deal with interruptions. You know, ‘coming back into reality’ again and leave my Kate (that’s the latest gal) dangling. Ugh! My concentration while in the story flow is fairly deep, so I’ve had to explain to my darling to tap me on the shoulder before he starts talking, as I’m not really ignoring him. I’m just not there in the room, in the year, or in the century.

In delving into personality traits, I’ve learned so much about how different we all are in the way we view things, how we react, and a little about why we do things, even when we don’t understand the real reason behind our own actions. All this I can work into my character’s life. Better still, it has made me more understanding whenever someone has acted in a puzzling way toward me.

I also discovered when creating my first novel, Fire in the Rock, I could put a lot of ‘me’ into my character (ah, poor girl) more than what I’d admit to in real life. But in following stories maybe just snippets. Hopefully this makes our novels ring true, would you agree?

 

h-signed_RitaRita Stella Galieh is a scriptwriter /co speaker on a five minute Christian program, Vantage Point, broadcast Australia-wide. She is a historical romance author with two novels published, Fire in the Rock and Signed Sealed Delivered-with two more in the series. As runner–up in the unpublished M/S of the Caleb Awards, she is now polishing Miss Kate’s Great Expectations. A graduate of Emmaus Bible College and the National Arts School, Rita ministers with her husband in Thailand each year at Buddhist high schools, prisons, shopping malls, hospitals, orphanages and churches.

To find out more about Rita and her writing, follow the links below:

http://inspirationalromance.blogspot.com

http://www.ritastellagalieh.com

The Write Life

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Signing_USQBelieve it or not, writing is an extreme adventure activity. Thrilling highs can smash into bottomless lows as you careen past swift-changing scenery (or slow growing grass …), determined to deliver the stories in your mind to the rest of the world.

Something I’ve realised through my writing experiences is how much the writing process has taught me about myself and life generally. For anyone who’s followed my blog for a while, you’ll recognise snapshots of those insights in many of my posts. Yes, writers can have amazing fun, but there are also days when you wonder what ever possessed you to start a given project. You either give up, or grow in character. (Or sometimes give up for a while and THEN grow. 🙂 )

With this in mind, I am SUPER excited to be hosting a two month long series of guest blogs under the theme: The Write Life. You’ll be hearing from a wonderful cohort of Australian authors who will share gems from their own writing journeys. These writers have been in the ‘write scene’ for a long time now and will undoubtedly bring much wisdom to their posts.

I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait to get into this series. So strap yourself down and get comfy, ’cos this is going to be fun!

All Hands

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Did you know it’s ‘International talk like a pirate day’? I’m sure there are thousands of, ‘Arrrrr,’ type comments being made across the world in keeping with the fun of this date, and perhaps a lovely buzz is building for all things maritime.

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Having written a historical maritime novel (A Devil’s Ransom) I have a great deal of affection for the nautical, but today I’d like to take a slight tangent to this theme. That is, the dynamics of a ship’s crew.

Now, I promise this is related! Last weekend marked the official book launch celebrations for my new YA novel Integrate. It was a wonderful event shared with many others who have supported me throughout the publication journey or have heard of the book and wanted to share the excitement of its release. But this day could not have happened without the many hands that managed all the behind the scenes work. My writing group. (Not to mention those involved in seeing the book to publication prior to that!)

Signing_Launch2On the morning of the launch my husband was given several chores to do while I zipped out to finish getting ready. When we finally arrived at the venue, I could feel fissures of stress edging through me. With a zillion thoughts in my head, including a list of what yet had to be done, I was stopped in my tracks as I stepped into the room. It was perfect. Everything had been set up and there was an atmosphere of calm as my writing friends went about their business – tasks they had previously delegated between themselves. Upon asking after a few items on my mental list, I was met with a smile and reminded that people had already offered to do these things, and had.

I felt something like the awe I hold when watching a ship’s crew at work – especially a sailing ship. Each crew-member knows their task and the importance of performing it well. If they don’t, they not only let themselves down, they risk jeopardising the safety of the ship and the souls aboard. There is something quite magnificent and equally intriguing about the team work involved in performing evolutions (or manoeuvres) under sail. Considering the physics of a sailing ship and the forces acting on it, the precision of this work can be appreciated.

The same applies to life. At times we can lose sight of our efforts in the bigger scheme of things, but don’t become discouraged in doing the little things well. No matter what moment we are in, there are always many hands that have seen us, supported us, to our ‘now’. From the simplest word of encouragement to meeting an overwhelming practical need, each hand bears a little weight in life’s journey. Let’s never undervalue the power of  supportive hands in our world – and our part as a ‘crew-member’ for others.