Matthew James Elliott's Blog, page 6

Finding Philemon: Lessons Learned

Greetings, 

One of the things I've always desired to do in my career as a writer has been to publish a blog post or to record a video of the lessons I learned throughout the writing process and how those lessons impacted my life, whether it be in the spiritual sense, the emotional sense, or even the educational sense. I have to be honest here, I fully intended to have this post up last week. I failed to put the time aside to do that though. I am glad though, because it gave me more time to reflect on all the things that have taken place in 2023.

Everyone reading this knows that I am not one to shy away from my failures and that I am also not one to hold things that truly have spoken to me. In truth, I had a great deal to learn before I could finish Finding Philemon, but also a great deal to accept about myself. Every step of the way, as I poured over the previous version of the Journey Onesimus took,  I found things that I could develop on a deeper level. The adventure I was re-creating was, in all honesty, a Journey for myself as much as it was for my characters. I found things, good and bad, about myself as a person, and as a writer, that impacted my core being. 

I won’t pretend that this story is going to be a bestseller someday, but for me, this story is the best I could have developed with the resources I had and the beautiful people that were helping me along the way. I do not want to come off prideful here, but I am very proud of this story and everything that was birthed (or re-birthed) out of it. In more ways than I can even convey at this point, I am a completely different person today, than I was when I first came up with the idea behind Finding Philemon. I am so grateful for this because the story people are reading today is not the same story it was when this all began several years ago. It is much deeper than that. It is, in some ways, a reflection of my own journey in faith. 

Well, now that I’ve poured my heart out to those who read this, let's dig into the lessons I learned over the last year. 

General Lessons About Writing Your Story: The story you start with is not always the story you end with and that really is okay. Your life is likely to find its way into any story you create and that is what makes the story you develop believable.Sometimes the story you need to write is not necessarily the story you want to write and what matters more is that you keep writing it.When it comes to finally putting your story down on paper, there are always going to be distractions, you can overcome those distractions though.

Lessons In Faith That Will Remain:

There is a Spiritual War all around us, and we need to accept that in our daily lives because it will eventually overpower us if we let it.We are loved and empowered to do great and mighty things, but what really matters is the day-to-day actions we choose to accept and embrace.God can speak through the worst parts of our lives regardless of whether or not we accept Him, and he is always there to guide us through that darkness.Good and beautiful moments are all around us, and when we fix our eyes upon Jesus we will find them even in the most unexpected places of our lives.

Some of these lessons may seem trivial, but they all have a purpose. As a young adult, my drive to write was mostly about finding my way into the world around me, but what I found was a pathway to the world that had been given to me to share with the world around me. One thing for sure is that there is so much more to come and I can’t wait for what’s coming. It has often been said that writers sometimes get lost in their own little world, and I can honestly say that I understand that saying much better today than I ever thought I would. I tend to think back upon a scene in one of my all-time favorite movies, The Last Samurai, where one of the characters says to Nathan Algren “Too much mind.” That's how I feel, and not in a bad way by any means, but The World of Kedoshim is everywhere. 

I see it in the actions of my kids or through the gestures of a friend. I see it when I lose myself in the woods on my regular walks on the walking trails in town. I see it in my own life when I least expect it. One thing for sure is that, while in the past, I would have lost the desire and passion to complete any project, new thoughts about Kedoshim are coming every day. Honestly, I am still not certain how much more my mind's eye can handle, but for now, I am finding my way. If there was any singular word I could share right now, it would only be that there is purpose in the chaos manifesting in the lives we live. There may be a point in which you simply just have to let go of your dreams to work through that chaos, but never give up hope, if it's in the pages of God's plan for you, that dream will find its way back to you.  

Thanks again for visiting "The Gathering Room,"

M.J.E.

PS (You can find all episodes of Finding Philemon that are currently available to download at this Affiliate Link. You can also follow my author hub, Writing the Journey,  on Facebook.)

Finding Philemon: Research Required

 One of the best things about being a historical fiction writer is all the research I get to do to build one of my stories. I can honestly say that researching everything for Finding Philemon was a ton of fun. Everything from the character backstories to the weather patterns of the story's origins, from the traditions of the time to clothing that could have been worn. All of this was fascinating to me and it drives my creative process. When I develop an idea for something to write, I tend to get so pulled into the concept that I just can't stop researching it.

There are days when I can spend hours just looking things up in study Bibles and surfing the internet for any theory that could possibly help me develop my story. My goal is always to convey the most realistic story I can. That means learning as much as I can about whatever historical event I want to add to what I write. I have to dig for everything and determine for myself if any of the theories I find are plausible. There are so many that I find though that the plausible truth can be difficult to decipher. This is where I have to take the theories I find and verify them with other sources. 

Finding Philemon is a story that found its framework through multiple places in Scripture; The Book of Acts, The Letter to the Colossians, and The Letter to Philemon. So there was a lot of content to use, but there is much more to the story than what's in those resources. Discovering the geographic and historical connections that tied this story all together was one of the more memorable revelations I came across, and while I believe that most of these connections are concrete there is always room to learn something new. There were multiple occasions when that actually happened and it happened because I had people checking my work every step of the way.

I consider it a humble gift to be able to come up with the stories I want to tell. The challenge is building something that can even remotely come close to depicting what could have actually taken place. When these stories come to life in a way that is actually believable, they speak to me deeply and through God's grace, I can connect the dots in a way that makes that possible. There is so much that we can glean from the research that takes place when, as writers, we can see things the way we do. I love using the analogy of an artist painting a masterpiece of their very own because I really think that is what we do. Every story that comes out of my chaotic mind is a masterpiece in its own right.

This does not mean that I believe everything I created will become a bestseller, while that would be really awesome, it is not why I do what I do. I write because telling stories is what I honestly feel I am called to do. My heart tells me that doing the research required to create the World of Kedoshim, at this time in my life, is what I am meant to do. It is how I can use the gifts I've been given to honor the one who gave them to me and to encourage those who read them with real and honest possibilities. The struggles of life are always going to be there, and if I can encourage even just one other person with a story that is believable and relatable, I will do what it takes to make that happen. Bringing others along for the journey helps me do just that.

Much of what I believe the story, Finding Philemon, brings to the table is this idea that regardless of the choices Onesimus makes along the way, there are those around him doing everything they can to guide him along the way. Whether it be a display of compassionate mercy to an unknown man or holding that same man, once you get to know him, accountable for the choices they've made. All of it comes together into this one cohesive journey that we can all relate to in one way or another. Making sure I bring that out through my research is one of the most important aspects of what I do because by doing so, I can be sure that there is truth in what I've written. There is truth in the message I want to convey to my readers, and it matters.

One of the best pieces of advice I have ever received about becoming a writer was to take time to ensure that what you've created is believable and that it speaks to your heart. When a writer can do that, regardless of how many copies get downloaded or purchased, they will know that their stories have meaning and purpose. Sure the purpose of it may not end up helping them earn a million dollars or whatnot, but it can help them see that they, themselves, have meaning and purpose too. It can do the same for anyone who reads what has been painted so beautifully on the pages of a book as well. 

Take this for what it is worth though. Creating a story that blends history and fiction together in a refreshing and relatable way can change someone else's entire perspective in life. It can give the reader that much-needed reminder that there is something worth believing in the chaos of the world we face every day. The resource I use to build my stories just happens to be Scripture. For someone else, regardless of whether or not they are a writer or not, it could be something completely different. Take the time to discover the resources that help you build up to your purpose and calling, and paint your own masterpiece. My canvas is the pages of a story. What is yours?

Thanks again for visiting "The Gathering Room,"

M.J.E.

PS (You can find all episodes of Finding Philemon that are currently available to download at this Affiliate Link. You can also follow my author hub, Writing the Journey,  on Facebook.)

Finding Philemon: The Foundation

Greetings, 

One of the Questions I've been asked about Finding Philemon is "How did you even come up with this story?" Let me tell you, that is two long stories in itself to write in a blog post like this, but I did want to hit the highlights for those who are interested in my process. There were several contributing factors in how this all came to be, but it all started back in 2015. 

When I first developed the general storyline for this story, I was working at a church in Tucson AZ.  The story started as a Sunday School Lesson that focused on taking scripture and finding meaning in it. The idea was to encourage the children to find purpose in more than just the major stories that we all had to memorize or study. I wanted to help them see that there are stories in the bible about more than what they are typically taught. 

We all know there are THE STORIES that we always teach, and I wanted to show them there is more to the Bible than just those stories that we could learn from. So, we used some really fun bible study methods to learn the lesser-known stories in scripture. One of these stories was about a runaway slave, who found his way to Rome, learned about faith, and was then sent back home in search of forgiveness. Sound familiar?

Yep, you guessed it! The very short letter that Paul wrote to Philemon about a runaway slave, who needed to find their way home. So as the scripture for one of our lessons about the lesser-known story, my approach was going to be about forgiveness and finding our way back to God when we make bad choices. Little did I know that when I was preparing for that lesson, I would end up discovering one of my favorite stories in scripture. 

Yes, I knew that the story was always there, but my understanding of it was not what it is today. It was one of those things where you already have a surface-level understanding of what it's talking about but find out there is something much deeper woven into it, through the surface-level stuff that completely changes your whole mindset. I never expected to discover the story's message, but there will be more on that in my next video on Facebook. 

This post is about developing the story that Finding Philemon is today. I did not write this story until a few years later shortly after I finished the draft of my first Biblical Fiction Novella, The Petros Journals. I took it upon myself to read the letter to Philemon again just for fun and I began to wonder about the events surrounding the events that took place in the letter and the story began coming out onto the pages that were sent to a small traditional publisher in 2018. 

Finding Philemon actually started out as a short story that blended the concepts developed in the first devotional that I wrote in 2015, Ahavah Writings for the Journey, and the concept I came up with for The Petros Journals. It was meant to tell the story, but also give the reader a devotional aspect to study and discover for themselves. One might even say it was a Biblical Fiction Devotional Journal. This blended concept was something I thought would change devotionals completely.

When the publisher never responded to my inquiries, I thought I should self-publish it myself, but as I continued to ponder the idea, my motivation hit rock bottom. I lost my biggest client in my freelance writing career due to financial reasons on their part and I honestly lost any passion I had for writing and basically stopped writing until March 2023. From 2018 to 2023 I wrote a few blogs and went about my normal life, simply trying to survive. 

I spent a great deal of time during those five years researching different writing types but never really taking any further action on it. I would start an idea for something and just give up. I would outline a story about some random topic that captured my thoughts and nothing would come of it. I checked out books from the library, telling myself it was research and they would just sit on my shelf. Something happened though that changed all that.

I discovered episodic writing and more ideas started flowing into my imagination. They sat there and I began to realize some things about my personal life that contributed to my lack of motivation. I started realizing I had changed, and not in the best of ways. There was a part of me that was missing and it was causing some internal battles that I never really thought I would have to face growing up. I began to take a deeper look at my life and something sparked. Deep down I really missed writing. 

So, I picked up the Chromebook I had not picked up in what seemed like a few years and I began to write. Slowly, my attention was drawn to this file I had filled with unfinished projects, and Finding Philemon was there, waiting to be brought back to life. I thought to myself, this would be perfect for a TV show, and BOOM, the episodic series based on what I had deemed a complete failure, was born. It took over my mind in the biggest way, a dear friend at work encouraged me daily and I kept at it.

I began to double the size of the story and then tripled the size of it. What started out as a very short story, turned into an eight-episode series. As I continued to study my story and let go of all the things that held me down for the last five years, it turned into a twelve-episode series. Once I found my groove, it turned into fifteen episodes, and finally, eighteen. It had become bigger than anything I had ever written and it was filled with everything that I had just spent the last several months letting go of. 

My heart and present state of mind were built into the words of this story that tugged and broke me in ways that I never thought it would. I found healing in so many ways as I built this story and my imagination was unchained. The World of Kedoshim came back to life and had so many tie-ins to the events that I added to this story that I never thought I would pick up again and now it has brought me to a place where I can wholeheartedly write again. 

Thanks again for visiting "The Gathering Room,"

M.J.E.

PS (You can find all episodes of Finding Philemon that are currently available to download at this Affiliate Link. You can also follow my author hub, Writing the Journey,  on Facebook.)

Building The World of Kedoshim - Part Three (Tying Everything Together)

Greetings, 

This is the final posting on The World of Kedoshim for the time being. I'm sure there will be more as time allows, but once this is published, I have a number of other blogs to write about Finding Philemon, my Episodic Series, and other stories. If you have not read Part One and Part Two of this series, I encourage you to do so. There is so much to this world to build and those posts will give you a pretty good idea of where it all came from. Today, I'm going to share some information about the future of Kedoshim.

One of the things that I have not been shy about is the fact that I have way too much going on inside my head regarding The World of Kedoshim. Honestly, I'm still determining where it all came from. Right now, I have ideas for at least sixteen different stories to create. Each one has its own unique voice and purpose, while still maintaining continuity with the Book of Acts and the other stories that will be written. Every story will have some type of connection to at least one or two other stories once they are all written.

Not all of these stories will be episodic or novel writing either. As a matter of fact, The World of Kedoshim includes short stories, mini-series, novellas, and even one (or two) trilogies. There is plenty of material for me to continue building even after I finish the sixteen stories stuck to my wall right now. And yes, you read that write, (see what I did there). These stories will take time though, as writing them will require a great deal of research on my part, and who knows, I may include others in that part as well. 

The research required to write these stories has been the busiest part of this whole process for me along this journey so far. There are days when I can spend hours just researching things and not even realize, oh I forgot to write that blog… cough, cough…hence why this is a day, or two, later than expected. This is not a bad thing for me at all though, because I love researching Biblical topics. Even in college, I was that student who tried to disprove everything the professors tried to teach me. If something didn’t make sense, I was the one you asked all the crazy questions. Today, I find myself doing the same thing, except I’m arguing with myself and not a professor. 

The purpose of ‘The World of Kedoshim’ is to create a world that connects the dots in scripture with each story that is written. It builds out fictional possibilities about what could have happened with many of the lesser-known characters in the Early Church. One of my main characters is actually John Mark and if you have read any of the later episodes of Finding Philemon you know he’s already made his debut. Researching the biblical timeline and putting my own twist on how everything came together encourages my imagination and enables me to tell stories that I honestly believe need to be seen, regardless of how real they actually are. I wanted to build something relatable. 

The ‘World of Kedoshim’ will bring potential realities to the page in a way that is raw and real. Each character I create (or adapt) in this world I feel so passionate about will be as real as the person reading their stories. It is my hope that others may even find they could have had things in common with these characters who lived and served during the days of the early church. Well-known characters will have their roles in the stories as well because they are the founders, but I honestly felt led to focus more on those who served alongside them in the early church. They all played significant, yet smaller, roles in building the foundation of the church Jesus left for us all to be a part of. 

There is so much more to it than just making up the stories that could have taken place. The idea is meant to bring the early church story to life in an unexpected, but engaging way that will help the reader, and even myself, see the humanity of the stories we have all grown up hearing. I know for me, it was always hard to relate to the characters in scripture, because I only saw them as the best of the best. What I have slowly begun to realize, over the years, is that every one of the characters I grew up thinking I could never understand was human. They had their own struggles and much more to overcome than I ever really understood. 

So, with that, I am aiming to unleash the stories built within ‘The World of Kedoshim’ on a pretty regular basis starting with the rest of Finding Philemon before 1/1/24 and then The Cyprus Journal around Spring 2024. There are two other stories on the docket to be written in 2024. One of them may be a Winter 2024 release and the other is still up in the air at this point, but I’m quite ready to get them all out, like tomorrow— If only there were three of me. 

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Thanks again for visiting "The Gathering Room,"

M.J.E.

PS (You can find all episodes of Finding Philemon that are currently available to download at this Affiliate Link. You can also follow my author hub, Writing the Journey,  on Facebook.)

 

Building The World of Kedoshim - Part Two (What is Kedoshim?)

Greetings, 

I fully intended on writing this post much sooner than right now, but honestly, I got pulled so far into this world that I actually just completed the next story in this world of Kedoshim.  Finding Philemon has been completed for some time and during the month of November I challenged myself to write 50,000 words before the end of the month. Shocking even myself, I wrote a whole story, The Cyprus Journal. This is a story about John Mark and Barnabas in, you guessed it, The Island of Cyprus! 

That, my dear readers, is for another post though. This post is about the Origins of Kedoshim. I've had this in my head just bursting to get out since I posted part one of this series, Building The World of Kedoshim - Part One (Introductions). Please feel free to read that post before continuing to read on. 

Here it is, the moment you, well I, have been waiting for! What is Kedoshim? To answer that, I need to take you to the beginning once again. When all of this started in 2012, I wanted to build something memorable. I put so much passion and heart into researching different stories and biblical events. My college degree is in Biblical Studies so there had to be some purpose in why I felt God guided me to that degree. At first, I truly thought it was because I was called to preach and teach as a pastor. So that is where I put my focus. I found jobs that I could apply my knowledge to and went with it. In searching for those jobs, and working in them, I discovered the detailed story of Acts. Granted, I've always known about the book in the bible, but I really started discovering the deeper message while serving in ministry. 

With this new found understanding, I began to connect dots that I had never connected before and the idea for my biblical fictional world started brewing. I wanted to give this world of stories a name, and honestly, nothing seemed to fit. I had already coined the working title of "The Untold Journey" but something was missing from it. I thought and prayed about it for weeks and nothing came to mind. Just as I was about to give up, I was randomly searching Hebrew names for characters in the story and I found the word Kedoshim. I didn't know what it meant but it sounded like something meaningful. When I looked it up, I was in utter shock, it is the Hebrew word for Holy Ones. I was ecstatic, but how in the world did that fit with my story?

I continued to read through the book of Acts with that word in mind, and eventually found a verse actually in the book of Hebrews, coincidentally my favorite New Testament book, and it reminded me how often the biblical characters needed to be encouraged. Here is the verse... Hebrews 10:24-25 NLT...

Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.

I was completely stunned by this verse. The stories I wanted to tell were meant to be encouraging. They were meant to motivate people and to show them examples of what true faith was. These stories were supposed to have a purpose, and that purpose was to remind others that even the smallest act of love could produce good works in others. I still remember sitting in my office at the church where I was working the first time this verse totally hit home. Tears were coming down my cheeks and all. It was a touching revelation and I doubt I will ever forget it.

At the time, I had no idea that this verse would spur me further into the idea that was developing in my heart for this series. I began to realize, that the stories I wanted to tell were stories of hope, stories that would encourage others through the example the Bible set for us and I started connecting with the events that took place in the early church in more ways than I ever thought I would. When I finally combined the idea of the word Kedoshim with the book of Acts, everything changed. I would retell the story laid out in Acts, but through the eyes of fictional characters, I created one summer for a VBS. I was literally putting on a VBS about biblical characters and needed some way to bring them all together. Creating background stories for my fictional characters truly enriched my soul, and the VBS was a huge success. 

Nathaniel was born during that VBS and he was a runaway slave who would become a Christian after witnessing biblical events. Everything was coming together and Kedoshim would be a series of stories about early church missionaries who witnessed major biblical events and even took part in them from the sidelines. The Epic stories of the New Testament would not have been possible without those secondary characters and I wondered who they were. I could not find much on them but, I surely could create them, and I was really good at it. The Untold Journey had a whole new meaning, and I was ready to bring that journey to life. So, what is Kedoshim? It is the untold journey of the 'holy-ones' who ministered in the early church from the sidelines, encouraging others as major biblical events unfold through the story given to us in the book of Acts.

Finding Philemon, The Cyprus Journal, and many more stories to hopefully come, are all part of this world, and I, for one, cannot wait to bring them all to life. Next time, more about the stories I've already thought up and about how they will all tie into the story of Acts. 

Thanks again for visiting "The Gathering Room,"

M.J.E.

PS (You can find all episodes of Finding Philemon that are currently published on Amazon by going to this affiliate link)

The Cyprus Journal: Book Description

One Young Man. His Significant Story. A Witness of the Early Church.

A young man once called John, now much older and called Mark, spent years serving those close to the one called Savior. His life, seemingly insignificant, had more purpose than most may realize. Was he one of the Original Founders? No, but he was with them and earned his place among them. This is where his story began, and also where it may have ended.Many knew him as the young cousin to Barnabas the Encourager, the son of Mary who offered her home to honor the Savior and those who followed Him, or even the man who abandoned Paul on his First Missionary Journey, but there is more to his story. His story is one of new beginnings, a promise fulfilled, and a man who overcame fear of the unknown.
The Cyprus Journal is a first-hand account of the ministry on the Island of Cyprus, through the eyes of John Mark as he documents his life's calling as a memento to those who fear failure. His Purpose? To remind those who have fallen away from the faith, that they are not alone in their failures. To foster growth and to encourage them to Come Home!

The World of Kedoshim: Series Summary

The World of Kedoshim:

Kedoshim (Holy Ones) is a fictional world inspired by Biblical Events. Within Kedoshim, you will discover the stories of historical figures, both well-known and lesser-known, who contributed to building the Early New Testament Church. This is their journey, and the roots of those who are more widely recognized, shaping the world as we know it today.
"Your love has given me much joy and comfort, my brother, for your kindness has often refreshed the hearts of God's people." Philemon. 1:7 NLT

Building The World of Kedoshim - Part One (Introductions)

 Greetings, 

I am so excited to share this post with you today! I will likely be doing a video on this soon as well for Facebook. But let's lay it out here and now because this is an epic story. 

Kedoshim: The Untold Journey was a concept I came up with in 2012. What started out as a story that would parallel the book of Acts but focus on the fictional siblings Nathaniel, Zadok, and their sister Elena, was something I never thought would be what it is today. Then in 2014, when my wife and I began discussing creating more than one story, I outlined 4 books that never actually got written. Thus, Kedoshim: The Journey Remembered was born. I still have blog posts from back in 2012 and 2014 that I wrote focusing on these two entities. At the time, I was super excited to see where God was going to take this little storytelling dream of mine and for a while, my heart was filled with the motivation to keep going. 
Little did I know just how much life would get in the way over the next several years. My writing career migrated to focus on Devotional Writing because that is what I felt I was meant to do. While I self-published, co-authored, and collaborated on multiple books with others, my career also enabled me to begin working for respective online website ministries, such as Our Daily Journey, and The Gospel Daily, things did not go like I thought they would. I got so wrapped up in the commercialism that I honestly believe I lost my drive to continue writing. My last publication in that world was a very special Christmas Story titled Reflecting Christmas which  I wrote and dedicated to our Firstborn in 2016. Oddly enough, I released a second edition of it in 2018, with her beautiful additions, that has a special place in my heart, even today.

The reality of it all is that life just got in the way. In 2018, I made my way back to my Biblical Fiction Roots when I released my first novella, Petros Journals. This is a story that brings Peter's hands-on experiences to life from the gospel as if he is telling the story of Jesus. It became pretty popular, but that didn't last long either. In the same year, I wrote the original draft of Finding Philemon, a hybrid Devotional/Short Story that I hoped to get published traditionally. When Nothing came of my hopes and dreams on that project, I put it on the shelf and stopped writing, almost altogether. Something changed in me during this time, and I lost a huge part of my identity without even realizing it. I moved on with life and left my career as a writer to the dust building on that figurative shelf. 

Well, 2023 hit and something awoke in me with a fury, I'd never even realized what building inside of me since 2018. I discovered episodic writing and had this strange idea that I would do that. So, with some major encouragement from my loving wife, I started looking into it more. At first, there were just ideas, and then one night that shelf-stricken failure of a story came back to life. I turned Finding Philemon into what it is today, 18 episodes of the deepest part of my heart literally pouring itself out of me. Then, as I started adapting that story and expanding it something took hold of me. One night, I spent close to 5 hours literally laying out idea after idea in the bedroom with sticky notes. When my wife told me, 'Matt, you're putting too much stuff on the wall, there isn't enough room.' and suggested I use the living room, things just sort of exploded and The World of Kedoshim started taking shape. 

Finding Philemon is just the first chapter in this new world I'm building and I'm super excited to share it. Almost every day, more thoughts and ideas make their way to the forefront of my mind and there are now at least 14 different stories building their way through the books of Acts and into The World of Kedoshim. I have so much more to say on this, but the bed is calling my name for now. Please feel free to come back and read Part Two once it's up. Next time I will share more about Kedoshim and what it actually is, but I had to get the introductive post up first. 
Thanks again for visiting "The Gathering Room,"

M.J.E. 

The Cyprus Journal

  COMING SOON!

The Cyprus Jounral

  COMING SOON!