Rona Go's Blog

How do Christian Authors Writing to Christian Audiences Relax?

"Sacrilegious and blasphemous!" called out a group of Christians as they vehemently protested an art exhibit featuring the controversial image of Jesus Christ with a wooden penis (Click here to read the full story).

Weeks before, the same group of Christians saw nothing wrong with the controversy about Catholic bishops who received funds from the state-run charity agency for the purchase of SUV and other vehicles - the controversy that deeply wounded the Catholic Church considered by the people as shepherds struggling to love them like Jesus the Good Shepherd (Click here to read the full story).

From my part of the world, the Philippines - a predominantly Christian country in Asia, I have picked these two specimens of Christian mindset and orientation in a sweeping generalization that they somehow mirror my average Christian readers.

Without putting so much emphasis on the two divide, suffice it to say, that these readers can be very grave at the mundane and can be silly at what is grave. Furthermore, there is no definitive mark on what are to be considered grave and mundane for these Christian readers. Unfortunately, no manual has been written for better judgment.

I believe the kind of mindset and orientation the Christians readers have will totally influence the kind of Christian writers that history will produce. And only the genius will come from those that will let their art run amok and have its own life.

"God, I want to save the world by being a writer!" I superficially proclaimed that as my mission. However, I can hear my innards laughing out loud that I had to suppress the giggles from coming out for an unknown emotion that says, "Don't you dare laugh lest a higher force detects you are not convinced with what you just proclaimed."

Well, that's because I am not convinced. I am not trying to break the bubble of positivity among authors who truly believe they have the noble cause to use their God-given talents to bring the Kingdom of God at hand. I cannot save the world by being a writer, even if the underlying theme of my works carries the Christic truth. This is the reality which Christian writers must consider. We cannot save the world and change the human race with our masterpieces. This is how we can relax as Christian authors writing to Christian, even non-Christian, audiences.

How do christian authors writing to Christian audiences relax? A cursory mention of this question was posed in the novelist and blogger, Mike Duran's blog entry entitled, "Did Flannery O'Connor Write Christian Fiction?"

If saving the world and changing the human race become our goal as writers, even though we cannot help it, we will be posed with a lot of difficulties. We will forever be faced with the following reality:

The dichotomy of Jesus' Humanity and Divinity

For a majority of Christians, the image of Jesus is always depicted with a sense of solemnity. Its gravity extends to his passion and death on the Cross. I believe that this back-story image has a great influence in the writings of most Christian authors.

And when a Christian writer crosses over to the image of the joyful and triumphant Jesus in his resurrection, the scent of solemnity still hangs with such a great event that affirms the Divinity of Christ, putting his Humanity in the background.

For what is often closely coined in being human? Humanity is often an intermesh of violence, pain, materialism, sex, love, hope, victory -- and yes, these include the funny and flawed things that make people laugh like crazy even when and because they are silly and mundane.

The Christian writer can never relax because of the prejudice that his Christian readers, majority of them, have the orientation that there's a dichotomy between the humanity and divinity of Christ. Unfortunately, putting more emphasis on the theological perspective which upholds Jesus' divinity. Is it possible then to consider the humanity and divinity of Jesus but a theological point of view where literature is concerned? If and when the literary piece is taken as an art, as an unfolding of reality-having a life of its own, questioning and titillating its Christian reader, will the audience ever be able to detach any theological tenet attached to it? Can the reader ever be able to let go of his prejudice? For it is only then that the Christian writer relaxes.

What is Ideal and What is Real?

The disparity between what is real and ideal is huge. The harsh reality of poverty, sex and violence is a different hue to what is true, good and beautiful. If the writer censors himself from what is real, he is too rigid, mushy and yet applauded. On the other hand, if he depicts what is really going on, he is relaxed, non-Christian and condemned.

What do majority of Christian readers want to read in the first place; the idealism of its religion or the reality of its present time? What will make the real impact to a Christian's life-a literature that is sugar-coated with what-should-be or one that may be dipped in rotten and smelly expression of what-is?

What is the ultimate goal of a writer bearing the banner of Christianity? The natural inkling is the mission to save and spread the good news. It is undeniable that part of Christian historicity is the purpose of conversion. It is after all, a noble goal to look for the lost sheep. Taking the purpose to heart and making it a worthy cause to die for is the first problematic step that Christian writers have to deal with. In truth, the lost sheep need not be convinced to join the flock. It is allowing people to find their way towards joy and expansion in a manner that they themselves feel comfortable with, which is difficult for a Christian writer and Christian readers. While we are so full of joy and enthusiasm for the truth that we have found and we would like to share it with others, no man can ever see the same truth with different eyes.

Are Christian writers ready to fail in trying to employ their Christian faith experience to impact the world? If they are, then it is only when they can truly relax.

Meet Amy Miles, Author of Defiance Rising

Hello, everyone! I am so excited to share with you my interview with Amy Miles, author of Defiance Rising. Amy lives in Southern Illinois with her husband and son, and is a proud stay-at-home mom. When she’s not writing, Amy can be found goofing off with family, cuddled up on the couch with a good book, or helping to renovate her home. Amy is currently working on Relinquish, the second book in her Defiance Rising Trilogy, which will be available Fall 2011.

What kind of reader are you? What are your favorite books? Who are your favorite authors?

I’m an avid reader of teen books at the moment. Always trying to do comparisons for my own book, Defiance Rising. I’m the type that when I get a book that’s really good I will willingly give up a night of sleep just to finish it. I love Mysteries, Romance, Adventures, Fantasy/Sci-Fi and Christian romance. Some of my favorite authors are Sophie Jordan, J.K. Rowling, Ted Dekker, Frank Peretti, Janette Oke, Stephenie Meyer and I’m just now getting into reading Amanda Hocking’s books.

Please describe what your writing day is like. (your writing process including schedules, number of words or pages in a day, if any).

As a stay at home mom my day’s can are never the same. I write when I can, snatching bits here and there. Typically my best time to write, which thankfully coincides with my moments of inspiration, are between 9pm and 2am. The house is quiet and I can truly focus on my book. Typically I will write for 3 to 4 hours a night, normally finishing a chapter or two depending on how easily it flows. The one thing I am very strict about is making sure I write something every day. Even if it’s only a paragraph.

Please describe your process of editing and revisions (including any work with your beta readers or critique partners and your editor).

When I was writing Defiance Rising, I actually completed my entire rough draft in 3 days. But…it took me 2 years to complete the book. Most of that was because I doubted myself as a writer, but a lot of it was rewrites, editing and more rewrites. Even after all of that work I still found silly typos.

Editing is far more critical than writing the book. If it doesn’t flow, if your threads aren’t tied together perfectly or if people find themselves stumbling over typo after typo, then no matter how good your content is, your readers will get a negative impression. So even though it may feel tedious, put in the time to make your manuscript perfect.

Who are your writing mentors or models?

I learned a lot from reading Sophie Jordan’s books. I’ve always been a descriptive writer, but her books opened my eyes to just how powerful words can truly be. Sometimes reading a historical romance is all you need to expand your vocabulary.

I grew up reading countless books by countless authors and each one of them impacted me as a writer. Each one taught me a new style, a new idea or expanded my skills as a writer. I’m a firm believer that in order to be a good writer you have to be a good reader.

How would you describe your work?

The word work isn’t even in my vocabulary. Doing what you love, what you’re passionate about is never work. I spend a couple hours throughout the day promoting Defiance Rising, and working on my blog www.self-published-authors.blogspot.com to help promote other authors. Self promotion is by far more tiring than writing a book! But all of it is necessary to make a name for yourself.

What do you want your readers to take away from Defiance Rising?

I didn’t want Defiance Rising to be another “in-thing.” I didn’t want to write about vampires, werewolves, angels or any of the other fantasy themes swarming the teen sections today. I wanted to write a book filled with action, excitement and also a love triangle to complicate things.

Defiance Rising is a tale of one teenage girl’s journey to self-discovery, self-sacrifice and learning the ultimate meaning of love. Illyria Anderson is just a normal girl faced with extraordinary circumstances. I want teens to be able to sit back and think “what would I do if that were me?”

What keeps you writing?

I’m one of those authors that if I don’t write I feel like I will burst. My mind never shuts down, never stops writing. I can be standing at a bus stop and see a near miss of a car accident and my mind already begins playing out the scene, writing every detail of what I would jot down if I had a piece of paper.

I had to learn early on that if I wanted to make sure my ideas were remembered the next day I had to keep a notebook beside my bed. I could write pages of really good material while I lay tossing and turning at night but it’d be completely forgotten the next day.

Writing is a passion of mine. It’s not what I do, but who I am. It’s an extension of me. So writing could never just be a job, it’s a way of life.

Thank you, Amy! I can't wait to get a copy of your book.

All Night Long, I Remember You— Ebook For Free

They fell in love when their past wouldn't have allowed them to. Two friendship crossed the boundaries of a horizon where only a few had gone. Those who survived vowed never to return again.

When Ricah met her thesis mentor,Juffy Howe, in college, she never expected to fall in love. But she did.
Unknown to both of them, they both shared a past that has not ceased to gnaw them until the present.

With such a potent emotion for one another, they attempted to get over and heal themselves from the past only to realize, they cannot forget.

Will the future be kinder?

Get your free copy now only at Smashwords.com

Unleash the Genius Within: How to be a Writer

Ask a writer how to be a writer and you can bet that the cursory response would either be knitted brows or a scratch in the head. Honestly speaking, the how-to of being someone like how to be a writer, how to be an artist, how to be a mother, is not really defined but lived. That is probably the reason why it is be-ing in the first place. It is because it is a process that is ongoing in the present moment.

So when you ask someone how to be a writer, you can only recommend a few tools that he can use to guide him in his endeavor in becoming a writer. These guiding tools may include the following:

1. Think of an idea

Best-selling author of Eat, Pray, Love, Elizabeth Gilbert gave a talk on Ted about nurturing creativity and discussed that all of us "have" a genius. And this genius is forever giving each one of us ideas. There are some people who believe that the same ideas are given to various people. The ones who listen are the ones who give life to these ideas.
The first guide on how to be a writer is to think of an idea, to capture the gift from the genius that is within us. You will be surprised that the one thing that has been bugging you is the very idea that you are meant to give life to— to write.

2. Record the ideas that come up from your original idea

Should you be gifted with an idea by your genius, you need to listen some more and a myriad of other ideas will come rushing forth. Like a tree that suddenly grew millions of branches, your idea gives birth to other ideas and you need to record them.

3. Get the string of ideas organized

After you have gathered the ideas springing forth from your original idea, get them organized. Pruning and tweaking takes place. Discard what is redundant. Put in order what is important. And behold, you have your skeleton of chapters before your eyes.

4. Write

The last guide on how to be a writer, which is really an endless step, is to write, write and write some more. This is where praxis meets the theory. And the how-to becomes a process. This is when how to be a writer becomes real.

How do you write? Do you listen to the genius within you? What do you want to write about?

Meet Pilcrow, the Best Tool Indie Book Authors Cannot Do Without

Gone were the days when self-publishing has been scoffed at because it was believed to be the simpler alternative to an impatient or rejected author who wants to bypass the processes of traditional publishing.

In its place is an era about authors taking charge with what they would often consider their “babies,” “pride and joy,” “glory” and more. Would you think that these authors will undermine the handling of their precious ones? While traditional publishing will limit the authors about their say on certain aspects of their books, independent publishing is a call and commitment to excellence in editorial, cover design and more. For then again, majority of authors are artists and less of business people. Their works are manifestation, often revelation and extension of who they are as individuals. For this impetus, the readers can expect a work of art which goes beyond mediocrity from a real author…a self-published author.

I have recently joined the rostrum of authors who have chosen the independent publishing route. By independent publishing, we can categorize it through print books and electronic books. In this article, I would like to discuss the ebook platform and publishing.

Contrary to what others may think, self-publishing is not a simpler route. In fact, it can be a daunting journey if one focuses on the aspect of being “on your own.” However, it is also a great and rewarding experience. When one has conquered the first step, going up the other levels is like opening a gift encased in different wrappings— coaxing and intriguing one to mystery, joy and fulfillment.

The very first step an indie book author will take when she is ready to publish is to format her manuscript suitable to self-publishing. And here lies the encounter of a caveman who has first been exposed to light. While you thought you have your manuscript ready and polished, you are confronted with seeing in your reader previewer that your baby is no where near being excellent.

Let me then introduce you to your best friend— the best tool you cannot do without when formatting. Have you seen this little sign in your toolbar which you have never even thought will come in handy to you? (This is for authors who use Microsoft Word only.)



Click it and you will begin to see the skeleton of what you have done so far. This is the pilcrow—your best editing buddy for Word. You will see the kind of paragraph, lay-out, fonts, tabs, spacing you have used in your manuscript. The automated platform will not see your manuscript from your viewpoint. It will see the dots and what looked to others as the inverted P when it helps turn your work into an artwork.

Stay tuned for more of these techniques in independent publishing.

The Impact of the Veneration of the Cross in Your LIfe: Are you a Traditional Christian?

The matriarch had been buried barely two days and the house was already a flurry of activities. Johnnie noted. Not knowing what to do and which activities to partake in, he backed slowly to the corner and sat on the iron-wrought rocking chair. From his angle, he observed what was going on without being noticed. The matriarch used to sit in that same position like a Matriarch Emeritus, distant and tolerant, passive and resigned.

Lulling him in rhythmic staccato as the chair rocked to and fro like a steady boat amidst a calm sea, Johnnie remembered his heated conversation with his wife, Martha, days before the matriarch passed away.

In hushed tones, between gritted teeth, his wife had told him, “After this episode in our lives, I’ll be a changed person. I would have wanted you to share this with me but where were you?”

He was just there, with the world oblivious to his presence. The Matriarch had organized everything, nothing was left to be done. He was just there embracing the sacrament of waiting and acceptance for what was to come. After all, he could not have changed anything.

“We started out in this marriage as spoiled brats who knew nothing better but to cling to her. Now, that she’s in her deathbed, we have to do something.” His wife said.

The bills and unpaid dues had escalated by then due to the matriarch’s illness. There was no doubt he loved his wife so much. If only they hadn’t married young. His wife was right. They knew nothing about life then. The matriarch had always been around and provided for everything. Had it not been for her body, she would have lived forever.

He would have wanted to act and save the family but he knew the matriarch would not have allowed him to had she been given the choice. The matriarch was proud and mighty, self-sufficient and independent. She relied on herself and her steadfast faith in her God. She believed and knew too well her God would not forsake her. Any form of kindness would have been a threat rather than a theology of charity. Had it been offered by him, he believed he was in for a rejection. He was, after all, the least appreciated son-in-law.

With the matriarch’s succumbing to eternal slumber, Johnnie felt an imaginary torch had been handed down to him. Running the estate, paying the endless list of debts and mortgages and other responsibilities and duties were the remnants of what used to be the joyful mystery of the matriarch’s reign. He has these now in his shoulder like a cross— heavy and burdensome. Yet with no qualms and scruples, Johnnie accepted all these like he accepted his fate written at the palm of his hands.
“So, what do we do about this? Where do we get the resources to pay for all these?” Martha had asked him on the day of the burial.

Unlike his wife, Johnnie deemed the matriarch prepared for these events. She was too perceptive not to have any plans for the people she would leave behind. There had to be something. If none, they could take what they want even if it meant leaving nothing. Otherwise, God will provide.
The rocking stopped abruptly. Johnnie was brought out of his reverie as he felt his wife’s exasperated gaze finding him in his secured nook.

She slowly approached him and said, “This is what I was telling you about. In just a few months, I have grown so suddenly. I like myself now. I like the changes in me. You and I have taken different routes. When will you catch up? When I’m too far for your reach? Or when you’re too slow for your age?”

He continued to rock to and fro, moving yet not going any farther, the watchful world became oblivious to his sight. This was what is written, if Jesus suffered and carried his Cross to his death, he shall take his own cross and follow his Savior in silence and pain. He learned from the best, the matriarch had taught him so.

******

“Behold the wood of the Cross, on which hung the Savior of the World.“ Such lines is sung at the procession of the Cross during Good Fridays. According to some historians, the Veneration of the Cross almost everywhere in the world is rooted in the veneration of the relic of the true Cross.

Suffering and Glory…two seemingly paradoxical themes which in the final analysis intertwined to give credence to what Jesus said, written in the Synoptic Gospels, “The Messiah had to suffer and thus enter into his Glory.” (Luke 24:26)

The Cross evinced not shame and humiliation fit for a criminal but rather vindication and glory which revealed the deepest nature of God through the Crucified Jesus, PERFECT SELF-GIVING.

While such treatment of the Veneration of the Cross paints a glorious picture, there are still traditional Christians who put into practice what the rite signifies in the form of passivity and resignation.

Elizabeth A. Johnson, in her book “Consider Jesus,” echoes such tradition. She writes:

“Emphasis in the dead Christ works to legitimate suffering as the will of God. It is preached that Jesus suffered quietly and passively, he went to the Cross like a sheep to the slaughter and opened not his mouth. The corollary is clear; to be a good Christian, you should suffer quietly; you should go to the Cross and not open your mouth; you should bear your cross in this world and after death God will give you your eternal reward.” (Elizabeth A. Johnson. Consider Jesus. The Cross Publishing Company, 1990. 89)

The pursuit to draw out the impact of the Veneration of the Cross as it symbolizes suffering and glory in the lives of traditional Christians gave birth to the characters of the matriarch, Johnnie and Martha.
Traditional Christians relate to the matriarch with her air of loftiness, the image of God as removed and distant in the face of suffering. The kind of God Emeritus who has resigned from the post of creating the universe and thus allowing suffering. Accused of being morally intolerable, God has even allowed Jesus, His Son, to suffer on the Cross for His Glory.

Furthermore, the self-reliant, independent and all-proving matriarch for most traditional Christians is a representation of God as the purveyor of every need and even needed desires revealed through the widely misrepresented Divine Providence. It is this very orientation which urges a traditional Christians to carry his load of injustice in silence for the promised pie in the sky.

Most traditional Christians relate to Johnnie as the meek and humble Jesus who submitted himself quietly in the hands of his enemies to be tortured and crucified to death. This line of reasoning has brought forth passivity and resignation amidst suffering. A traditional Christian opts to embrace suffering in silence like a sacrament rather than crying out loud for justice to be served.

Few traditional Christians connect with the character of Martha in their discernment for the essence of the Cross in their lives. In the story, Martha was awakened to the realization that death does not end anything. But rather, death opens even wider horizons. The death of the matriarch for Martha gave her gifts and values she believed she can employ to make her a better person. For Martha, the loss meant accepting and moving on to continue the legacy of the departed.
Few traditional Christians have come to the realization of the interconnectedness of suffering and glory reflected through the Cross. Few have come to the realization that transcendence must be made for something to be done.

The Cross is God’s glory. It has influence the lives of Christians in favorable and unfavorable ways. It has made Christians react in passivity and resignation on the one hand. On the other hand, it has also put Christians at risk in attempting to carry the Cross in their own backs without remembering Jesus.

Jesus suffered on the Cross and died. But the story did not end there. There is the story of the resurrection, a vindication of his mission. But even then, on the Cross, there is already glory for it has revealed who God is in concrete and human terms, PERFECT SELF-GIVING.

There are sufferings. But it does not end there. There is the challenge and invitation to work, to act, to continue what the First Carrier of the Cross has started. The relic of the true Cross might be shattered into pieces because of time but the essence is still very much intact. It beckons a string of carriers towards the journey of suffering and glory, towards the journey of self-giving.