Becky Wade's Blog, page 164

The Beauty of Waiting in the Writing Life

I first met Rachelle Rea (now) Cobb 10ish years ago at a writing conference where I was giving free critiques. This darling 18 year old sat across from me waiting to hear my reaction to her story. Of course it wasn’t publish-worthy at that point, but there was so much potential and desire in this sweet girl. I encouraged her to keep at it. We kept in touch via social media. She grew up and had novels published. She even copy edited my indie novellas. But never did I imagine I’d get to be more intimately connected with her publishing journey. I was honored to be hired by her publisher to be the editor of her latest release, Follow the Dawn. So meet my friend Rachelle. I hope you enjoy her and her books as much as I do!

I can’t seem to sign a book contract without wrapping a big life event around it! I released my first novel the summer I fell in love with my husband, the second around the same time he proposed, and the third dangerously close to our wedding day. And now my fourth full-length novel is releasing two short months before our baby girl is due to arrive!

Isn’t that just like life, though? So often the writing life can seem like a journey punctuated by “hurry up and wait” as we writers wait on inspiration … and then scurry to write, wait on feedback … and then hurry to implement, wait on our query letter to receive a positive response, wait as our book goes to committee, and then wait for the happy days of contracts and confetti!
 
But the Beauty of Waiting Isn’t in the Waiting

In college, when I was tired of writing papers (and as an English minor, I wrote a lot of papers!), I turned to writing a story … then another … then yet another. The stories I wrote then later became my first published books.
 
The Steadfast Love series was borne out of a love of history and a passion for true love. I still love history and true love (especially sharing sappy posts about my man on Instagram!). But I also now work as a freelance editor, coaching other writers like me on the path to publication.

In my latest novel, Follow the Dawn, the heroine Anna has a choice to make: she can either wait for life to happen to her, or she can choose to pursue the life she wants, the sister she hasn’t spoken to in years, and the dreams she has for her own future.

I geek out teaching writers how to structure their writing so that they can make more room for the art and heart of whatever story they’re telling. And sometimes I get to encourage fellow writers as they wait for their writing dreams to come true.
 
Because the truth is, the beauty of waiting isn’t in the culmination of whatever we’re waiting for … it’s in what we do in the meantime as we wait.
 
So How Are You Spending Your Wait?

Perhaps you find yourself at a similar place, waiting for inspiration or feedback or a positive response or the book contract you’ve always dreamed of (or the next one!). May I encourage you today to not sit on your hands as you wait? It can be all too tempting, I know, to want to wait for good news and not spend the waiting time meaningfully because, well, what if something goes wrong? What if all your dreams are dashed and that waiting time is wasted?
 
Even so, I encourage you to keep writing as you wait. And maybe even wrap some big life events into your waiting time so you don’t have to pile them all together at once as I did!

The Chosen…a must-see series!

Have you watched The Chosen yet? If not, you must! This video series has already brought me closer to Christ and I’m not even to episode 5 yet!

get THE CHOSEN free app

The Chosen is a free video series that brings the gospels to life. And I mean vivid-step-off-the-page-and-put-on-flesh kind of life! It’s phenomenal! The insights. The cultural revelations. The humor!

I honestly cannot recall a time in my life that I didn’t know that Christ died for my sins and that he loves me endlessly, and I’m grateful (#majorunderstatement) for believing parents who instilled that eternal truth in me at a young age.

But this video series…

It has me looking at Jesus—and the men and women who followed him—in a whole new way. There was a moment in episode two—I won’t spoil it for you, I promise—that literally took my breath away. My chest ached as I watched the scene unfold. Tears came. Happy ones. Grateful ones. Tears of conviction, too.

The app is compatible with numerous devices, so no matter what you have, you should be able to watch it. I’m telling you, I believe it will change and deepen your perspective on so many Biblical people. Not the least of all…Jesus!

The series is already getting great reviews, but we need to spread the word about the show—and the love and gospel of Christ it radiates.

Here’s a quick message from Dallas Jenkins, the developer and director of The Chosen (and yes, Dallas is Jerry Jenkin’s son—a smidgen of talent runs in that family):

I’ve been a believer my whole life, I’ve attended Christian schools my whole life, and I’ve heard the stories of Jesus countless times. I’ve also seen every Jesus movie and miniseries ever made, and there have been dozens. So why a new TV show about Jesus?

Because I have a passion for people to hear the “old, old story” again … for the very first time. When I see Jesus movies, it’s sometimes hard for me to feel moved or excited. I’ve heard the stories before, and many Jesus projects just take you from Bible story to Bible story, not spending as much time on the humanity and backstories of all these characters. And they sometimes feel stiff and formal.

So when we started to write a show that explores Jesus through the eyes of those around Him, we were repeatedly moved and excited. We explored the backstories of Simon Peter, Matthew, Mary Magdalene, Nicodemus, and a few of Jesus’ miracle recipients, and in turn experienced Him in the way they did. We couldn’t help but identify with their recklessness, rough pasts, religious piety, and desperation for life change. And ultimately, their redemption.

One of our favorite responses from an early screening? “The story of Jesus that actually appealed to my teenagers!”

No matter where you’re at in your journey with Christ—whether you’re one of the many people in the gospels who encountered Jesus after a horrific past without Him, or you’re a Nicodemus who’s been a lifelong member of the God team—Jesus proved over and over that we have so much to learn and innumerable traits that need change.

We hope this show allows you to see Jesus as they did. The end of the trailer tells you how to watch this show right now.

I told you the videos are free to watch. They are—and they’re also not. : )

Dallas Jenkins comes on to explain more once you’ve watched the first episode. But basically everyone is given a chance to “pay it forward” so that someone else can watch the shows free. So be sure to watch on your screen for the name of the person who made The Chosen available for you! And thank God for them. Like I’m thanking him for Elizabeth from US.

So forget Netflix! : )

Instead, take a step closer to Jesus while learning more about the gospels in the New Testament and the culture in which the Son of God took on flesh and made his home among us, start watching The Chosen today!

The Chosen Apple App

Let me know if you’ve already watched it, plan to watch, and if you’re willing to share about The Chosen! If this makes it easier, here’s a quick ready-to-go copy and paste message to share on social media:

First-ever multi-season show about Jesus. Season One available on a FREE app: www.thechosen.tv/app Life-changing TV series!

Blessings on your day,

Tamera

FOLLOW THE CHOSEN ON INSTAGRAM

Keep Hammering

I have the best job there is. I can live in an imaginary world all
day, making up stories and creating new characters. I’m my own boss. I
can set my own schedule and even work in my pajamas if I want to. But as
great as this may sound, I don’t live a glamorous life with TV
appearances and book signings and huge royalty checks. It takes me a
year to complete a book, and for most of that time my life is very
routine—some would say boring.

On a typical day, I’m mostly alone with no one to talk to except
imaginary people. And even though I’m my own boss, I find that I’m much
more productive if I stick to a schedule (and change out of my pajamas.)
I get up early, eat breakfast, and then have my “quiet time,” praying
and reading my Bible. This daily time alone with God helps me remember
Who I’m really working for and why.

After my quiet time, I go into my office, sit down at the computer,
and write. (Of course, I also check my e-mail and Facebook and try not
to get too distracted . . .) There are days when my writing goes so well
that I lose all track of time. On other days, I have to discipline
myself to write whether I feel like it or not. As my manuscript deadline
draws near, I set daily writing goals—usually about five pages a day. I
work this way for 5 days a week and sometimes on Saturday but I always
take Sunday off—a Sabbath rest that refreshes me for work on Monday.

I recently completed another novel, and after time off for a
much-needed vacation, I will soon begin the process all over
again—researching then writing and rewriting another novel, finishing it
one year from now. I’m sometimes asked why I do it. Why do I sit at my
desk day after day, year after year, with no guarantee that my book will
ever sell a single copy or will impact a single life? The short answer
is, because I’m convinced that it’s what God has asked me to do. Mind
you, it took a few years for me to come to the conclusion that God had
called me to be a writer. And it took eleven years from the time I first
sat down to write until my first book was published. Believe me, there
were many rejections and tears and much second-guessing during those
eleven years. But I kept writing, with no guarantee that I would ever be
published, no proof that I wasn’t wasting my time.

I often thought of Noah. Many years passed from the time when he
first heard God asking him to build an ark, until the first raindrops
fell. He had no money-back guarantees while he hammered away. If it
turned out that God hadn’t spoken to him, then he would have wasted his
life. But he took a chance that God was calling him, that the rain would
come, and he obeyed. And Noah saved himself and his family.

I believe that God calls every one of us to serve Him—in a variety of
ways, big and small, as many and varied as there are snowflakes. We can
choose to actively listen for His call or not. Then we can choose to
obey or not. Most of the time, we won’t have any guarantee that our
obedience will have an effect. Will we keep hammering? Keep writing?
Keep praying for that person God put on our heart? Keep doing the daily
task of showing up, doing our best, believing that we’re acting in
obedience with no proof, without a single raindrop falling?

If you’re losing heart, wondering if your calling is real or if your
work is in vain, consider Noah. Or Abraham. “By faith Abraham, when
called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance,
obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going”
(Hebrews 11:8). And because he obeyed, Abraham became the ancestor of
Jesus Christ.  Please don’t give up. Please keep hammering and obeying.
I’m very glad that I did.

Inspired by Scripture

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Thirty Years Later (and a giveaway!)

Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone! I’m delighted to welcome author Robin W. Pearson to the blog today. She’s sharing about her love story and also offering a wonderful giveaway. Thanks for joining us here at Inspired by Life…and Fiction and congratulations on the release of your debut novel, Robin! -Becky

Thirty years later, Hubby and I are still pointing fingers.
I say he asked me out first, and he says I asked him. While we’re a bit cloudy
on those facts, we do agree that we ate nearly raw, grilled hamburgers that
night, but the company was delicious.

The same is true for our twenty-fifth anniversary dinner. We didn’t like the food that much, and we had to console ourselves by swinging by Harris Teeter for some single-serve dulce de leche ice cream, but the conversation and the time together…so yummy.

Not that every moment has been as easy as choosing a few ounces of Häagen-Dazs at the grocery store. Rather, our life is like my favorite chocolate-covered pecans from Schermer. It only ships them at certain, cooler times of year to ensure their quality, so I savor each precious, hard-to-find morsel.

Just like these salty-sweet treats, our relationship isn’t easy; it’s not something you find everywhere. But it’s worth working and waiting for. And while I’m absolutely sure that Hubby looks at me sometimes and wonders, “Who is this woman God gave me?” our sometimes salty, usually sweet, always flavorful life has been good. So good. Surprisingly so, from day one.

And what has surprised me? Let me count the ways…That we exchanged “I love yous” less than a month after that mysterious first date. Getting married just over a year after graduating college. Raising seven little people and just as many dogs over the years. Moving umpteenth times. Writing a book, homeschooling, adoring our in-laws. That he thinks I’m just as cute wearing my silk cap at 3:00 in the afternoon as I was strolling across the quad all those years—and dress sizes—ago. Blessings upon blessings, all.

Yet, one of the biggest surprises is that we’re still laughing, and not only over old stories and hotly contested memories but over new jokes, adventures, and our ever-evolving relationship that has matured but not grown old. I attribute it to our shared passion—not the heartbreaking emotion Beatrice Agnew, my main character in A Long Time Comin’, felt for the man who abandoned her. Our love is a joyful overflow of our faith—like the gift Beatrice received from the Man who died for her. The Lord keeps us loving and laughing, as much today as we did 11,000 yesterdays ago over a couple of hamburgers.

And I’ll tell you a secret. I think Hubby is still as cute, too. As cute as the day I asked him out. Just don’t tell him I said so.

Giveaway

Robin is giving away an audiobook copy of her new release, A Long Time Comin’, as well as a bag of the Schermer chocolate-covered pecans she mentioned above! To enter, please leave a comment on this post. For an extra entry, tweet about the giveaway using the click-to-tweet box below. This giveaway is open to USA residents only and the winner will be selected randomly on February 19th.

Enter to win chocolate-covered pecans and the audiobook of A Long Time Comin’ by @RobinwPearson! #ALongTimeCominGiveaway #giveawayalert
Click To Tweet

Robin W. Pearson’s writing sprouts from her Southern roots, her faith, and her love of her sweet husband, seven children, and her dog, Oscar. All lend authenticity to her debut novel, A Long Time Comin’. After graduating from Wake Forest University, she has corrected grammar up and down the East coast in her career as an editor and writer that started with Houghton Mifflin Company twenty-five years ago. Since then she has freelanced with magazines, parenting journals, textbooks, and homeschooling resources. Follow Robin on her blog, “Mommy, Concentrated,” where she shares her adventures in faith, family, and freelancing.

Web site | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

Finding Truth…& Giveaway

What’s the first part of the book you read? Is it the back cover? The first chapter? Maybe it’s the back of the book so you can learn why the author chose to write a book that involved whatever issue they did?

If I’m really intrigued by the history or a plot twist, I’ve been known to flip to the back…not to learn how a story ends (that steals all the fun for me!) but to see how much of a story is based in truth…or what event inspired the story.

My next novel, Flight Risk, releases in early April. Just yesterday I had a call with my marketing team about next steps, etc., but that call has me thinking about the book and why I wrote it. A stand alone, you’ll see many of the characters from the Hidden Justice novels in it, but it’s written to be read on its own.

The question I wanted to explore is “How do you find truth in a fake news world?” That question then created who the hero would be. Jett is a reporter who is adamantly committed to the truth (for reasons you’ll have to read to know), but his world is rocked when one of his stories may have triggered a whole sequence of events.

I also got inspiration from a plane crash on the 14th Street Bridge into the District that occured in 1982. Because we lived so close to the 14th Street Bridge, I would often think of that crash when zipping around Northern Viriginia and the District. It turns out it could have been prevented by deicing, but I twist it up with questions about technology that may (or may not) have been on the plane. I also layer in fears that it could be another 9/11 event…something I lived through very intimately as I worked at a court next to the White House at the time.

Flight Risk is entirely fiction, but it springs from a real event with the emotion of another event layered on top. Add in a heroine who was begging for her own story (Ms. Savannah Daniels) and it was a story I desperately wnated to write, but also a lot harder than I anticipated. I thought I understood who Savannah was, until it was time to write her story. Then I realized just how much I didn’t know her. I’m really proud of how this book has turned out and can’t wait for you to read it.

I also wanted to let you know that I’m giving away a signed copy of my friend Tricia Goyer’s latest nonfiction book A Grumble Free Year. You can enter below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Almost There

Hi friends, 

Excited to be with you today! This week I’m working on my first set of galleys for The Crushing Depths. It’s such a fun time being so close to publication but also nerve-wracking knowing this is my last chance to make any changes. 

From Draft to Published

In case you aren’t familiar with the process a book goes through from the time I turn the rough draft into my publisher, I thought I’d share about the steps involved today. 

Rough Draft

First, I turn in my rough draft. And when I say rough, I mean rough. I write my first drafts as they come out with emotions all over the page, I delve deep into my characters or strive to, I write scenes that I envision though I know might not make the final cut. I overexplain and don’t describe nearly enough. But I do this because I want my editors to see who the characters are to me and then, after they read through it, they met to discuss it. Then they write up Editorial Notes that some authors dread and other authors love. I fall in the latter category…after I have a few hours to fully process and a lot of dark chocolate and espresso to see my through. 

Revisions

The feedback I usually receive is that my suspense thread works, and my overall structure is intact. Usually, they think the characters will work well with some adjustment and then they share their areas of concern. Yes, there are always areas of concern. This is where the chocolate comes in handy. My personal favorite for these times is Equal Exchange Organic Dark Chocolate—Ecuador Dark. Heavenly. 

Then I spend a few days daydreaming and playing with ideas on how to best attack revisions. Diving into revisions is my favorite part of the process. The story is already there, you’re just chipping away the dross and finding the heart of it. 

Line Edits

Once revisions are done, I send it back in. My line editor goes through them line by line and does an amazing job! If she finds things that still need to be changed, she gives me the opportunity to do so. After that, it’s on to the copyeditor who reads through for consistency and so much more. I do not envy her job, but she also does an amazing one. 

Galleys Arrive

And, then the first set of galleys arrive. They are in a hard copy with the pages set like they will be in the book. I get my purple pen (thanks to Julie Klassen for the recommendation years ago), some sticky notes, a notebook, and of course a tall cup of coffee. This is my second favorite stage of the process. It’s slow and I try my best to be meticulous because I know it’s the last stage in the process. After this, I will get one more set of galleys but the only changes to be made are if I find a typo or error of some kind, which is very rare. 

Published

This is the final stage before the manuscript goes to print. Soon it will be in your hands. I hope you’ll enjoy Rissi and Mason’s story. I can’t wait to share it with you!  

Enter our Giveaway!

One more thing I excited to share with you is a super fun giveaway I’m doing with three friends. Tomorrow is the last day to enter to win four autographed books and four special prizes. Drop by www.danipettrey.com/giveaway to enter today! 

Enter the giveaway!



Reader Question:

If you’re a writer, what’s your favorite stage of the process? If you’re a reader, what supplies or items do you like to have handy when you read a book? A special snack, drink…bookmark? 

I can’t wait to read your answers in the comments below. 

Have a fabulous rest of your week! 

Dani

Be Our Valentine (Giveaway)

I’ve teamed up with five other authors to offer a sweet giveaway. The next best thing to chocolate! Visit this link to enter between February 10-15 (open to US and International readers). One winner will receive all six novels pictured below. Enjoy and Happy Valentine’s Day.

A New Cover (and a GIVEAWAY!)

One of the most fun events in the life of a writer is getting to see the cover for a new book! Novelists are usually able to have input on the cover and even if we sometimes get a cover that doesn’t perfectly match our vision for our story, we usually get to see the cover in time that we can make some tweaks. But sometimes, it works best to make tweaks to the story, rather than to the cover. That was the case with my sixth novel, A Scarlet Cord. When the designer at WaterBrook Press sent me this image, it took my breath away. I loved it!

They came over a shallow rise and an old stone church loomed on the horizon, standing sentinel in the middle of the plains. …The prairie grasses had grown up around it, and now bright spatters of autumn’s last wildflowers were daubed among bearded wisps of brome and wheatgrass.

There was only one problem: no old stone church appeared anywhere in my novel! The publisher offered to go back to the drawing board with the cover, but we realized there was a better solution—one that would allow me to keep a cover I loved. I was still working on the manuscript, so I found a scene in my book set in a random parking lot. I was able to move my characters to this church to have that same conversation. Several readers commented on how cool it was that my cover designer captured the scene so perfectly! But the secret was, I was the one who “captured” that cover so perfectly because I was looking at the exact image when I wrote the scene! You can read my description from the book in the caption beneath the cover.

Something similar happened with my October novel, Chasing Dreams, second in the Chandler Sister Novels series. I really liked the cover the publisher’s designer created, but I’m a huge fan of covers that truly illustrate the story inside, so I felt there needed to be an explanation for the rather specific image on the cover. Again, my manuscript wasn’t finished at the time I first saw the cover, so I made up a story to match the image. You can read my description in the caption below this cover:

The sisters crafted a flouncy rag garland from paper hearts and little scraps of linen they’d torn from some old curtains Mom had sewn for the bedroom they shared as little girls. Phee had come up with the idea…after she found the old curtains in a box Dad had brought for them to sort through.

A different sort of cover dilemma presented itself a couple of weeks ago when I first saw the cover of Finding Wings, the third and final Chandler Sisters Novel set to release this September. I really liked the cover my publisher’s designer had created, but it immediately felt too…familiar! And then I realized why. In thumbnail size, especially, the new cover looked very similar to the original cover of my novel, A Nest of Sparrows (which I also loved!) Since I’m one who remembers the books I’ve read by their covers, I was afraid readers might see this and think they’d already read it!

Fortunately, the publisher remembered that they’d had a variation on this cover during the design process. They went back to the drawing board (just a little) and sent me this beautiful final image that I love, and that won’t be confused with past covers.

I’m so pleased with how beautiful the three covers look lined up together:

GIVEAWAY: I’d like to send a copy of Chasing Dreams to one of our wonderful readers of Inspired by Life…and Fiction. (U.S. readers only, please.) To be entered for the drawing, simply comment on this post. I’ll name a winner tomorrow at the top of this post, so be sure to check back and see if your name was drawn!

Inspired by Scripture

This Sunday feature is brought to you by ClashEntertainment.com. You may sign up to receive a beautiful photo with scripture in your inbox each morning or view the verse each day online.