Robert Roush's Blog, page 5

Our Battle . . . It's not with our spouses!

This weekend, I took my wife to see War Room for her birthday. What an outstanding movie. The message is simple, yet profound in its impact for Christian marriages, and other relationships for that matter. "Our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world powers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens." (Ephesians 6:12)

So often couples find themselves fighting each other, believing the worst, and unwilling to trust God to do His part in the three-stranded relationship of marriage. Our spouses are not our enemies. But, that doesn't mean there isn't one. "Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." (1 Peter 5:8) A biblical marriage is the picture God chooses to represent the relationship of Christ to the Church. So, you better believe the enemy will do all they can to devour marriages.

As believers, we are called to "resist the devil, and he will flee." (James 4:7) Don't let the enemy trick you into fighting your spouse when you should be resisting the evil influence of the enemy. My wife and I often mentor engaged couples, prior to their wedding. One of the most crucial messages they can learn is to give their spouse the benefit of the doubt. So often we ascribe such horrendous motives to those we love. Yet, I believe if we stop and ask ourselves, is this really the kind of person who would have such evil intentions? We would realize we are believing the lies of the enemy.

It is great to see a growing awareness to spiritual warfare in popular media. In addition to this movie, another notable example is the television show Answered Prayers, which showed on TLC this summer. It won't surprise anyone who has read my first book that I have a passion to bring awareness to the unseen battle that rages around us.

Fight the good fight!

Vacation Reading

We just returned from a week of camping. I love the slow-paced vacation option camping offers our family. Swimming, kayaking, fishing, biking, campfires, S'mores, and my favorite, reading! There is no better way for a writer to tweak his or her story telling ability than through reading a variety of authors. You can learn from those who've mastered the craft, and you can learn from the mistakes of others. As you can see from the covers above, there are some excellent storytellers in my list from this past week.

I began by completing Luana Ehrlich's debut novel One Night in Tehran. The second book in the series, Two Days in Caracas, recently released in June. This was a great read for a debut novel. I have made an intentional effort this year to read both new-to-me authors, and indie authors. This book qualified in both regards.

The next book I read was really more of novella from Stephen King. Many years ago, I watched the movie Langoliers. This was my first exposure to King's unique story telling ability. While I am not a big horror fan, Langoliers is more of a speculative fiction than some of his more traditional horror stories. So, in preparation for my vacation reading, I picked up the Four Past Midnight ebook, which contains the Langoliers story. I'm not usually one to read or watch a story more than once, but I thoroughly enjoyed reading this story.

From there, I went on to read a couple series continuations. The first was Silver Hand by Stephen R. Lawhead. I really enjoyed book one of this series, though I haven't written a blog review of it. These books do stand alone, but there is a tight thread running between them. Whereas, the next series book I read, Watcher in the Woods by Robert Liparulo, is really more like the second act in a three part story. This series has a great premise, but I would have preferred the books had been combined rather than sold as three separate novels.

The final novel, which I began reading while camping, and I hope to finish yet this weekend, is Distortion by Terri Blackstock. I was first introduced to Terri's writing through her great series called Cape Refuge. I read these books back before I started writing In The Image of Man. Without a doubt, Terri's writing along with Frank Peretti's Darkness series had the most significant influence on my own writing.

Back to reading. . .

'Till next time.

Book Review - Story Trumps Structure by Steven James

I have read many resources on the craft of writing. From these I have gleaned, and I’m sure missed much valuable information. However, I do not believe I have read anything as valuable to the development of a quality story as the book Story Trumps Structure by Steven James. I’ve read several of this author’s novels, a couple of which I've reviewed previously in this blog. I absolutely love Steven's engaging and suspenseful writing. This book brings an under-the-hood look at his thought process while creating those enthralling stories.

So much has been written about plotting, outlining, creating backstory, point of view (POV), grammatical good and bad, and on and on it goes. As its title suggests, this isn’t that book. Instead, Story Trumps Structure is a guide to really thinking through your story. How do you escalate tension? How do you create it in the first place? And, why do you need it? It guides you to think through your plot twists, overall and in each scene. There are many other valuable story considerations presented, such as cause-effect, story progression, and the value of organic writing, just to name a few.

The book also examines character development. This is the best, if not only, book I’ve read on character status, and the value varying status between characters. There are other character considerations, which I have observed in other resources, such as quirks, transformation, uniqueness, and attitude. But, even in these more common considerations, his approach is fresh and effective. I also really enjoyed his discussion of character intention.

I read this book, as I often do, between the first draft of my next novel and the rewrite process. I believe Steven’s insights will prove invaluable in taking my own writing to the next level. I only wish I had read this book before writing my first novel. Yes, I have much to learn about my craft, as I believe we all do.

This book will remain on my writing desk for years to come and I give it a “14 dog-eared pages” rating!

‘Till next time.

Creating Relatable Characters

Sarah McIntyre - Unseen Dominion Series If you’ve read my book reviews, you know that I usually comment on the quality of the characters in a story. In my opinion, the ability to develop characters that are both believable and relatable is paramount to an engaging story. As a writer, it is my job to develop characters to the point that the reader cares about what happens to them. Whether they are lovable, or easy to hate, they need to feel like real people. Even if they aren’t people, as may be the case in speculative and fantasy novels.

So how does one go about creating jump-off-the-page characters? I’ll admit, I am not a recognized expert on the subject. I haven’t been writing best sellers for decades. But, I am a student of people and I believe that is key to creating realistic characters. When we attempt to describe someone, our first instinct is to address physical characteristics—tall, short, lanky, not, blond, curly, bald, blue-eyed, green skin, fangs, talons, on and on and on. While these can be important to help the reader establish a frame of reference, just a little detail will allow the reader’s imagination to fill in the rest.

More important are the personality, past experiences, and goals of the individual. While these won’t necessarily make their way directly into the story, they shape everything about the character—how they dress, walk, talk, think, react, solve problems, and relate to other characters. If a writer doesn’t work through the details of a character’s personality, past, and plans, the characters will begin to look and act an awful lot like the author. Let’s face it, most of us just aren’t that interesting.

I’ve personally found that the ability to flesh out the details of my characters is helped by studying people. This involves more than just watching people to see how they act, though I certainly do enough of that. It means reading about people. How do introverts and extroverts differ? How do creativity and logic shape a person’s responses? I read an article earlier this week which looked at autistic traits in IT personnel. How might someone over-sensitive to sounds or smells respond in my story? Or, how might someone under-sensitive to touch play out as my antagonist?

There are hundreds of ways that studying what makes us unique can enhance a writer’s ability to create relatable characters. But, I’ll leave you with one more that came to me today. As I read an article about what your Facebook posts say about your personality, I began to ponder, “what would the Facebook or Twitter posts of my characters look like?” One more unique way of adding dimension to those flat characters that first step onto the page.

‘Till next time!

Book Review - The Stranger by Harlan Coben

The truth will set you free!

Or, will it? If someone knew your deepest darkest secrets, would the revelation set you free? Or would it entrap you forever in bondage.

Written by Harlan Coben, one of today’s top suspense authors, the novel The Stranger provides an intriguing look into the world of truth and deceit. How would you react if a perfect stranger approached you and revealed a life-shattering secret about your friends or family? Would you believe them? Could you bury your doubts? This is the dilemma faced by Adam Price, when a total stranger rocks the foundation of his seemingly perfect American-dream family.

This is the first Coben book I have read. I have heard much positive feedback with regards to Coben’s writing and The Stranger did not disappoint. His development of believable and relatable characters set the stage for a riveting read. I found his writing to be both entertaining and thought-provoking. I especially liked his reflection on how we seek the “American Dream,” when in reality dreams are so fragile and fleeting upon awakening.

For me, the ending of the story was unexpected, yet, slightly disappointing. Perhaps, this is appropriate given the fragility of our dreams in light of the overwhelming power of the truth. You’ll just have to see for yourself what your think. But, I don’t think you’ll regret the time you invest to devour this story.

‘Till next time!

I'm Back!!!

Welcome back faithful readers . . . oh wait, I went away. Well, not literally. I’ve actually been deeply engaged in a major writing project. At last, I’m back. If you attend Engedi Church here EEEin Holland, you may get the opportunity to read, and hopefully benefit from, this creative pause. For the rest of you, thank you for patiently waiting. I mentioned this project, back in May, in my blog on teaching through fiction versus non-fiction. So, after nearly four months studying dozens and dozens of Bible passages and writing over 40,000 words (one teaching lesson and twenty-five devotional style readings) the project is done! Well, there’s still some editing to do, but the bulk of the work is done.

As much as I have enjoyed writing this discipleship curriculum, I am very excited to get back to working on Book #2 in the Unseen Dominion series. Not to mention rekindling my social presence among my outstanding readers and social media friends. My creative tank is in desperate need of refilling. This may seem like an odd statement, but for creative types, being actively involved in the creative process is life-giving and much needed. There is a great blog post about the Creative Personality, which I read a few months ago, that lays out some of the quirks with us creative types. As I’ve stepped away from the highly creative “novel” world, to the structured creativity of writing a biblical study (getting too creative with a biblical discipleship curriculum would be frowned upon), I have encountered multiple of the creative traits addressed in the blog.

Anyway, I’m back. And, I have a few books to write reviews for, which I read during this time away. So, stay tuned for some book reviews and updates on the editing and pre-publishing process for Restoration's Journey, the sequel to In The Image of Man.
‘Till next time.

Book Review - Ben the Dragonborn by Dianne Astle

I love it when I am able to read quality fiction by fellow authors that I meet on Twitter. Ben the Dragonborn by Dianne Astle, @AstleDE, is no exception. This book is listed on Amazon for ages 9-15. No wonder I enjoyed it so much!

This was a fun read! I don't read too much middle-grade fiction, but the story proved engaging and well told. Appropriate for the intended age range, the suspense and conflict were moderate, but present. The story presented a great lesson on diversity and prejudice.

The characters were likable and believable (at least as would be expected in the fantastical world created by the author). The use of an omniscient POV (point of view) keeps the reader from engaging as deeply as could have been the case. I would have preferred the author use a stronger POV to avoid the, at time jarring, head-hopping.

Though I would have preferred a bit more development to the climax of the main storyline (perhaps more the age target than the writing), this book provided a creative glimpse into a world, or worlds, which I hope to read much more of in the future. Looking forward to book two.

Fact or Fiction?

Throughout history, the deepest truths have been communicated through story. Some stories are real. Memoirs, biographies, even the Bible is primarily story. God's story. Stories of real people, real events, and real results. Why would God choose to reveal Himself through story?

In an excellent article for Psychology Today, Peter Guber discusses the power of story. Story speaks directly to the heart. He uses a great term, state-of-the-heart. If you want to change minds, bypass barriers, and communicate in ways that transcend cultural differences, start with the heart, not the mind.

Non-fiction--facts, charts, description, definitions, etc.--speak to the head, at best. We live in a society that seeks to impart knowledge and change opinions through the presentation of facts. Non-fiction and self-help books abound for practically every aspect of life, business, or ministry. Yet I have to wonder, is all this information fed to the brain making life-changing difference in people's lives?

Don't get me wrong, there is certainly a place for summarized factual information in the education process. In fact, I am currently working on a discipleship curriculum that seeks to communicate the core beliefs that followers of Christ should know and implement in their lives. If I didn't believe this can have an impact, I wouldn't be investing significant time to this project. 

We need to be careful not to abandon the use of story, both real and fictional, to communicate complex truths and transform lives. Stop and ask yourself, when is the last time you saw a movie based on the facts of a self-help book?

Our creator God, is the original source of creativity. He created us with that same ability to create. What better way to use that creativity to impact lives and hearts than through the creation of story?

'Till next time!

Book Review - Singularity by Steven James

Steven James is one of only a couple authors whom I have read everything they've written, or at least published. I can't make a much stronger statement of my appreciation for his writing. Singularity does not disappoint.

This is a well-paced thriller with a nice blending of science and romance as well. This series comes much closer to Science Fiction than his previous series, The Bowers Files. That said, this is still a Suspense/Thriller more than any other genre. If you've read the first book of my series, you'll know that a mix of Sci-Fi and Thriller is right up my alley.

As always, his characters are believable and likable, or despicable as the case may be. There is an edge to many of the scenes, which may prove less than desirable for those who shy away from violence in their reads. This is consistent with his prior novels. So, if you've enjoyed his previous novels, you won't be disappointed with this one.

I am still trying to get used to his use of present tense for the protagonist POV in this series. That said it doesn't detract from the story, though I don't find it adds to it either, at least for me.

I am also reading Steven's book on writing, Story Trumps Structure. Interestingly, there was one section in Singularity that I felt stepped a bit too far from the flow of the story. It was a strange sensation of feeling like I'd jumped books as I read the section that seemed a bit of a soapbox for writing a good story. I'm not sure if I would have felt this quite as succinctly if I weren't reading his book on writing.

All-in-all, this is another intriguing story with a strong message from Steven.

'Till next time!

Whatever You Do For The Least of These . . .

Our mission is to publish uplifting Christian novels in an effort to raise funds to help those around the world in need. I am pleased to announce that so far this year ten more families have much needed clean water. This brings the total for our first twelve months to roughly three-dozen families. That means clean water to drink, better hygiene, improved health, less time spent carrying contaminated water, safety, and even more time for education, for the children of these homes.

Our goal for the Unseen Dominion series is to raise enough funds to pay for at least one community water-well. As you can see from the graphic, we still have a long way to go. I am optimistic that we will be able to accomplish this goal. Not because of our efforts, but because of you. Your involvement in this effort is what makes this goal a possibility. You are helping to fulfill Jesus' call to provide a "cup of cold water" to those who need it most.

If you've been following my blog long enough, you've heard me talk about the challenges of getting momentum as an indie publisher and relatively unknown name in the publishing world. As we prepare to have Restoration's Journey, book two of the series, ready for release this fall, we need your help more than ever. Through the next several months we will make a push to raise awareness of our mission and of our first book, In The Image of Man. Here are some ways we can definitely use your help:
Pray - Nothing "we" do will bring about the momentum needed to get this project off the ground. We need God to lift it up. So, we need you to lift us up.
Read - If you've already read In The Image of Man, thank you. If not, your purchase will help provide clean water and hopefully be a worthwhile investment of your time.
Rate - Click a star. It's that simple. Getting ratings on Amazon helps to put the book in front of more readers.
Review - A quick honest blurb about why you liked the book can be so influential in someone's decision of purchase the book. Shout out on Amazon and Goodreads.
Discuss - Tell others about the book and our mission. Talk in person. Join discussions on Goodreads. Vote for the book in Listopia lists.
Follow - Follow me on Goodreads, this blog, Facebook, or Twitter, to stay up-to-date on my progress with Restoration's Journey. Thank you for helping!

'Till next time.