Guest Blogger ~ Chris Coppernoll

Chris Coppernoll is the founder of Soul2Soul Ministries. His interviews on faith with personalities such as Amy Grant, Max Lucado, and Michael W. Smith are heard in 800 outlets in twenty countries. He is the author of five books including his debut novel, Providence. Chris is a frequent guest on television and radio, and a sought after conference and Christian retreat speaker on issues important to singles. A Beautiful Fall is his second novel.

Writing a Novel in 12 Weeks

In September, five weeks after Providence released, publishing contracts arrived for my second novel, A Beautiful Fall. With Providence, I'd enjoyed the luxury of infinite time for things such as redrafts, writing without the ever-present curfew of a deadline as I reworked the manuscript, learning the craft of novel writing through trial and error. Could A Beautiful Fall be in stores by the following September?

Sure, the turn around would be fast, but other writers had done it. William Faulkner famously wrote As I Lay Dying in a mere 47 days. How could there possibly be any pressure in having 12 weeks to write a follow up to Providence?

With A Beautiful Fall, things would be different. The sound of sand pouring out through an hourglass would accompany with me in the room as I wrote. Three creeds for writing rose up to guide the process. I'd pray before each session, remain in tune with the Spirit, and keep putting words on paper.

There just wasn’t time to write two or three chapters, only to discover my story wasn't jumping off the page. Or invest weeks drawing up a new character whose ultimate fate would end up on the cutting room floor. I needed to believe at all times I was on the right track. I had 12 weeks to scribe 90,000 words, flesh out all characters who were barely stick figure sketches, construct an original small town setting, and tell a love story with enough emotion to lift the reader up.

Like a downhill skier, I pushed through the starting gate and just let gravity take over. There just wasn’t time to get bogged down in literary navel gazing, or reshooting the scenes from different angles. There was only time to react to the story.

I caught a break. The characters and dialog developed quickly in the early days of writing, and plot ideas came up even while I was away from my Mac. I’d find myself capturing those thoughts on the fly, jotting down notes on a yellow legal pad in traffic as I drove through Nashville.

As soon as A Beautiful Fall was in full swing, so too began the travel I was scheduled to do for Providence. My day job as host of Soul2Soul Radio continued. I'd write A Beautiful Fall in the morning, then take a break and interview recording artists like Point of Grace, Selah, Jars of Clay, and Diamond Rio.

As commitments new and old mounted, I still felt a sense of peace that things would finish on time. Somehow I knew the writing would get done if I kept on working and believing. I leaned not unto my own understanding, but trusted that everything including rapidly disappearing hours, creeping ants, and the flu could be overcome through Him.

The more time I spent writing A Beautiful Fall, the more I could see its possibilities. I'd traveled to Juneberry––the fictional setting for the book––as a visitor, but I was quickly becoming a resident. I found I liked walking into the small town coffee shops and bakeries along Juneberry’s Main street, singing with the faith community that met in the old church, and hearing about the romantic picnics where Michael and Emma reminisced with each other on the hills overlooking the lake.

I discovered the characters each had their stories to tell. Some wondered if there was a bigger and better world outside the place where they lived. Some expressed doubts that they’d done enough with their lives, or mattered enough, as they battled the all too common, unhealthy pull of comparing ourselves with others. I wanted them to see how special their lives really were, and I hoped readers would see it too, in the characters, and in themselves.

The last grains of sand swirled and fell through the hourglass, but it happened: A completed first draft of A Beautiful Fall was submitted to my editor at 11:59 p.m. on its scheduled due date. I’ve been a published author for ten years now, and it’s interesting, because I’d never considered becoming a writer. Never thought about writing deadlines, or picking which words to keep or toss away. It was just something I did—like following three creeds: "Pray before each session, write everything down, and keep words going onto the page."

Writing is a place where life makes sense to me, and it’s how I spent 12 weeks one beautiful fall, 2007. A writers pace is sometimes hectic, but for readers, it's a whole different story. Welcome to Juneberry.

High-powered Boston attorney Emma Madison is celebrating her latest courtroom victory when she gets a call from a number she doesn't recognize. Area code 803 home. Juneberry, South Carolina eight hundred miles, twelve years, and a lifetime away from Boston. Emma's father has had a serious heart attack. Emma rushes to his bedside, and a weekend trip threatens to become an extended stay. She has to work fast to arrange the affairs of his small-town law practice so she can return to her life and career in Boston.

And then Michael Evans shows up. They'd shared hopes, dreams, and a passionate love as young college students during a long-ago summer. But Emma walked away from Michael and from Juneberry to finish college and start a new life. Michael has never forgotten her.

Enveloped in the warmth of family and small-town life and discovering that she still cares for Michael Emma knows she'll have to make a choice between the career she's worked so hard to build and the love she left behind.