Starting Over

by Normandie Fischer

A recent post on Writer Unboxed quoted Donald Maass: “Since this proposal has been so hard to write, ask yourself whether you are telling the right story.”

Sometimes our best laid plans falter. We assume we’re to focus on one thing, one plan, and then it implodes, fizzles to nothing. And we stare at a blank screen.

Has this ever happened to you? Has a critique partner or the voice in your head suggested you might not be telling the right story?

Just to keep things interesting in my writing world, I’ve spent years writing in one and a half genres (thinking they were two separate ones) with two series and a stand-alone. Right now, my Carolina Coast novels seem to be my sweet spot. The characters of small-town Beaufort wave their hands to grab my attention just so they can introduce me to new neighbors. Neighbors with problems for the crew to fix. Good, right? So, after Heavy Weather (Book 2) connected with readers, I knew I had to finish the love story I’d begun in it.

So, enter Book 3. Six chapters in, three new characters and another big issue wiggled into the story, screaming for attention. That made three plots, which was at least one too many. The new wiggler became the genesis of Book 4 and caught my attention long enough for me to write eight chapters and imagine that Book 4 might actually morph into Book 3. Who cared? Flip one for the other. But then my daughter arrived needing help with her babies. Life intruded.

Two months away from writing may be nothing to some folk. I thought it would be nothing for me.

I was wrong. When I once again sat staring at my screen, Book 3/4 had stalled. So, I reclaimed Book 4/3. Two more chapters in, and that one screeched to a halt. Oh, I could write about 100 words a day, at which rate I’d finish one book in two years. Two. Years.

Yes, I’m a slow writer, but that was absurd.

Then came the push for NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writers Month, and the goal of 50,000 words in 30 days. With time off for the holidays, right? My head hurt, but what if? I'd done it before when trying to finish Sailing out of Darkness. Could I do it again?

For someone who had been slogging away at 100 words a day, this would mean an increase in production that made me jittery. But a goal is a good thing, right?

I signed up.

And on October 31, I woke to an idea. What if one of my problems with Book 3 had to do with the clutter of too many story lines? What if I nabbed the most pressing one (that holdover from Heavy Weather) and started an entirely new book with it? And what if I tried writing a Christmas novella using those characters? The thought caught my interest. I pulled those chapters out (8K words) and… then?

Oh, my, look what I found! Two new characters! Kids in need of rescue!

Which is a favorite topic of mine. I want to rescue all children. As I can’t do that in the real world, I do it in my stories.

I had found my sweet spot. And just like that, the book wrote itself. I went from 100 words a day to 4000 words, then to 5000 words. Every day. Add these to the 8000 words I’d already slid into place and I had the first draft of a 35K novella completed by Day 8 of my marathon.

That has never happened to me before.

But it happened because I was willing to change direction. To imagine a new plan. To pay attention to the voices in my head whose story cried out to be told.

Suffice it to say, my team rallied. My crit partners dug in. I rewrote and polished and honed and sent it off to them again. Their edits were swift and brilliant. I polished once more. And from my fantastic street team, four angels offered their eagle eyes for proofing. While the manuscript was out with them, I designed a cover, made a book trailer, and formatted the thing for print and ebook. (I love Vellum, which formats ebooks for me.)

And on November 27, Twilight Christmas released.

Have you ever done that? Reversed course? Quit what wasn’t working so you could shake off the cobwebs and create something that actually did work?

I’d love to hear what process you used when you felt stuck. Did it involve a writing challenge like NaNoWriMo? And how did the shift work for you?


TWEETABLES

Starting Over by Normandie Fischer (Click to Tweet)

It happened because I was willing to change direction~ Normandie Fischer (Click to Tweet)

Normandie Fischer studied sculpture in Italy before receiving her BA, summa cum laude with special honors in English. Known for her women’s fiction—Becalmed (2013), Sailing out of Darkness (2013), and Heavy Weather (2015)—she ventured into the realm of romantic suspense with the release of Two from Isaac’s House. In early 2016, a novella, From Fire into Fire, will continue the Isaac House saga. Normandie and her husband spent a number of years on board their 50-foot ketch, Sea Venture, sailing in the Sea of Cortez, Mexico. They now live in coastal North Carolina, where she takes care of her aging mother. You can find Normandie on her website,Facebook, and Amazon.

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A Mostly Embarrassing Christmas Tale

Dan Walsh is the award-winning and bestselling author of 12 novels, including The Unfinished Gift, The Dance and When Night Comes. He has won 3 Carol Awards and 2 Selah Awards. Three of his books were finalists for Inspirational Book of the Year. Dan is a member of ACFW and Word Weavers. He lives with his wife, Cindi, in the Daytona Beach area where they love to take long walks. Click here to connect with Dan or check out his books.

I have two Christmas novels in print right now (The Unfinished Gift and Remembering Christmas), and a 3rd one coming out next year, called Keeping Christmas. But this post is not about my Christmas books (although as of yesterday, the first of the 2 titles I just mentioned was only 99 cents and the other was free). It’s about one special Christmas book I searched for far and wide to buy for my wife a few years ago.

To appreciate this story, I have to back up to the Christmas just before the one I’m referring to. The thing is, when you’ve been married to someone for over 3 decades it can be a tricky thing to find just the right Christmas gift, the one that will create that special moment on Christmas morning. The year before the year I’m talking about, I had hit it out of the park. The gift was so good, it made my wife cry (in a good way).

Funny thing was, she didn’t cry that morning when she opened the $250 emerald ring I had bought her. She liked it. Gave me a nice kiss and a hug. But she actually cried a few moments later when she unwrapped a $20 teddy bear I bought her. It wasn’t even on my Christmas list for her, just something I picked up almost by accident. I saw it on my way out of one store and bought it because it reminded me of a little teddy bear she had when we were first married.

Turned out, it really reminded her of the very same teddy bear she had but lost when we were first married (a bear her little brother had given to her when they were little). Which is why she cried. She couldn’t believe how thoughtful I had been to buy it for her. Needless to say, it was a significant Christmas moment.

In fact, as I went shopping this time, my goal was to repeat the experience and find something she’d like as much as she cherished that little bear.

I went out shopping a few weeks before Christmas, bought her a few things I had heard her express some interest in. But so far, nothing came close to that special present I had been searching for. Then I got an idea. Something I heard her mention last Christmas. She talked about this little Christmas Elf she played with every year as a child when they’d visit her grandmother’s house.

I remembered seeing it for sale somewhere. It was now a popular children’s Christmas storybook that came with a matching stuffed elf, called “Elf on the Shelf.” But every place I looked that carried it was out of stock. As Christmas Day drew near, I was becoming frantic. I should have ordered it online, then I’d already have it. But now it was too late. I thought I remembered her say that her grandmother read this book to her every Christmas for years, as she played with this charming little elf.

I had to find it. I had made her cry last year. I wanted to make her cry again (in a good way).

Finally, on Christmas Eve, I found one last Elf on a Shelf in a store, just a few hours before they closed for the holiday. I came home, wrapped it up and put it under the tree. I couldn’t wait for her reaction Christmas morning.

Well, Christmas morning came with all the joy and splendor (and egg nog) I had come to expect. Both our children were older, but they were still at home, and we’d had a wonderful time opening presents together around the tree. I had insisted Cindi open this “special present” last, and really hyped it up, knowing she’d be blown away when she saw what I had found.

That moment came. Cindi opened up my Elf on a Shelf. She smiled and said thank you, then set it aside. That’s it. No tears, no emotion at all. Just a polite thank you, followed by a bewildered look. I was stunned.

Finally she said, “Why did you buy this?”

I explained to her my frantic search to find this beloved Christmas book her grandmother had read to her when she was a child, and this toy elf. She laughed and said, “My grandmother never read to us as children. And the elf I played with was ceramic. I’ve never read this book before.”

She explained further, and I realized this was a simple case of me, the idiot husband only half-listening (sadly, as I do on occasion). Last year she had seen this “Elf On the Shelf” in a store and remarked how it reminded her “just a little” of the ceramic elf her grandmother let her play with as a child. 

“Oh,” I replied.

The final humiliation came a few moments later when my son opened the storybook and said, “Dad, this Elf on a Shelf book didn’t even come out until 2005.”

So…now it’s your turn. Tell me about a Christmas morning moment you experienced that didn’t exactly turn out like you planned.

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SPEAKING OF CHRISTMAS and… OTHER WORDS!

by Yvonne Lehman 

Yvonne Lehman is an award-winning, best-selling author of more than 3,000,000 books in print, who founded and directed the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference for 25 years, is now director of the Blue Ridge “Autumn in the Mountains” Novelist Retreat. She mentors for the Christian Writers Guild. She earned a Master’s Degree in English from Western Carolina University and has taught English and Creative Writing on the college level. Her latest releases include eight ebooks for Barbour’s Truly Yours line and a Harlequin/Heartsong series set in Savannah GA: The Caretaker’s Son, Lessons in Love, Seeking Mr. Perfect, (released in March, August, & November 2013). Her 50^th novel is Hearts that Survive – A Novel of the TITANIC 

CHRISTMAS MOMENTS is 50 inspirational stories about the true meaning of Christmas by 34 authors in an unforgettable faith-focused book.

The stories range from serious to funny, sad to joyful, entertaining to insightful – each pointing to the reason for the Christmas season: celebration of Jesus’ birth.

Contributors include new, award-winning, and best-selling authors: Hanna Alexander, Max Elliott Anderson, David Knox Barker, Penny A. Bragg, Gary L. Breezeel, Joann Claypoole, Susan Shelton Dollyhigh, Janice S. Garey, Tommy Scott Gilmore III, Gail Griner Golden, Gigi Graham, Lydia E. Harris, Lillian Humphries, John Kincaid, Alice Klies, Yvonne Lehman, Delores Liesner, Lori Marett, Dr. Julie Hale Maschhoff, Edie Melson, Sharon J. Morris, Vicki H. Moss, Kimberly Pickens, Deborah Raney, Colleen E. Reece, Linda Wood Rondeau, Toni Armstrong Sample, Sherry Schumann, Nate Stevens, Fran Lee Strickland, Ann Tatlock, Stephanie Grace Whitson, Eric Wiggin, Dr. Rhett H. Wilson, Sr.

Instead of personal compensation, authors requested that all royalties from the sale of Christmas Moments be donated to Samaritan’s Purse, a nondenominational Christian organization providing spiritual and physical aid to hurting people around the world.

The book is a second in a series, the first is Divine Moments published by Grace Publishing of Broken Arrow, Arizona. Available online through barnesandnoble.com, amazon.com, grace-publishing.com, bookstores through Ingram and Spring Arbor Distributors.

I am now accepting articles for Spoken Moments, to be released May 2015 in time for a presentation at the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference at Ridgecrest. These may be negative words you have spoken to someone, or they spoke to you and how that was overcome. Or they may be positive words you spoke to another, or they spoke to you that changed your life or had an impact. Or they may be stories of how God’s word made a difference in your life. There is no advance. Royalties go to Samaritan's Purse. Authors get one free copy of the book and a discount on orders. Word length may be 500-2000 or so words, however many it takes to tell the story well. Deadline is end of December. This is limited to the first 50 acceptable stories. Please put "Spoken Moments" in the subject line and send to yvonnelehman3@gmail.com

My second book being released for Christmas is Crashing into Christmas, published by Lighthouse of the Carolinas, available in paperback and Kindle on Amazon.

Three people are caught up in the rush of hectic Christmas preparations until a car accident brings them together—and changes their perspective on far more than the holidays.

Jacob Delaney finds solace jogging around curves and along nature trails in the western North Carolina mountains until he’s stuck ... with no place to run. Jaded Jenny Jameson, unwilling to take part in a Christmas Wish Toy Drive, finds her resolve crumbling when she fears a child may go hungry at Christmas. For Holly Swansen, surviving a near-fatal accident is the least of her concerns. Her life is blanketed by the darkness of scandal that blots out any hope of a Merry Christmas.

As family traditions, a holiday job, and seasonal scandals collide, Crashing Into Christmas explores characters searching for the comfort and joy that only God and this very special season of the year can bring.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING and MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Christmas Moments 

50 Inspirational Stories of the True Meaning of Christmas Life is made up of moments strung together like a garland draped around a Christmas tree. Certain of those moments are so meaningful they become memories that last a lifetime. For some, those memories center on Christmas. In this book you'll find Christmas stories from 34 authors. They range from serious to funny, sad to joyful, entertaining to insightful. All are encouraging and inspiring. Each points to the same thing: The reason for the Christmas season is celebration of Jesus' birth! The most important part of Christmas is Christ. So while Christmas day comes but once and year, and years give us Christmas memories that last a lifetime, the Spirit of Christmas is eternal. And the way we keep Christmas sends a message to the world about what we believe.

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