Creating a Swoon-worthy Leading Man

by Elizabeth Ludwig, @ELudwig_Author

I was in Michigan recently attending the graduation ceremony of a much beloved nephew. While there, I got to see one of nature’s most amazing miracles…the hatching of a robin’s egg. Those little critters sure are ugly when they’re born! Still, there’s something magical about witnessing the struggle and determination this tiny life displays as it pecks and pokes and pries its way free of its shell. Unfortunately, not everyone was happy about my standing by while it happened.

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Struggles of the Working Class

Peter Leavell, a 2007 graduate of Boise State University with a degree in history, was the 2011 winner of Christian Writers Guild's Operation First Novel contest, and 2013 Christian Retailing's Best award for First-Time Author. Peter and his family live in Boise, Idaho. www.peterleavell.com.

Many Americans deny social classes exist in the United States. Oh, how we fight against the idea that not everyone is equal!

But as writers, we must detach ourselves from culture and look at the bigger picture. No matter what Americans claim, social classes in the United States exist. Some want to climb in social standing, and cannot attain. And there are those who have social standing, and hold it over those who struggle just to survive.

One example is our public school system. But our job is not to change society, but to make commentary. So we won't discuss schools here.

Great novels have a fight between the classes. Inside readers, the struggle between the have and the have nots is compelling, perhaps the most compelling storyline ever written. But Americans refuse to admit social classes exist. Is this why there are so few American literary geniuses that stand the test of time?

There are a few American writers who do understand. America’s greatest writers understood social classes in the United States.

Mark Twain made light of the struggles between the African American community and their masters. But easily read between the lines are the struggles that still resonate with readers today.

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby is a perfect example that social classes make for a compelling story. Many critics believe this may be the greatest novel ever written.

John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath is a close look at the plight of the working class. Herman Melville’s novel Moby Dick is an incredible snapshot of social classes aboard the ship. William Faulkner’s Snopes Trilogy follows a family’s slow rise in social standing.

A compelling novel includes social injustice. First, admit social classes exist within Amercia, and you’ve gone a long way into making a page-turner! Pull your head out of your culture and take a look around!

Philip Anderson keeps his past close to the vest. Haunted by the murder of his parents as they traveled West in their covered wagon, his many unanswered questions about that night still torment him. 

His only desire is to live quietly on his homestead and raise horses. He meets Anna, a beautiful young woman with secrets of her own. Falling in love was not part of his plan. Can Philip tell her how he feels before it’s too late?
With Anna a pawn in the corrupt schemes brewing in the nearby Dakota town, Philip is forced to become a reluctant gunslinger. Will Philip’s uncannily trained horses and unsurpassed sharpshooting skills help him free Anna and find out what really happened to his family out there in the wilderness?

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What do Lions and Writing a Novel have in Common? by DiAnn Mills

What do Lions and Writing a Novel have in Common?

By DiAnn Mills

Lions fascinate me. They represent nobility and respect, much like I hope my stories resonate to the reader. Their muscular bodies are to be feared and admired. Hmm, sounds like a novel.

If you think your story lacks zeal, here are ten ways a novel is much like a lion.

1. If you find yourself in the presence of a lion, do not run. The animal will chase you. If a story stalks you because you’re not writing it, the story will chase you. Either one will eat you alive.

You can run, but you can't hide!

2. Lions do their hunting at night. Do your characters wake you in the middle of a deep sleep with their own agenda? “Hey, writer,” the character roars, “I need attention.”

3. A suitable den for a lion is not too large. The animal needs security in a comfortable and small environment. A novel is confined within the pages of a book that tells a story efficiently and creatively. Neither a lion nor a story acts well outside its comfort zone. The result is a misbehaved lion or a book without a solid plot.

4. Lions are not clean animals. Males like to mark their territory, never mind how. Novels have to be clean or the writer is marked as a messy writer who doesn’t pay attention to grammar or detail. Neither are pleasant experiences.

5. Lions communicate through various sounds and physical actions. They like to nuzzle and lick to show affection. They can purr, hiss, or roar. Ah, so does the novel. Writers use sensory perception and body language to express emotion into character, plot, dialogue, setting, and narrative.

Mama, you are my hero.

6. Lions represent bravery, dominance, resilience, authority, wisdom, and strength. A well-written novel embraces the same attributes when a character steps out of his/her comfort zone and accepts a challenge. The character refuses to give up, ushering power into the story line, the kind that changes lives.

7. Lions are basically lazy. They sleep between sixteen to twenty hours per day, mostly during the day. Their activity and hunting begins at dusk. So do many novels. Stories lay hidden beneath the pages until the reader picks up the book, usually at night. The story bolts into action, taking the reader to places never before seen.

8. Lions can be man-eaters. Are novels any different? Stories reach out to readers, seeking to devour their attention.

9. Lions are known to pace. A story that touches the human heart will not leave the reader alone. Its characters continue to walk across our mind and soul. The reader can’t forget and constantly revisits the adventure.

10.Lions are known to be independent within their own pride. A novel stands alone as a witness to the world of a unique contribution to literature.

Are you ready to create a lion-filled novel? I think I hear one roaring . . .

DiAnn Mills is a bestselling author who believes her readers should expect an adventure. She combines unforgettable characters with unpredictable plots to create action-packed, suspense-filled novels. er titles have appeared on the CBA and ECPA bestseller lists; won two Christy Awards; and been finalists for the RITA, Daphne Du Maurier, Inspirational Readers’ Choice, and Carol award contests. Library Journal presented her with a Best Books 2014: Genre Fiction award in the Christian Fiction category for Firewall.

DiAnn is a founding board member of the American Christian Fiction Writers; the 2015 president of the Romance Writers of America’s Faith, Hope, & Love chapter; a member of Advanced Writers and Speakers Association, and International Thriller Writers. She speaks to various groups and teaches writing workshops around the country. She and her husband live in sunny Houston, Texas.

DiAnn is very active online and would love to connect with readers on any of the social media platforms listed at www.diannmills.com.

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ADVENTUALLY

by Cynthia Ruchti

Eventually. Inadvertently. Accidentally. Exceptionally. Conceivably. Adventually.

All adverbs. All have their place, although in limited doses. All…except the one that doesn't belong with the others. 

Adventually isn't a real word. Is it?

The Urban Dictionary--not recommended for most endeavors--claims adventually is a combination of eventually and adventure. "You'll eventually get to that adventure."

Other web-based sources list erroneous public uses of the word adventually when the speaker or writer intended to say eventually.

The word adventual, referring to the season of advent, appears in dictionaries from the 1800s and very early 1900s. A more current work--Adventually--Waiting for the Messiah--by Loretta Ross-Gotta, published in 1994, was a sixteen page spiral bound book, a play on words linking advent and event…ually, which coincidentally eventually went out of print.

I'm nearing an important deadline at the end of December this year, a book that has nothing to do with Christmas. But I'm endeavoring to write it adventually, with a clear purpose that doesn't stray from the concept that advent was eventually fulfilled in the coming of the Messiah.

It influences everything about this novel. Not the trappings--seasons, snow, decorations, holiday activities. It influences why the character can cling to hope. Why her relationships are not doomed forever. Why the crises that try her soul have resolutions waiting in the wings.

Because of advent. Because after long years of waiting, so long they traced back to Adam and Eve, Jesus was born. The Savior slipped into our world and changed everything.

As promised.

Before he witnessed the fulfillment with his eyes, the prophet Zechariah spoke as if it were already a done deal. He knew Christ would come…adventually.

Luke 1:67-75, 78-79  CEB

"Bless the Lord God of Israel

because he has come to help

and has delivered his people.

He has raised up a mighty savior for us

in his servant David's house,

just as he said through the mouths 

of his holy prophets long ago.

He has brought salvation

from our enemies

and from the power

of all those who hate us.

He has shown the mercy promised

to our ancestors,

and remembered his holy covenant,

the solemn pledge he made

to our ancestor Abraham.

He has granted that we would be rescued

fromt he power of our enemies

so that we could serve him without fear,

in holiness and righteousness

in God's eyes,

for as long as we live…

Because of our God's deep compassion,

the dawn from heaven

will break upon us,

to give light to those

who are sitting in darkness

and in the shadow of death,

to guide us on the path of peace."

May we approach every moment, every word we write, every song we sing, every deed or crisis or conflict or relationship adventually.

How is that playing out in your life or your writing this month?

Award-winning author Cynthia Ruchti tells stories hemmed in hope through her novels, novellas, devotions, and nonfiction. Recent releases include Ragged Hope: Surviving the Fallout of Other People's Choices and All My Belongings (novel). She and her husband live in the heart of Wisconsin not far from their three children and five grandchildren. cynthiaruchti.com or http://facebook.com/CynthiaRuchtiReaderPage

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Play Observation!

Do you ever find yourself surreptitiously watching other people—from a safe distance—and creating in your mind a scene based on what you’re seeing? This is one of my favorite games, Observation. I will often play this game along with Listen Closely—which some wrong-minded, nonwriter types insist is really called Eavesdropping. Silly uninformed noncreatives. Sometimes I even call it Research.

Creativity booster

But what all of these games have in common is they can be used to kickstart your creativity. When my brain seems full of cotton and my fingers are unresponsive stubs, I can often get started again by playing Observation. Let’s try it! Here’s a photo I pulled from a free photo site. What’s the story going on here? What can we tell about these people by observing this scene?

• Probably a family. Could be a blended family (kids with different color hair), but not necessarily.
• The family values reading for entertainment and instruction. They are reading The Lorax.
• Whoever they are, they are probably at home. Casually attired, barefoot, huddled close together as people do in their natural environment. Oh, and they are downstairs—see that railing behind the dark-haired girls? Are they downstairs on the mainfloor or in the basement? Whichever better suits your imagination.
• The little blonde girl in the pink is not engaged in storytime. She’s more interested in the photographer.
• The mom, with her glasses and hair pulled back, seems a little severe.

The story

More observation would yield even more details, but here’s the story that came to my mind (POV person is the photographer):  

Just like Meghan to orchestrate a scene. Trying to use the kids and the lie of “domestic traquility” to make me change my mind. But this time I’m really leaving. 

I’d like to stay. I’d like to believe the lie. Wouldn’t that be nice? But manipulation and exclusion are the tools she uses to control her world, including her kids and me. 

Pookie sees the truth, and that kills me. She’s far too perceptive for a four-year-old—but strong too. She’ll be okay. She has to be okay. 

“Goodbye, Pook. Daddy loves you.”

Boosted!

Now this storyline is not a real exciting—or even original—idea. But that’s not the point. The point is that it has sparked my creativity and I can now turn to my WIP, renewed.

Who knows what might come out of me taking 30 minutes to play Observation? And it can work for you too.

Here’s another photo. Make your observations about what’s going on here and then share the storyline that comes to mind as a result in the comments.

Michael Ehret loves to play with words and as editor of the ACFW Journal, he is enjoying a new playground. He also plays with words as a freelance editor/writer at WritingOnTheFineLine.com and as a contributor here on Novel Rocket. He has edited several nonfiction books, played with words as a corporate communicator, and reported for The Indianapolis Star.

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Author Interview ~ Jim Hamlett

Born in the heart of North Carolina, reared in Virginia’s Tidewater, and now settled in the upstate of South Carolina, Jim Hamlett is every bit the born and bred southerner. He lives with his wife of thirty-five years in a house he built himself. They’re tucked in a quiet corner at the foot of a mountain. He has two grown children and three grandchildren.

Jim is a professional pilot, and for three decades has flown throughout the continental U.S., Canada, and the Caribbean. He manages and crews three aircraft. Before his flying career, he spent ten years in theatrical work. He wrote, produced, directed, acted, and did a lot of grunt work in a variety of productions: simple music/speech presentations around a theme, a lot of Shakespeare, and even Grand Opera (he did not sing).

Jim’s debut novel, Moe, was one of five finalists in the Christian Writers Guild contest, Operation First Novel. He is currently writing the sequel and has several other projects in development.

Tell us a bit about your journey. What avenues did you pursue before self-publishing?




My whole journey began as an answer to prayer, which is a story in itself. The answer to that prayer led to my first writers conference. I’ve attended six others since, and highly recommend them. They’re good learning experiences and the best path to getting an audience with an agent or editor.


In addition to conferences, I’ve had a friend (a conference contact) open a door for me to present my manuscript to an acquisitions editor outside the normal path. That editor, who encouraged me to continue, said he couldn’t sell a novel to his committee that didn’t have a female protagonist. That left me scratching my head.


Six years of conferences, which are not cheap to attend, netted several contacts and a few serious inquiries about Moe. But in the end, agents and editors said it wasn’t a “fit” for them, whatever that meant. This led me to question a few things. Was something wrong with my craft? Was the story faulty?


As a test, I printed twenty copies via an online POD printer. (This is cheaper than getting copies at Staples, Office Depot, etc. Just make sure you check the “not for sale” box at the POD website.) I distributed them to a bevy of readers I trusted to be honest with me. Along with the book, I gave them a questionnaire. The readers varied from stay-at-home moms to professional businessmen to a retired English professor who used to write for the Miami Herald.


The response was overwhelmingly positive. I took the information from the questionnaires, reworked the manuscript for a final time, and hired an editor—another PhD in English who’d edited before at a publishing house.


Then I faced the dreaded decision. Should I continue to seek a publisher, or take the bull by the horns myself? I’d reached a high level of frustration with the traditional publishing world. And since I intended to form Graceful Word at some point anyway, the decision wasn’t hard to make. After a season of serious prayer, I entered the publishing rodeo, where the prizes are small and the opportunity for injury great.

Graceful Word? What exactly is that? Are you an indie publisher now?


I’m glad you asked! Graceful Word is not a publisher, per se. It is intended to be a fellowship of writers—who happen to have their own publishing arm by the same name. It’s similar in concept to what Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, and D.W. Griffith did when they formed United Artists in 1919. They were tired of what the major studios were doing with film and wanted to have greater control over their craft.


But Graceful Word does not have the funding and name recognition to make our start as successful as United Artists. At present, Graceful Word is a fellowship of one: yours truly, who has limited funds and is a nobody. I’m under no delusion that this will be easy. As we say in the South, it will be a tough row to hoe. But with God, all things are possible.


As soon as I can get established, I’ll be in the hunt for the next writer. I’d like to have a minimum of three, but never more than seven. Ideally, I’d like for us to live in close proximity, but with today’s technology, it’s not necessary. Our main focus will be fiction, but there’s room for non-fiction, and perhaps poetry, if we can find a good poet.


At some point in the future, I’d like Graceful Word to reach out to other cultures, build and equip libraries for our brothers and sisters in places where access to good books is difficult. Plus I’d like to find writing talent in those places, cultivate them, and help them reach their own people with the gospel through stories.


There’s a lot more to say, but that’s a different interview.




A ministry platform almost guarantees self-publishing success with non-fiction, but with the exception of some runaway successes, it is rare for a novel to take off. Why did you take that risk?


I believe in story as a great avenue for teaching. Jesus used it. And I firmly believe in this story. Moe is everyman. Though the main characters are men, the story is equally true for women. We cannot survive this life without at least one true-blue friend to help us up when the inevitable trials of life put us down. “Two are better than one….”


Moe is the first in a series of books that will be similar in nature to Jan Karon’s Mitford series. Readers who enjoyed those books will like Moe and the adventures of the Blue Ridge Fellowship church. The stories are about real people in a real world with real problems—and how they can find a real answer.




What would you do again? What would you avoid? What does successful novel self-publishing look like? And what might guarantee a closet full of unsold books for an ill-prepared novelist seeking to publish his or her story?




I would repeat my attendance at the conferences. They have a wonderful way of removing the rose-colored glasses so many of us have in the beginning. And they provide a solid foundation for understanding how the publishing industry works.


I would avoid most of the self-publishing routes that are offered, unless you’ve written a book intended primarily for family and friends. I used a POD printer only to print my test copies. None of the POD outfits I researched could produce a book whose unit cost led to a reasonable retail price using the standard formula (unit cost x 7 = retail price). Do the math before you sign up and remember that they will make money before you do.




So what does successful self-publishing look like for fiction? 

If you’re going to produce a hard copy, then I think you have to closely follow the traditional model: get a sound manuscript that’s professionally edited, find someone who can design a cover for you, contract with a printer who can produce a quality product with the lowest cost per unit, get the product in a distribution network, and then market like mad.


I haven’t yet reached what I’d call the “success” level. But I can suggest a couple of ways to avoid a closet full of unsold books. First, don’t write a poor book. But if you’ve thoroughly tested your book and are convinced it’s well-written and relevant, then don’t give up on it. Unless the Lord shuts the doors, I have no intention of giving up on Moe or on Graceful Word.




Publishing has changed radically over the years. But one thing remains consistent...self-publishing still carries a bit of a stigma for the serious novelist. Convince us why this attitude needs to change with the climate...


Publishing is undergoing seismic shifts in its crust. There’s no better time for writers to connect with an audience outside the traditional publishing model. And though the stigma of being self-published is alive and well, it is waning. Ask Amanda Hocking, J. A. Konrath, and John Locke, just to name three that have gotten a lot of press, if the stigma bothers them.


What they’ve demonstrated is this: publishing is a business. If you can make a lot of money “doing your own thing,” then no one will care if you’re self-published. Not even the traditional publishers. They’ve signed Hocking and Locke to contracts. And that didn’t happen because of the quality of their writing, an arresting elevator speech, or a captivating one-sheet. The publishers saw the audience and smelled the money. The decision had little to do with craft.


For those who love the “take away,” here it is: make a ton of money selling your book (poorly written or not), and you can put a torch to the stigma of being self-published.




Marketing challenges you've run into and how you've handled them: How difficult is it to find reviewers for a self-published novel? The out of pocket cost ARC copies for reviewers? Any creative ideas to handle either of those challenges?




Finding reviewers for self-published books is easier now. If you want a review from one of the big names like Publishers Weekly or Kirkus, you can pay for it. At PW, there’s no guarantee that you’ll be reviewed, but the fee ($149) will get you listed in their quarterly catalog of self-published works, PW Select. They pick about 25 titles to review with each edition. At Kirkus, they will do a standard review (about 300 words) for $475, or $575 for express service. And, as with any of their reviews, there’s no guarantee it will be a good one.


I haven’t done either because of what I’ve read from other sources. Self-publishing is booming. It’s a four billion dollar a year industry. Both these companies see a revenue stream they’d like to tap. No one can blame them. Whether the value is worth the cost is still a question. Having said all that, I’m considering both now.


I haven’t pursued a lot of online reviews, but I’m going after them now.


Ideas for finding an audience?


My kingdom for the keys to Jan Karon’s audience. If I could get in front of them, I think the sales of Moe would increase significantly. I suppose there’s a marketing firm out there who could provide a list for a hefty sum. If they dangled the list in front of me, I might be tempted to mortgage the house.




Ideas for self-promoting?


I hate promoting myself. It’s one of the hurdles I’ve had to get over. I’ve owned the domain jimhamlett.com for a long time because I was told I should. But I’ve refused to launch a website where I’m the center. However, the counsel of others has changed my mind. I hope to have the site active soon. That’s where I’ll showcase most of my writing—blog posts, short stories, non-fiction articles about flying, and (take a deep breath) a few poems. The site will share a link to Graceful Word.


With respect to promoting Moe, I haven’t done anything out of the ordinary. I always have a copy or two of the book with me. I’ve sold several out of the back of my computer bag, and I’ve given away a lot, too. I pass out business cards like candy. I have no idea how effective that’s been, but it’s cheap advertising.


I’ve been interviewed by one of our local TV stations, but most of the media outlets are difficult to penetrate if you’re self-published. I’ve tried to get copies of the book in front of some decision makers, but they’re all busy. It’s tough.




Ideas for creative marketing?


As a pilot, I thought of sky writing and banner towing. Creative, but both are pricey, and the novelty is soon gone.


I plan to do more at Goodreads, and as soon as Bookshout launches, I’ll tap into that. (If you don’t know about Bookshout, check it out.)


Recently, I met with a sales organization that is going to share a list of significant Christian bookstores throughout the country. I plan to send a flyer, a sales letter, and a copy of the book to all the stores on that list. That’s not what I’d call creative, but I’m convinced that if I can get folks to read the book, the interest will grow.




What’s the most important lesson you’ve learned from self-publishing?


This is hard work (capitalize that, bold, italicize, underline, and exclamate it). There is no letting up. And while there’s plenty of folks who will encourage you and cheer you on, very few will step up and offer to help. For the most part, you’re on your own.




The greatest blessing?


That’s easy: the reactions of those who’ve actually read the book. While there’s been a couple who’ve shrugged, the overwhelming majority have been very generous in their praise. You can read some of them at the website.


Also, being one of the five finalists in the Christian Writers Guild contest (Operation First Novel) has been a huge blessing. It not only gave credence to my self-published book, but introduced me to four other writers with whom I’ve developed a wonderful friendship. Peter Leavell won the contest, and you should be looking for his debut novel from Worthy Publishing. Terrie Todd, Clarice James, and Kimberley Graham are still pursuing the dream. Keep an eye on them. They’ll make it.


And I’ve had a couple of other unexpected blessings. Cec Murphey wrote a kind review at Amazon. Jamie Langston Turner, whom I’ve known for a long time, doesn’t do reviews, but she sent a wonderful email to me. It’s that kind of encouragement that fuels perseverance.




Finally, what has been the hardest part of the self-publishing journey for you?


Without question, it’s been finding the time to do everything. I have this thing called a job—a very full-time, highly unpredictable enterprise of managing and crewing three aircraft. Something is always going on that requires attention (especially when flying).


And I have a wife—a very accommodating person who probably wonders from time to time who the man is that’s wandering around her house. Thankfully, she has pictures to remind her. And she’s always grateful when I fix things.


If I could figure out how to survive without sleeping, eating, or going to the bathroom, I think I could get it all done. Maybe.


But I’m committed to seeing it through, not only because I believe in what I’m doing, but I’m convinced I have the Lord’s blessing to pursue this. And whenever a reader takes time to send a note saying how much they enjoyed the story, I’m rejuvenated.


Hang the naysayers, and stay tuned.

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Novelist/Travel Writer ~ Henry Biernacki

Henry Biernacki has traveled to more than 120 countries and continues to travel as a pilot for Virgin American Airlines. A four-sport letterman in high school and a two-sport letterman in college, Biernacki holds a Bachelor of Arts in romance languages and international affairs. He lived in France, Germany, Taiwan, the West Indies and Mexico before settling in his current home in San Jose, California.

You have traveled all over the world. What is the most beautiful spot you have experienced on this planet. Why not wax poetic....give us a good taste of travel writing.

I have discovered this of traveling: no one place is any better and at some point, the more you travel, you are not a guest anymore! When is that? I do not think you know when that is, although you seamlessly stroll into that phase of travel as you do with other impressive portions of life. People around the world have invited me in their homes, making me feel like I am part of the family.

Many places could be anywhere, but this place could be nowhere-nowhere except here! Nepal and the Himalayas do have a way of seizing a human.

(No More Heroes, Chapter XXI, The Voices of Travelers)

It was a strange feeling to be a foreigner again in such an isolated world. Even Siberia was closer to most people’s imagination. Niklas felt closer to himself in such a foreign land. Funny, how so much solitude can make you understand yourself. Traveling cures isolation through intellectual hands-on education.

The air was as still as an animal waiting to catch its prey. Suddenly, there was no cool breeze in the orange sky. Besides the bus-park, the rest of Kathmandu slept as he drifted through the small streets to find Thamel. That was the best place to stay for cheap guesthouses with the best bed bugs he could find. That early in the morning he could feel the streets unwinding like a tired man does as he wakes from his deep sleep. The city’s alleys stretched with rickshaws, fruit and chai that vendors sold at wholesale prices, which would then be sold at market prices later in the day to hungry Nepali and travelers alike. He couldn’t see the bags of spices yet, but he could smell the fennel seeds, cumin powder and the anise seeds. Incense burned and smoke filled the narrow wet unpaved alleys.

A Nepali man walked around a Buddhist Temple. He spun the prayer wheel, then touched the middle of his forehead, then his heart. Iron prayer wheels continued to move all day while black soot rose from the burning candles. Women threw water on the ground and swept the dust outside their small shops. He began to think to himself as he saw a man eating with his right hand. The man scooped a hand full of curry-rice and shoved it in his mouth. Nothing in Nepal reminded him of anything familiar.

A traveler could see life in the morning of a new country when the locals are even sleeping. Everything could be closed and the smallest signs could reach out to grab his attention. The buildings could be seen because people are not cluttered in the streets. All Niklas saw were children sticking their heads out of small windows. One child had dark eyeliner, framing her eyes and one red tika mark on her forehead.

How did experiencing/writing about locations, scenery, and culture trigger the desire to write a novel?

Buried in the past, are the phases that have made us who we are today. Those ever so gentle, subtle influences guide me. When I began traveling, I wanted to see monuments, cities, and countries. I hastily realized people were my reason to be on the road while I constantly reminded myself to stay orientated on learning, not become fixated on one idea. I wanted to bring together the geographical setting with a unique form of writing. It flowed into more and more pages where some distinctive cities were the background of the story, woven between the dialogue of the characters. The result happened to be my first novel, No More Heroes.

How different is writing a novel from your job as a pilot? Are there any commonalities between them that work nicely together?

Those are excellent questions. On the surface writing and flying would appear to be as different as the humanities vs. science on a university campus. They have very similar qualities as well.

While I write, I do not care where I go with story or the outcome. I want it to adjust and evolve. When I fly, I go with a destination. I have to know everything along the route of flight and how to arrive there.

I travel the way I write: I never plan. I modestly go, allowing the path to unfold as I progress, taking in the surrounding experience, and then filling in details later. While traveling, I rarely know what day it is. When I am in the cockpit I rarely do not know how many seconds I am off on the flight plan. I want to be surprised when I travel, but I am paid to foresee things happening while flying and not be surprised.

The applicability through a given experience aids to help one understand the similarities in writing and in the cockpit. You do not need to know a lot of words to write, on the contrary, you may write with simple words and have a far more complex selection of experiences, which words shall describe in a novel. As in flying airplanes around the world: the more experiences you have, the far more safe you are going to be. It is going to help you be a much more safe and well-rounded pilot.

In the end, when you write an article or a novel, you expose yourself with words just as you do with every landing. People remember a merciless, poorly written novel as they can very well recall a dreadful landing. People will judge you harshly with how you write and how you land an aircraft.

Culture vs. scenery, which is quickest to catch your eye and heart?

The true poet sees the background of an experience, a situation if you will within a culture, occurring around him. Scenery is the forefront; it is easy to appreciate, taking photos and leaving to another area to take more photos. The art is obtaining culture, the moments of catching the most crucially subtle details, which gives writing a complete life, all its own. That comes from the people who make up the culture.

By traveling solo, I orient myself around infrequently regarded sights, smells, tastes, and sounds involved with the local daily action. I grasp at a variety of widening experiences: not meant to take away from me, the individual, but moreover, a dramatically important immersion in my own fundamentals, adding towards ultimately understanding another culture.

Many of our readers do research that requires travel. What are some important details for them to keep in mind?

By far, the best outcomes from my travels seem to have simply arrived by doing non-standard notions and rarely researching where I am going. If you are going to be travel writing, an important thought is making sure your shot record (immunization) is up-to-date, and if you need a visa to enter the country? Beyond those two easy-to-find-out-questions, I believe in going to explore, not having a map, not having a clue, and certainly not having an idea what you want to do except create an experience, one which you may be writing about for several others to enjoy when you return.

The more I research something, the more I find out how different the place is when I end up going to a particular spot in the world. Just as each day is different and our lives change, the cities around the world also change. Why would I need to research something when the experience I am going to have is going to be rightly unique?

If your work does require you to travel, spend more time on the flight working on what you need to, so when you land you do not have to be in the office. If you are traveling for research in writing, you could also take the books you need. By being in the location, you are going to understand far more by reading about, it as well as being right there. I believe in the surprise effect, adapting to a new experience, which equips oneself with the skills to learn far more than if the person never extended beyond the already known-safety-normal-existence.

Finally, while you are in a city somewhere in this world, find a unimportant cozy café where you may sit to slowly take in the surroundings. Those cafes have the local people and the ones who slowed down their day to enjoy it. They will sit and talk to you rather than rush off to work.

Give us a "snapshot" of your path from pilot to travel writer to novelist...hit the high or low points of your journey.

After I graduated university, I went traveling around the world, sleeping in the streets, hitchhiking, taking trains, buses and any way I could travel, I would go. I spent 3700USD that year. When I returned to the United States, I decided to go to flight school.

The deciding factor for this way of life was I wanted to be paid for my hobbies. Why work to have a way of life, but rather be paid for my way of life? I had been writing for a few years before I began flying. I unhurriedly progressed with my writing as I went to flight school.

I began taking flight lessons at Sunrise Aviation at John Wayne Airport in Orange County, CA. There were times I slept in my van outside a hotel. I woke up to use their pool as my shower. When I had my commercial multi engine: I went to the West Indies; from island to island to see if I could get hired to fly. I met Tony Ottley in St. Kitt’s. I made absolutely nothing, maybe 1000USD a year. Yes, a year! I flew vegetables around the islands. At the end of the day I took vegetables out of the boxes so I could eat. It was not about the money. I wanted to fly for the love of flying and not to make money yet. There is a time to make money and a time to earn my way and that was one of those times to earn my path.

During the entire process, I continued to take my journal with me, taking notes after notes, filling journals after journals and trying to grasp the elusive details behind the actual experience going on around me. I never really had a “low point” in my pilot to travel writer to novelist, yet I can say there were times I asked, “Is this worth it? What is the outcome going to be?” I simply had to respond to myself, “Is it not about the outcome, but rather the process, the manner with which I am doing it.”

I flew in St. Kitt’s a few years. If I did not fly there, I was going to Africa to fly. From there, I continued to get job after job after job to gather more experience. My big break was when Omni Air International hired me to fly all over the world. Bob Zeng and Jeff Nauman gave me a perfect opportunity to step into a new world of flying ETOPS.1

Today, I have Airbus319/320, Boeing747-400/757/767 type ratings. Out of my 8000 plus hours more than half have been flown internationally. Currently, I am a captain flying for Virgin America (Airbus 320). Before Virgin America I flew with China Airlines (Boeing 747-400), then Omni Air International (Boeing 757), Air Wisconsin (CL-65), Shuttle America (SF340), Ottley’s Enterprise (PA23-250).

If readers were interested in looking into travel writing what resources do you recommend?

Select a location, around the world, that lacks charm or where many people do not go, and then go. Going to places, already discovered by the masses is the quickest way never to have an article released. The boundless frustration of enduring those episodes of being lost in a new part of the world justly gives life to writing. For travel writers, they must build credibility and maintain validity with an audience.

Write as many articles about various topics. When you complete one, begin another. That was the best advice I received from Nancy and Lisa at Big Blend Magazine several months ago. Take notes on absolutely everything. Use those ideas in your articles. Most ideas come from the small notes I took before and then I expand on them. Write an article a month or two articles, sending them out to multiple sites. The more your name comes in front of them, the more likely they will finally ask you to write something for them. If nobody picks up the article, place it on your website.

The title of the article should have the key words that can be picked up by the internet and publications. Also, have a unique spin on the subject. For example, if you are going to write about Buenos Aires, write about how you got lost, taking a bus from the airport to the city center. Describe the scene on the bus and how you felt being lost and how much you saved by taking the bus. That is going to make people read and want to seek your name out for more articles.

In the end, I do believe in taking a philosophy book. Take several books with you on your travels. You are going to be going through several moments alone and thinking about what you are going through is a must. I do think having those sorts of books you have are crucial to describe some of your viewpoints.

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Why I Will Not Sell My Novel

In this very blog last month I wrote about why my latest novel, The Opposite of Art, is not going to sell very many copies. To my surprise it caused a slight ripple in the blogosphere, with discussions here and there about whether Christian readers are up to the challenge of enjoying symbolism and theme and so forth.

I felt kind of guilty about that.

I shouldn’t blame anybody else for my sales challenges. And although a few people thought I had engaged in a rather devious reverse psychology promotional effort, actually I think that blog might have done some damage to my cause.

In an interview last week I was asked why so many people think my novels might be hard to read. Ouch.

Obviously that’s my fault for posting blogs that make it sound like I only write for eggheads. (For the record, I try very hard to write page-turners.) So I kicked myself a little, but at least last month’s blog did touch briefly on another reason why my newest novel will not sell, and it had nothing to do with readers. In fact, it’s my fault entirely, and probably it’s the main explanation: I am not a very professional author.

Consider what it takes to be a real professional in this business:

“Karen Kingsbury, a popular inspirational novelist, has sold upwards of 5 million books. She wrote eight books last year alone and can sometimes turn out a draft in five days. ‘. . . I love writing [she said]. But the business of writing takes up ten hours to every one hour of writing.’” (Karen Kingsbury interview, Christianity Today, April 30, 2007.)

Now consider this: what Ms. Kingsbury does in one year, it has taken me 17 years to accomplish.

I have published eight novels and one non-fiction book, but that doesn’t make me a professional. I write full time, but that doesn’t make me a professional, either. To be a truly professional author, you not only have to write professionally; you also have to work hard – very hard – at promoting your own writing.

It wasn’t this way when I was first published. Back then, writers wrote, and publishers took care of the publicity. Authors just showed up when and where they said we should. Ah, the good old days. That was one of the reasons I went into writing in the first place.

I entered college to study painting. But even as a wide-eyed youth I soon realized I had to eat, so I transferred my attention to architecture, which seemed like a good compromise. Then, as so often happens when we compromise, the scales tipped too far the other way. I went into architecture for artistic reasons, but ended up spending most of my time on the business side of things. It robbed architecture of all joy for me.

I vowed I would not make the same mistake with writing. I would write to the very best of my ability. I would listen to my editors and do what they said, even when it meant mass-murdering my darlings. I would work hard at improving my craft. I would think deeply about themes, characters, settings and plots (and writing page-turners!). I would strive to make every single word exactly right, and leave the business side of things to my agent and publishers.

At first that arrangement worked just fine. Then came the awful blitzkrieg. Mega-corporations began annexing small publishing houses. On-line sales put pressure on the bricks-and-mortar stores, which put pressure on book prices. Electronic books arrived, applying still more downward price pressure. Shrinking budgets. Consolidations. Downsizing. Layoffs. And most recently, the Great Recession. If publishing was a business before, the business had become an all out war, and in-house publicity departments were among the first casualties.

Pressured by their shell-shocked publishers, my author friends began to talk about their “platforms,” an idea I had only heard before in connection with political campaigns. They started publishing websites. Then blogs. Then posting every day on Facebook, and then Tweeting every day. Every hour. Every minute. They squeezed their novels in somehow — sometimes eight novels a year — because readers need new titles or they will forget us.

“When do they find time to write stories?” I grumbled. “When do they find time to think about the words?”

I had seen all this before, and knew where it would lead. The battle would go not to the finest writers, but to the best at business. This was not what I had signed on for. I resolved not to repeat my architectural mistake. I would dodge the draft this time. I would not become an ersatz advertising copywriter. I would be a conscientious objector to all of that instead.

None of this is intended to disparage any other author’s choices. One can be creative in business just as in literature. I learned enough in business to know that. Some are even blessed to be creative in both areas at once. Mark Twain and Charles Dickens were master promoters who from all accounts worked hard on their “platforms.” Rubens, Leonardo and Michelangelo, too. I would be an idiot to deem my path superior to theirs in any way. But again, it’s not what I signed up for.

Oh, how I wish I was cut from that same cloth, but for the life of me I can’t imagine enjoying a life spent writing something beautiful and interesting one minute, and then working to convince people it's beautiful and interesting the next. I was raised by an artist and trained in schools by artists to believe all good art speaks for itself. That may not be true, but I can’t seem to get it out of my mind.

Still, in wartime one must try to do one’s duty.

I published a website, (but I only remember to modify it when a new novel is published). I have a blog, (but it has been almost five months since my last post). I am on Facebook, (but currently it seems somehow I have nearly 300 unopened messages and unanswered friend requests). I do not Tweet and have no plans to do so. I post here every month of course, but (please don’t take offense, dear reader) I usually dread the interruption. I devote most of my on-line time to editing at DailyCristo, but that has nothing to do with promoting novels.

In the fog of war I even came close to repeating my architectural mistake. A couple of years ago it had become obvious I must work harder at the business side of things or my career as a novelist was doomed. Losing sight of the Main Thing, I thought seriously of writing something that wouldn’t take so long to finish. A series of little pulpish somethings, actually, which would leave more time for the business of promotion.

Then I had lunch with a friend, an artist who knows me. He listened to my plan and asked if it would make me happy. He stared at me silently, waiting for an answer. He knew what the answer would be. He would not let me lie about it to myself. He saved me from a fate worse than the death of my career. This explains the dedication in The Opposite of Art:

“For Brad Coleman, who reminded me you cannot serve both art and money.”

My longsuffering agent will read this post today and sigh. (Greg, may God richly bless you for your patience.) My publisher will read this, and hate it. In fact my publisher may call it naive, and unfair given their investment. (I hope they will at least give me credit for remembering to include the novel’s title in this blog . . . twice!)

Others will think I’m self-absorbed. God has given me a gift, they’ll say, and I’m being a bad steward by not doing whatever it takes to make a go of it. I don't want people to think that way about me, which is a part of why I cobbled a makeshift platform together, but my heart just isn’t in it. I wasn’t put here to sell novels; I was put here to write them.

To those who think that sounds like pride, I can only promise it is not. And for comfort I can lean on Thomas Merton’s words, which I found years ago in a chapter called “Integrity” in his New Seeds of Contemplation:

“It is not humility to insist on being someone that you are not. It is as much as saying that you know better than God who you are and who you ought to be. . . . And so it takes heroic humility to be yourself and to be nobody but the man, or the artist, that God intended you to be. You will be made to feel that your honesty is only pride. . . . But the greatest humility can be learned from the anguish of keeping your balance in such a position: of continuing to be yourself without getting tough about it . . . . One of the first signs of a saint may well be the fact that other people do not know what to make of him. In fact they are not sure if he is crazy or only proud; but [they will say] it must at least be pride to be haunted by some ideal which nobody but God really comprehends.”

Anyone who knows me will tell you I am not a hero or a saint. But I do have this ideal which haunts me: I was called to write novels, and only that. If someone wants to say that means I’m naive or unfair, or prideful or careless with God’s gifts, with fear and trembling I must disagree.

But I will admit it means I’m no professional.

Athol Dickson is a novelist, teacher, and publisher of the DailyCristo website. His novels transcend description with a literary style that blends magical realism, suspense, and a strong sense of spirituality. Critics have favorably compared his work to such diverse authors as Octavia Butler (Publisher's Weekly) and Flannery O'Connor (The New York Times). One of his novels is an Audie Award winner and three have won Christy Awards. His most recent novel, The Opposite Of Art, is about pride, art, and murder as spiritual pursuits. Athol lives with his wife in southern California.

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The Glow?

Recently, I attended the American Christian Fiction Writers annual conference in St. Louis, Missouri. I always come away from these gatherings with renewed creativity and an appreciation for just how tough this business is.

But I also come away with a glow.

If you’ve been to a writer’s conference, you probably understand. If not, and if you consider yourself a writer, you need to get to a conference and experience it.

I—intentionally—did not pitch a project in St. Louis. This freed me to relax and simply enjoy the moment. When I did, I realized a few things:

• I like the company of writers, editors, and agents. In an informal lobby gathering one night we had a laugh-fest—as creatives, yes, but also as people.
• You can inhale creativity. I had more new ideas—for my novel, my job, my church—in those few days than I had in the previous three months. Not all are gems, but I think some of them are.
• You can be alone in a room with hundreds of people. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing because you’re really in the world of your novel and everyone there understands.

Now I’m back home, back at work, back in my everyday world—and I’m enjoying the residual glow. From this point through February 2012, I’m stepping onto the other side of the conference experience.

In my work as editor-in-chief at the Jerry B. Jenkins Christian Writers Guild, I get to help plan and execute our conference, Writing for the Soul. This is my second year. Last year I was a wide-eyed schoolboy conference planner (some would say a deer-in-the-headlights conference planner, and I won’t contest that).

This year, I’m just as excited, but I have a better understanding of the work that goes into pulling off a conference. And I’m wondering something: Other than put on the best conference possible, what can we do to help our conferees experience “the glow”—at the conference and after they return home? How do you keep the glow glowing?

Michael Ehret is the Editor-in-Chief for the Jerry B. Jenkins Christian Writers Guild. He has written for newspapers and other print and online outlets. He edited several nonfiction books, was the senior editor for a faith-based financial services and insurance organization, and is the editor of Afictionado, the ezine for American Christian Fiction Writers.

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Why My Novel Will Not Sell

My first new novel in two years is finally out this week. (Cue the trumpets.) It’s called The Opposite of Art, and I hope you’ll forgive a little boasting if I say right here in print that I think it’s my best work ever. I really do.

It has everything I love in a novel: strange and enigmatic characters, looming suspense, a love affair, beautiful settings, epic scale, more than a touch of the magical, and a persistent sense that there’s something important happening down below the words.

I know how bad it sounds for me to brag like this, but I don’t care. I just love this novel. I also predict it will be a commercial failure.

There are a lot of reasons it won’t sell many copies. 10,000 traditionally published novels out each year, for one. Not all of them can hit the bestseller lists. Not even most of them. In fact, just a fraction of them will come to any particular reader’s attention. After all, even if a person reads a novel every day, that’s only 365 in a year, which leaves 9,635 unread.

Plus there’s the fact that I hate all that marketing stuff the publishers have me doing, and it probably shows in poor execution. (Should I be saying things like this in public? I don’t know, which is probably Promotional Mistake Number One. And I don’t care, which is probably a Number Two. All I know is, like most writers I just want to write, and anything that interferes with writing is annoying.)

But to fully understand why The Opposite of Art won’t be a bestseller, you have to realize what it takes to satisfy a hundred thousand average readers or so.

If you’re reading this column, chances are you’re not one of those hundred thousand “average” readers. You’re more likely a published author, or a writer seriously trying to be published, or else one of those rare people so caught up reading that she wants to know everything she can find out about the art of writing. In short, you’re a true fiction lover, the way a gourmet loves fine food or a numismatist loves uncirculated coins, which means there’s nothing average about the way you read, which means if you want to satisfy that kind of reader, you have to work to understand them.

Begin with this: typical fiction readers seem to want all the loose ends tied up neatly in a novel. Every question answered. All mysteries dispelled in the end.

They won’t get that in The Opposite of Art. On the contrary, like most of my novels, it probably asks more questions than it answers.

When I was a little boy I annoyed my parents with the constant question, “Why?” Now I’m getting old, and I realize there are many questions nobody can answer. And you know what? I like it that way. I find asking questions without answers keeps life interesting. In fact, I can’t imagine how I could continue living if I knew the answer to everything (oh, the dreadful boredom of the gods).

Of course the major plot points are all brought together in the end of The Opposite of Art. I do play by the rules. But mysteries will also linger after the final page, because readers like me love loose ends. Most do not, but I do, so I’m okay with that.

On a related point, typical readers in the Christian fiction market in particular not only want all the questions answered in the end, they also seem to want the answers to include a message, a moral, or even (shudder) a clear doctrinal statement. You know: the way The Little Engine That Could teaches “don’t ever give up,” or The Cat in the Hat instructs one on the importance of tidying up before Mother comes home.

Again, I fear such readers will be disappointed in The Opposite of Art.

A certain kind of reader might encounter a few new ideas about the universe or eternity or whatever if they make an effort to think about the story while they read. They (you?) are the type of readers to be inspired, I hope, by the unanswered questions already mentioned. But I did my best to avoid writing plainly or overtly about Big Ideas. For those, readers must dig a little because above all, The Opposite of Art is a story about an artist who drowns, sees something he can’t begin to imagine, and comes back to life with a compulsion to paint that thing, even if it kills him. It’s a story, not a sermon or a parable, because I tend to think that’s what a novel ought to be.

Now here’s something strange: The very same readers who want a clear moral, or message, or doctrinal statement in a novel are usually the ones who don’t like thinking much about a novel. They want their Eternally Important Message, and they want a “fast paced page-turner” too, and they want it all in the same book!

I have never understood this, but it’s true.

Please don’t misunderstand. I enjoy page-turners as much as the next guy. At the beach, at the airport, or when I’m reading myself to sleep I think pulp fiction is great fun. I might even write a few pulp fiction novels one of these days.

And as you can probably tell by now I also enjoy literature, the kind of novel that makes me stop and re-read paragraphs just to savor the language or a thought. But both kinds of experiences in the same novel?

Thank you, no.

There mere idea of that makes me think of a restaurant where I had lunch recently. They were playing Ella Fitzgerald on the sound system, but I had a table near the kitchen and back there they were rocking out to Foreigner. Now, I love Ella, and Foreigner had some excellent material, but the experience of listening to both of them at once was absolutely awful.

While I do think The Opposite of Art will keep most readers interested from cover to cover, it is in no way intended to be a “page turner” in the classic sense. Instead, I wrote it for readers who want to stop, back up, and read some parts again. I love the kind of novel where the words themselves create a level of enjoyment in addition to the story that they tell, and I try hard to write the kind of novels that I enjoy. They don’t sell at newsstands, but writing that way makes be happy.

Every novelist has a thousand choices to make. Sometimes those choices are clear, and sometimes not so much. One of the first choices is probably the reason we sit down to write a novel in the first place. But even there, I’m okay without a complete answer.

I’ve never been totally certain why I write. I know only this for certain: I don’t write to answer questions; I don’t write to preach sermons; I don’t write to help my readers pass the time, and I don’t write just to tell a story.

All of which explains why The Opposite of Art won’t make me rich or famous. While that would be nice, there are about a thousand easier and more certain ways to get there so I’d be a fool to write for fame and fortune. Instead, I’ll just thank God for the (very) few people who truly love my work, and who are, of course, all geniuses.

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