Surprised By My Own Voice - Guest Post by Morgan Busse

Morgan L. Busse writes fantasy and steampunk for the adult market. She is the author of the Follower of the Word series, including Daughter of Light, Christy and Carol Award finalist, and currently free on Amazon. Morgan lives on the West Coast with her husband and four children. You can find out more about Morgan at www.morganlbusse.com

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Voice. That elusive part of writing. The part that distinguishes one writer from another. Voice is hard to nail down, but once found, brings a uniqueness to one’s writing. 

So what happens when your voice doesn’t match your genre? 

I write fantasy. When most people think of fantasy, they think of J.R.R. Tolkien. His voice is eloquent, lengthy, lyrical, and full of description. Many fantasy writers share a similar kind of voice. It’s the standard when it comes to this genre.

However, my voice is different. I discovered my voice after writing Daughter of Light, the first book in my epic fantasy series. My writing voice is blunt, short, and to the point. I tell the story in a strong, quick tempo, moving along at a clip pace. Not the style usually employed by the average fantasy writer. 

A couple reviews reflected the fact that some readers did not like my voice. They wanted the poetic sound usually found in fantasy. 

I didn’t know what to do, so I decided to try and change my voice. I believed I needed to write in a certain way in order to be a fantasy writer. It was like trying to write a square word into a round story. It didn’t work. In fact, those scenes stuck out so bad that my editor called me on it. He gave me the freedom to be me, and to write like me. 

So I tossed out those scenes and went back to writing like Morgan. 

After reading an article a friend of mine wrote about voice, I realized even more how important it is to embrace my own voice. Not only is voice my style of writing, it encompasses the stories I write and how I write them. No one can write the stories I write, in the manner that I write them. When I write a story, I draw on the things I have went through during my life: my parent’s divorce, death of loved ones, loss of jobs, loss of house, cancer scares, months of wondering how we would survive unemployment, deep depression, and emotional wounds dealt by people. 

Throughout my life, even in the darkest times, I found hope. And I clung to that hope like a life thread. Through my writing, I explore the darkness and how to find hope. 

My life and my writing style have formed my voice. To not be true to my voice would be the equivalent of not being true to myself. 
Sometimes I don’t like my voice. I wish I could write eloquent prose, running along with beautiful descriptions, long colorful sentences, and dialogue that sounds more ancient. 

But that’s not me. I’m Morgan and I will write in Morgan’s voice. After all, I’m the only one who can write my stories. 

How about you? As a writer, have you discovered your voice? Did you like it or did you wish you could write like someone else? 

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About Tainted: 

What Happens When Your Soul Dies?  

Kat Bloodmayne is one of the first women chosen to attend the Tower Academy of Sciences. But she carries a secret: she can twist the natural laws of science. She has no idea where this ability came from, only that every time she loses control and unleashes this power, it kills a part of her soul. If she doesn't find a cure soon, her soul will die and she will become something else entirely. 

After a devastating personal loss, Stephen Grey leaves the World City Police Force to become a bounty hunter. He believes in justice and will stop at nothing to ensure criminals are caught and locked up. However, when Kat Bloodmayne shows up in his office seeking his help, his world is turned upside down. 

Together they search World City and beyond for a doctor who can cure Kat. But what they discover on the way goes beyond science and into the dark sphere of magic. 

* * * * * * * * * * 

Ronie Kendig is an award-winning, bestselling author who grew up an Army brat. After twenty-five years of marriage, she and her hunky hero husband have a full life with their children, a Maltese Menace, and a retired military working dog in beautiful Northern Virginia. She can be found at:
     www.roniekendig.com
     Facebook (www.facebook.com/rapidfirefiction)
     Twitter (@roniekendig)
     Goodreads (www.goodreads.com/RonieK)
     Instagram (@kendigronie)
     Pinterest (http://www.pinterest.com/roniek/)!

Reviewers call Ronie's newest release, EMBERS, "Simply amazing!" 

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What's In A Voice?

By Rachel Hauck

Since last summer, I've been crazy over a worship song "Great Are You Lord."

Originally sung by All Sons and Daughters, I'd never heard of the song until I happened upon Amanda Cook singing it for a live set.

I listened to it none stop.

Brought it to my worship team at church. Ten months later, it's still a monthly favorite.

I'd pull the song set every week if I didn't want to wear everyone out.

Just recently however, I learned another favorite worship leader of mine, Jeremy Riddle, also lead the song in a worship set a few years ago.

In fact, I'd listened to that live set several times. Jeremy sang "Great Are You Lord," the bridge "All the earth will shout Your praise..." with energy and sincerity.

But the song never stood out to me. Didn't make an impact. Until I heard Amanda Cook sing it.

Why is that? What is that?

Same song, different singer, and one deeply impacted me while the other did not.

Was it a time in my life? Was it a season? Was it the unseen of one worship leader over another?

I don't know because I admire them both.

But there is something in Amanda Cook's voice, in her worship, that resonates with me in the deep. I'm moved by her voice, her songwriting, inspired to love Jesus more.

Voice is a critical part of life. Of writing.

It's more than the tone, than inflection, than a string of words put together.

It's the vibration of one's heart that makes Voice reverberate with the masses.

Sometimes the "it" factor causes one voice to stand out above others.

We see this a lot in politics. And in pulpits.

As writers, our voice is critical.

How you phrase things, how you tell the story, how you emote onto the page will draw or repel readers.

If we challenged two writers to write a story on the same issue/topic, invariably one would be more successful than the other.

Let's say they are both great writers. Both have superior editing and cover design. Both work social media and are very personable.

Nothing on the outside makes a difference. But yet one book will do better than the other.

It's Voice.

A sound that comes from the heart of the author that touches something we can't distinguish in tangible terms. Soul? Spirit? Unseen?

Who knows but an author's voice is so key to success.

I remember meeting Karen Kingsbury in 2002 at the first ACFW onference. I'd not read any of her books but everyone at the conference loved her.

After I heard her speak for the first time I knew why. Voice! Karen is a great, emotional story teller.

I'm not such a great emotional story teller, so I find what works for me. I find my voice. And I have to fine tune, train my own writing voice.

If I could boil it down to this, I'd say voice is about passion. Emotion. About conviction. About being real, being "you" on the page.

Sometimes writers are so focused on craft they leave voice behind. Or a writer can get lost in trying to write the "next great novel" that they leave out their own heart and soul.

Books overly manufactured can read excellent, but lack "feel."

Let's not leave the feel out of our novels.

Sometimes our books have all the right feel and emotion, passion, but it just doesn't resonate with readers.

But trust it will in time. Trust the Creator in doing what's right concerning your writing and career.

Maybe you're like me and you have to take a step back and just write what you love. Forget about market or competition and just be passionate about all you're writing.

Maybe you need to shut up the voices of doubt and indecision rattling around in your head, and believe God is working in and through you.

We all know success does not indicate the best. Or that God loves one person more than another.

At the end of the day, you must be true to Him, and true to yourself, and the person God has made you to be.

And lift your Voice! Whether one or a million hear you, be a voice. Not an echo.

***

Rachel Hauck is an award winning, best selling novelist. 


She lives in sunny central Florida with her husband and ornery pets.

A graduate of Ohio State University with a degree in Journalism, she worked in the corporate software world before planting her backside in uncomfortable chair to write full time eight years ago.

She’s the author of EPCA and CBA best sellers, RITA and Christy nominated books. 

She also co-authored the critically acclaimed Songbird Novels with platinum selling country music artist Sara Evans. Their novel Softly and Tenderly, was one of Booklists 2011 Top Ten Inspirationals.

Rachel serves on the Executive Board for American Christian Fiction Writers. She is a mentor and book therapist at My Book Therapy, a conference speaker and worship leader.

Rachel writes from her two-story tower in an exceedingly more comfy chair. She is a huge Buckeyes football fan.

Visit her web site: www.rachelhauck.com.

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Finding Your Author Voice

By Rachel Hauck

The writing community talks a lot about "voice."

The "sound" your writing makes when words and ideas are strung together.

Voice is unique to each author.

It is the single thing that makes one author stand out from another.

Four romance authors could write the Valentine's Day scene of a hero bringing a rose to his beloved and each story would be dramatically different.

But equally enjoyable.

Voice is how "you" say things.

Readers might say, "I love her voice."

A writer might say, "Oh, my editor is killing my voice."

And sometimes "voice" needs a bit of adjustment. Authors can get overly sensitive about their "voice."

But like a singing voice can be trained, so can an author's voice. In fact, a good editor can help you find your voice.

Ami McConnell at Thomas Nelson saw and "heard" something in my voice and challenged me to write deeper and with more intention.

I'm grateful!

However, that voice is NOT the one I want to talk about today. I want to talk about "voice" as it relates to what you write.

Often new authors genre hop, trying to figure out what they want to write or with what publisher. Perhaps they see a trend and migrate to "what's' hot now."

Established authors might get bored with what they've been writing and try something new. It's a risk -- remember John Grisham in Painted House -- but more easily done than a new author.

It's hard for an editor to see an author year after year at a conference and never know what kind of story the person is going to bring.

I love thrillers. I love a bit of sci fi fantasy. My husband comes up with some GREAT story ideas.

But they are not my voice. At least not for now.

Often people suggest I write a certain kind of book. "Write military." Or, "write about trafficking."

While I love the military and adamantly oppose human trafficking of any kind, those stories fall outside of what I think God is calling me to write.

I'm not saying "never" but right now, my writing voice is about love. Not just human love but the love of God for us.

I'm finding strength in writing with a supernatural element. Family Fiction said:

"Rachel’s portrayal of the supernatural presence and intercession of the Holy Spirit... is artfully executed and a powerful testimony. Often modern supernatural encounters with the Holy Spirit read as instances of mysticism and imagination, but Rachel Hauck illustrates Reggie’s spiritual awakening with a purity that leaves little doubt to its credibility."

The supernatural fits my voice. It's something I can do pretty well.

So combining my love stories with an element of the supernatural is becoming more and more my voice.

Down the line, I may find I can add a justice element to my love-supernatual stories. 

This is my voice. It's what I like to write. It's what I write well.

So, what's your voice? What do you do well? What seems to pop off the page?

Sol Stein said, “Write something only you can say.” 

That's voice!

My challenge to you is find out what YOU can write. What God is calling you to write? Stick with it. 

Don't change your mind based on what someone says or what's trending. 

If you don't know "your voice," do some testing. What do you read? What movies do you automatically gravitate toward? What do readers love the most about your work? What do you love most about your work?

I realized I could write supernatural elements early on, with my first chick lit, Georgia On Her Mind. I expected pushback from my editor. But low and behold, she loved it.

I'm sure you have a similar element in your writing.

Give yourself some times, too. It actually takes awhile to find your "voice."

So keep writing. Keep seeking. Find your voice.

***

Rachel lives in sunny central Florida.

A graduate of Ohio State University with a degree in Journalism, she worked in the corporate software world before planting her backside in uncomfortable chair to write full time eight years ago.

She’s the author of the EPCA and CBA best sellers, and RITA nominated books. She also co-authored the critically acclaimed Songbird Novels with platinum selling country music artist Sara Evans. Their novel Softly and Tenderly, was one of Booklists 2011 Top Ten Inspirationals.

Rachel serves on the Executive Board for American Christian Fiction Writers. She is a mentor and book therapist at My Book Therapy, a conference speaker and worship leader.

Rachel writes from her two-story tower in an exceedingly more comfy chair. She is a huge Buckeyes football fan.

Here latest novel, Princess Ever After and novella A March Bride, released in February 2014.

Visit her web site: www.rachelhauck.com.

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Author Update ~ David Gregory

The author of the best-selling Dinner with a Perfect Stranger (2005) and A Day with a Perfect Stranger (2006), David Gregory has just released his third novella in the series, Night with a Perfect Stranger (Worthy Publishing). Between Perfect Stranger books, David authored a parable novella, The Next Level, and a full-length novel, The Last Christian, a 2011 Christy Award finalist in the Visionary category.


You published two Perfect Stranger novels in 2005 and 2006, but are just now coming out with the third. Why the wait?


Ask my former publisher! I actually wanted Night with a Perfect Stranger to be the second Perfect Stranger book, because its message was so much on my heart. But after the success of Dinner with a Perfect Stranger, my publisher wanted me to write another seeker-oriented novella. That worked out fine, actually. I was pleased with how the story turned out and very pleased with how God seemed to use it in readers’ lives. As for the long wait for the third installment, I never stopped wanting to write the third one, but I couldn’t sell my publisher on it. In 2010 I finally went ahead and wrote it. It sat in my computer for a year before my agent sold it to Worthy Publishing, who was very excited about it.




What is it about the Perfect Stranger stories that readers seem to relate to?

I think they work because it’s a situation all of us want to be in—sitting with Jesus face to face, getting answers from him. The books enable us to at least imagine being in that circumstance. What would we want to ask? How would Jesus respond? I try to make Nick representative of what most readers would have on their hearts and minds, and I try to make Jesus’s responses fit his revelation of himself in the New Testament as closely as possible.




You’ve had an unusual writing career path. You first novella was a huge overnight success, but your subsequent books, despite good reviews, haven’t matched that sales success. In retrospect, would you have done anything differently?


I would have stuck more closely to what was on my heart to write instead of what seemed marketable. We always do our best writing when we stick with what’s on our heart to write. I have found that writing a book because a publisher thinks it will do well is, for me, a disaster. It may turn out to be a good book, and it may even sell well. But I won’t enjoy the process of writing it. I can’t imagine agreeing to do that again. Writing well is hard enough as it is; I don’t want to add misery to the process! And, the truth is, in the long run it’s evident to readers what our heart is into and what it’s not into. I think God lays a story on an author’s heart. If we follow that leading, God will bless it. Maybe not in sales—maybe not even in publication. Maybe God is simply doing something inside us. But he will bless it.




Why was this a book you wanted so badly to write?


My previous (nonfiction) writing life focused on Christian growth. I co-authored two books that taught about the believer’s identity in Christ, our spirit union with Christ, the reality of Christ living through us, and the fullness of God’s grace. Once I started writing fiction, I wanted to put those themes into story form, because God has opened the door for me to write for people who might never open a 250 page theology book, but who love a good story. So in Night with a Perfect Stranger, I revisit my original character in Dinner with a Perfect Stranger, Nick Cominsky. Nick met Jesus, became a believer, and everything was great for a couple of years. But now it’s six years down the road, and after having been caught in the typical evangelical treadmill of church programs and endless spiritual to-do’s, Nick is in bad shape. He’s done all the “right things,” but he’s lost his sense of closeness with God, he’s disillusioned with the Christian life, and he’s despairing at ever finding the abundance Jesus promised. This book has always been so much on my heart because that’s a place I think almost all of us have been, or still are. I wanted to address the questions that I think are on so many of our hearts.




So Nick encounters Jesus again, this time with the theme of . . .?


This time with the theme of Christ in us. Nick has had the life all along. He just doesn’t know it. So as he’s driving a U-Haul on a late night trip from Chicago to Cincinnati, runs out of gas on the interstate, and coasts to a stop on the shoulder, his headlights shine on Jesus, holding a gas can for him. Jesus has things to tell him, and show him, that he’s never dreamed of.




Do you have another project on the horizon?


Actually, not on the horizon, but rather in the here and now. I’ve just released a political novella called Patriot Rules as an e-book. I’ve wanted for some time to write a Perfect Stranger type book involving the Founding Fathers and time travel. What if a college student from the present had the opportunity to go back to the Constitutional Convention and remake the Constitution? What if, in the process, he could interact with the Founders in their own circumstances from the Revolutionary period? It was fun writing a fantastical story that presents the philosophical foundation for why the Founders set up our government the way they did. I’m hoping it falls into the hands of lots of graduates this summer!

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To Thine Own Self Be True ~ by guest blogger Mary Ellis

Before “retiring” to write full-time, bestselling author Mary Ellis taught Middle and worked as a sales rep for Hershey Chocolate for 20 years. She grew up close to the eastern OH Amish community, where her parents often took her to farmer’s markets and woodworking fairs.

Mary enjoys reading, traveling, gardening, bicycling and swimming. Before “retiring” to write full-time, she taught Middle School and worked as a sales rep for Hershey Chocolate for 20 years—a job with amazingly sweet fringe benefits.

To Thine Own Self be True

I’ve been thinking about the famous quote by William Shakespeare lately. There’s been much talk in the writers’ loops about rules that new writers must follow if they hope ever to be published.

I jotted some of the rules down, but I still have my original list from my early days as a beginning writer: Reduce adverbs; never use –ly words. Never use passive verbs. Eliminate multiple prepositions in a row. Remove dialogue tags. And of course, let’s have no redundancies, euphemisms, petty modifiers, clichés, or hyperbole.

I won’t even get into the rules regarding punctuation. Many writers of various levels can benefit from looking over the list prior to a final edit of their work. I, myself, was once guilty of walking slowly instead of staggering and eating hungrily instead of devouring my fried chicken. Now I use stronger verbs to convey my meaning, and I wouldn’t think to writing something like whispered softly.

But let’s be honest, sometimes a good old –ly word is just the ticket. Fellow writer, Mary Johnson, offered this marvelous example from Dick Francis’ best-selling novel, Hot Money: “I intensely disliked my father’s fifth wife, but not to the point of murder.” A lovely sentence…ly word and all, don’t you agree?

To leave out the dastardly adverb would have sacrificed much. Does anyone remember the first line of Charles Dickens’ David Copperfield? “I was born” is the epitome of passivity. Now I don’t put myself in Dick Francis’ league, and certainly not in Mr. Dickens’, but Ms. Johnson said it well, “In the end, the craft is there to serve the art, not vice versa.”

Another rule I read on the loop is “never use more than two POV’s in a romance.” I was midway through a short romance containing one main plot, advanced by four POV characters. I sat up straight and asked, “huh?” and then called my editor. She replied that she’d never heard of such a rule and wondered who made these things up.

Before you fire off an email to me, insisting that fledging novelists need guidelines to hone their skills…I agree with you. But the list of rules should be guidelines to improve a manuscript; not laws never to be broken.

Writers who rely too much on critique partners’ or contest judges’ suggestion also scare me. I once read the comments from a contest I had entered with confusion. One judge felt “I should have better developed my hero/heroine to create empathy,” while another judge felt that “I’d spent too much time sketching characters to the detriment of the plot.”

What did I learn from the two opposing viewpoints? Not too much. After I dried my tears that I hadn’t finaled in the contest, I learned that judges have subjective opinions.

I also read in the [ACFW] loop about one writer who presents her work to her critique group at the end of each chapter. Her fellow writers probably offer good advice on how to improve the pacing, etc., but when she finishes the manuscript, will the book still have her voice? I’m not so sure.

A writer’s voice is the only thing that sets her/him apart from the thousands of other writers in the same genre. A writer gets an idea, creates a story in her mind, and sits down to tell the tale. Any advice on how to improve should come after the first draft in finished. The book might have the same theme or plot twists that have already been rehashed to death. But in a new voice, this story can come alive for a reader.

Contest judges, critique partners, editors who are kind enough to offer suggestions—these people can offer great advice for improvement. But remember, they have subjective opinions. You’ll never please everyone, so you should first please yourself with the work you create. Happy writing.

Abigail's New Hope


Love Blooms in Unexpected Places

As an Amish midwife, Abigail Graber loves bringing babies into the world. But when a difficult delivery takes a devastating turn, she is faced with some hard choices. Despite her best efforts, the young mother dies—but the baby is saved.

When a heartless judge confines Abigail to the county jail for her mistakes, her sister Catherine comes to the Graber farm to care for Abigail’s young children while her husband, Daniel, works his fields. For the first time Catherine meets Daniel’s reclusive cousin, Isaiah, who is deaf and thought to be simpleminded by his community. She endeavors to teach him to communicate and discovers he possesses unexpected gifts and talents.

While Abigail searches for forgiveness, Catherine changes lives and, in return, finds love, something long elusive in her life. And Isaiah discovers God, who cares nothing about our handicaps or limitations in His sustaining grace.

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