12 Tips for Aspiring #Writers

Adam Blumer is the author of Fatal Illusions (Kregel Publications) and The Tenth Plague (Kirkdale Press). A print journalism major in college, he works as a freelance writer and editor after serving in editorial roles for more than twenty years. He lives in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula with his wife, Kim, and his daughters, Laura and Julia.

I was once in your shoes: scared, unsure of myself, full of dreams about being a published novelist. Now that God has opened the door for me, I’d like to pass on some wisdom I’ve learned over the years—often the hard way. Sometimes we have dreams but no true strategy for reaching them. I hope this strategy helps.

First, pray and ask God what He wants to do with your life. If your overriding desire is to write and you show an aptitude in that area, ask God whether He has a future for you as a published novelist. He will confirm His will by granting you publishing credentials, allowing you to win some contests, or opening other publication doors. These are confirmations that you’re heading in the right direction.

But before you get all starry eyed, take a minute to evaluate your motives. You may never be on the New York Times or CBA best-seller list. You need to be okay with that. You may never be rich or even make enough money to write full-time. You need to be okay with that. You may never be a famous author or even be considered well-known or “successful” as an author. You need to be okay with that, too.

Search your heart for why you want to write. If you knew your novels, stories, or articles would never be published, would you still write them? Are you writing for your own glory or because God has lit a fire in your soul you can’t put out?

Keep in mind that being an author is not for the faint of heart. At times, you’ll walk a lonely path littered by rejection letters, misunderstandings, criticisms, and self-doubts. Countless voices (including your own) will tell you your writing isn’t good enough. Don’t listen to those voices. Believe in the ability God has given to you, seek to learn and grow (mostly out of failure), and do the best with the ability God has placed in your hands. No one can do more than that. Then pray, work hard, and leave the rest to God.

Be sure writing is what God wants you to do. If He wants you to do something else, then run from writing as fast as you can. But if you’re certain He wants you to write, take steps to dedicate and commit yourself to that pursuit.

Weed your life of distractions and make writing your primary focus (after God and your family, of course). If you’re multitalented, set other abilities aside for writing. Look at your writing as ministry, as something God has uniquely called you to do for His glory. The written word is a powerful tool you can use for the glory of God—and yes, you can even do powerful things through stories.

If possible, find a location and set aside regular, consistent time in your schedule to write. Be dedicated. You’ll never grow unless you write often. (Think of concert pianists and how many hours they practice every day.)

Be prepared to be misunderstood for your commitment. Friends won’t understand when you say you can’t go to the basketball game because you need to write. Lots of people will view your writing as a hobby and won’t take you seriously. Just keep working hard, be dedicated to the craft, trust God, and don’t mind them. Someday, the Lord willing, those same people will ask you to autograph their copy of your novel.

Finally, no matter how difficult the journey gets and how defeated you feel at times, never ever give up. God placed you on this planet for a reason. He began a good work in you. Be certain He’ll complete it.

Practical Tips

• Read the books you want to write. Conversely, write the books you want to read. Also read the best writing you can find (not necessarily what sells or is popular).
• Read and reread your favorite novel. Study how the author portrays his characters, draws his setting, structures the plot, creates conflict, handles language, and builds to a natural and satisfying end.
• Subscribe to and study Writer’s Digest magazine.
• Check out the Writer’s Digest library of books and read as much about writing as you can. Study the craft of writing and always be willing to learn and change.
•  Take a class on writing or a writer’s correspondence course. (Writer’s Digest offers online workshops. By the way, Writer’s Digest isn’t paying me to promote their products and training. WD has helped me tremendously; the folks there will help you too.)
• Join a writer’s critique group and develop thick skin. You’ll need it. (The ACFW offers some terrific groups.)
• Network with wannabe authors like you. They may share the same struggles and questions.
• Be willing to sit at the feet of those who’ve blazed the path you want to tread. Ask them questions. Read their books. Listen to the voice of experience.
• Attend a writer’s conference (for example, the Write-to-Publish Conference held in Wheaton, Illinois, each summer) and talk to publishers, literary agents, and established authors. Humbly learn as much about Christian publishing as you can.
• Study the books in the CBD catalog. Become familiar with the market you want to write for. By all means, become aware of what types of books publishers are buying, but always write from the heart. In other words, don’t just write what “sells.”
• Start small with a short story or an inspirational article. Submit it to a magazine for publication. Be prepared to wait a while for a reply; the wheels of publishing can turn slowly. If you receive a rejection letter, take another look at your work and see if you can do something better. Then send the piece somewhere else. Repeat the process.
• Never, ever give up. You may so close to reaching your goal and not even realize it. 

Fatal Illusions

Four women ... missing. All it took was rope and his bare hands. Now the Thayer family has come to the north woods. Will any of them escape alive? 



Haydon Owens wants to be the next Houdini. He has been practicing his craft and has already made four women disappear. Now the Thayer family has come to the north woods of Newberry, Michigan, looking for refuge, a peaceful sanctuary from a shattered past. But they are not alone. Little do they know that they are about to become part of Haydon's next act. Who will escape alive? 



An amateur magician, an unassuming family . . . a fatal illusion

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Ready for Fame ?~ Nava Atlas

Are You Ready for Fame? Classic Authors Dish about Being in the Public Eye

 

by Nava Atlas

We all know that writing, in its essence, isn’t about publishing. At the risk of stating the obvious, writing is a journey, one that, if you follow it with passion and heart, will take you where you need to go. But admit it. You’ve fantasized at least once about what it would be like to be a famous, bestselling author. I’ll admit that I’ve daydreamed about it at least once or twice—per day, that is.

What I learned from the authors I got to know while writing The Literary Ladies’ Guide to the Writing Life is that fame does have its pleasures and advantages, but it has its discontents as well. The twelve classic authors whose writing lives unfold in the book all craved recognition and its advantages—primarily the kind of independence that was hard-won to women of their times. None were “overnight successes,” though it may have appeared so to the world. Hard work, setbacks, and disappointments most often preceded their breakthroughs. The Literary Ladies ultimately reaped the rewards they richly deserved, to greater or lesser degrees. But they also found that fame meant having to deal with the ups and downs of becoming a public person, producing work in the glare of raised expectations, and having to deal with criticism.

One of those was Harriet Beecher Stowe, whose Uncle Tom’s Cabin was the first ever book of fiction that became an international bestseller. This modest woman (who gave birth to seven children and lost three along the way) was surprised when the book she’d yearned to write with the sole aim of creating social change also made her a global literary star. The book was as controversial as it was successful, so she was both celebrated and reviled at home and abroad.

A letter to her husband, written in 1856 while she was in England to promote her second novel, Dred, reveals how she learned to take the highs and lows of fame in stride: “One hundred thousand copies of Dred sold in four weeks! After that who cares what critics say? ... It is very bitterly attacked, both from a literary and a religious point of view ... but yet it goes everywhere, is read everywhere, and Mr. Low says that he puts the hundred and twenty-fifth thousand to press confidently ... Is not this blessed, my dear husband? Is it not worth all the suffering of writing it?”

Back in the day, authors quaked in anticipation of the opinions of print media critics, but now, we also need to fear reader-reviewers’ rants on online book sites. Once your words are out there, they’re fair game, and it’s hard not to let criticism hurt, no matter what its source. Madeleine L’Engle (best known for A Wrinkle in Time) hit the nail on the head when she explained why authors dwell on the one bad review among many: “I bleed from bad reviews, even though I have been very blessed in getting many more good reviews than bad reviews. But like every other writer I know, when you get ninety-nine good reviews and one bad review, what review stays in your mind? The bad one. And why? Because it awakens our own doubts.”

Most of us could do without public criticism, but becoming rich and famous within one’s lifetime is a “problem” most of us would be glad to grapple with. It does require an adjustment of one’s self-mage, however. Louisa May Alcott saw herself as a pen-wielding drudge, and once fame and fortune were assured with the publication of Little Women (a book she did just for the money, with low expectations), she wrote to her sister, “I can’t make the fortunate Miss A. [referring to herself] seem me, and only remember the weary years, the work, the waiting, and disappointment.”

But even as she reconciled herself to her new incarnation as a bestselling author, Alcott wasn’t content to rest on her laurels. She continued to write, though chronic illness made it increasingly difficult toward the end of her life (she died at age 55). Her success allowed her to provide for her mother and sisters, and letters to her publisher reveal gratitude and humble acknowledgment of the pleasures of fame and money.

Becoming famous within one’s lifetime can be a classic case of “be careful what you wish for.” Willa Cather had a fierce love/hate relationship with the press. Yet unlike most of the other Literary Ladies whose writing lives I learned about from their private letters and journals, Cather made it her business to be a public person, granting interviews and giving speeches galore. She behaved like a social networking maven within the milieu of her own times. Yet even as she did tons of outreach to bolster her reputation, she grew irritable with loss of privacy, complaining: “In this country a writer has to hide and lie and almost steal in order to get time to work — and peace of mind to work with.”

To gain recognition as a writer is a blessing. To become famous is a mixed blessing. Becoming a public person can be fun in small doses for those who can muster grace under pressure. Fifteen minutes —or a lifetime—of renown is something many writers would be willing to experience; but then it’s important to once again regain balance, and find a quiet oasis where work can flourish. Our literary role models learned to deal fairly well with fame and fortune, and if you and I should be so lucky, we’ll find a way to do so as well.

Nava Atlas is the author of The Literary Ladies’ Guide to the Writing Life. Visit the companion web site for more on classic authors and their wisdom for contemporary writers.

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