Category: General

Introducing the World’s Most Beautiful Bible

Today I’m sharing a different kind of post—a Kickstarter for a unique project:

An heirloom Bible.

Magnificent Bible that can be passed from generation to generation

If you ever had just one book… what book would it be? For most Christians the answer is simple: it’s The Holy Bible. But what if the most important book of all this time could also be the most beautiful, sturdiest and important your family’s heirloom Bible? The one, which is passed from generation to generation: from you to your children and grandchildren.

Probably the most magnificent Bibles is Cassell’s Illustrated Family Bible, dated from 1840s-1860s, which is considered to be one of the world’s most beautiful King James Version Bibles ever published. With 1600 pages and more than 900 iconic illustrations and detailed maps, it had almost an encyclopedic value.

Paulius Virbickas, entrepreneur and publisher who has published over 1000 books found this Bible sitting on a shelf, covered in dust, in an old antique bookstore. It seemed like it was just waiting for him patiently. As he slowly opened its cover and started carefully browsing through old pages, he immediately understood – this is it.

Together with his team Paulius devoted almost a year to painstakingly restore the magnificent graphic illustrations and decided to launch a Kickstarter campaign for The World’s Most Beautiful Bible. Just recently their Kickstarter has surpassed 100% funding and there are still some time left for those who want to get this magnificent bible.

This is a majestic Bible that contains extensive commentaries in parallel columns, as well as a complete Concordance and a comprehensive Bible Dictionary:

  • The extraordinary Holy Bible is over 1600 pages long and dramatically oversized (9’’x11.88’’)
  • Original King James Version (KJV) – a translation that is so important, that it is considered to be a driving force in the shaping of the English-speaking world.
  • Embossed cover with gold finishing & gilded book edge.
  • Handmade solid wood box
  • All pages are printed on acid-neutral non-fading archival quality paper, sewn into binding to last long usage and could be open flat
  • 3 satin ribbons in black, red and gold to mark your favorite passages
  • Personalized cover with your family’s name
  • Printed and bound in Europe.

Creators of this project promised produce 5 versions of The World’s Most Beautiful Bible + 1 “stretch goal” version after they’ll reach $12 000 funding.

Here are the 5 versions of The World’s Most Beautiful Bible:

1. Personalized Limited Edition

2. Personalized CHRISTMAS SUPERSAVER Edition – The World’s Most Beautiful Illustrated Family Bible in a solid wood box

3. Deluxe AMBER Edition in Handmade Wooden Box From Reclaimed Oak + hand bind premium black Italian leather covers & genuine Baltic amber cross

4.  Deluxe SILVER Edition in Handmade Wooden Box From Reclaimed Oak + hand bind premium Italian royal blue leather covers & silver cross

5.  Deluxe GOLD Edition in Handmade Wooden Box From Reclaimed Oak + hand bind premium Italian burgundy leather covers & gold cross

You can support this project and order one of the bibles, listed above here.

Liebster Award Logo

The Liebster Award: Bloggers Encouraging Bloggers

I’ve been nominated for the Liebster Award by David Rawlings, an Australian Christian fiction author. David was a finalist in the 2016 Genesis Award for his contemporary novel, The God of Reality TV, and he’s a semi-finalist this year in the Short Novel category.

The Liebster Award

This is how the Liebster Award works: it is an award given by bloggers to fellow bloggers and aimed to encourage writers. The rules for the Liebster Award are as follows:

  • Thank the person who has nominated you for the award and link to their blog
  • Write some random facts about yourself
  • Answer the 11 questions the person has asked you
  • Nominate up to 11 people for the award (comment on their blog to let them know)
  • Ask the people you have nominated 11 questions

I’m not exactly a new blogger, but this is a new(ish) website, and I haven’t participated before. So that counts, right?

First of All …

Thanks to David! (Click here to head over to his blog and subscribe.)

Some random facts about me:

  • I was born in Wales, and my name is Welsh. It means “valued by the Lord”, which I think is pretty cool!
  • I live in New Zealand, which makes me a Kiwi. As an aside, a Kiwi is a flightless bird, not a fruit. Though they’re both brown and furry.
  • I lived on London for ten years, so my accent is a mix of Kiwi and London.
  • “Iola” isn’t pronounced “eye-ola”, despite the spelling. The “I” sound is more like the “I” in Ian, which means it’s “ee-ola”. But most Kiwis say it “yo-la”.
  • Which is why I used to get called Yoda in high school. (Thanks to my sister for reminding me of this.)
  • I once spent a night in an igloo on Mt Ruapehu. Ruapehu is Maori for “two peaks”, and it’s an active volcano which starred in the Lord of the Rings movies as Mt Doom.
  • I’ve visited more than twenty countries, and more than twenty US states. My husband loves airplanes, so if there’s an air museum near where you live, I’ve probably been there.

My 11 Questions to Answer

1. Who were your favourite authors as a child? Why?

Enid Blyton, Frances Hodgson Burnett, Arthur Ransome, and Anne Digby. I read a lot of Scholastic books which were from a range of American authors, but my favourites were the British writers (no doubt influenced by my British family). And I loved boarding school stories.

2. Is there a country you have always wanted to visit, and if so, where?

I’ve visited large portions of Europe and North America, and the populated parts of Australia. I’d like to visit some Asian countries, like China or Japan—because I love their food!

3. What is your favourite kind of weather?

Warm but not hot. My ideal day is clear and sunny, with a temperature in the mid 20’s Celsius—equivalent to the high 70’s in Fahrenheit.

4. Why do you blog?

I started blogging back in 2011 on Iola’s Christian Reads, after I discovered I could get free ebooks from my favourite publishers if I had a book blog and promised to post a book review. That lead into a new role as a freelance editor (www.christianediting.co.nz), and that lead into writing my own fiction … and this website.

Now I blog because I enjoy it, and because the discipline of blogging keeps me writing.

The downside is that same enjoyment and discipline. It’s much easier to blog than it is to actually work on what I should be working on … my books.

5. What started you writing?

I’ve always written, but most of my writing has been school projects, university assignments, work reports—things other people wanted me to write. Being introduced to the world of book blogging and reviews opened my eyes to the fact I could write for my own enjoyment.

But the thing that prompted me to begin writing fiction was an invitation from Dorothy Adamek to attend a Margie Lawson immersion course. Margie is a brilliant writing teacher, and I knew attending the course would give me more tools to help the authors I work with. But the entry prerequisite was a fiction manuscript to edit … so I started writing fiction. And I love the new challenge.

6. What are the challenges of being an author/writer?

With non-fiction, it’s knowing about the topic, and not being awed by the fact there are so many people who know more than me.

With fiction, my challenge is getting past editor-me and actually getting the writing done. I’m a planner and plotter by nature, but I’m currently buried in a plot hole. One part of my brain says “just write!”, while the other part knows that will be a waste of time if I don’t know what the characters should be doing, or why.

7. How do you keep yourself motivated?

I’m still working on this one …

The desire is there, but I need to be more disciplined about getting through the planning stages, and getting onto the writing.

8. If you could choose a place to write where would it be?

There are a couple of local cafes I enjoy visiting to write. I find the different location and atmosphere helps me concentrate. It’s ironic, as I’m an introvert who enjoys the solitude of working from home. Yet I can get a lot more done if I go out—even though I’m then surrounded by conversation.

9. What difference does it make being a Christian and an author?

That’s an unintentionally difficult question, because I don’t know what it would be like to be a not-Christian author!

I do believe that as a Christian author I’m able to bring God’s truth into my writing, in smaller or larger ways. I often read novels where I want to yell at the characters because the answer to their problems is Jesus, and they don’t see it.

10. What’s your work in progress?

I have three. This is why I have difficulty in prioritising!

I’m working on a non-fiction book about the various paths to publication.

I’ve also written an online training course teaching writers how to start building their author platform (website and social media). While I’m writing both for the Christian market, the information applies to any aspiring author.

And I’m working on a series of short novels. My planning process has shown that my first manuscript, Play On, Jordan, is actually the fifth book in a series. I’m currently working on a prequel novella and trying to edit the first book.

You can click here to sign up to my newsletter to keep track of my progress towards publication.

11. Who is your ideal audience?

My target reader is a Christian woman who is looking for fiction that reflects her Christian beliefs, and perhaps challenges them a little. She also would love to travel to New Zealand—if she can’t do that in real life, then she’ll substitute that for virtual travel via fiction!

I hope you’ve enjoyed this insight into my life and writing. My nominees to complete this challenge next are:

These ladies (along with Jebraun Clifford) set their blogs up recently through a challenge I ran on my editing website, Christian Editing Services. I’ll be running the challenge again soon—if you’d like to participate, click here to sign up for more information.

Ladies, I’d like you to answer the same 11 questions David asked me.

Readers, do you have any questions for me?

Happy New Year! (Not every year starts on 1 January)

Happy New Year! 

Okay, so I’m three months late in terms of the calendar New Year. But this is my first post for 2017 …

Today is 31 March, which is the final day of the New Zealand tax year. This means tomorrow isn’t just April Fools Day. It’s also the first day of the 2017/18 tax year. So while Americans should now have finished the painful task of annual taxes, those of us Down Under are just about to start.

This might seem a little odd, but there is a reason for it. And as with so many things in New Zealand, that reason goes back to jolly olde England, where the new tax year begins on 6 April. On the face of things, that seems even less logical than 1 April, but there is a reason.

If you’ve ever researched family history, you’ll know 1 January wasn’t always the beginning of the calendar year. Way back in history, when the great minds were debating these matters of importance, they decided the year should begin on 25 March.

Lady Day

Why? Because Jesus was born on 25 December. Therefore the angel must have visited Mary on 25 March, which is known as Lady Day. So it was only logical that 25 March should be the start of the Christian year.

Then Pope Gregory introduced the Gregorian calendar in 1582, because the existing Julian calendar had got out of sync in terms of calculating the correct date for Easter (a debate which has still not been settled). Great Britain adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1752, a move which many people resented because they were ‘robbed’ of eleven days—the difference between the Julian and Gregorian calendars.

This short year impacted on people who paid (or earned) rent or other monthly or annual payments. A rather complicated set of decisions and an Act of Parliament meant England and Wales shifted New Year’s Day from Lady Day to 1 January. They also moved the beginning of the tax year forward to ensure the 1752 tax year still had the correct number of days. And that hasn’t changed, so the English tax year still starts on 6 April.

The original lawmakers in New Zealand must have thought a tax year starting on 6 April was a historical anomaly they could and should fix. As a result, our tax year runs from 1 April to 31 March. Except for public sector organisations, most of which run a 1 July—30 June financial year. And except for international companies, which often use the calendar year. So basically we’re all over the place.

Okay, so I’m a bit of a history nerd even though I write contemporary fiction.

Today…

I’ll be spending today in a café overlooking the beach, having my first ever annual planning day (thanks to Randy Ingermanson for the idea). I dropped the ball on some of my social media and other commitments last year, and I want to make sure that doesn’t happen again. I also want to make sure I move forward on my writing—fiction and non-fiction—and turn some of my almost-finished drafts into books or courses.

And I’ll be praying, to make sure God is in the plan. It’s His job to set the strategy and direction, and my job to execute it. To do that well, I need to hear His direction.

I’d ask for your prayers as well, that I’ll know His will, and that I’ll be obedient to the call he has for me this year.

My Two Top Travel Tips

It’s the time of year when a lot of writers think of going to writer’s conferences (and those of you in the northern hemisphere are planning your summer holidays). I’ve done a lot of travelling over the years, both alone (for writer’s conferences or business) or with my family.

Travel Tips

Here are a few travel tips I’ve picked up along the way:

1. Plan Ahead

You don’t want to get to the airport for the trip of a lifetime and discover your passport has expired (yes, I’ve seen that). Planning ahead can help avoid these little “issues”. I use lists.

Travel List

All travel documents and sundries, including:

  • Tickets
  • Passports (if required)
  • Booking confirmations (e.g transport, rental car, hotel/s, conference)
  • Travel Insurance information

Packing List

I have two lists: a family list, and individual lists for each child. I have these saved, so I just need to update the clothing items for the season and the number of nights we’re away.

Family List

The family list includes:

  • A family toilet bag
  • A basic first aid/medicine kit (because someone always catches something)
  • Kindle and phone, and their chargers (wall and car adaptor)
  • Any non-clothing items I need to remember (like books!)

I try and focus on the things that I either won’t be able to buy at my destination, or things that will be overpriced. Forget shampoo? No problem. Most hotels have shampoo in the room and you’ll always be able to buy something, even if it’s not your preferred brand. But if your children forget the charger to their favourite electronic device … that’s challenging.

The Individual Lists

I use packing lists for myself and for the children, and have since my son was about ten. He enjoys packing his own suitcase, and I enjoy not having to do it for him. But he’s a boy, and boys … let’s just say they have different priorities. So I give him a list, which includes minor items like hairbrush and toothbrush. I’ve found these are the items he “forgets” if he doesn’t get a list (even for an overnight stay).

Travel Light

This is the advice “everyone” always gives, but they don’t necessarily tell you how to achieve it (I have a couple of suggestions that work for me below). There are two reasons to pack light:

  • It’s easier to carry (or drag)
  • It gives you room to buy souvenirs

Packing light is especially important if you’re travelling with small children, who might not be entitled to their own luggage allowance but who require a lot of paraphernalia …

A lot of travel advice says not to check luggage if you don’t have to. Well, if you have small children, you have to check the luggage. There is no way you can navigate through an airport with one stroller, two sleeping children, and three dragalong cases, no matter how small. So check the cases and use a backpack or shoulder bag as your cabin baggage.

I packed light even before we had children. My husband and I once did a six-week trip through the Greek Islands, Egypt, Israel and Jordan. When we got on the plane at Heathrow, my backpack weighed 11 kgs (around 25 pounds). Yes, it did weigh a little (lot) more on the return trip, but at I could still carry it easily, and didn’t have to worry about it being overweight.

My top tips for travelling light are:

Save the sample sizes

You know how when you buy makeup or skincare there is sometimes a gift-with-purchase? I save those product samples and put them in my holiday toilet bag. Then I don’t need to carry full-sized bottles.

Watch the Shoes

Shoes are bulky. More to the point, they take a lot of space in your luggage. Sure, you can stuff things inside them, but better to take fewer pairs (and definitely don’t take the boxes).

When I go on holiday, I take as few pairs of shoes as possible, all in the same colour, or coordinating colours. For example, I took three pairs of shoes on that six-week holiday—good walking shoes (because I knew we were going to be doing a lot of walking), jandals (aka thongs or flip-flops), and a pair of nice sandals suitable for shopping or meals out. I then coordinate my entire travel wardrobe around those three or four pairs of shoes. Yes, it gets boring. But I can wear all my other nice things when I get home.

Plan Coordinating Outfits

This goes along with the shoes. I have two basic colour “themes” in my wardrobe: black and navy. When I go on holiday, I take one theme, and I make sure that I have at least two tops to go with every bottom (skirt, shorts or trousers), and at least two bottoms I can wear with every top. It adds variety, and helps me not get too bored with limited wardrobe choices on a long holiday.

Okay, those are my tips. What tips do you have to share? And do you have any exciting travel plans?

9 Top Tips for Aspiring Authors

Last week I had a comment on a book review post asking for advice for new writers. Well, it might have been asking for advice for new writers, but it also had a link to a website advertising writing aids which seemed a little spammy so I didn’t approve the comment. (Well, it was on a book review post, so seemed more than a little off-topic).
9 Top Tips for Aspiring Writers
I’ve been writing fiction for a little over a year–not long, in the scheme of things. But that first novella manuscript won one small writing contest (Almost an Author), and is currently a finalist in the American Christian Fiction Writers Genesis contest, the flagship contest for unpublished Christian fiction writers. So my writing must have some merit.

But there is more to writing than just writing. At least, according to Stephen King:
Stephen King quote
CES FB Quotes (2)

I’ve been reading Christian fiction for over twenty years.

I’ve seen trends come and trends go, which means I’ve got a good feel for the genre and have learned what publishers buy.

And I’ve been working as a freelance editor specialising in Christian fiction for the last five years, which means I’ve seen a lot of manuscripts, good and bad, and have learned something about the craft of writing from each one. I’ve attended conferences, undertaken online training, and completed a hands-on immersion course with international speaker and writing coach Margie Lawson.

I’ve also read dozens of books on writing craft and dozens more books on book marketing. Each has contributed to my understanding of how to write, edit, publish and market books in this new world. A world where aspiring authors don’t need an agent and a big-name publisher. A world where authors can self-publish without the stigma of ‘vanity’ publishing.

I’ve learned a thing or two.

So I’m going to give my answer to the question my commenter initially asked. I hope it helps him or her and anyone else who is thinking of writing a novel, who is in the middle of writing their first novel, or who has one or three or ten completed manuscripts buried in some virtual drawer.

So here are my top tips of what an aspiring fiction author needs to know and do:

1. Understand Genre

Publishers publish by genre, booksellers organise their stores by genre, and readers read by genre. Your book has a better chance of succeeding if you understand what genre it is, and meet the expectations of readers of that genre. For example, a romance novel has to have a happy ending in which the hero and heroine are together. If he dies at the end, it’s not a romance novel.

Yes, authors do can do genre mashups (Amish Zombies in Space springs to mind), but even that adheres to the expectations of each of the constituent genres (I think. I don’t read zombie novels, so don’t know how it stacks up against them).

Understand your genre, and write to the norms of that genre.

2. Write What You Love

If you love trashy romance, write romance novels. Don’t write highbrow literary fiction with beautiful language but where nothing much happens. Don’t write gung-ho action adventure novels in which the hero fights his way through innumerable blockages in order to reach his goal and get the girl. Conversely, if you read literary fiction, don’t write Amish romance because someone tells you that’s what sells.

Write what you love for two reasons. If you’re writing in a genre you love to read, you’ll know the conventions of the genre and what the reader is looking for. And your writing will flow better because it’s something you want to write (unlike so many of those creative writing assignments in school).

3. Read what you write

Read in your genre. Read outside your genre. Read old books. Read new books. Read novels which have won awards, and try to work out why they won. Read award-winning novels as judged by industry professionals (e.g. the Christy Awards), by writers (e.g. the Carol Awards) and by readers (e.g. the INSPY Awards). Read the Christian novels I recommend each month on this blog.

4. Study the Big Picture

The big picture element of writing is the relationship between plot and story and structure and characterisation. Most craft books focus on one or two of these aspects, but the more I read, the more I come to believe that you can’t look at any one of these in isolation. They all need to be considered together.

Here are some books I recommend which examine these big picture elements:

– Plot and Structure by James Scott Bell
– Plot versus Character by Jeff Gherke
– Characters and Viewpoint by Orson Scott Card
– Story Genius by Lisa Cron
– Structuring Your Novel by KM Weiland
– GMC: Goal, Motivation, Conflict by Debra Dixon

(See what I mean about the relationships?)

5. Study the Technical Craft of Fiction

You also need to understand the basics of modern fiction. Yes, Jane Austen and Charles Dickens were great writers, and you can look to them for insight into the big picture elements. But don’t try and emulate the way they wrote. Novel writing has changed a lot in the two hundred years since Austen was first published, and writing like Jane Austen won’t win you any fans today. Even novels from the 1990’s might be too old-fashioned in terms of style to be of benefit in terms of their technical writing craft. (Although they will still be of benefit in terms of the big picture elements.)

The modern writer needs to understand:

– Point of View
– Showing not telling
– Scene and sequel

For advice on these issues, try:

– Rivet Your Readers with Deep Point of View by Jill Elizabeth Nelson
– The Emotion Thesaurus by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglasi
– Scene and Structure by Jack M Bickham

6. Understand the Mechanics of English

There is no point in knowing how to craft a great novel if you don’t have the technical writing skills to get it on the page so people can read and understand it. Christian editor (and founder of the Christian Proofreaders and Editors Network) calls this the PUGS: Punctuation, (word) Usage, Grammar and Spelling. There is nothing worse than picking up a novel which is hard to read because the author doesn’t understand how to order words in a sentence for maximum reader impact.

For advice on actual writing, I recommend:

– Eats, Shoots and Leaves by Lynne Truss
– The Elements of Style by Strunk and White

7. Join a Community

You’ll learn as much from your fellow writers as you will from books, so join a community of writers. This could be online (e.g. Facebook groups such as Australasian Christian Writers). It could be a formal organisation (e.g. Romance Writers of America or Australia or New Zealand, American Christian Fiction Writers or Omega Writers or New Zealand Christian Writers). It could be a Christian group or a general market group. It could be for fiction writers or all writers.

8. Write

You can study too much. It was true when Ecclesiastes was written and it is true today. Study, but ensure you get words down on paper as well. Or get pixels on a computer screen.

9. Learn to Self-Edit

Yes, I’m a freelance editor so you’d think I’d have a vested interest in people not editing their own work, to give me more to do. But correcting simple mistakes the author could have corrected for themselves isn’t much fun, and means I might get too focussed on correcting commas and hyphens at the expense of more fundamental questions of plot and style. And anyway, the cleaner the manuscript in terms of writing mechanics, the cheaper the edit.

Tools like Grammarly and ProWritingAid can help with the most technical side of this self-editing, identifying things like passive voice and overused words and commonly misused words.

But you need a human to pick up that your heroine’s hair colour changes three times without her ever visiting a hairdresser, or that there is headhopping in Chapter Four or that you have a nasty habit of structuring every sentence the same or that your mute minor character actually had a couple of lines before she miraculously started talking again.

For advice on how to self-edit your novel, I recommend:

– The Word Loss Diet by Rayne Hall
– Revision and Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by James Scott Bell
– Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Browne and Dave King

In Conclusion …

Everyone agrees I came into fiction writing the ‘wrong’ way. Most people write a manuscript first, then start looking for writing groups or publishers or advice on craft. I did it backwards: I spent several years learning the craft before I started writing. I don’t believe you have to spend years, but my relative success with that first fiction manuscript proves (to me, at least) that time spent studying craft isn’t wasted. And you’d do far worse than starting with the books I’ve recommended above.

Do you have any questions about writing? Ask in the comments.

Confessions of a Bookworm

(And why I adore John Cusack)

I have been a reader for a long time. The class bookworm (never meant as a compliment).

I was one of the first people in New Zealand to get a Kobo ereader, and I bought my first Kindle via mail order within weeks of Amazon announcing they now shipped to New Zealand. I love Goodreads: it’s where I first met people who had the same childhood stories I had, who didn’t think reading a book a week was a lot (hey, some of my Goodreads friends read a book a day and don’t consider themselves heavy readers).

In the years before the internet, I was the kid who read Nancy Drew novels at seven, the teen who read by torchlight under the bedcovers, and the adult who read everything I could lay my eyes on.

Sound familiar?

I was the child who was teased for using “big” words, who was asked if I’d swallowed a dictionary. For the record, apt is not a big word, and it’s officially at fifth-grade level in the US (a ten-year-old). So me using “apt” at fifteen shouldn’t have been worthy of comment.

This is why Con Air is one of my favourite movies (you didn’t see that one coming, did you?). There’s this scene where John Cusack’s character is describing an off-stage character to a DEA agent (played by Colm Meaney):

John Cusack: He’s known to be somewhat garrulous in the company of thieves.
Colm Meaney: Garrulous. What is garrulous?
John Cusack: That would be loquacious, verbose, effusive. How about chatty?
DEA agent: What’s with dictionary boy? [in demeaning tone]
John Cusack: I think thesaurus boy would be more appropriate.

You can watch it yourself: it starts at the 53 second mark in this video (note that Meaney’s character has a potty mouth, unlike Cusack’s character). And that’s why I adore John Cusack. Well, Vince Larkin. Yes, I know Cusack didn’t write the lines. But he delivered them like he could relate.

If I’d seen that movie when I was in high school, I would have had the perfect comeback to, “did you swallow a dictionary?”

No. A thesaurus.

Were you one of the weird bookworms?

Achieving Our Writing Goals

How do we achieve our writing goals?

Last week I talked about setting and meeting goals as a precursor to this post, and this week I’m talking specifically about writing goals (although the principles might be relevant to anyone who works from home, and there are some handy hints for hacking email).

Hack Time to Achieve Your Writing Goals

I’m going to warn you now: this is a long post.

Writers generally have one of two goals:

The first is to write (or publish) x number of books this year, with a general idea of how long those books are going to be: is that going to be one 150,000-word epic fantasy novel, or six novellas, or two category romance novels.

Or your goal could be more specific. It could be write 500 words a day or 1000 words a day or 3000 words every Saturday.

The second is to write for half an hour every day, or an hour every day, or four hours every Wednesday afternoon (although the problem with this is it can turn from “write every day” to “procrastinate on social media every day”, which isn’t exactly conducive for producing a book).

Basically, input or output.

This is a good place to start. What are your writing goals for this year? Are those goals based on input or output?

(Neither is wrong.)

If your goal is big-picture output (i.e. write and publish six 25,000-word novellas), then you need to work out how many words that is in total (150,000), how many days you are going to write, and divide the word count by the days available.

For example, if you decide you’re only going to write five days per week for 50 weeks, that 150,000-word goal becomes 3,000 words per week, or 600 words per day. That doesn’t sound nearly so daunting (although you’re going to have to schedule time for several rounds of revision as well, to get six novellas to publishable standard).

Next, you need to work out how long it’s going to take to produce 600 original words. A lot of writers consider 1000 words an hour to be a good pace, although this may well depend on how you’re getting the words out. I can type up to 2000 words in a good hour, but sometimes I manage less than 500. And I know a lot of writers aren’t fast typists, so it’s going to take them longer.

An increasing number of writers are using some form of dictation to help them produce 3,000 to 5,000 words an hour (because an average person speaks at 180 words a minute, but even a fast typist can only manage 100 words per minute, and that’s for copytyping. Most people are less than 40 words per minute).

I’ve tried the Windows free dictation tool, and find that in order for it to have any kind of accuracy, I have to Talk. So. Slowly. I’d. Be. Faster. Typing. It. Some writers swear by Dragon dictation software, although they acknowledge there is a learning curve—it takes at least a couple of weeks to get into the swing of it, to have Dragon produce something approximating what they said. I’m not sure I have that level of patience, and the USD 150 price tag is also scaring me off (as is the experience of two Australian writing friends who said Dragon couldn’t understand their Australian accents).

Another idea I’ve heard is to record the dictation onto your telephone, and then pay an online service to transcribe the recording, which apparently costs a dollar a minute (a US dollar, and that’s per recorded minute, not per minute they spend typing). I suspect the quality of this could vary hugely, depending on your accent and whether the transcriber can understand you. I can see myself spending longer correcting than it would have taken me to type in the first place . . . The alternative is to pay a friend or relative who understands you!

If your goal is around output, you need to work out how long it long it’s typically going to take to produce that word count, and schedule that time.

If your goal is around input, that’s the easiest to schedule: you know how long you want to write for, so it’s simply (ha!) a case of finding the time.

Whichever method you choose, at the end, it’s going to come down to a combination of input (time spent at the PC or dictaphone) and output (word count achieved).

But that’s the easy part, at least for me.

Scheduling Time

The hard part is finding the time in the schedule. And actually doing it. Because it’s not enough to set writing goals. You have to plan how you are going to achieve them.

I’ve done this with my Bible-reading plan. I try and complete it second thing each morning, after I’ve got the family out the door to work and school, after I’ve put a load of laundry on or tidied the kitchen or done whatever is on my morning housework list for the day. And after I’ve made that all-important first cup of coffee. Then it’s me and my Bible. Tick. Done. (Although I try and make it a little more than that, obviously!).

Next, I do my editing, because I find my productive times are mornings and evenings. I can do some writing in the evening, with the family around, although it’s subject to interruption. So editing *has* to get done in the morning, when the house is quiet and I can work without distraction.

Identify the Blocks

It’s taken a while, but I’ve finally worked out my blocks, the things which prevent me getting my writing done.

The first biggie is doing the unimportant stuff first. Now, I could argue that putting the laundry on isn’t as important as my writing. Well, I might think that but I’m still the chief carer, and I’m the one who has the privilege of working from home. So I get to do the laundry. And it’s best done early, because I like sun-dried washing more than using the electric dryer.

But laundry only takes a couple of minutes to load (while I wait for the kettle to boil for that coffee), and another five minutes or so to hang. It’s not a lot of time, and actually provides a handy excuse for a productive break.

It’s the other things which are the problem. Which suck time. Suck energy.

Email.

Social media.

Both of these are forms of procrastination, and I’m having to work out how to deal with them.

One thing I’ve discovered is I spend a lot of time rereading emails in my inbox to see if it’s something I have to deal with or not. But I’ve lessened this time over the last couple of months by adopting a couple of tricks:

1. Boomerang

2. Multiple email addresses

Boomerang

What is Boomerang? It’s an app for Gmail, and it’s just like a real boomerang—set the email to disappear from your inbox and reappear at a specific time. This can be anything from a couple of hours from now to weeks or months in the future. There are other similar apps available, such as SaneBox. As with many online apps, there are free and paid versions of Boomerang.

Multiple Email Addresses

Instead of having everything clogging up one email inbox, I set up additional Gmail accounts so each inbox (usually) has only one kind of message.

In broad order of priority:

1. One for household bills etc.

2. One for email relating to my freelance editing business.

3. One for email relating to my ‘other’ business (HR consulting).

4. One for email relating to my ministry role (secretary for a small mission)

5. One for email relating to my author activities.

6. One for personal email.

7. One for email relating to my book reviewing site.

8. And one for email newsletters and online training.

If I had only one Gmail address, I’d probably need the paid version of Boomerang. But the app allows ten Boomeranged emails per month per email address, so using multiple email addresses has unintentionally turned into a sneaky way of getting Boomerang free.

All my email addresses run though Outlook on my tablet computer, so it takes around 30 seconds to check them all and see if there is anything new.

The Four D’s

I’m also learning to stay on top of my email by using the 4 D’s

Delete: delete immediately if I don’t need it

Do it: if it can be actioned in two minutes, do it (e.g. signing up to a webinar, downloading a book to review)

Delegate: this is the hard one as I don’t have anyone to delegate to!

Defer: If I can’t action it quickly, either leave in my inbox to deal with during my scheduled administration time or in the evening (while not watching TV), or Boomerang the message and schedule a time I can deal with it.

My aim is to get down to having no outstanding emails in any of these inboxes. I’m improving, but I’m not there yet.

Why is this important? Because if there’s nothing in my inbox, I can’t read my emails as a way of avoiding writing.

Singletasking

I’ve had to identify what’s stopping me writing. I’ve bought in to the multitasking-for-productivity myth for years, but I’m now doubting it. Apparently, singletasking is the new multitasking. Do one thing at a time, for a specified period of time, and do it properly.

Two tools which help me with this are Freedom and Writer’s Block. I wrote the first draft of this post on Writer’s Block, a downloadable programme which gives you the options of writing a set number of words, or writing for a specified length of time. It then opens a text editor, and all you can do on your computer is type. In the text editor. No internet. No social media. No word processor. No email. Nothing, until you’ve met the goal. And no cutand-paste function, so no ability to cheat.

This is a wonderful way of focussing the mind . . .

Writer’s Block works for me when it comes to writing book reviews or newsletters or blog posts, but I’m not sure how it will work with an actual book, because I currently write in Word, and I want to move to writing in Scrivener (because everyone who uses it raves about it so much). But I don’t think I can use Writer’s Block in Scrivener.

Which leads me to the other tool, Freedom. Freedom allows you to block specific websites (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, Gmail) for a specific period of time, or to block the entire internet. The first time I tried this I made a mistake: I blocked the entire internet, but the document I wanted to work on was online, in my Onedrive. Oops. Won’t do that again.

Freedom works best while I’m editing, as it stops me procrastinating and wasting time by checking email and social media, while still allowing me access to useful research sites such as online dictionaries and Wikipedia (useful for checking dates and other basic facts in historical novels). Antisocial performs a similar function.

Another thing I find helpful is to outline before writing. As an example, I outlined this article under seven points, but I have found the earlier points have taken *much* longer to cover than anticipated, so I hope you find it useful, and not simply some stream-of-consciousness babbling from an overtired writer (no matter. That’s when the editing comes in).

And Writer’s Block *really* helps my productivity: I’ve written around 2,200 words in just 75 minutes. Maths brain checks and says that’s a shade under 30 words a minute, which isn’t a great speed for copytyping, but is good considering I started with a short outline and a blank page in Writer’s Block. Although I’ll probably have to spend at least as long editing it, that hard part is done.

Finally (with apologies to Nike), just do it!

What are your hints and tips to improving productivity and achieving your writing goals?

Dear Seth Godin

[For those who don’t know, Seth Godin is a marketing guru who writes short but thought-provoking blog posts.]

Dear Seth Godin

I probably should have written this post before now. It’s my response to a post about how you learned the clarinet for eight years, but you never actually played it—well, not the way it could be played. You said we often opt for more instead of better, where we should focus on better.

I agree. We should work towards better, not more.

But not always. We live in an individualistic culture, and it’s easy to forget that we’re not all called to be an individual, to work in a vacuum. Sometimes we’re called to be part of a team, to be part of a group where the sum of the whole is more than the sum of the parts.

Sometimes we're called to be part of a team. Click To Tweet

Tauranga Brass Band

I’m a member of the local brass band. We practice together once a week, and we play in public several times a year. Some of our players are outstanding—they’ve been playing for decades, and they practice every day. Others are relatively new to music and bands, but are diligent in attending practice and trying. Many are competent but not outstanding, people who love music and playing, and embrace the opportunity the band provides.

I’m a mediocre player at best, but I still play.

I play because I enjoy it. But mostly I play because if I didn’t, there would be something missing. We’re a small band. Only one person plays each part. No matter how humble I might think my part is, how mediocre I am as a player, the band is better for me being there. It doesn’t matter that I’m not soloist material. My part is important. The band wouldn’t be complete without me. The sum of the whole is more than the sum of the parts.

As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, we play at the Dawn Service on ANZAC Day, to commemorate the servicemen who died in the battle at Gallipoli in World War One. We play at the Battle of Britain Day service, commemorating all those who died in that epic battle over the skies of England.

We play at the Merchant Seamen’s Memorial Day, commemorating all those who died in while serving on merchant ships, transporting food and vital supplies to the front. And we play at the Battle of Crete Memorial Service, where we commemorate those who gave their lives in defence of Crete in World War Two, an act which has made our soldiers legends in Crete.

We play at community events.

We undertake an annual charity concert, usually in conjunction with a local choir, to raise money for causes as diverse as establishing a local church playgroup and freeing sex slaves in India. We play carols in a local shopping centre at Christmas. We play in the park on a Sunday afternoon, and small children dance to our music. One looks at us in wonder—has she ever seen music performed live before?

Does she even know those sounds on the radio or TV are made by real people playing real instruments?

Every time we play, someone stops to tell us how beautiful it sounds, how much they like our music. We remind them of their father, their brother, their husband, their son, their loved one who played in a brass band or a concert band or an orchestra. We bring back memories of happy times.

So you’re wrong, Seth Godin.

But you’re also right. You said we should focus on the things we care about. And while I might not be an expert brass soloist, I’m a very good brass band member, and I do care. I’m part of a team who work together, and bring people joy.

And for me, that’s more than enough.

 

On Art and Writing

http://www.dropbox.com/s/tbptzuz2sovlpo5/Screenshot%202016-03-15%2013.05.23.png?dl=0If a picture is worth a thousand words …

this blog post is roughly the length of War and Peace. Luckily, you don’t have to read that much. Instead, click here to watch this short timelapse video from Carla Klingenberg at Carla Grace Art (and then come back).

 Two things struck me as I watched Carla draw this wolf’s eye.

  1. Carla is incredibly talented.
  2. There are a lot of parallels between art and writing, or between art and music (and probably between art and a lot of other creative pursuits).

It doesn’t just happen.

Carla didn’t pick up a pencil or two and draw this. In the same way, musicians don’t just pick up an instrument and play like Bach (or Mozart or Louis Armstrong or Jimi Hendrix or whoever plays your kind of music).

And writers don’t pick up a pen (or a computer keyboard) and churn out Pride and Prejudice or War and Peace or Redeeming Love.

Working at this level takes talent, teaching, and practice. Lots of practice.

Carla has spent years perfecting her technique. I’m not going to produce what she produces overnight. But by watching and imitating her technique, at least I’d know I was on the right track (for example, I’d never have guessed that she used an eraser as much as she did. I’d have left that blank, drawn around it, not coloured and erased).

Here’s what Carla shows us we need to succeed in our artistic endeavours:

We need to have a plan

We can see from the start of the video that Carla isn’t starting with a blank sheet of paper:

  • She has a vision of what she wants to achieve
  • She’s starting with a plan, a structure, a frame to build on.
  • She’s sketched the basic outline
  • She’s assembled the tools she’s going to need to reach her vision.

We need to know the craft

We’re not born knowing how to do things like draw, play an instrument, or write—although we may well be born with some natural talent. But in order to produce art of this quality, Carla has undertaken some training (she’s an art school graduate), and that will have taught her various aspects of the artist’s craft. For example, who knew that part of the technique was rubbing out?

We need to practice the craft

I’m no expert on art, but it some of her first draft looks like smudge. Some looks like it’s caked on too thick. But the video shows us that a lot of that was deliberate. Carla was laying a foundation. She’s learned from experts, and she’s done enough practice to make it now look easy.

We need to edit

Carla spends a lot of time rubbing out what she doesn’t need, then adding the final touches. It’s like the grace notes in music, those tiny additional flourishes that set an outstanding musician apart from the rest of us. And we have to do the same in writing.

This, to me, was the real eye-opener. Without this editing stage, the end product wouldn’t have looked nearly as good. It requires as much talent and craft and practice required to finish the work as it did to begin.

Craft is even more important at this final editing stage: you have to know what you’re doing to polish it to get the right effect. Otherwise you might fail to touch up something that needs polishing, or delete something vital, or add something that’s not needed.

Lesson: editing is part of the creation process. And we need to learn to excel in this stage as much as—or even more—than any other.

What is Christian fiction?

Is there an easy definition?

I write contemporary Christian romance with a Kiwi twist. But what does that mean? Last week, I looked at the easy part of this definition: contemporary romance. This week I’m getting to the harder part: defining Christian fiction. Or, rather, defining what Christian fiction isn’t.

What is Christian fiction?

Is Christian fiction defined by the publisher?

Some say Christian fiction is fiction published by Christian publishers, except publishers can’t be Christian. Only authors can. Christian fiction might be novels published by members of the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association, but that excludes self-published authors and non-evangelical publishers targeting a specific denomination, such as Roman Catholic.

No, it’s not about the publisher.

Is Christian fiction defined by the seller?

Some say Christian fiction is fiction sold in Christian bookstores, members of the CBA (The Association for Christian Retail, formerly the Christian Booksellers Association). But Christian stores tend to only stock books from major ECPA publishers which ignores self-published authors, non-evangelical publishers, and many small publishers. And fiction from ECPA publishers isn’t just sold at CBA stores—it’s also sold at Barnes & Noble, Walmart and Amazon.

No, it’s not about where it’s sold.

Is Christian fiction defined by the author?

Some say Christian fiction is novels published by Christian authors, on the basis that as a Christian, your beliefs should come through in everything you write, “Christian fiction” or not:

Every story choice you make arises out of who you are, at the deepest levels of your soul; and every story you tell reveals who you are and the way you conceive the world around you.

Characters and Viewpoint, Orson Scott Card

I understand the sentiment. I agree with it. But being a Christian doesn’t automatically make what you write ‘Christian’.

No, it’s not about the author.

Is Christian fiction defined by the content?

A lot of people seem to define Christian fiction—especially Christian romance—by the content. But it’s often a list of content which shouldn’t be included: no sex. No graphic violence. No swearing. No smoking. No drugs. No gambling. Perhaps no dancing and no alcohol and no mention of Halloween. But Christianity is about what we believe, not what we do (or don’t do).

No, it’s not about the content.

Is Christian fiction defined by the world view?

Some say Christian fiction is those novels written from a Christian world view. That sounds reasonable . . . if we could agree on what that means. One view is that a Christian world view means the absence of postmodernism:

What is postmodernism? In simplest terms, it means we no longer believe in absolutes. Everything is relative . . . In postmodern literature, the author isn’t saying anything . . . you, the reader, have to decide what the text is saying to you.

Writing to a Post-Christian World, Ann Tatlock

That makes sense to me. But all these things are telling us what Christian fiction isn’t.

Not what it is.

So what is it?

Authors Terry Burns and Linda W Yezak address the question in their book, Writing in Obedience: A Primer for Writing Christian Fiction. Reading Writing in Obedience was a lightbulb moment for me. It’s a conversation I’ve been having with myself (and others), and the authors provide the best explanation I’ve seen. I’m going to summarise it here, but I do recommend you buy the book to read it for yourself.

First, the authors quote the definition of Christian fiction provided by Francine Rivers:

If you pull out the Christian thread from the plot and the plot unravels, it’s Christian fiction.

Some novels are more overtly Christian than others, and this may well depend on genre. It’s perhaps easier to have a Christian romance novel than a Christian fantasy novel (JRR Tolkien was a Christian, but this doesn’t make Lord of the Rings Christian fiction. Great fiction, sure. Just not great Christian fiction).

Four Categories of Christian Fiction

Anyway, Burns and Yezak divide Christian fiction into four categories:

  • Fiction written for believers
  • Fiction written for unbelievers
  • Fiction written for backsliders
  • Fiction written for seekers

Believers want Christian fiction which wrestles with issues of faith, and they want to see the Christian main character emerge victorious. I’d agree. But it’s preaching to the choir, and we’re called to spread the gospel—which isn’t to say the choir doesn’t need help. It does.

Thankfully, not everyone is called to write for the choir. Some are called to write for unbelievers, backsliders and seekers, and this means adopting a different style of writing. The underlying theme and message may well be the same, but it has to be delivered in a way the reader wants. In this respect, Burns and Yezak say:

We should never share our faith directly with the reader. As soon as the reader realizes the author is talking directly to him, the book becomes preachy, and the chance he’ll put it down goes up significantly.

I believe this shows why many Christian authors are choosing to write fiction of a more “edgy” nature, or choosing to leave specific references to God and Jesus out of their stories: to reach backsliders, seekers and unbelievers. These are markets which desperately need to be reached, and perhaps can’t be reached through the traditional CBA market.

For example, Lion Hudson, the main Christian publisher in the UK, say they can’t sell books that mention Jesus or have an overt conversion scene, as their readers are typically disenfranchised with organised religion: they are predominantly backsliders or unbelievers. (Please don’t think that means there are no Christians in the UK. I lived there for ten years and I know there are. But they tend to read either general market fiction, or Christian fiction from US authors).

I commend those who are writing for backsliders, unbelievers and seekers, those who have to strike the balance between writing Christian fiction and being a Christian who writes fiction. It’s not an easy task.

For myself, I believe I’m called to write for Christians. To write Christian fiction.

Good Christian fiction.

Good Christian fiction, in my opinion, should feature characters who are Christians, or who come to Christ in the course of the story. Good Christian fiction (especially romance) should be about more than the romantic tension between the hero and heroine.

Good Christian fiction should show the spiritual growth of either the hero or heroine, with the level of spiritual growth depending on their individual starting points. Just as in real life, we don’t get saved and suddenly become super-Christians who know everything (if only!). Christian life is about obedience to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith (Heb 12:2). There would be no point if we were perfect.

Good Christian fiction has to reflect this truth: life is full of imperfect Christians trying to be real and live for God in a fallen world, working out our faith in fear and trembling and allowing God to work in us. It’s about reflecting God in what we write, about allowing Him to work in and and through us, in our writing and in everything we do.

So that’s Christian fiction. What do you think?

I’ll be back next week to talk about the Kiwi twist.