A Reversal of Destiny

Missy Tippens, here. And I’m wondering if any of you has been at the point of giving up in your writing? Rough contest scores? (I once tied for 35th place out of 36 entries!) Rejection? Tough critique? And even if you’re published, have you had a proposal rejection that discouraged you? Well, read on, and I hope you’ll find some encouragement where I have.

I was blessed to take part in my first Beth Moore Bible study this past spring. We studied the book of Esther. An excellent study I highly recommend! I’ve always loved the book of Esther, but this study really opened my eyes to the idea of reversal of destiny.

Esther—a Jewish girl who hides her identity, becomes Queen of Persia and finds herself in a place where she has to risk her own life to try to save her people. You may be familiar with the verse in Chapter 4 where her guardian, Mordecai, charges her to intercede on behalf of their people (the end of verse 14): “Who knows? Perhaps you have come to royal dignity for just such a time as this.”

Several things Beth Moore said in the study really struck me. First off, the timing was awful for Esther. Her husband hadn’t called her to him in 30 days. So this is a huge expectation to ask her to risk her life in approaching the King. Plus, appealing to the King will reveal her identity as a Jew. But either way, she’s toast (since she’ll be annihilated with her people). So Esther was in quite a dilemma. But as Beth says, the worst time in the world for us just may be God’s time.

You know, the idea of destiny really appeals to me. It makes me feel as if there may be something big just around the corner (a new sale, an award, some fabulous recognition!). However, in the study, Beth says that the idea of destiny makes us feel special, BUT we’re put here with a purpose beyond ourselves. We, too, are here for some group of people.

--from Ephesians 1:11 Even when we’re blind to the evidence, God “works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will.”

--from Philippians 2:13 God “works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose.”

Another thing Beth said that spoke to me was this: As God sheds light on our destiny, He often shines that light after a crisis. He often uses something to pivot us. And after the fact, we see that the crisis was critical to the path.

Have you ever felt like God spun you on your ear and sent your life in an entirely different direction? Like you had a reversal of destiny? I’m talking about in your writing or otherwise.

Before I sold, I had been writing for over ten years. Okay, I’ll admit it. It was actually more like 12 years. Along that journey, I nearly gave it all up several times, but each time, God provided some little encouragement that kept me going. And it’s really amazing how I got my first sale. An editor who’d had my submission for a while had left the company. I was so, so bummed when I heard the news she’d left and realized I had to give up on that manuscript. But then a wonderful editorial assistant found it and emailed me. And of course, that major pivot point led to two rounds of revisions and then The Call. (The Editorial Assistant is now an Assistant Editor, and more importantly—for me anyway—she’s MY wonderful editor!)

Recently, my critique partner, Lindi Peterson, shared an email with our F.A.I.T.H. blog group. She’d been having a tough time, feeling discouraged and down. But after listening to a sermon about being an encourager to others, and while praying/thinking, she heard this voice in her head: Do For Me

She was beside herself excited, feeling a renewal of her spirit. At the end of Lindi’s email she said of God, “He's paving the way for great and amazing things to happen for His glory.”

Later that same week, she got The Call. Yes, great and amazing things!

Mary Connealy shared with me a pivot point in her life. She says, “I remember so clearly reading a copy or Romance Writer's Report, the monthly magazine from Romance Writers of America, and seeing this tiny article announcing the beginning of Love Inspired. It was like a light bulb went on for me.I'd been writing for years already, and writing these CLEAN romances, and watching the market move steadily away from CLEAN. It was down to mostly just Silhouette Romances left that didn’t require (or, to me SEEM to require) premarital sex. And I wasn't going to write that. So that left me with ONE place to submit my books. And as I looked into Love Inspired I found the whole world of Christian fiction just opening up. And there I was with all these books written. They didn't have a faith thread but they had characters who conducted themselves as Christians. The faith thread was there, it was just unspoken. It was very easy to add it. It was a huge turning point in my writing career (though it still took me a long time to get published).”

And we all know how that story is turning out! :) Mary has published, what, like 5 gazillion books already??

So again, I’ll ask, has God turned you on your ear lately? If so, be encouraged that God is working. He has a plan, and He wants each of us to be a part of it! It may not be an easy path. And it very well may not be on our time schedule! (Do I hear an amen to that?) :) But God does have a purpose for each of us. We just need to remember it goes beyond us.

I’d love it if you’d share a turnaround story (it doesn’t have to be a first sale story). Or just share with us if you feel discouraged right now so that we can help cheer you up. And goodness, if you stayed with me this long, you deserve a prize! I’ll do a drawing for your choice of one of my books (as available) or any Steeple Hill book of your choice that’s available on e-harlequin when I order the prize. Please leave contact info if you’d like to be entered.

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Missy Tippens’ next release for Steeple Hill Love Inspired, A Family for Faith, will be out in April 2011.

www.missytippens.com

Using (Minor) Adversity to Breathe Life into Fiction

Picture this scene:

On the back porch of a house in a suburban Texas neighborhood, one small, brown snake lay curled around itself in the warm afternoon sun. A twelve-year-old boy spies the snake and alerts his brother and cousins. Soon, five children clamor around the reptile, pointing and hollering loud enough to attract the attention of the two middle-aged moms—my sister and me—who are inside the house. We shoot out the front door and run full-speed to the backyard.

“Josh,” I ask my son, “is its head triangular or round?”

The group consensus is that it has a round head—it’s probably a garter snake—but I don’t want a snake in my yard, even if it’s not poisonous. I grab a shovel and a bucket.

Who am I kidding? The snake isn’t going to cooperate. It’s going to lunge, and I’m going to scream and fling the shovel. We need a container with an opening large enough for some wiggle room. I put down both the shovel and the bucket and pick up a cooler. “Let’s try this. Wait . . .” I peer at the open drain spout. “With the plug missing, that’s a pretty big opening. Do you think the snake can squeeze through here?”

“No,” my sister answers, “but even if it can, we’ll find something to plug it up.” She picks up the shovel.

Five barefooted children huddle around us like we need their help. Okay, I had asked my son if he thought it was poisonous. Now I remember that I’m the adult and responsible for their safety. I make swooping arm motions. “Y’all get back.”

I’m still worried about the opening in the cooler. I want to stuff it with a plastic bag, a stick, something. But there’s no time.

My sis has slid the shovel across the cement. Oops. The area isn’t smooth and she’s not able to slide under the snake easily like a spatula lifting a brownie.

The snake quickly slithers toward safety in the grass. Like a mother bear, my sister protects our young and attacks the reptile.

Whack!

She strikes, but misses.

I shriek, which helps so much.

She charges the snake into the grass.

Whack!

Another miss.

Another whack!

And another.

We no longer see the snake, so I suppose I can stop shrieking.

Whew! Hopefully, it has hightailed it to Austin by now. I really don’t care where it is—as long as it’s not on my property.

As the scene unfolded in my yard, I knew this little drama was worth it because someday it would play a small role in my fiction.
~~~
Adversity.

So when you face trials, even small ones, instead of getting upset, grab a piece of paper and jot down notes. With a simple change of your attitude, you can allow “all things to work together for good. “ Not only will you make lemonade out of your lemons, you’ll find that you have great stories to tell.

Seems like I’m adding to the list every day. Oh, well. They’re only inconveniences, like a snake on the back porch, but they’re going to become conflicts for my characters.

Join me in using adversity to breathe life into our fiction.

~Roxanne Sherwood~

http://www.thewritingroad.blogspot.com/

When life interrupts

When the reminder came that it was my turn to post again today, I was in the middle of a semi-crisis and found myself floundering about for a topic. Then I realized I had one right under my nose!

You know how it goes. We’re rolling along, making headway on our work-in-progress, and BAM! Life socks us in the gut. My (most recent) sucker punch came when my husband’s heart problems landed him in the hospital last week with atrial fibrillation. Long story, but he’s fine now, praise God.

On the other hand, I lost my sanity, my energy, and (when you tack on the Fourth-of-July holiday) a week of irreplaceable writing time.

Life interruptions come in many forms:

• Your (grand)child gets sick.
• Your spouse gets sick.
• Your car gets sick.
• You get sick.
• An ice storm leaves you without power for nearly a week.
• Your grandkids visit.
• You visit your grandkids.
• The dog needs a vet appointment.
• Spring hailstorms total your roof.
• You have to prepare pitches and pack for a writers conference.
• You go to the writers conference.
• You’re so exhausted after the writers conference that you need a vacation.

This year alone I’ve personally dealt with all of the above except item #1! And the hardest part for me after any kind of life interruption is getting back into the groove. When something hits at the beginning of the week, even if I could get back to normal by Thursday or Friday, I typically count the whole week as blown and plan to get a new start on Monday.

Of course Monday is likely to arrive with a few interruptions of its own. (And it did. Just as I sat down to work on this post, the roofers arrived with a load of shingles, so it’s going to be a very noisy few days at my house.)

What I have to remind myself--over and over and over again--is that the interruption-free life we consider “normal” is nonexistent. Interruptions are the norm. Interruptions are life.

So the problem becomes, how can we quickly get past the interruption, regain our focus, and get back to writing?

Um . . . drawing a blank here. No surefire solutions forthcoming, except to take ourselves by the scruff of the neck, plant ourselves in front of the computer, and (sorry to borrow from Nike) JUST DO IT. If you’re employed, you either get right back to work after an interruption (and probably have to make up the time you missed) or you get fired. When it comes to writing, you need to be just as tough on yourself.

Not easy. I get it. But sometimes sheer force of will is the only thing that works. You’ll also find plenty of encouragement available online to get you motivated and redirected. Here are a few sites to check out:

Writer’s First Aid: a medicine chest of hope : Kristi Holl, the creator of this blog, was my instructor back in the ‘80s when I took the Institute of Children’s Literature course. She’s an expert in working through the interruptions!

Craig Harper, motivational speaker : I came across this blog in one of Kristi’s posts.

Writer . . . Interrupted : My friend and WIN chapter president Gina Conroy is the creator of this blog, a great source of encouragement for writing moms and anyone else dealing with life’s ongoing interruptions.

Margie Lawson’s class “Defeating Self-Defeating Behaviors,” offered online next January or you can order the lecture packet (see her Web site for details). Highly recommended!

Okay, everybody, how do you deal with the interruptions? What’s your strategy for churning out pages when life conspires against you?

Roxanne Sherwood ~ TBL Finalist

Hi, I’m Roxanne Sherwood and I’m honored to be a guest today. Though I’ve won and judged contests, I’m still waiting for The Call.

This Ain’t Paradise.
On the cross, Jesus promised one thief that he’d rest in paradise that day. As much as our hearts long for that heavenly reward, we don’t live in paradise here on earth. Even if God has blessed you with a tropical location, your life has stress.

You may be staring at a blank page, or characters who’ve hijacked the story, or a plot that’s unraveled. You may be struggling with a difficult job, a wayward teen, a special-needs child, an off-track marriage. Or worse. You may feel that you’ve received more than your share of trouble.

Sometimes, living is so painful that it’s a struggle to string words into sentences, scenes into stories. It takes emotional energy to write, and stress and grief drain energy from your well of emotions. Writing may be difficult, nearly impossible.

Believe me, I understand.

Blind-Sided.
Last year, on my twin daughters’ 17th birthday, my husband, Jack, had a heart attack. He was only 45 and seemed in perfect health, but he didn’t survive. I was left alone to raise seven children, ages 1-20.

For weeks afterward, each time I’d fall into a fitful sleep, I’d wake up gasping from pain as I remembered (as if for the first time) what had happened. Writing was impossible.

A Simmering Pot.
My friend, Beth, put her writing career on the back burner when her children were young, but she wishes she hadn’t turned the burner off. Instead, she should’ve kept it simmering.

I have a rusty journalism degree—one I’d also put on the back burner to raise my kids. It’s hard to say how long I’ve been writing because of the interruptions, but I’ve been passionate about writing fiction for five years.

During that time, I’ve home schooled six children, relocated across country, had two pregnancies in my forties—one stillbirth, one healthy baby—graduated four teens from high school, and done all the other things that moms do. Now, I’m doing them without Jack.

Every time that I’ve put my writing aside and turned off the burner, I’ve struggled to start cooking again. I’ve had to re-learn my characters’ lessons or discover where I left them hanging. I’ve lost so much ground.

Pearls. Butterflies. Adversity.
God uses a grain of sand within an oyster to produce a pearl. Just think what God—who loves you infinitely more than He cares for an oyster—can create through the adversity in your life.

If a butterfly is helped from the cocoon, rather than emerging by itself, its wings won’t develop the necessary strength to fly. God uses adversity to strengthen us.

Frankly, I’d prefer a life without adversity—at least, without losing my husband. But we aren’t given choices. We can only go on learning the lessons that God gives us.

I don’t know what you’re facing today, but we need to learn to write through adversity if we’re going to be successful in this business.

Writing Through Adversity.
1. Take care of yourself. During safety presentation on airplanes, adults are warned to secure their oxygen masks before taking care of their children. Generally, we’re so busy taking care of others that we neglect ourselves. Take time to heal and become whole again.

2. If you can’t write, then read that craft book that everyone’s raving about. Meet with other writers online or in person to keep a writing connection. Critique someone’s work and it will strengthen your writing.

3. Make realistic goals. If you can’t write a chapter, try to write 100 words. Or develop a new character’s goals, motivations, and conflicts. Or figure out your next plot point.

4. If you’re published, communicate with your editor and agent about your situation. Don’t wait until you’ve missed a deadline.

5. One day, you’ve got to decide if you’re still a writer. Then, you’ve got to get into the chair and write. Muse or not.

6. Look for joy in unexpected places. A fresh outlook restores energy.

Though I count my blessings, I’m not crazy about this life as a widow. The future I’d pictured and longed for was buried along with my husband. It’s hard to live without hope or her twin sister, joy. Yes, I cling to God’s promised hope of heaven. I know I’ll see Jack again one day, but I won’t be married to him, which is what I want.

Joy.
Last night, I snuggled with my sleepy two-year-old in a plush chair as we watched a video. My lips brushed my son’s soft hair, smelling deliciously of baby soap. I savored the moment. My life isn’t what I’d dreamed it would be, but there is joy, if I’ll open my eyes to discover it.

Maybe, my writing will reflect that.

Let’s hear how you’ve written through adversity.

Blessings,
Roxanne Sherwood