An Author's Blog

How Can I Get Close to the Heart of God?

Seth Barnes and I are partnering together to provide a launching point for you to find out what God has for you. If you've been a blog reader for a while and have a blog of your own, we are offering our two books to you completely free of charge, if you will do two things: listen and act.
Seth's book, The Art of Listening Prayer will teach you to better hear God’s voice and build intimacy with the Lord, and my book Red Letters will teach you about God’s heart for the poor, along with practical ways that you can reach out to the “least of these."

After you read each book, we’re asking that you post at least one blog linking to our blog sites and drop a comment on this blog, letting us know how it's going by answering these questions:
What did God move you to do?
What did you learn from our books?
How did this make a difference?
We'll walk through this with you and help you discern what God is saying and what your appropriate response is. So many people have a desire to serve God and are virtually lost in a sea of choices. We want to help you wade through all of that. If you're interested, act ASAP, because there are only a limited number of books.

Click here for your two free books: dnarron@hopechest.org

Listen
Most of my life I struggled with the vague notion that God wanted to talk to me and I just wasn't listening hard enough. The God I read about in the Bible regularly interacts not only with mankind, but with specific men and women. The common denominator I saw in Scripture was that these people who conversed with God were intentional and earnest in their pursuit of a relationship with him. So, I decided to pursue him like that. At the same time I became more aware that he was pursuing me. (The Art of Listening Prayer by Seth Barnes)
Act
What if all Christ-followers lived the Red Letter words in the Bible – Jesus’ words? What if we offered the hungry something to eat, gave one of our many coats to someone who was cold, and truly loved all our neighbors as ourselves? How radically different would our lives be? How different would our world be? This is the reality of the Christian Life Jesus called us to live. (Red Letters by Tom Davis)

If the link doesn't work, send an email to DNarron@hopechest.org to get your books. Be sure to include your name, address, and blog URL.

Radio Broadcast on Red Letters

For those of you who were not able to listen to the interview I did on Midday Connection in Chicago, (click to listen online) you can download it here. Download 2008-03-18_MiddayRedLetters.mp3. Thanks!

Writing a Novel

I'm almost through the third draft of my novel, Scared. This is far more difficult a project than I thought. Writing non-fiction comes fairly easy for me. Of course it's hard work, but nothing compared to the complexity of a novel. Although this has been the most difficult thing I've ever done as far as writing is concerned, it has also been the most rewarding. I found an article on "How to Write a Novel" that is very helpful and interesting. Keep writing, there's a wealth of treasure inside you that's barely begun to be tapped!

"Writing a novel is easy. Writing a good novel is hard. That's just life. If it were easy, we'd all be writing best-selling, prize-winning fiction.

Frankly, there are a thousand different people out there who can tell you how to write a novel. There are a thousand different methods. The best one for you is the one that works for you.

In this article, I'd like to share with you what works for me. I've published six novels and won about a dozen awards for my writing. I teach the craft of writing fiction at writing conferences all the time. One of my most popular lectures is this one: How to write a novel using what I call the "Snowflake Method."

This page is the most popular one on my web site, and gets hundreds of page views per day, so you can guess that a lot of people find it useful. But you may not, and that's fine by me. Look it over, decide what might work for you, and ignore the rest! If it makes you puke, I won't be insulted. Different writers are different. If my methods get you rolling, I'll be happy. I'll make the best case I can for my way of organizing things, but you are the final judge of what works best for you. Have fun . . . write your novel!

Good fiction doesn't just happen, it is designed. You can do the design work before or after you write your novel. I've done it both ways and I strongly believe that doing it first is quicker and leads to a better result. Design is hard work, so it's important to find a guiding principle early on. This article will give you a powerful metaphor to guide your design.

Our fundamental question is this: How do you design a novel?

For a number of years, I was a software architect designing large software projects. I write novels the same way I write software, using the "snowflake metaphor". OK, what's the snowflake metaphor? Before you go further, take a look at this cool web site." Read the entire article here.

Christian Men's Deepest Secrets Exposed

Here's a great review on Confessions from the Beechwood Reporter in Chicago:

Confessions of a "Good" Christian Guy
It's not hard to define what a "good Christian guy" is, right? They are the men who seem to have it all. Good job - check. Loving wife and family - check. Solid relationship with God - check.

But most people would be shocked to learn that lust, greed, infidelity, substance abuse, pride, and materialism also can have deep roots in the lives of many Christian men.

Conducting interviews on the topic of the "Secret Sins of Professing Christians" is author TOM DAVIS, who shares with your audience that life's most challenging issues are not saved just for the faith-less. Even "good Christian guys" grapple with these difficulties on a daily basis.

Tom Davis is a self-described "good Christian guy." But he is also is a sinner. He has wrestled with difficult issues, and admits that since coming to Christ, he has snorted cocaine, been sexually promiscuous, and spent time behind bars.

Tom's life is by no means perfect. He is a Christian, but he is also fallen. In his new book, Confessions of a Good Christian Guy, The Secrets Men Keep and the Grace that Saves Them, Davis explores the darkest corners of the lives of men like him - men who are outwardly upstanding citizens, church leaders, and pillars of their communities. His new book is not a lurid expose, but instead is an honest, thoughtful exploration of the damaging secrets that often lurk behind the perfect façade that some Christian men have so carefully constructed.

Tom shares with your audience that some Christian men may seem fine on the surface but on the inside often there are cracks in the veneer, as men - even Christian men - often repeat destructive behaviors and succumb to temptations. Tom explains that sometimes inviting Christ into one's heart does not immediately mark the end of the brokenness and pain that many men feel. Davis delves into numerous difficult topics, in chapters including:

1. "I've got a dirty mind": The Never-Ending Struggle of Sexual Sins
2. "I'm a self- made man": The Surprising Pervasiveness of Pride
3. "I want more stuff": The Hollow Promise of Materialism
4. "I love booze": The Destructive Trap of Substance Abuse
5. "I want to give up": The Weary Grind of Long-Term Discouragement
6. "I'm so ticked off": The Harmful Reality of Anger and Abuse

Davis gives Biblical examples of men who dealt with similar issues, like King David, Samson, and Nebuchadnezzar. He encourages readers to put themselves in God's hands and wrap themselves in the protection of His grace and forgiveness.

While Tom's topic is primarily for men, Tammy Maltby, (author of Confessions of a Good Christian Girl) offers a brief reflection at the end of each chapter of Tom's book for women who are affected by these sinning Christian men.

Getting Published Is Now Easier than Ever

NEW YORK - Getting a book published isn't the rarefied literary feat it once was.

New printing technologies are making published authors of legions of aspiring writers, a population that once toiled for years on tomes that might not see the light of day.

The vast majority of today's instant authors may sell only a few dozen copies of their books, but on-demand publishing is letting thousands realize the ambitions of generations of would-be writers.

On-demand publisher Lulu.com has churned out 236,000 paperbacks since it opened in 2002, and its volume of new paperbacks has risen each month this year, hitting 14,745 in November. Retail giant Amazon.com got into the game this summer, offering on-demand publishing through its CreateSpace, which was already letting filmmakers and musicians burn DVDs and CDs.

The programs are easy for just about anyone to use: Authors select basic options, including the book's size, binding style and paperback or hardcover. After the manuscript is uploaded, users go to a page where they select a font and design the book's cover. Even after a book has been printed they can fix typos for later printings.

Unlike vanity publishing, in which aspiring authors pay to have their books run on traditional presses, on-demand publishing doesn't have to cost writers a cent. Read the rest of the article here.

Hints About Writing a Story

Everyone is different and that means that everyone is going to need           to write a story in a different way. You have to discover how you           need to do it. There is no easy way. You can only discover how to           by doing it. These hints are to help you find your own way.        

               

Planning it?

               

Most teachers will tell you that you need to make a careful plan of           your story before you start. This is because most teachers do not           write stories. Professional writers divide into four different ways:

       

1. Those who do make a careful plan. These are the rarest.             Even writers who write detective stories often only have jotted             notes about what order the clues come out in. You do a careful plan             if it makes you feel safe. Otherwise try one of the other ways.
2. Careful realistic writers. These writers have little cards             written out with descriptions and past histories of all the people             they might want in the story, and the same for all the places. This             is quite a good way to work, because the story often falls into             place in your head while you are discovering the things on the             cards. But it takes a long time, though it can be fun. You will             often find you have far more information on the cards than you will             ever get into the story, and if this is so DON’T try to get it             all in. You will drown your story.
3. Back to front and inside out writers. These writers start by             writing Chapter Eleven and then Chapter Twenty. Sometimes they have             no idea what the story is and have to put the chapters away until             they see what the story is that they fit into. A writer called Joyce             Carey had a whole chest of drawers filled with chapters out of books             that he never got round to finishing. When he did write a book, it             always started this way. with a chapter from the middle. I sometimes             work this way, but I warn you, it takes a very clear head to sort it             out in the end. It is a good way to get started,             however.
4. My way. If you’re the kind of person who gets stuck writing             a story, try this. When I start writing a book, I know the beginning             and what probably happens in the end, plus a tiny but extremely             bright picture of something going on in the middle. Often this tiny             picture is so different from the beginning that I get really excited             trying to think how they got from the start to there. This is the             way to get a story moving, because I can’t wait to find out.             And by not planning it any more than that I leave space for the             story to go in unexpected ways. Sometimes things happen that I never             would have thought of, just because the story wants them             to happen.

               

The IMPORTANT THING is that you should ENJOY making up your story.           If it bores you, stop and try something else. Read the rest of the article here.

Six Figure income as a Writer

            Is it possible to make a six-figure income as a freelance writer? Yes, it certainly is. You can do it as a copywriter, a novelist, or a generalist writer who writes a little of             everything. (FWIW, I've always been a generalist.)             
            
            The September 2007 issue of The Writer published an excellent article: "Secrets of Six-Figure Freelancers", which covered magazine freelance writers who are making  six figures, with one making $260,000 per year. This proves that you can make a great income as any kind of freelance writer. The money is there: all you have to do is take it.             
            
            Fab Freelance Ezine helps you to understand the fast-changing world of the freelance writer, and sets  you well on the way to making the income that you want to make, and that many writers are already making.             

            A study done some years ago produced an amazing result: most freelance writers earn LESS than $5000 a year. These are writers who have a day job, and are  freelancing in their spare time.             
            
            Of course, some of these writers are happy with their writing, they're making a small amount, and writing is just a hobby to them.             
            
            However, I also know (because writers tell me) that some writers are not happy with the woeful money they're making, and wish they could earn more.             
            
They don't know how. Fab Freelance Writing Ezine teaches you how to avoid the hazards of freelance writing.                         

Freelance writing facts - what you need to know about freelance writing as a business:            

Fact 1: The money you make as a freelance writer is up to you. No one else sets your rates. You do.             
            
Fact 2: If you want to make a fabulous income as a freelance writer, you need to set a high income as a goal. In addition, you need to focus on those markets which are capable of generating this kind of income.             
            
Fact 3: You need to love writing enough to write a lot. Yes, I know that some would have you believe that you can write for an hour a day, or six hours a week, and make six figures - it's a lie. You need to work at it. But you knew that already, didn't you?             
            
Fact 4: You need to understand contracts and writing  agreements. Writing for money, whether you're writing articles, novels, copywriting for business, or any other kind of writing, is a business. The people who pay you are business people. This means that their aim is to generate a maximum profit from your words. Part of that profit-motive is paying you as little as you will accept.             

Find the article here.
            

For All You Writers

My silence has been due to the fact that I'm putting the final touches on the first draft of my novel. The good news: as of an hour ago, I am finished! Here's a video all of you will enjoy. Happy writing.

What a Writer's Life is Really Like

Not romantic, I can assure you . It's hard work, tons of it, and just when you think you're done you're really only 25% there. I'm starting to buckle under the pressure of having my first draft done for my novel, Scared, due by November 15th. So in the midst of taking care of my responsibilities at my day job, going to soccer games and basketball practices and so forth, I sneak away every chance I get to write. That's what I did all day today. In the office, in the corner of Borders for a bit, and now late into the night at home. I'm sitting on the couch, feet propped up on the coffee table, listening to my Itunes so I can tune out the world, and going for it!

I must admit I have a bad habit of surfing the internet when I get bored or the plot gets stuck. Tonight, I'm glad I did because I read my good friend, Claudia Mair Burney's blog. This is what the life of a writer is all about after finishing a novel. Read this: (By the way, don't let her fool you. She's brilliant, amazing, and an accomplished writer!)

"Sometime just before 7pm I sent The Exorsistah to my developmental editor. I can honestly say that I have never struggled so hard, or felt so completely lost during the writing of a book.

Maybe some of you will write and say, "You feel that way every time. I can show you transcripts of our chats." But you'd have to show me, because it always feels like this was the worse one ever.

Some of you have read my rough drafts, and you know they are unapologetically rough. It's in writing like a nut job that I find the startling and surprising. I have to allow myself to go wherever I want to go. Sometimes I have to see how a scene feels, even if I will likely scrap it. In my drafts a whole lotta scrapping goes on.

I couldn't grasp this story though. It slipped out of my hands whenever I tried to hold it. Characters walked around confused, wondering what to do, and I couldn't tell them. I wished I could. I'm not joking when I say I have no skill. I'm a cheap story teller that has found myself in a world that I'm certain I don't belong in.

I feel awful.

There's like this tremendous crash, and a mild hysteria that takes hours to dissipate. Maybe days. I think, "This one will ruin me." At some point tonight I will cry my eyes out. I may be crying right now. I won't say. Read the rest by clicking here."

Writer's Block

Having a tough time getting creative during your writing? It happens so all of us. Sometimes you just need a kick start. A key that sparks something internally and will lead you to an entirely different trend of thought. Check out this website called, Creative Writing Prompts. It will be a great help in time of need!