issue : ICW Report, February 2007

This issue of the Report contains:
How to Maintain Success as a Writer, Part 2
Brave Souls Writing Clinic: Sylvia Duncan
Christian Writers in Australia
Happy Surprises

1. HOW TO MAINTAIN SUCCESS AS A WRITER, PART 2
Last month I announced that on February 17, this Saturday, I am to serve as a panelist at the Salem winter conference of Oregon Christian Writers. The topic is “How To Maintain Success as a Writer.”
I said that if there is a secret of maintaining success as a writer, I have, after all these years evidently forgotten it since I haven’t been published lately.
I said, Don’t tell the OCW planners. They might disinvite me (or would a real writer say uninvite? deinvite? “Word” red flags all of these, so I guess they can’t dis-un-de-invite me ‘cause there’s no such word).
I added, Here’s a thought. Maybe you can come to the rescue. Please! Give me something to say. Don’t let them find me a fraud after all these years!
YOU, dear writers, have not failed me. Following are some of your replies, for which I thank you on behalf of myself and all those others who may benefit. (OCW, at its latest meeting in October of 2006, had 192 writers in attendance.)

Birdie Etchison wrote: Disinvite you? Yeah, fat chance.

I had a terrible 2006. Rejections through my agent. Began questioning
myself if I had lost it. Didn't want to write. Was in a real slump. But
you know the slumps don't last forever, not if God calls you to write.

We just have to hang in there and keep pressing the button. We can't give
up. Never. My turn around came when my last Heartsong (romance) book,
Sagebrush Christmas, was chosen as 5th favorite in the annual Reader's
Poll. This is out of 52 titles. The cover came in as 6th. What a boost to
the morale. Hey, maybe I can write after all.

I dug out a 3-novel series that had been rejected for one line and it is
now being considered for another. Today I just finished the synopsis of yet
another novel.

I think the support and encouragement from other writers is paramount. I
think of how you helped me with Celebration Family, oh, so many years ago.
Would have given up if you hadn't told me how to start it.

Does any of this help? Maybe. Maybe not. You'll do fine, know you will.
Stan, don't you think we're supposed to slow down somewhat? Maybe this is
the first time we take the time to smell the roses - excuse cliché.

Val Coulman wrote: Hi, Stanley,

I can't imagine that you don't have enough information to pass along to
other writers at the Salem conference but I will add a thought. My
"success" so far as a writer seems to have been largely due to my
flexibility.

I began writing as a children's writer and had three books published in
fairly rapid succession. But then my publisher had some troubles and no
one else wanted to buy my children's manuscripts. But a poem I wrote
became a song and was incorporated into a freelance article for a
magazine. Then because I had some "time" on my hands I was able to
accept an adult freelance assignment. Since then I have published over three
dozen freelance articles in a year and a half. One article has the
potential to spin off into adult fiction or even screen writing.
In the one month that I had no assignments, I had the chance to accept a
tech writing assignment and have had regular jobs in the tech industry
since then. The non-fiction articles and tech writing have led me into
adult non-fiction. Which in turn has led back to children's nonfiction
and so on. It may not have made my name synonymous with any one genre,
and I can't claim a substantial income yet but it has kept the assignments flowing, my writing skills honed, my clip file growing and the learning process continuous.

As a writer, I call that success.

Sylvia Duncan wrote: I see you want tips for your conference. 
You are still writing, Stanley, and that is the success itself. Admit that and you will win scores of friends at the conference.
 I think one of the secrets of maintaining success as a published writer is to constantly reevaluate where you are in your life and then go with your current self as both reader and writer. Move with your own times. 
  Say, "Oh, what do I like to read about now -- that is what I shall write!"
I began writing about parenting when I was a young mother, then moved ahead to publish textbooks and stories for children when I was a children's librarian. Later, when I retired I wrote about retirement issues.  Now I am far more reflective about life and focus more on Christian pieces. I had a story in a "Chicken Soup for the Soul" book.

Dave Fessenden wrote: As (a former book editor) who has had spotty success at best in my own writing, I find that maintaining success at publishing begins with having something to publish. My first advice, therefore, would be to write every day, or as often as you can. Stretching your muscles as a writer helps too, so I would suggest trying to write something you've never done before --- a different genre, a different subject, a different approach. It keeps your writing fresh.  Finally, and most important, I would say --- pray about it!  I never cease to be amazed at how often Christian writers --- including myself --- forget that!

Dr. James Christensen wrote: Stan, you and I go back a long way.  Forest Home in the early 1980's.  Here's my answer to what you might consider keying on as you speak in Salem.  (I'm going to do an all out effort to come).  Don't let this influence you in what you present, however! (Smile)
 God said His Word does not return to Him void (Isaiah 55:11). Rather, it accomplishes what He intends it to.
God has allowed me to preach/teach His Word over 13,000 times since I joined the Heaven and Home Hour radio program in 1973.  He has taken me to 34 countries and 49 states, allowed me to meet kings and presidents, among many other blessings. 
 Like you, I wonder if anyone is listening (at times) and if any of what I have said over a span of some 41 years in ministry impacted their lives.  Of those years, 33 have been in Christian broadcasting (Heaven and Home Hour). When I entered broadcasting I was told it would be a "lonely ministry."  You never see your audience. There is no visual feedback, or audible feedback.  You put your words into a piece of "fancy" metal and let it go out over the air waves, praying it might catch someone's attention and change their life, even just a bit.  It's the same with writing.  We put fingers of flesh to keys of plastic and send off in the hands of strangers, into the office of yet another stranger (editor) with the hopes it finds its way into a magazine or book.  Then and only then might it touch a life for Christ.
 Now, in all of this we wait and wonder if it meant anything at all to readers we likely will never meet in this life. Isaiah once asked God a question many writers ask after a host of rejections, or no visible responses.  "Lord, how long?"  God's reply is much like Winston Churchill’s during WWII, "Never give up! Never, Never, Never, Never Give Up!"
 We read words such as those of a Martin Luther or a Jonathan Edwards written hundreds of years ago and our hearts are touched and our spirits re-ignited.  At times they too must have wondered, "Lord, how long?"  God doesn't always give us the visible response a Billy Graham has so often seen, but He still gives us His command to "Never grow weary in well doing" (Galatians 6:9).  Much like the great Ignace Paderewski's words to the little boy who "borrowed" his piano, "Keep on playing. Don't stop. Keep on playing."  Sooner or later the musical strains of God's Eternal Word will return, overflowing with accomplishments we may never see until the Gates of Glory receive us into His presence and we hear the words, "Well done..."
I have burdened you long enough today, Stan.  I am sitting here in my study out in the country south of Corvallis and can see the books you have written and which I have placed in my "Autograph Section."  Each one and the notes taken at workshops you have conducted have not returned "void."  Keep on keeping on.

Jeanne Halsey writes: I was moved by your humorous request in the monthly ICW Report for "endorsement" of your success as a writer.  My first response must be:  because you have motivated me!  Even as parents seek to train their children to emulate themselves - or as God the Father asks us, "Grow up to be like My Son" - I believe the most effective witness to OUR success is shown in the children we raise. I believe your success as a writer can be effectively and emphatically demonstrated by the vast number of writers you have mentored and taught over these years of your own ministry ... and I am humbly among them.  Now as I teach other writers to unlock their God-given gifts, I freely acknowledge you as my mentor, my inspiration to continue as a writer.  If one measure of success as a writer can be determined by this principle of reproduction, you certainly have many "children" - and "grandchildren" - today!

On a side note, the 10-week Creative Christian Writing School I teach continues through March 10th ... and I am bold enough to ask again if you would come speak to my class. I have 15 very committed students. We are aiming at beginning a bi-monthly intra-church magazine, first issue intended for May/June 2007 - I am invoking the trusty YWAM principle of "You have heard the lectures, now you must immediately embark on the outreach" ... plus we both know that just seeing your name in print - no matter how parochial the publication - can be such a boost to trusting your writing ability.  So launching a little print magazine to publish their efforts - which will include fulfilling "reporter" assignments - is our way to kick them out of the nest and into flying in public. While my preference would be to introduce you with awe to my class as my personal guru, I'm wondering if you would consider taking an entire 2-hour class as a substitute teacher?  The toughest part for me would be missing your class myself. (I expect to be in Mumbai, India those days.)

Thank you for your friendship and truth-telling over these years!  You're my hero.

2. BRAVE SOULS WRITING CLINIC: SYLVIA DUNCAN DEVOTIONAL
Sylvia Duncan has been a freelance writer since the age of ten when she won ten shillings in England for an essay and bought a lovely pen with the spoils. Often (she confesses) she goes for material rewards for her writing. She is a teacher,  storyteller, and  writer.  She just finished a novel, printed out the whole thing and has already worn out three red pencils in the final editing of it. And it is still not done. She loves writing and finds it the perfect delicious distraction to life's trials. Here is her devotional, which could have been written precisely to address the theme: “How To Maintain Success as a Writer.”  
SUNDAY. Second Sunday after Epiphany.
Isaiah 49:1-7 Then I said “I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing and in vain, yet surely my just reward is with God and my work is with God”

Isaiah wondered if all his efforts were in vain. I sympathized with him this morning. Everything had taken twice as long as I had thought it would. My efforts were unrewarded, and I was very tired. Well, God, I hope you liked what I did, I thought. Then I smiled. My hour-long walk in the park, with a troubled friend and her dog had not been in vain. That dog’s tail had wagged hard.

What if God came down here to walk among us? Would he approve of our daily plans? Perhaps, with that question in mind, we could imagine God with red pencil in hand, grading our use of time. How many of us would be A students? If our work is with God, we might labor long at what seem like pointless tasks, yet succeed, as Isaiah did, when we think of our just reward.

In the words of an old gospel hymn – further along we’ll know all about it, further along we’ll understand why.

Psalm 40: 1-10, 1 Corinthians1: 1-9, John 1: 29-41

My Critique:

It is hard for me to find much to critique here. I love it. It speaks to a common (even universal) need to feel like we and our efforts count for something. Addressing real and felt needs is important to successful writing, and you have done that. Then, your line about the dog offers just the relief and wry humor I love.

My only suggestion concerns your second paragraph. The last sentence of it is fine and advances your theme. But God with red pencil in hand, grading us, seems inconsistent in tone with the rest of the piece. It feels negative, and suggests a less than welcoming image of God.

Finally, I think the hymn says “farther along” not further. Check it out.

(Writers, you are invited to send your writing for a free Brave Souls critique. Send it to scbaldwin@juno.com).

5. CHRISTIAN WRITERS IN AUSTRALIA
Last month we asked if anyone had an answer to the following question: “Do you know how I might access information / schedules about Christian
Writing conferences in Australia...particularly in Perth and the south west
of Western Australia? I believe the Lord is calling me to write my
testimony. [Susan Moss]

Ken Rolph of Blacktown, Australia responds: I posed this question in our Oz Christian Writers list and got the following reply:

The inaugural Alpha2Omega literary and dramatic arts convention will be
held early May 2007 here in Brisbane. See www.alpha2omega.org.au
for more. Janet www.footprintsaustralia.com

You might also like to point Susan in the direction of Oz Christian Writers:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ozchristwriters

Email groups are more accessible these days than critique groups that meet
locally. We do have some WA members so she might be able to connect up
there.

I was not aware of any currently operating conferences in Australia. Even
the established Christian events that have arts components (like Hillsong or
Black Stump) don't seem to cater for writers. The few arts/theology colleges
also major on music and performance, with little offering in the way of
literary training.

People's imagination is dominated by the American experience. They assume
that because they hear of North American conferences that there must be some
locally. If you are thinking about Australia in comparison to the USA it is
wise to consider the divide by 15 rule. The populations are roughly in the
proportions of 15 to 1. So if you have a US critique group meeting with a
dozen people, the Australian equivalent is one lonely person. If you have a
US conference of 150 people, the Australian equivalent is 10 people, who
can't afford to run a conference and are usually too far apart to get
together.

Similarly things like fiction. Last time I checked, the CBAA product listing
did not even have a category for fiction. Poor Susan is probably going
to end up badly self published on Lulu.

Most of the writing endeavours I was aware of have fizzled out. But I will
keep checking around. I have noticed lately that new things are popping up
here and there. Mostly younger people who don't realise it can't be done. I
used to be one of them once, myself.

(Watch for more to come, next month.)

 4. HAPPY SURPRISES
Julie Johnson writes: A wonderful thing happened last week. I read an e-mail from AAPLOG (American Assn of Pro-life OB/GYNs) warning about the new tests to predict Down syndrome in the first trimester (leading in most cases to abortion). It included an article by a doctor, Steve Calvin, who wrote with great compassion. Readers were invited to respond to him personally, so I did . . . telling briefly about our Sam and also our son who had birth defects years ago. 
 Later that day, I had three e-mails--one from Dr. Calvin (very nice), another from AAPLOG (very nice), and a third AAPLOG e-mail going out to all 900 of their doctors, including my letter as a "must read."
 Isn't it funny? I spend countless hours writing, trying to make a difference on pro-life issues. Then I "pen" a short letter and it gets read by doctors around the country who will be presenting families with info about Down syndrome.
 Our God is amazing.

WELL, WRITERS, that’s it for this issue except to say that, though not planned that way, this issue of the Report seems to have as a dominant theme the need for us writers to keep on even when we seem to make little if any difference. Maybe God knows that we need the encouragement.
Until next month, keep writing.
Stanley Baldwin

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