A Gentle Whisper

"The LORD said, "Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by." Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper." 1 King 19:11-12

I arrived home last evening from the ACFW conference close to 10 PM. I admit to being one tired puppy today. My son and I decided to take a break from our homeschool schedule for the day, so I could try and get caught up with some things. Laundry and unpacking and some mail sorting have been accomplished, but not much else.

I find myself reflecting on my experiences. This was my first opportunity to attend this conference. It was a tremendous blessing to me. Two highlights for me, was that I was able to meet my two favorite fiction authors - Mary Connealy and Vickie McDonough. It took me a while to work up nerve to talk to each of them. I was with my extroverted mother, which for some reason tends to make me crawl a little more into my introverted shell.

I gained a lot of knowledge in my three days of attendance. In fact, I feel like my brain is quite heavy with all of the information! :) I enjoyed the opportunity to serve through helping in the bookstore and also the registration table. I plan to start implementing what I learned once I start writing in a day or two. I feel like I first need some rest to help clear out the fuzziness in my head!

I imagine for many that were in attendance they had a "ah ha" moment when everything seemed to click, or they felt a very clear direction of the next step on the journey that God was directing. This didn't exactly happen for me. I did not have the opportunity to speak with either an editor or agent. This time I was a sponge, just soaking in information.

For me, God showed up like He did with Elijah so many years ago - in a gentle whisper. I felt God reminding me of the calling He has placed on my life to write since I was a very young girl. I remember my early teens when I wrote my first novel. When asked at the conference, I said that I haven't really been published. But as I look back through the years, I realized how much writing I have accomplished. I wrote a teen novel while I was a teen. In my early twenties, I wrote my first historical romance. In the in between years, I have written a children's book, three Bible studies and a full length book on Proverbs 31. Now I'm currently working on my eighth book, which happens to be another historical romance.

As for being published? I had two poems published as a teen and actually received payment for them. :) The past two years, I have written a bi-monthly column for a homeschooling magazine, and still hold that position. Have I ever sought publications of my books? I did enter a contest with my first book, and sent my first adult novel off to one publisher, but that's it. I guess it's time to start being more proactive in this journey to publication.

At the awards banquet on Sunday evening, I was struck by something Terri Blackstock said in her acceptance speech. She mentioned that God has her go through situations, so that she can use it to help others, and she does this through her writing. It made me think about the Biblical truths that I desire to convey through the story that I am writing.

Sometimes we have those 'ah ha' moments or mountain top experiences in our life. That happened to me back in March, when God called me back into the pursuit of writing. But other times we may be in the midst of hard, difficult, dry times and then God chooses to speak in a gentle whisper.

A Bolt of Confidence and Encouragement

My life has been so blessed since I joined American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) in June of this year. I continue to be amazed at this group of people that have a love for the Lord, and a love for writing. I know it was not a coincidence that God has brought me on this path so far.

I am especially thankful and grateful to the women that have come alongside me. Some encourage, some pray, some inspire, some give bolts of confidence, and some spur you on to going beyond what you think you can do. So this is a special thank you to all who have done that for me. (Thanks Ruthie for calming those pre-jitters. You are a blessing! :) I'm also incredibly thankful for my dear, sweet husband who has always thought that I could/will make it as a writer. He's my biggest supporter.

A Call for Help

I'm working on a pitch for the American Christian Fiction Writer's conference that I will be attending next week. A pitch is a hook written in 25 words or less, with the goal of arousing curiosity in an editor to want to know more about your story.

Here is my pitch:

The light keeper’s daughter secretly longs to follow in her father’s footsteps. However her best friend’s overbearingly, pleasant brother threatens to thwart her aspirations.

I need your help. When you read this does it cause any questions to come to mind, and if so what? Any suggestions or comments?

One Week and Counting

It's hard to believe that in a little over a week I will be in Indianapolis, IN attending the American Christian Fiction Writer's conference. Last I heard, there will be close to 600 people in attendance. Wow! That's a lot of writers! :)

I have been plugging along trying to take care of my 'to do' list that needs to be accomplished before I leave. I managed to complete my two writing lessons that are due this month, and submit them. This afternoon I emailed my homeschool article that is due October 1st. That's the earliest I have been finished! :) I completed the book and review that I needed to accomplish by September 2nd. Now I move on to finalizing my first chapter, writing a pitch and maybe dabbling with a one-sheet. I also need to finish up some homeschool lesson plans. I have them completed through September, but would like to have a bit more taken care of before I leave.

I pray that God starts preparing me spiritually for what He will show me, and what I will learn at this conference. I feel incredibly blessed for this opportunity to go. I don't want to miss out on anything that He has for me. I must admit though that Satan is trying his best to discourage and defeat me. I refuse to succumb. Please join me in prayer for God to do incredible things at this conference.

Inspiration

I always love reading a new book that is by a first time author. It always seems to inspire me that someday it will be my turn. I finished reading a book entitled Making Waves by Lorna Seilstad around 12:30 AM. I purchased the book on Friday morning and started it reading it. I found that it was one that I had difficulty putting down. I love books that grip me like this one did.

That is what I desire as well - to be able to write books that are hard to put down because the characters are so captivating. I desire for the reader to feel that they are a part of the story and that scenes are unfolding around them whenever they open up the pages. I pray that God continues to show me how I can carry this out in my own writing.

Well, it's time to head back to the keyboard to work on things that have to get accomplished - my writing assignment and homeschool article.

Wow!

I just realized that it has been almost seven months already since I have started this writing blog. The time has passed by quickly. During that time I have felt God's call to write and have responded. I am taking a two year writing course from Christian Writer's Guild. I have joined American Christian Fiction Writers and will be attending their conference in less than two weeks.

I continue to write book reviews and blog about them for several different publishers. I enjoy reading the books and writing about it. It's a nice way to get a free book!

I also have started writing a historical Christian romance. I have four chapters completed and will be spending the next couple weeks polishing my first chapter and coming up with an elevator pitch. This is basically reducing the book down to 25 words or less.

I regularly write homeschool articles for Home School Enrichment magazine, and have four of these articles posted on www.crosswalk.com. 

I am looking forward to the conference and getting some new inspiration and encouragement. This past month has been a roller coaster, so I pray that things will calm down soon. I realize too, how vital prayer is in this ministry of writing. Satan doesn't want us to follow and do the things that God calls us to do. He would much rather see us get discouraged or distracted. I choose not to follow these lies. I choose to work toward the goal that God has placed in my life.

Getting There

I continue to plug along with my 'to do' list. I finished reading the book that I needed to blog a review about, and also wrote the review. So onward I go to my next set of assignments. One by one I'm making progress, one day at a time. Two weeks from now I'll be in Indianapolis at the ACFW conference. My goal is to have everything completed before then. So onward I go in my quest to accomplish my 'to do' list.