The idea behind my novel A Sacrifice of Time was to
attempt to create a modern-day Christian hero, a fully-fleshed-out character
that readers could understand. Jake Justus, like the rest of us real people,
would be flawed with his own personal struggles to meander through, but would
be both approachable and believable. I found, right or wrong, that adjusting
level of transparency in his internal dialogue was the key to achieving both
goals.
Of course, my success in accomplishing this is left to the
reader to judge. To the reader he would need to become as transparent as a
ghost and therefore be approachable. To other characters in the story - those
he encountered in his adventure, he would, like so many of us, remain guarded
somewhat, enough to be believable. During this writing journey of mine, it has occurred
to me that if these qualities are valuable traits for my protagonist, perhaps
they are valuable for me as an author as well.
Transparency is a quality I have always respected in others and
have, over the years, found liberating in my own life as well. With that said,
I need to come clean regarding my own struggles to edit my novel over the last
six months. I have mentioned in previous posts that the task of editing my own
work feels like performing open heart surgery on one of my own children. It’s
not fun and I find I am easily distracted from the chore.
Jonah perhaps felt a similar weight when told by God -
“Arise, go to Nineveh
the great city and cry against it, for their wickedness has come before Me.”
Perhaps he too struggled with distractions that were seen as
preferred alternatives to the work at hand. We read that he rose up alright,
but decided to flee to Tarshish instead of obeying God. God went on in the
story to use great lengths to see to it that Jonah completed the work he was
given, despite his willful disobedience.
Please understand, I do not mean to suggest that my
editorial work rises to the importance of Jonah’s calling. But I think it is
reasonable to assume that Jonah’s story is given to us to help us realize that
disobedience to God’s plan for our lives is fool hardy. If I really believe that
God has given me a story to share with the world, then I need to share it and that
means I need to do the work. And in the spirit of transparency, I need to share
the burden and joy of getting to the finish.
I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of a book by James Scott
Bell entitled: Revision and Self Editing
for Publication: Techniques for Transforming Your First Draft into a Novel that
Sells. It is my hope that this highly recommended book will help me get
across the finish line. The last thing I want, as I stumble towards Nineveh, is
God to send a whale after me!
Do you too struggle with finishing? If so please share your comments below
I think this post illuminates the struggles we all face as writers. This solitary task requires much of the writer ranging from inspiration, dedication, perseverance, and discipline. Thank you for your transparency about the editing process after completing the first draft. Perhaps a writing partner might help you keep on track during the challenging process of rewriting, one to whom you can trust for accountability. Just a thought...
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ReplyDeleteLinda and Gary, I read both of your comments on G-mail and want to thank you both for your encouragement and friendship. Friends like the both of you make the burden lighter and the journey much more enjoyable. Let's all keep writing to God's glory!
ReplyDeleteI really liked your honesty and I have had similar problems. Doug it took me over 10 years to write my handyman stories. I was given a huge opportunity to have a completely free hosted web site with unlimited space by my nephew who at the time believed in me. I did nothing but talk. Later I was told by the same nephew to just do a blog. It still took me three years to get where I am today, and now I have over a hundred posts but I still have my moments when I stumbled and just can't seem to put two words together. Just yesterday my post did not even make sense and with Linda’s care the words came together. But it was like pulling teeth. I truly believe in you, I believe that God gave you the gift of writing and using words and that your story will touch many hearts. It's not easy writing anything, it takes work and more hard work, and for you it's more re-writes. If I can help I will gladly read your novel. I am here to help. I believe God put us together to help each other. So far that’s what has been happening. Gary
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