Taking It All In

It's been said that in order to write life, you must live life. Never were words spoken so truly. And being a teen writer, never will you experience so much that can feed your writing. Each day, you go to school and interact with those you love, hate, admire and envy. Emotion exudes from those interactions and it can flow into your characters easily if you harness it and let it go.

After all, writing is therapeutic, isn't it? As a high school student, I can't even begin to describe the roller coaster I went over. Day to day my friendships were turbulent. Without even realizing, my characters began to have turbulent friendships. Struggles that I faced showed themselves in my protagonists. But how else can a fictional problem begin to feel real unless it is written out of experience?

Don't let life scare you.

Most of us writers are introverts. Life seems easier for us when we are in our comfort zones. Being challenged is a scary thing. But when you become so sedentary and stop moving almost altogether, you'll begin to notice that like a water spigot, your ability to write will turn on and off, and writers' block can set in. Worst nightmare right?

And honestly... God doesn't want us to hide at home either. That's hardly the life He imagined for you. Like me, you can make excuses about how writing CHRISTIAN fiction is fulfilling His calling for you, OR you can realize that our greatest calling is to live heaven here on earth. That means investing and working on those HARD relationships. It means going outside and praising God for the beauty he created all around us. LIVE LIFE. No matter how hard. The creativity and realness will flow from it.

Hugs,

Emily

Being a CHRISTIAN Writer

It's been a process... beginning from the moment I created this page until now, and even trailing into the future. We are writers who are Christians, right? Or are we Christian writers? I suppose I'll leave that one up to you. Not all of us want to write for the Christian market. Some of us are called to write for the secular market because that is where we can give God the most glory. That's what important. Where has God called you into His ministry?

Ever thought about it that way before? That writing is your ministry? It took me years to wrap my head around that. I just knew I liked writing. I didn't quite understand God's role in my writing. The two seemed separate, yet inexplicably bound together in a jumbled mess. I'm sure many of you can sympathize.

But this is what I discovered.

God created us. He knows our inmost being. In fact, He even gave us our gifts and talents, he designated them to us. Think back for a moment of the parable of the talents that Jesus told. Each servant was given gifts so that they could take them and make use of them for the benefit of the master, and eventually, themselves. Can't you just imagine God saying, "Well done, good and faithful servant"?

We were gifted with the talent of writing - the joy of writing! So why shouldn't we expect that God wants us to put that talent to use and gain profit from it? It's the whole point of having the talent! What use would it be... what purpose would it have if we just hid it under and rock? God intended for us to use our talent.

But here's the real question... how do we use it? And what is profit?

Those answers will vary from person to person. But when I say profit (this answer will be universally true) I do NOT mean money. It is inevitable that you will reap some financial benefits, BUT IF YOU ARE WRITING, shouldn't your writing serve some purpose? We were created to give glory to God and declare His Holy and Precious Name. This does not necessarily mean you have to write Christian works, but I do think that your works should reflect the values of our Creator and should focus on having an identity founded in Him. What this means will vary depending on your subject matter. Profit will first and foremost mean directing people to look upwards for answers. Use? Well... what story has God laid on your heart to write? Only He can tell you.

Hugs.

Chance of a Lifetime

I've been trying to stress this a lot lately, but I just wanted to take the time to really punch this one hard. This page is designed to help teen writers find the resources they need to be recognized and possibly get on the path to publishing earlier than most authors do. That's something to get excited about.

My name is Emily and that's me in on the far left in the picture next to Lauraine Snelling, author of the Red River series. I started writing... really writing... in eighth grade. By 9th and 10th grade, I was obsessive and so my parents decided that we needed to do something about my obsession with writing. I spent most of the day after I got home from school sitting in front of an old mac computer working on a series of stories that were actually inspired by Lauraine Snelling's books. She wrote about her Norwegian heritage, so I decided to write about my Swedish heritage. I used to spend hours on those stories. And that's where my story begins.

My mom found a Christian writers conference online and wanted to send me, but we found the conference a little late. By the next year... my Junior year, my mom jumped on it. That spring, i found myself at the Mt. Hermon Christian Writer's Conference with my dad and surrounded by authors I knew only by their books. I flipped. I'd never been so excited. These authors felt like celebrities to me. They were rather human idols though... I got to know them over the course of the conference. They were a lot like me. Being writers, I'm sure you understand... we're a strange breed of people... we eavesdrop, talk to ourselves, make up stories in our heads, stare into space, and take note of weird details. Trust me... you are not alone. Meeting other authors was amazing. It made me realize that I really was apart of this group of people.

I got a lot of advice about my writing that year. Mary DeMuth mentored me and helped me weed out my excessive "was's" and "had's" and "ly adverbs." I also did a TON of "head-hopping." She fixed that right away. My writing took a giant leap. I will never forget that year.

After such a great year... of course I had to go back my Senior year of high school. By then, I had almost finished working on a new manuscript with all of the previous year's advise worked in. I mailed it in ahead of time to be critiqued. I was totally 17 and nervous about what the critic would think, but then she approached me and wanted to meet with me in the ice cream parlor. Believe me when I say I was elated. But I'd jsut hit midconference crash and decided to skip my last seminar and go for a walk. I forgot what time it was. I missed my meeting.

This is my story though... that was my "black moment." I felt crushed inside for missing my appointment. But my dad showed up (he'd been staying with my great-grandma rather than attending the conference with me again) and we ate dinner together before the awards ceremony the night before the end of the conference. That made me feel better... at least a little. He sat with me as they began announcing the different awards. Mt. Hermon has an amazing awards ceremony for the different published authors and the writers who submit manuscripts for critique. My friend Esther and I were most anxious about the "Most promising teen writer" award. I don't think I really expected anything. Sure I think I hoped for it, but I don't think I expected anything. But that's what makes me smile as I think back. When they did call my name, I finally understood why my dad came early. I was rather overwhelmed.

They handed me the framed certificate and my hand was shaken several times. They read out some information about me... which colleges had accepted me, where I was from and how long I'd been writing. But when I sat down with me, my dad shared something with me that I'd never forget. It was Lauraine Snelling who critiqued my manuscript. And according to a relative who happens to be an agent and on the board choosing the recipients for the awards, Lauraine Snelling didn't know I was a teen author when she read my manuscript. Hearing that changed writing for me. It gave me the strength I needed to feel confident about pushing forward to getting that story published. I suddenly wanted that more than anything.

So... that's my story... and I don't want you to walk away thinking, "she must be a really good writer" because I'm obviously only 18. I still have a lot of work to do. I want you to walk away and start pressing forward... doing what you need to do to get the resources you need to someday realize your dreams.

God has given you a talent and when he gives you a talent he wants you to use it. "In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven." (Matt. 5:16) This isn't about pride here or humility. This is about giving glory to God. When we do things, we do things for God's glory so that others can see and believe. So don't let your God given talents slip aside. Use them for this glory.

Mt. Hermon Writers' Conference is coming up again this spring. I'm planning on being there again. Even if you don't live in California... I HIGHLY recommend you find a similar conference in your area. Something about conferences... they're the chance of a lifetime to kick-start your journey into doing something about your God-given talent.

http://mounthermon.org/event/122

Writer Lingo...

Once you get into the real world of writing, you might feel a bit confused by all the terms you'll hear. It seems that we writers have a name for everything, even some of the writing techniques that are commonly used. Some you might already know, but many might be a little new.

Ms or Mss: abbreviation of Manuscript (your story all typed out)

angle: approach

genre: category (fiction, non-fiction, horror, mystery, romance, historical, fantasy...)

rights: ownership

slush pile: stories submitting to a publishing company without request from an editor

royalty advance: a percentage of profits given to the author before the book is published.

pay-per-word: amount of money payed out per word, normally for a short story or article.

assignment: requested story from publisher

work-for-hire: contract, publisher's idea

kill fee: money paid when an assignment or work-for-hire is canned.

Pay on Acceptance: immediate pay

Pay on Publication: paid when published

Simultaneous Submissions: submitting a manuscript to multiple publishers at once

Ghost Writing: When an author writes a book for a person who has no experience writing a novel, such as a famous person telling their biography. The author receives no credit and the famous person's name goes on the cover alone

Collaboration: Two authors work together to write a story, both recieve equal credit.

As Told To: similar to Ghost Writing and a Collaboration project. The author writes the story for someone else, but receives credit.

byline: that line that says by: your name

cover letter: a page that is on top of your manuscript, includes title, name, word count and a short "back-cover" sort of synopsis.

Query Letter: sent by an author to inquire from a publisher as to their interest in a proposed story for publishing.

Book Proposal: Follows a Query letter once a publisher shows interest. Explains in more detail the plot, marketing of the book, the intended audience, etc.

SASE: self-addressed, stamped envelope. Included with a manuscript send in by mail for the editor's reply.

freelance: editor/author not connected to a publishing house.

House: publisher

P & L: profits and loss

MC: main character

beats: action phrases included with dialogue. ("No you can't!" He ran to the door and closed it.)

Back-Cover copy: that little two or three paragraphs about the book on the back cover.