The Gathering

I recently finalized my plans to attend Ted Dekker’s The Gathering in June in Nashville. Ted is an amazing writer and truly one of my favorite novelists. His books have been a huge influence on my decision to pursue writing. The Gathering is basically a one-day conference for his fans, but it’s a little more than that.

Ted’s going to be talking a lot about what it takes to get published, his thoughts on the Christian Fiction market, and answering questions about his books. Apparently there will be some big wig publishing folks there answering questions as well. There’s also going to be a panel of some other writers (I know Eric Wilson will be there…another one of my favorites. He is releasing a brand new trilogy this fall featuring vampires, which is really unheard of in the Christian Fiction world). Ted’s book, House, has been made into a film and it was scheduled to release in theaters last fall. For some reason it was held up and is now scheduled to open this fall. I’m really excited because at The Gathering they are showing a sneak preview of the movie! Currently it is rated R because of the violence and the intensity, so I’m real interested to see what that’s all about. All the participants will receive an advanced copy of his upcoming book, Sinner, as well.

This is a great opportunity for me and something I hope will give me some more inspiration and insight into being a novelist. I’m still very passionate about wanting to write, but I have really struggled with finding the time and motivation. I have really wanted to give up a few times, but something always happens to encourage me to keep going. Just last week Randy Singer emailed me to thank me for a review and to encourage me in my writing. I’ve never emailed him before so I was really blown away that he contacted me and took the time to give me some helpful advice. I’m also so thankful for Angie and how supportive she is. I was really hoping she could go to The Gathering with me, but we just couldn’t work that out. She’s been super great about encouraging me to go anyway. She is so understanding and so good to me. I am blessed!

After the trip I will try to give a little report here on what it was like. Hopefully I will have some cool pictures of me and Ted to share and some exciting Dekker news about his future books. Maybe I can even write about the movie. Stay tuned!

 

Writing Stuff

People often ask me how the writing is going and I never quite know what to say. Although I have been writing a lot, it hasn’t been what I envisioned. Several months back I wrote a post about how I was starting a novel, and honestly I haven’t done much with it since. I went back over what I originally wrote and ended up scrapping it all and started over. My original intent was to write it in the first person, but I felt limited by that so I started over in the third person with a new approach. I cranked out the first 5 pages and was extremely pleased, and then for some reason I quit. I thought announcing to the world that I was starting a novel would maybe light a fire under me, but I guess stage fright settled in instead. I think I am about over that at this point though and one of my goals for this year is to try and complete this book. I still love the story idea and I think it’s something people will enjoy reading….at least it’s the kind of story I enjoy reading. Hopefully within the next few weeks I will have enough written to be able to share with anyone who is interested in checking it out. I will need plenty of quality, unbiased feedback (except from you Mom….feel free to shower me with ridiculous amounts of praise and adoration). Stay tuned for updates on the book….I hope.

So what’s the writing I have been doing? Book reviewing…and tons of it. I started reviewing books on Amazon and for various review sites about a year and a half ago. I just started doing it for fun and for free books and I guess you can say I got hooked. I reviewed for a few different websites for awhile and then I started my own website that now even has it’s own official dot com address. (I’m so proud). I kept track of all the books I read in 2007 and the final count was 74. Most of those were books that I was sent for review, so you can imagine how that has kept me quite busy. I currently have a stack of about 10 novels I need to read and review…and the number keeps growing. The cool thing is that my reviews have started appearing on different websites and I have even been quoted in a few books. To date I have reviews quoted in Tosca Lee’s Demon: A Memoir, Robert Liparulo’s Deadfall, and Ted Dekker’s Chosen and Infidel. My name actually appears in the Tosca Lee book, but the others just say “Bookshelf Review”. (My mom is still upset about that). Nevertheless I am thrilled and I never thought my measly little reviews would ever be considered quotable. I do love reviewing though. Part of being a good writer is being familiar with various genres, what’s selling, what works, what doesn’t, etc. This gives me a great opportunity to do that. I am starting to realize however that if I really want to finish writing my novel, then I will probably have to cut back on the reviewing a bit.

How’s the writing going? Not too bad. Let’s just hope it gets better!

 

98,500 Words To Go…..

For the longest time I have dreamed of writing a novel. I have always loved to read and I’ve always been in love with a good story. Our lives are indeed a story, for at their most basic level they consist of a beginning, a middle, and an end (Although for Christians the end is really the beginning, no?). I think this is part of the reason why Jesus chose to teach through parables. We understand stories. They entertain us, they challenge us, and they move us. If you think of your favorite book, movie, play, TV Show, etc…..no doubt you will find those elements in some form or fashion. I want to be a part of that. I want to create stories that will make readers think…stories that will make them wonder and dare to dream….stories that will inspire…….stories that will make their hearts pound and their spirits soar….stories that will open their eyes.

So, I’ve decided to pursue my dream. I have started a novel. And when I say “start”, I mean start. The typical length of the average novel (appx. 300 pgs. give or take) is about 100,000 words. There are exceptions to this of course..but that is the average…or so I’m told. I’ve written about 1,500. So I’ve only got about 98,500 more words to go. Gulp…

This blog has taken a few different directions since I started it last fall. From this point on I will mostly use this blog to journal about the novel writing process and all that is involved. I really have no idea what this will be like. I do know it will be very difficult, very challenging, and very intense. But I must see this through. The “what-if” is killing me and If I don’t give this a shot, I will forever regret it. I will also use this blog to share devotional thoughts, and I may even write about being a Daddy from time to time.

Meanwhile, I have 2 other blogs going. I have just started a new book review blog that I am pumped about (Bookshelf Review). I have been in contact with several major publishers and they have agreed to send me books for review on a regular basis. This is a great way for me to grow as a writer and it gives me the opportunity to share great fiction with other book lovers. The site will focus primarily on Christian Fiction (mystery, suspense, thrillers, supernatural thrillers, etc.). I will also be posting author interviews and book related news. I am not limiting the site to Christian Fiction however, and I hope to be able to provide a good variety as the site grows.

And don’t forget about Madelyn’s Blog. Every now and then she somehow sneaks off and “borrows” my laptop so she can communicate to all of her adoring fans. I have a feeling that blog is going to be around for awhile.

As far as the book I am writing….I’m not ready to say too much about it a this point. I don’t even have a title yet. Here is what I can tell you: At this point it will most likely be a modern mystery/suspense novel with a supernatural twist. I am writing with the Christian Fiction market in mind, but I hope to write it in such a way that it could be published outside of that market as well. I want to explore spiritual truth without being preachy or too “in your face”. I want to stretch and challenge people..not spoon-feed or force-feed them.

Like I said…I don’t want to say too much yet. But I will tell you this much about the story: There is a boy, a dog, and a girl. And it all started way back in 1985. (Of course everything I have just told you about the book is subject to change at any moment).

So there you go…I’m writing a novel. I wrestled a long time about whether or not to make this known. But I figured if people know then I will be encouraged that much more to keep on going. So please…I beg you. Ask me how it’s going. Bug me about it. Don’t let me quit! Even if I never get published, at least I can say I gave it my best.

98,500 more words to go….