New Mormon Ads Make me HAPPY!!!

By Christine Thackeray



This morning I opened my computer and this video was playing. One of my kids had watched it and left it running. So I'm cracking eggs and listening with half an ear to this woman talk about her art and then she says that for a while she thought that being a mother meant she couldn't do it, but then she realized, "Hey, this is what God gave me and wants me to be." So she is BOTH a mom and an artist.

At this point I'm nodding my head, thinking 'smart lady' and wondering why my children are listening to some random artist talk about herself. Then she ends with "I'm an artist and a Mormon." I had no idea this is where it was going. Wow, was I HAPPY!!!

For some women, their project in life is their house, decorating, scrapbooking and shopping. I DETEST all those things because to me they are temporary and BORING. I love to create, to study and learn something that's been hidden for years. I love to challenge my mind, and I love to write something that feels genuine. I so believe that my gifts are part of who I am, and I hope to teach my children that motherhood is an artform. We aren't stapled to one particular cookie cutter and part of me wonders with strong women like Emma and Eliza Snow at the beginnings of our church whoever thought we were.

Anyway, next time you're feeling guilty, weird or off center about writing or being who you are, listen to a few of these (there are at least eight or nine) and know it's great to be YOU.

Why Did You Write it?

By Christine Thackeray

Motivation is key to any strong plot, but it is also an interesting factor in terms of the author. Understanding as an author why we are writing a project can shift the way we create it and how much input we are willing to take. I also believe that as authors mature, their motivations for writing often change.

With my first book, I wrote it to illustrate how a single individual can make a magnificent difference if they follow the Spirit. At the time aware of a mini-feud going on in our small branch and it was my way of writing what I wish had happened. My next book, non-fiction was an intellectual study and although I believe it had moments of brilliance, typing it out was often more like a homework assignment.

"Lipstick Wars" was a different endeavor, written to help women see the impact they can have through diversity, being friends with people of all ages in and out of the church. It also dabbles in the theme of how women so often push each other away when we need each other most. I wrote it because a sweet friend pushed through my barriers and helped me through a very difficult time.

In writing group a few weeks ago one of my fellow authors was struggling with her book and was asked why she was writing it. Her response is she often lost her car when she came out of the grocery store and wanted to write about someone that had the same experience. That can be the nugget for starting a project but the reason for writing has to be bigger.

My motivations have been so didactic, illustrating truth, but I admire people who also include a strong desire to entertain. Can telling a thrilling story be the sole motivator of an author or do you think it needs to be more?

Real Life Always Gives You Something to Write About

This past summer, I attended education week classes at a nearby university. The last class of the day was on increasing the LOVE in your relationships. Sounds like your average marriage class. But it was far from it. The LOVE lesson I learned that day will stick in my mind forever.

My friend and I found two open seats near the front of the classroom. We sat down and pulled out our notebooks and pens. Within minutes, the room filled with eager students ranging from ages 18 to 75. The instructor began an informative discussion about the three Greek words that define the most important word in the English language...L-O-V-E.


The instructor explained that . . .

"Eros is the romantic kind of love."

"Philos is brotherly love, or the deep love you have for family members and good friends. "

"Agape love is god-like love. The unconditional, giving, serving, and sacrificing kind of love."

Interestingly enough, as the instructor began describing eros, I spotted a young couple (very young) sitting near the exit door. They couldn't keep their hands off each other. I thought to myself, "Ah, ha! That's eros in action." And believe me, there was action. Fingers through the hair, back rubs, shoulder rubs, and arm tickles. For 50 minutes straight the strawberry blonde and her bronzed counterpart were obviously engaged in eros. I guess you could say they were a very effective visual aid. (Ha!)

Next, the instructor introduced philos. The bonding kind of love you feel for a dear family member or a good friend. This kind of love is deep and has the other person's best interest at heart. I looked around the room. And what do you know? To the right of me, sat a mom and a daughter. They were linked arm in arm. They had to be mother and daughter because the dark haired one looked like a younger version of the gray-haired one. They seemed very close. At one point, the dark-haired one pulled out a granola bar, split it half and gave a piece to the gray-haired one. "Okay," I thought. There's philos in action." Again, another great visual aid.

Well, next, the instructor introduced agape love. Now, keep in mind, I've been in classes all day. My rear end is starting to go numb. My mind is wandering to what I'm going to make for dinner and which children will have what homework. "Okay, back on track. Back to agape." I tried to focus.

So, the instructor then explained that AGAPE is the God-like love—unconditional love that forgives and endures. He talked about how agape love could not be shaken or altered and that it is the heart of God that we as humans would experience if we could experience love in its fullness. I think to myself, "Well, there's no visual aid for that." I got my protein bar out of my bag and took a bite. My eyes wandered. That's when I noticed a couple sitting right in front of me. A gray-haired man and a gray-haired woman. I guessed they were in their late 60s. There was nothing stand-out obvious about this couple except for, at one point, the husband fixed his wife's knitted sweater that had fallen off her shoulder. How sweet. Then, it happened. A long, loud, bodily sound accompanied by a gassy smell came from the gray-haired woman. Ugghh! Can you imagine a quiet room of 200 people and having that happen to you? Unfortunately, there was no way to disguise it. She had "tooted" and everyone—at least those of us close by—knew it. I shifted in my chair feeling her pain but at the same time feeling gratitude that it was her and not I. (Does that count as philos?)

Well, right then, this woman's husband, slowly but surely, lifted his right arm, stretched it around her and lovingly patted her on her the shoulder. He even gave her a little pull towards him as if to say, "It's okay. I love you."

"Ah! Agape!" I couldn't resist. I turned to my friend and whispered, "Did you see that? THAT! THAT'S AGAPE!" We giggled silently with hearts full! We had witnessed Agape at its peak. Maybe no one else around thought so. But we sure did. And it was beautiful! (A little smelly, but beautiful.)

That day, I can honestly say love was in the air!

To the couple who sat in front of me at Education Week 2009, I thank you! In you, I saw AGAPE in action. You know, I can't remember much more about that class—not even the instructor's name. But thanks to those three couples, I will remember the lessons of love never to be forgotten.

Whatever you see in normal,

every day life...there is a story to tell.  Tell it. 

Have a great week everyone.
 
--Jodi Marie Robinson

Write from Experience

On Saturday my youngest woke up with a wheezing sound. It calmed right down when he got up and moved around so I figured it was a cold (we've had at least 500,0000 colds at our house just this year). Later that evening, the wheezing picked up again so we found the vaporizer, loaded it with Vicks, and let him breathe in the medicated air. That didn't settle it and he started struggling more and more to breathe. At that point, I knew it must be croup but I didn't have the ability to treat it.

Realizing the inevitable, my husband and I scooped him up and loaded him into the car to make the 30 mile journey to the hospital. We arrived at the ER and were immediately ushered into a room (a 3-year-old having difficulty breathing gets you into a room quickly). The doctor came in, listened to him, asked us some questions, and diagnosed it as croup. He received a breathing treatment (which he loved--reminded me of the Cheshire Cat) and a steroid shot. After several hours, we were on our way back home with a soundly sleeping child who could breathe easily.

What does this have to do with writing? Everything. We all have experiences that will lend credibility to our stories. None of us live in a vacuum where we do nothing, see no one, and have no experiences. The trick is to use our experiences to our advantage.

I may never use this particular experience in a story, but what I can use are the feelings I had. For example, I've never had a child held hostage. I have, however, felt fear for my child's life. I know what it's like to worry that my child may suffer harm. From my experience Saturday night, I know what it's like to watch my child struggle to breathe and feel like I can't do anything to help him. I knew what he needed, but I couldn't provide it for him because I don't have steroids. So I could apply that fear and feeling of helplessness to my character whose child is being held hostage.

No experience in our lives is wasted. I've actually used real life experiences in my writing. In my novel, Altared Plans, the main character meets her future-mother-in-law while dressed as a clown. Yep, that same thing happened to me. In Heaven Scent the main character can smell her deceased mother's perfume. Again, the same thing has happened to me.

Our experiences shape our writing, which is why we are the only ones who can tell our stories. I've heard it said that if you put ten writers in a room together and give them the same writing prompt, you'll end up with ten completely different stories. Why? Because of our experiences.

So, the next time you're sitting in the ER, waiting in line at the grocery store, or listening to your child explain the world's longest dream, think about how you feel and how it's affected you and then use that in your writing.

Why I Write

By Christine Thackeray

A friend sent me an interesting essay. In it a woman said that she writes because she can't draw. Her brother is an artist and in her heart she felt a need to describe the beauties of the Northwest in the autumn so she penned gorgeous lines which I'm not even going to try to imitate.

I read that and thought, "Wow, that's not why I write at all."

I write because I love people. I love stories and passions that drive action. I love coming to new epiphanies and seeing life from new perspectives once those lessons have been digested. I love seeing the flow of life in miniature and feeling that every difficulty has purpose and perhaps, I'm a little too impatient to wait for reality so I make it up myself.

I write because I have vivid dreams and more vivid imaginings. I write because I want to experience the past with the muscles and flesh on, not simply the bones that historians leave behind. I write because I want to reach to the future or maybe even change it a little.

And if I didn't write I would still dream and dance in my mind, but the moment I turned from those thoughts, they'd be gone forever. So I write to keep the crazy wonderful musings of mind alive just a little longer.

So my question to you is... Why so you write?

How Do You Create?

By Christine Thackeray

I'm a mother of seven great kids and discovered early on that there was a definite correlation between the way my kids were potty trained and how they learned to read. My oldest struggled with both. My second son fought against the whole idea on both fronts. Then my daughter decided she was done with diapers at 11 months and was fluent at reading by the time she started kindergarten.

Well, you get the idea. I do believe that certain skill sets can clue us in to brain patterns when it comes to other activities. One such pairing might be in the way we prepare "talks" or presentations and the way we write novels.

I've noticed that some people write out every word and then stick exactly to their script without deviation. Others write a lose outline and stick closely to it while still others write out one thing and then when they get up there go off on a separate tangent completely.

As writers that may clue us into what works for our brain type. I remember sitting through one writing class on mapping and calendaring out your novel. I thought at the time that would be my answer to simplifying the writing process and quickly bought a calendar and began writing down fictional events. After hours of writing, scribbling and tearing complete pages out and throwing them across the room, I realized that technique may not be the best for me.

Personally, I do the research, write an outline and then write wherever the characters take me, knowing the basic overview but trying to be true to their personal motivations without manipulating them too much. (Can you tell I'm the loose outline type.)

My other friend plots in her head down to the detail, writes her chapters out perfectly the first time and then plots again. She is more like the person that writes out every word of their talk.

It's a nice guilt-lifter to know that we can each create differently and it may even help the emerging writer to have a better idea how to proceed if they look at the way they create other things and use the techniques that they know work.

The Writing Journey Through Music

By Trina Boice

My eyelids were drooping and every part of my body was aching last weekend as I sat in front of my computer screen for hours, scrambling to make a deadline my publisher had given me to finish my latest manuscript. I felt tired and uninspired, yet determined to finish.

What do you do for inspiration and motivation to keep hacking away at the keyboard? Well, I'm so excited about my latest discovery that I just have to tell you about it! Have you heard of http://www.pandora.com/ ? I absolutely love it and I have it to thank for keeping me on task with my last writing project!

It's like a music radio station online, except without all of the annoying commercial breaks and songs you don't like. You simply tell it what songs you like and it creates a custom station just for you! Best of all, it's free!

To get back some energy I plugged myself into the "Journey" channel and suddenly felt a surge of writing strength overcome me. Yeah, I'm dating myself, but Journey is one of my favorite bands of all time. Thankfully, they're making a come-back with their 2009 tour, so now I won't seem so old, right? I hear their new singer, Arnel, is blowing everyone away. Sure love that Steve Perry...

When I needed to think harder and work on the more spiritual parts of the book I switched to the "Yanni" and "Enya" channels. Perfect. I even created my own "Wicked" and "Dream Girls" channels when I wanted to sing out loud while I continued typing away.

Pandora.com declares itself as a music genome project that began in the year 2000. They've grouped songs together by sound, rather than genre, making for a very nice collection that appears to be able to identify my taste spot on.

I used to be one of those writers who prefers silence as their writing companion, but now I'm converted to Pandora.com! What do YOU do for inspiration?

What Inspires You?

By Nichole Giles

Do you ever wonder where authors get their ideas? How they are able to hold entire stories in their heads—complete with the smallest of details—and spew them onto paper? Yeah, well, just in case you thought I was about to answer that question, I’m not.

That’s not what this blog is about. Or, not entirely, at least.

When was the last time something struck you in a way that made you want to remember it forever? Or, maybe not forever. Maybe you just reveled in the moment, accepting whatever you were feeling and channeling it into a bottle in your innermost self—saving it for future use on…something. Were you feeling hurt? Was it happiness? Peace? Joy? Love? Confusion?

Whatever else goes into it, writing should start first and foremost with those genuine emotions we’ve all experienced, but have buried over time. If—as an author—you can’t dig so deep within yourself that you literally feel as if you’ve probed your heart with a needle, your readers will feel that lack. But if you do, readers will feel it with you, laugh with you, cry with you, and connect to your writing and your characters in a very personal, emotional way.

How do we do this? Okay, everyone’s different, so I can’t really tell you the answer. Instead, I’m going to make a few suggestions and throw out a few ideas to help you along.

1. Keep a journal. Never fool yourself into thinking that any particular moment in time has been so branded in your memory that you won’t forget even the most minor details. You will. Major ones too. Write it down, for goodness sake!

2. Pay attention. Notice the smaller details of what’s going on around you. What color is the sky today? What is that smell in the air? Does it make your mouth water or gag? What’s making that weird noise? These are things readers need to know in order to feel involved in a book, and you can’t write them if you don’t notice.

3. Appreciate the world. It’s a beautiful place, and inspiring simply because of those who created it. Do the earth justice by looking at and appreciating the handiwork there.

4. Follow your gut. When you get that insane urge to write—even if it’s in the middle of the night after you haven’t had any sleep for days—give in to it. Most likely, there’s a character, plot, or setting that absolutely must get out before it shrivels up and dies in the light of the rising sun. Just do it already!

5. Allow yourself to write a crappy first draft, because it can be fixed later. No explanation needed. That’s what editing is for.

6. Read, read, read, read. If you do nothing else to further your skills as an author, you must read. Know what publishers are buying. Know what readers are buying. Know what’s hot and what flopped and what is missing from the market. It doesn’t matter what you write, so much as it matters that someone else wants to read what you’ve written. Right? As I mentioned in this blog, it only takes one person to change the world.

Okay, this is getting long. Did I give you some ideas? Now, go get a notebook, write down all these suggestions, and then begin thinking of your story. Now do you have a good idea? I thought so! (If you don’t have one yet, you will soon.)

And you thought I wasn’t going to answer the idea question! Ha ha. I fooled you, didn’t I?

Until next time, write on!

Nichole