Yet these men speak abusively against whatever they do not understand; and what things they do understand by instinct, like unreasoning animals–these are the very things that destroy them.
Woe to them!
Jude 10-11 (NIV)
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. . . with some things in the writing world and multitudinous things in the “real” world.
So let’s stick to the writing world since the disagreements I have with it I can actually do something about. Well, I mean for me. For anyone else: not so much.
Okay, we all know I’m a proponent of breaking the rigid “rules of writing”. However, let’s not ignore or forget this important point since I’ve made it every time I’ve referred to myself or anyone else as a rule-breaker. First you must know the rules of writing. You must be savvy as to when and why you’re choosing to break them in your writing. Again, I’ve explained the reason for this. If you don’t know them, you don’t have a clue you’re breaking them. If you don’t know when you’re breaking them, your writing will stand out in its clumsiness and a certain ignorance will surface in your prose. If you don’t know enough about grammar to use it effectively, your writing is going to read like a kindergartner’s term paper.
Having said all that repetitive hoopla, here’s what I disagree with today. Over and over I’ve heard and read writers say the following: “Novels are not sermons, they’re stories. I like sermons but not in novels.” Writers I like very much have said this. I disagree with their premise. Invariably included somewhere with this comment is a token mention of the parables of Jesus—how He used story to illustrate important truths in an identifiable way to the people of that day. What they fail to include is that within that “story” is most certainly a sermon. Not the typical traditional 3 to 5 point homily but a message and a principle within the story. Sounds like a sermon to me.
How can a writer construct words without a message? Our lives illustrate a sermon, portray a message. What are we saying to our coworkers, our classmates, our families? What we believe is written in our actions, spoken in our words, committed to the pages of our novels in contrasting illustrations of lives. Sure it might be symbolic renditions of truth and lies, but it still gives a reader a picture of who we are, how we think, what we value. Are we sardonic and cynical? Are we sweetness and hilarity? Are we dark and onerous but offering hope? Are we funny or sarcastic? We tell stories, but within the framework of those stories lies what we need to relate. Otherwise, why write? And if we need to relate it, by its very nature we think it must have some benefit to someone. Why? Because it says something! And that “something” reveals a message, aka a sermon.
Tied to this is the frequently heard and written, “Don’t preach to me! Preachy novels . . . you-fill-in-the-blank.” If you, as a writer, take the time to arrange the words which compose an entire novel, what exactly are you trying to say? Call it theme, call it purpose, call it intent, call it folly, call it fun, call it an exercise if you want, but the point is you are telling the reader something. We all assume that when someone remarks about how they detest “preachy” novels that the author has included some dos and don’ts to admonish the reader in no uncertain terms. Somehow the writer has offended the reader by switching from using story to illustrate the desired points to suddenly getting behind the pulpit of the pen, creating an inorganic turn off for the reader. This is just bad storytelling.
But don’t kid yourself into thinking that you aren’t preaching a sermon when you create a novel. Something you believe in will unfold through those pages, something you hate or something you stand tall for will reveal a message, and I think it’s much better to do this with intent than to have it assumed. Whatever “it” is, develop it from the lives of the characters, the locations of the story, the vivid scenes, the meaningful dialogue, the colors and fabrics of people, places, and things. Like I said, it isn’t a homily and it’s not the traditional way to “preach”, but it most certainly says something about the writer, and whichever genre you write in, if you’re writing a novel, you have something to say. Or else why write?
Father, let my motives be pure, my desire to please you. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
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As you know, since I started writing actual novels, I’ve become somewhat of a student of readers. When you subtract the readers who are writers from the group, you learn some interesting points about “pure” readers. Those of you who stop here often know I’ve posted my thoughts and descriptions here of “the average reader” and that they differ significantly from writers who read.
Today I’m addressing the technical aspects of books. First of all: templates. This refers to the appearance of the words on the page. If you’re a reader only, chances are you won’t pay much attention to how close or how “openly” spaced the words are on the page unless you have sight problems. If the print is too small and the words appear very close together in a “tight template”, you will immediately notice how difficult the book might be to read. Most novels that run around 300 pages don’t use a tight template. Honestly, I don’t know the precise term for the types of templates, I only know that I had eleven choices for my second novel The Famous One. Since my word count was higher than the preferred word counts for many contemporary novels, I chose the tightest one which afforded more words per page to keep the page count down.
I’m convinced that most readers don’t make a conscious assessment of words per page in relation to page counts. I think they make their choices based on their interest in the back cover copy, the cover itself, and the price of the book. Perhaps now more than ever the cost of the book plays into selection. Maybe if a reader is contending between two novels which hold an equal interest for them, and they open up each book to look inside, as they compare them, they might notice that the more expensive of the two has a tighter template. Only then will they consider which novel might have the greater value as far as reading “material” is concerned, or perhaps they will understand why the one with the tighter template costs more. Technically speaking, if they purchase that one, they’re getting more bang for their buck, but it won’t matter if they wind up not liking the story.
Since I mostly write longer novels and have self-published two of the seven, I’m well aware of how much they cost to produce (sans marketing, payroll, etcetera). Using a tighter template was one way I could keep the price down. But, alas, most readers don’t consider such seemingly insignificant things as templates when they look at the cost of a novel. So when looking at my second novel, for example, they notice that it’s only 364 pages and brand new it sells at the Amazon discount price of $17.15. The full retail price is $21.99. What they won’t see without comparing the inside of it to another novel of approximately 350 pages is that mine contains 141,000+ words compared to most likely a maximum of120,000 words and usually closer to 90,000. The thickness of a novel can be deceiving because if the trim size (the dimensions of the length and width) is smaller and the template leaves a lot of “white” spacing, then the word count is probably around the 70-80,000 word range for novels.
And all of this is really inconsequential if you prefer short novels.
The point being: the pricing of novels can depend on how many words get put on a page.
Father, thank you for the words we use to tell the stories you have for us to write. Couldn’t do it without you. May our words be pleasing to you above all. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
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What inspires you to make a comment on a blog? I can’t help but wonder. My regular readers know I read a lot of novels. I don’t review all of them because I don’t enjoy doing negative reviews. For whatever reason, justified or not, I feel obligated to review the CFBA novels, good, bad, or indifferent. I have a few opportunities to review books from publishers, and each one of the publisher reps has emphasized to be truthful whether I like the book or not.
If I can’t give something an enthusiastic review but I don’t find the novel “bad”, the review ends up being a generic account of the experience. Readers can decide for themselves if they might want to venture into the story.
Isn’t it interesting that with only the third “poor” review I’ve done here, my blog hits soared for a few days? Canned and cautionary comments were given on the posts following that review. “Canned” in that one exact comment appeared on the only other “poor” review of the same novel.
So what inspires or provokes or goads you into making a comment on someone’s blog?
It varies for me. Sometimes I respond to someone else’s comment because it’s either brilliant or ignorant, and it’s like I’m compelled to offer a defense or an agreement. Other times I want to applaud the blogger for capturing just the right approach to a topic, insights, revelation, humor. Anyway, I find it fascinating when posts generate an unpredictable response.
Father, you know our hearts from the inside out. Nothing we do surprises you, although I know our actions, be they mental or physical, can be disappointing. I ask for your guidance concerning the entirety of the written word. May I be obedient to you. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
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Sometimes in writing a story we either end up making premeditated decisions or writing those decisions into being as we go. Our styles develop in the course of composing stories, and they might change along the way as we either tighten or expand our writing.
Plots determined beforehand with careful precision by writers who are highly organized and usually don’t resort to seat-of-the-pants creations can have concise unvarying elements. Usually a reader will experience this in thrillers, mysteries, suspense, or anything that requires a lot of succinct plot devices and conclusions.
When you get into more character-driven novels with lighter—and I don’t mean “fluff” here—less busy plots, the decisions as to what might be included through the pages have a potentially higher variance. This is only because character-driven novels tend to delve more into the psychological, the emotional, the spiritual, and even the mundane of day-to-day or year-to-year existence.
Please don’t misunderstand me here. I’m not saying there can’t be or isn’t necessarily good and meaningful character development in the genres I named in the second paragraph. What I’m saying is the focus on the characters themselves can be very different in other genres that aren’t plot-driven. If it is, chances are the reader will see certain character facts, elements, quirks, tendencies repeated throughout the novel.
In my first novel Hope Of Glory (and, yes, I capitalized the O in of for reasons which no one cares about and everyone wonders how I could make such an amateurish mistake—but, hey, what can one expect from a self-published novel/author, right? Mercy. I wish I hadn’t done it now.) . . . Anyway, as I was saying, that first novel was really a comprehensive picture of life on the racetrack during a race meet. It was filled with characters of all kinds, races and horses, events of many kinds relating to racing, and the supernatural occurrences which took place during one spring and summer of American horse racing at a middle echelon northwestern racetrack. In fact it was loosely based on my husband’s and my experience that first year back to the track after we got saved.
The histories and legends of many of the characters and horses filled its 744 pages, and, yes, it was a true saga. I refer to it as an editor’s nightmare, and, yes, if I were to write it today, of course it would be different. That said, I did not consciously make the decision to write it as a day-to-day account of life on the track, but as I wrote it, the objective was to give the racing community a novel they could truly relate to: the stamina, the fatigue, the escapes, the routine, the repetition, the hardness, the beauty and the horror of all that is horse racing. By the end of the novel the reader knows he’s been through the grueling schedule of a race meet.
In The Famous One as Jessica noted in her review, Joey repeats over and over the same stories and often uses the same words to describe them which I have found is common to celebrities when consenting to interviews and appearances. This was a conscious decision. Was it necessary? Maybe not. The point is that it was a decision I chose to do to make the character similar to the real life versions of film stars and particularly to the one who inspired this story.
The style of a reader will affect how much the style of a writer will appeal to him/her. Different writers attract different kinds of readers. Patient and multi-genre readers seem to enjoy all kinds of author styles and voices. I would put myself somewhat in that category. Impatient readers want crisp and quick, and the subject of a story would really have to appeal to these readers to get them to slow down and take in a lesser plot/more character novel.
Again, a writer needs to know his audience. Wide open marketing doesn’t do much for those novels which tend to attract specific audiences. I would much rather have my books in the hands of those who are inclined to enjoy them than to have someone who has no interest in my voice or style get a copy and not like the novels. Don’t ya think?
Father, you know where these stories belong. Your plan for them is really the only one that matters. Please help me to make the decisions you want—in all things. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
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Ken Cooper’s memoir Held Hostage will release in August, 2009, under Baker Publishing Group’s Chosen division. The full title is Held Hostage, A Serial Bank Robber’s Road to Redemption. And what a rough road it was. Immersed in a double life of accomplishments and positions of respect but fueled by the adrenaline rushes of the intricate planning and execution of multiple bank robberies, Ken Cooper used his charm and intelligence to prolong a career of crime until that inevitable one time when things didn’t go as planned.
The trigger for some of us which pulls our direction and consequent actions one way or the other can be a mere few words made about us by an anonymous soul or a specific comment pointed at us like a weapon. Ken Cooper recalls the memory of an experience in school, but I am also reminded from his experience of the singing group “The Carpenters” where young Karen Carpenter was pummeled by a comment written about her which referred to her as “chubby”. It sent her on a life-ending journey through anorexia. Ken Cooper’s remembrance sits at the baseline of his eventual self-image and conduct, concluding his journey with a life-threatening gunshot wound and a trip to the hellhole known as The Rock prison.
Written creatively and with ample examples of the sub-human and demonic existence of some prisons and their prisoners, Ken’s story takes the reader with him through his robbery preparations and his torturous fears at the hands of other jailed men who have become nothing more than the personifications of evil in human forms.
The beauty of this memoir relies on the abilities of a loving Jesus to invade and permeate the filthiest of environments and provide relief, redemption, repair, and residence within the vile community of some prisons.
Not for the faint-hearted, this memoir is exactly as it should be: real, offensive, harsh, and sublime with the interference and infusion of the Holy Spirit’s guidance and God’s divine hand of protection. If the reader has any doubt as to the love afforded to the “least of these” by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, he will turn the last page of Held Hostage with a renewed faith in the power of true salvation.
Most of you know I rarely read non-fiction, but I don’t regret a moment of meeting Ken Cooper in his honest memoir Held Hostage, A Serial Bank Robber’s Road to Redemption.
Father, you know the road Ken took to get where you have him today, to be able to share his resurrected beauty from ashes, to qualify him for a worthwhile and important ministry. Please continue to bless him and his family in all of their endeavors to bring you to those who suffer from all kinds of trials and challenges. Please continue to show him favor as he works in the trenches to serve you. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
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Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.
Hebrews 13:4 (NIV)
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“Preferred Movies: A 7-year study of the top 275 movies released each year in the U.S. by Hollywood clearly shows Americans prefer conservative, pro-American movies with traditional, Judeo-Christian values and free-market ideals rather than movies pushing anti-capitalist, socialist, atheist, Communist or anti-Christian agendas. Conservative movies on average earned more than 3 times the box office revenues of liberal movies. (Movieguide Vol. XXIV, Issue No. 05/06, 2009)”
“Books: The average American reads 1 book after they leave formal education. (Moe Girkins, President/CEO, Zondervan 3/09)”
“University students whose high school biology class covered creationism in some cases alongside evolution were more likely to accept creationist views upon entering college, finds a recent study. Those whose high school biology teachers taught evolution but not creationism were more likely to accept evolution in college. 72% to 78% of students exposed to evolution only agreed it is scientifically valid, while 57% to 59% of students exposed to creationism agreed evolution can be validated. (Bioscience 5/09)”
“Nearly 1 in 10 children and teens (3 million kids) who play video games show behavioral signs that may indicate addiction, finds a Harris poll. The study found 8.5% of those who played had at least 6 of 11 addictive symptoms, including skipping chores and homework for video games, poor test or homework performance, and playing games to escape problems. ‘This study shows there are a substantial number of kids…taking damage to multiple areas of their live,’ states Iowa State researcher Douglas Gentile. 12% of boys exhibited at least 6 symptoms vs. 3% of girls. Other symptoms included excessive thinking about games, planning the next opportunity to play, trying to play less and failing, restlessness or irritability when trying to reduce or stop playing, lying about play time, stealing a game or stealing money to buy a game. (Psychological Science 5/09)”
Father, you reach out. Some reach back. Others don’t. “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world–the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes, and the boasting of what he has and does–comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.” (1 John 2:15-17 NIV) In the Name of Jesus, help us all.
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Some opinions are based on facts. Truth is at the base of the formation of said opinions. However, just as many opinions are based on lies, feelings, notions, or deductions which came from incorrect data or misinformation or more opinions.
Rights to express opinions vary from country to country, workplace to workplace, school to school, church to church. In this country we used to have free speech. Now if you want to discuss Christianity in federally run schools, you can face persecution for your choice of words. If you speak out for pro-life issues, against homosexual marriage, or express your doubts and criticisms of the absurd fiscal policies of Obama, you are termed a far-right, homophobic, bigot, racist conservative.
The reactions to the contrasts of opinions and rights vary from mild to extreme. Due to the possible reactions, there is often a curtailing of reasonable discussion before there is an outbreak of radical denouncements.
These are typical scenarios in the everyday life of political thoughts and expressions.
Let’s switch over to the writing world. The publishing business exists on opinions. Everybody has one, of course. And it’s not so much what your particular opinion might be concerning a book but rather how you express that opinion which ultimately matters in the world of Christian publishing.
Rights to express opinions are a given in the publishing realm. If you choose to review novels, for example, you are encouraged to give your honest opinion of the book. If you hate a book, there’s really no sense in being cruel in your truthful assessments. There’s no sense in not telling the truth either. I think it’s very important to state whether or not you’re the target audience for a particular novel so another reader can gauge the validity of your opinion.
Reactions to reviews will differ according to whether or not the target audience objects to a “poor” review. However, it does seem like there is a fairly even split in the reactions of those reviews which cite “differences” with a book. Some insist that something positive can be said for all books, and that, in fact, something positive should be the focus of the commentary. Others in the industry think it’s important to give valid criticisms where they’re due, but most would regard sarcasm or demeaning content as unnecessary and inflammatory.
Publishers invest a lot of marketing dollars to send out ARCs to readers for the express purpose of getting reviews posted on the web. This technically accomplishes a twofold purpose. Number one, blog and selling site reviews (Amazon or CBD) make the content and opinion of the novel apparent to a fair-sized (but inexact) audience, and two, it serves as the reliable “word of mouth” on steroids. Pumps it up and makes it work twice as fast. Even a negative review causes a reaction. Occasionally a few curious readers will even seek out a book that obtained a bad review just to verify if they agree or not.
The world of writing fiction is not composed of fact-finding and reporting when you’re talking directly about stories. It leaves you to voice your opinions with equal rights to any reader of any novel, providing you have both read it from cover to cover. Reactions to the novels and to the reviews of those novels will certainly vary, and they’re just as unpredictable as the people who read the books.
Father, the only thing that matters to me is doing as you ask. I have failed my assignments too many times, and my heart wants to know when to speak and when to be silent. Give me the words you want me to write and say, and help me to be quiet when that is your desire for me. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
