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My Books

Reasons to Read The Boy Who Called the Foxes This Fall

“I’m trying to finish Dad’s song.”

  Sage looked up from her camera screen. “Huh?”

  “In the notebook Mom showed me. He left a song unfinished. Don’t tell anyone. Please? I haven’t written a song in a long time. I can’t even do it anymore.”

  “I won’t tell anybody. But why are you doing it? Seems like that wouldn’t be an easy way to start back up again. Seems like it would be easier to start with a clean slate and write something on your own.” She motioned for him to turn around and look out over the town. “Co-writing is really hard.”

  Co-writing. Yes, it was. Especially when your partner was dead. There was the constant overhanging question of whether the other writer’s vision was coming through at all. It was all the worse when you could never check in with him to ask. “I don’t have any other ideas.” He pushed his bangs back and glanced over at her. “It’s kind of—”

  “Sorry, do that again.”

  “Why are you taking portraits? I thought this was supposed to be a street-photography thing.”

  “You have to take the pictures you see. Anyway, I think you can do it. A lot of your stuff already sounds a lot like Dad’s stuff. It might take a little while to get back into it, but that’s understandable. Don’t give up on it.” She sauntered off away from him, apparently not seeing any more pictures there.

  “I wasn’t going to give up on it,” he said. And that was when he realized how close he had been to doing just that. “I was just thinking…it’s never going to be the song it was supposed to be.”

  “Cade, that’s okay. No song really is.”

                                             Excerpt from The Boy Who Called the Foxes

What is The Boy Who Called the Foxes?

The Boy Who Called The Foxes was born from one thing, really: my obsession with the cozy, brisk, dreamy, eerie, exhilaration of the autumn season. When the idea sparked, all I really knew was I wanted to write a story that would be the literary equivalent of a rich pumpkin-spice latte on a crisp October morning.

For a long time, that’s all I had. It was driving me a little crazy. I didn’t have any characters, no specific setting, no themes—I didn’t even know what genre it was going to be. But finally, the catalyst came in the form of a single image—a boy calling foxes.

The Boy

  I didn’t know a thing about the main character at first. The title came before I had a name for him. At last, I came up with Cadence Kim—a guy who was kind of in the same stage of life as I was. He was a college graduate wondering where his life had gotten him so far. He was on his way back to move in with his mom and siblings again, since his job-hunt in Chicago was going nowhere.

  But most importantly, Cade was an artist. He was a musician who couldn’t seem to live life the way everyone else thought he should. He was a sensitive person who saw the world through different eyes and wanted something it couldn’t seem to provide.

  And he had lost his father—a similar person who, though an incredibly quiet man, had influenced his family to its core.

The Vibes

Obviously, a major draw for any potential reader would be the autumn aesthetic. I know I’m not the only one who lives for those short months toward the end of the year. The descriptions are loaded with the roar of October wind, the migrating birds, the changing leaves, the cozy coffee houses, caramel apples, autumn festivals, etc. I tried to make it as immersive as possible.

While writing this book I was constantly surrounded by everything I thought could help me set the mood. I burned fall candles, drank a lot of chai, created a Pinterest board, and listened to ambient sound and playlists I curated for the project. So, the writing process itself was a kind of therapeutic experience. Almost like a vacation. I hope some of that comes through for the readers, too.

The Themes

Themes typically start emerging later in my planning for writing a book. They come from looking at my characters and their problems and their hopes and dreams. Cadence’s dreams have given way to disappointment in the beginning of the book. He’s disappointed in himself, and knows his old acquaintances are going to be let down as well. So, he spends a lot of time trying to hide from his situation and avoid confronting the changes that have rocked his world.

I think it’s something a lot of people can relate to. Especially if you were ever one of those people who everybody said had “so much potential.”  Yes, there’s so much you could do, but what will you do? A lot of us don’t actually have our whole lives tied up with a bow by the time we’re eighteen. Don’t let the YA novels fool you.

The Other Perks

Of course, I could go on and on about how this book is worth your cozy autumn reading time. It’s fun, it’s lyrically written, it’s loaded with healthy best-friend relationships between siblings, introvert problems, settings you’ll want to move to, journal entries, original song lyrics, and just a hint of otherworldliness to set it apart from other general contemporary fiction. But rather than keep you here any longer, reading a blog post, I’ll send you off to read a book instead. (You can decide for yourself whether or not it’s The Boy Who Called the Foxes.)

More On UnsweetenedDarjeeling.com:

The Rise of “Gritty” Christian Fiction

How to Survive a Creative Dry-Spell

How to Write a Book Review that Actually Helps Readers

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The Artist & The Audience

How To Set Boundaries and Not Overshare Online

In the online community, there’s a lot of discussion about being honest. Being authentic. Not creating a fake idealized image of yourself to present to the world.

And yet, whether or not you straight-up lie on social media, you’re going to be faking it to some degree. Maybe not actually faking it, but you’re going to be curating  it. You are going to be presenting yourself a certain way, and you’re not going to be %100 transparent. Ever.

But is that a bad thing? If you’re a creative, you have a certain understanding that art is probably over half presentation. You choose and refine how you present your subject matter. Dumping a truckload of bricks doesn’t result in a great work of architecture. For the same reason, carefully selecting that kinds of things you share online is not just in your nature as an artist, it’s actually the smart move when you’re running a social media presence that will be connected to your work. 

Being Human Online

In case you haven’t noticed, cyberspace isn’t like the physical world. The gurus will say you need to be human on social media. What they won’t tell you is there’s a slightly different strain of humanity that rears its head there. It has the attention span of a goldfish, it gets offended like a nest of hornets, it misunderstands everything, and it needs everyone’s attention 24/7.

Nobody is human online. That’s okay, but it also means you need to think twice or three times about how you present yourself if you want to survive, keep your friends, and build your reputation on the right things.

When it comes down to it, you really don’t want to share too much of your “true self.”

Reasons why you might not want to share too much of yourself:

  • Privacy—duh

You don’t owe anyone vulnerability. That’s the hard truth. You have a right to keep certain things—anything you want—to yourself. You also don’t have to explain why. Some of it might be for your personal safety, other things could just be details you don’t feel the need to share. You might consider them unhelpful or distasteful to your audience. Or you might just be shy and reclusive. You are allowed to have those personality traits. A lot of artists do.

  • Pressure

Sometimes I feel like I have to give updates on all my projects and tell everyone approximately how soon I hope to get them done. I really want to break this habit, because it puts a lot of totally unnecessary pressure on me. Unless I’m collaborating with someone, nobody really needs that information. I’m just setting up deadlines and forcing myself to feel like my whole audience is holding me accountable, when in fact, nobody really cares that much.

Which brings me to…

  • The real risk of boring people

Okay, I know it sounds harsh, but one of the fastest ways to bore people is to talk about yourself. And the more detailed it gets, the less people ae inclined to hear you out. And you also need to pay attention to the interests of your niche. Why would anybody care what you ate today? If you’re not a health and nutrition blogger, your followers are just going to wonder what that’s got to do with anything.

I know in the age of social media, with everyone essentially making reality tv-shows out of their day-to-day existence, a lot of people have lost their sense of what should be their business only. I thought of a little test you can use that might put that in perspective.

What if the paparazzi were the ones behind the camera?

It becomes really annoying/creepy when you think about it that way. Beat it! I’m just trying to eat lunch. I’m at the gym, get off my back, would ya? I’ve had a terrible day and am literally shut in my bedroom crying—Cut. The. Cameras.

Set some hard boundaries for yourself if you ever feel pressured to overshare online. Choose some things you just won’t broadcast and stick to it. What kinds of things?

Things you might want to consider keeping to yourself:

  • Family news

Some people feel okay about updating the whole world on not just their own milestones and significant events, but also those of their family members. I draw a line here. I might not even tell Instagram if I get married—I certainly won’t be sharing endless carousels and reels of wedding pictures. It’s very standard for most people, but I’m also a little uncomfortable with the way people post pictures and updates on their babies and kids. Unless I have a private personal account, I won’t be doing that. It’s not going to happen on my author account—ever.

  • Physical and mental health

Another one I choose to avoid. It’s different if you’re a health and wellness account and the information is relevant—otherwise, that’s personal information. As an author, you won’t catch be babbling on about my latest illness, doctor’s visits, or how much weight I’ve gained or lost over the summer. My mental wellbeing is also something I prefer to keep to a very limited circle of people who care the most and could actually help me if I needed something. Though these things can affect my art and my productivity, I don’t think it’s something we should feel like we have to explain to our audience. They know we’re humans. We don’t have to prove it.

  • Travel plans

These first three points are debatable, and whether or not you share on these topics will depend on your niche. If you’re a mommy blogger it might be logical (within certain common-sense limits) to share about your kids. If you’re a health blogger, it would make sense to discuss your own health journeys. If you’re a travel-blogger, you’re probably going to talk a lot about your travels. But there is actually a practical precaution to take when you’re telling the world where you’re going to be, and when. It can become a safety issue, so use discretion.

  • Uncertain plans

Remember what I mentioned about putting unnecessary pressure on yourself? This one is hard for me, because I get very enthusiastic over newly-formed plans and if they relate to my niche—as they often do—I will be very tempted to go on Instagram and scream about them to everybody. Guys, guys, guys! I’m gonna do a thing! Read all about it! But I also change plans and timelines for plans every other day. It’s like making a promise and not being able to keep it. Even if my audience doesn’t really care, it takes the wind out of my sails and makes me feel unprofessional. I’m working on this one. Though I think a lot of creatives probably relate to my slightly manic tendencies.

  • Every little up and down

Once again—you owe it to no one to prove you’re human. If they don’t assume as much, that’s their problem, not yours. You don’t have to get on stories everyday and tell everybody exactly what you’re doing and how you feel about it every other hour. You’re having a blissful afternoon? Great. Enjoy it. You’re down in the dumps again? I actually recommend you stay as far away from social media as you can, in that case. It won’t help. Your son’s team won? Your cousin is getting engaged and you now feel like a languishing old maid, alas, alack? You’ll process all these things better without worrying about likes and comments, trust me.

  • Controversial opinions

What?! Not share controversial opinions on social media? Isn’t that what social media is for? Dividing people along ideological lines and having silent screaming matches with total strangers? Okay, so the truth is, every opinion will offend somebody, so this one can’t be completely avoided. But as an artist, I’ve prioritized being known for my work, not my opinions. If you want to be one of those artists who addresses “issues” you can do that. But choose your issues wisely, and don’t pick every possible fight. You will burn out and you will make a lot of enemies. Also, hold whatever opinions you want, but if you want to take a stand on something, make sure it’s something you don’t mind being permanently associated with. You may want to be known as an advocate for adoption, but you might not want to be too loud and outspoken on your hearty support of capital punishment, for example.  

The value of mystery and art speaking for itself

One more thing. Doesn’t anybody care about being mysterious?

Aren’t people who have their secrets, lead lives of their own, and maybe don’t voice their opinions at every opportunity automatically cooler? No?

For me, and maybe for you too, I want to be known for my work. I write books. I want people to find out about me when they read them. That way, I can share my thoughts and feelings with the world by a process that lets people experience them, not just hear about them. But most of all, I want my art to be about something bigger than me and the details of my own journey. It should be something that helps people understand themselves, the world and God.

You can make your online presence an extension of that. And as a result, you can see yourself as creating art every time you compose a new post on Instagram. And your art is whatever you want it to be.

Categories
Creativity

How I Reset My Goals for Fall

Here it comes, the unchallenged Best Season ™ in all it’s glory. If you know anything about me at all, you know I’m a fall person. My novel The Boy Who Called the Foxes is a whole testament to that fact. I love the cool clear air, the wind, the long nights, the changing leaves, the excuse to be quiet and take it all in.

But aside from simply soaking up the beauty of the season, I also like to reset my goals for fall. Actually, I like to reset my goals about quarterly. Preferably at the beginning of each new season. But with autumn being my favorite time of year, I try to go out of my way to make a particular effort to plan for it when the walnut leaves start to yellow in September.

How do I reset my goals for fall?

Typically, this involves a lot of list-making and leafing through notebooks, for me. I take a look at everything I’m currently busy with, the things I’m about to get busy with, and the things I wish I was busy with and start thinking seriously about all of it.

And by “thinking seriously” I mean I try to keep a very open mind about my possibilities. Things tend to get a little overwhelming over the summer. I don’t know why that is. Maybe I take on too much at the beginning and put it off too much due to the summer laziness that usually sets in.

Fall is a good time to make changes. And I find I’m quite ready to do that around the beginning of September. So, what are some steps I like to take?

  • Declutter my to-do list

You mean, give up on things?! Well, kind of. I keep a running list of goals for my year and around autumn, I get a strong urge to cut some nonsense out of it. I don’t like to cram at the end of the year. Often, I get a new burst of energy and a new mindset in January, so I prefer not to be hustling like crazy in November and December if I can help it.

  So, how do I decide what to cut? Usually, I’m able to find things on my list that are both unnecessary and boring to me. Busy work. Social media efforts that aren’t paying back. Projects I don’t find inspiring at all. Just shamelessly cut these things out. You’re not a quitter. You’re prioritizing.

  • Change something

You might want to switch up your main project. You may have one that you’ve been dying to focus on but have been holding back because it isn’t your official WIP. Time to make it official.

  Something I’m changing is my social media strategy. For me, Instagram used to be fun—back before I was trying to be so smart with it. Now it just feels like a lot of pressure, and I’m not seeing the ROI I want. So, I’m relaxing with IG and shifting my attention to what’s actually my favorite social media: Pinterest. (Please follow!)

  • Prioritize rest & family

Fall is the perfect time to get cozy and make a doubled effort to enjoy the people in your life. I may or may not have been working a little too much this year. Too often I find myself shut up in my room headaching at my desk when I can hear my family enjoying downtime together elsewhere in the house. That’s miserable. Why would I do that to myself?

  I’m a massively introverted person. I’m very independent and value solitude and hard work to quite an unusual extent. But too much of that can still be harmful. Humans, no matter how driven and introverted, need to connect with each other just for the sake of talking and laughing and chilling out now and then. You’ll cease to function otherwise. So, take some time for those things this autumn.

  • Find large immersive projects—minimize scattering yourself

I run in a lot of directions and lately I’ve felt like I’m losing touch with my main thing. I’m writing a six-book series right now. I’m supposed to be working on book five.

  Nothing quite beats spending a whole afternoon and evening clicking away at a keyboard, completely immersed in another world. I miss those five-thousand-word days. I miss those ten-thousand-word days. Well, those are a little crazy, but they sure feel awesome now and then. I’m going to make myself some wordcount trackers and focus on my big projects for a while. I want to make some major progress on the things that make me feel the most accomplished at the end of the day.

  • Choose one more thing to finish this year

We’ve only got a few months left at this point. Time to be realistic. What can we finish in that amount of time?

  Try to find a larger goal, but one you’re fairly close to checking off. Put it first. This is the homestretch, and I typically want to finish the year with a bang of some kind. Even if this is the only thing you finish in the next few months, you should feel proud of it. I hope to get the first draft of book five finished before the new year. If that’s all I achieve before January, I will still be pleased with myself.

All this shouldn’t be done in one sitting. Take some time to think about it, pray for direction, take a walk in the woods, etc. There’s no real rush—and that’s a key point to remember. You have to ease into new routines and reorient your mind for new goals. That’s why seasons don’t change all at once.

Take your time. Enjoy the process. Let yourself hope for the best and find the most rewarding ways to get there. Fall is a refreshing and energizing season. If you’re enthusiastic about your goals, you’re not likely to spend it burnt out.

Happy Autumn!

Categories
Creativity

How to Recharge Your Creativity with Hobbies

You know what’s wrong with a lot of people anymore? They don’t have real hobbies. Too many people when I ask them what they do in their spare time say things like “Netflix,” “YouTube,” “Shop online,” “Listen to music.”

Not that any of that’s bad. Those are nice things to do for entertainment and relaxation when you don’t feel like doing much else. But I wouldn’t really call any of them hobbies. At least, not the type of hobbies I think creatives in particular benefit from.

If you’re like most artists, boredom is a serious issue. Under-stimulation is a villain that can often leave you feeling dull, depressed, and uninspired. But art is a lot of work, and we can’t do it all the time. Rest and downtime are important. Hobbies can be a form of active-rest that can bring fun and variety into your day-to-day life.

The trick is to find one that works for you. Here are a few things to consider when you look for a hobby.

What to look for in a hobby:

  • The right learning curve Everything requires a bit of a learning curve. Acquiring a new skill is part of what makes engaging in hobbies fun. But you have to know how much learning you’re willing to do. Don’t choose something that overwhelms you. That would defeat the purpose. A good option is to start with activities you’ve done in the past. What did you do as a child that might have some slightly more advanced version you would like to try now?
  • Mental engagement Yes, you probably want your hobbies to be fairly easy, but if they take too little brain-power, what’s to keep your mind from wandering to all the other things you think you should be doing when you’re trying to enjoy yourself for once? Look for something that requires you to be mentally present. Let yourself shamelessly focus on something “unimportant” now and then.
  • A chance to connect with others A lot of hobbies are solo pursuits, but not all of them have to be. Sometimes it can help to do something that other people join you in. Weather it’s one-on-one time with friends or family members or joining clubs or groups, hobbies can be a rare chance for us solitary creative types to interact with other humans. And if you have something you actively do with other humans, you can avoid some of the painful small talk, which is a huge bonus.
  • Relaxed expectations Let’s face it: we creatives have extremely high expectations for ourselves. We can get very hung up on our goals and always seem to end up dissatisfied with our own performance. With hobbies, we can actually get some practice in not being so hard on ourselves for a change. Look for something you find enjoyable even if you aren’t any good at it.
  • Fun Yes. Hobbies should be fun. Don’t do anything just because it’s popular or impressive or seems like something you should enjoy when you don’t enjoy it. Find something that’s actually fun for you.

Okay, so you want ideas. Here are my ideas. Feel free to start here.

Hobbies to Consider

  • Gardening

I dove into this one this year and I don’t regret it. It gets you outside, gets you active, and lets you exercise your artistic mind with design and planning for landscaping and plantings. I built a goldfish pond with a mini waterfall earlier this summer. I also planted a couple of flowering cherry trees which will be awesome if they survive the deer.

What if you don’t have that kind of space? Try container gardening or terrariums. Get into houseplants. (Get a snake plant if you’re afraid you’ll kill it. They’re basically immortal.)

  • Art journaling

Every time I think about multimedia art journaling I wish I did a lot more of it. Go get yourself a sketchbook with good heavy paper and start right now. I don’t care if you think you’re visually artistic or not, you have to try it. Look up some inspiration on Pinterest and start ripping things up and gluing things down and splattering paint and writing aesthetic quotes over it all in your messiest hand lettering. Trust me.

  • Inventing games

Have you ever tried this? I feel like everyone makes some ambitious attempts when they’re kids. I certainly made up quite a few. I still do it now and then. If you have a playful side in your creativity at all, you could try inventing a board game a card-game or some active game if you have the energy. (If you have the opportunity to test these on kids, all the better. You can get your hands on free or cheap programs for creating computer games if you have any technical inclination. Both of my younger brothers do this occasionally.

Honestly, what I really want to try someday is writing escape room games. They fascinate me. I love the combination of puzzles, storytelling, and in-person participation. I’ll probably try that someday.

  • Cooking

I’m a bit of a disaster in the kitchen myself, but some people have a lot more patience for cooking and baking than I do. Honestly, if you’re one of these people, or think you could be, please spend some of your free time adventuring in that department. Not only are you doing something creative and fascinating, you’re also doing a service for humanity by bringing more great food into the world. That’s something everyone can appreciate.

  • Photography

I’ve never taken a single photography class. I don’t even have a working camera besides the one on my phone right now. But I love photography. I really enjoy going out on a hunt for subjects, perspectives, and lighting to capture and bring home. Then there’s the editing part which is also quite satisfying even if you’re not a pro. Overall, I feel like photography makes me look at the world differently, which is something I always find exciting and worthwhile.

  • Pen-Paling

Why did we have to stop writing letters? Sending and receiving letters is a unique experience. Weather you enjoy it for the chance to improve your handwriting, a way to deepen friendships or an opportunity to create intricate mail-art, getting a pen-pal makes for a unique hobby in this fast-paced Snapchat world. And you know you need to talk to your friends more.

  • Anything that gets you outdoors or active

You’ve got to get away from your desk, you know? Start familiarizing yourself with the area hiking trails. Stargaze, birdwatch, beachcomb. Take square-dancing classes or taekwondo. You get the idea.

Tips on Making and Protecting Free Time

But you’re so busy. I know. You probably have a job, maybe school, maybe kids. Maybe for you, your creative work already fills the need for a hobby. In which case, you’re probably doing fine—as long as you make the time to do the unimportant things now and then.

The whole point is, you can’t always be in survival-mode. Sometimes you need to play and have fun, even as a busy adult driven to accomplish your goals and take your work, creative or otherwise, seriously. Fight for a bit of free time now and then. Artists need it. Actually, all humans need it, but artists particularly will suffer if they can’t get a moment to breathe.

How do you make sure you get free time?

  • Track how you spend your days—find out where you’re losing time
  • Get off your phone
  • Don’t mindlessly consume—don’t waste time on entertainment you don’t even like that much
  • Say “no” to things sometimes
  • Don’t overbook yourself—keep your to-do lists reasonable

Do you have any hobbies? What do you wish you had time for?

Categories
The Artist & The Audience

The Rise of “Gritty” Christian Fiction

If you’re reading this post, you probably know what “gritty” Christian fiction is. You might even write it yourself. In fact, there’s a good chance you consider yourself a gritty Christian author.

We all know the story. None of us were satisfied with Christian fiction growing up. No variety. Cookie-cutter stories about cookie-cutter people with cookie-cutter problems. In the end, there was always a cookie-cutter solution. Boring.

Then we grew up and became authors. Now we take matters into our own hands and write the books we needed when we were younger. As a result—with the help of the explosion of indie and small press publishing—we now are living in a world with rapidly diversifying Christian fiction. Fresh tropes, rare genres, unique characters—there’s literally a whole press dedicated to Christian speculative fiction, which was once a rarity. Horizons expand every day.

One particular horizon is the world of “gritty” Christian fiction. These new books don’t shy away from the tough issues. They’re not afraid to show evil as it truly is or address the ugliest problems society has to offer.

But there are some myths circulating in the gritty Christian fiction community. I’d like to tackle them first off.

Myth #1 Gritty Christian Fiction is More Realistic

Actually it isn’t. If you think about it, all fiction has things it cuts out and things the author chooses to focus on. That selective focus is a major part of writing a cohesive story. Real life is overloaded with elements you could be paying attention to—and yet you only look at so many things at one time. Otherwise, you start to go crazy and will probably end up in a coma from overstimulation.

What an author chooses to focus on and how much detail they decide to portray it in is entirely up to them. In the end, it doesn’t have anything to do with the realism of the story.

What actually makes a story feel believable or unbelievable are things like chains of cause and effect, character actions and motivations, and pacing. A reader can forgive the omission of certain details as long as the author has a good grip on those things. Unfortunately, I’ve read too much fiction by Christian writers claiming they added grit to be realistic, but bombed out pretty badly on actually writing a realistic story.

Myth #2 Gritty Content is Deeper and More Meaningful

This one gets implied a lot, and it bothers me. Just because a story includes depictions of alcoholism, abuse, eating disorders, mental illness, or sexual assault doesn’t make it meaningful.

“But it’s raising awareness.” Most of us are already aware, so it has to do a little more than that. I’m sure the definition of “deep” and “meaningful” is relative and subjective, but factually a book with all the gritty issues covered could be a total farce if it’s executed badly. The grit isn’t going to save it.

Whereas a book that was “squeaky-clean” by most people’s standards and had no content warnings could actually be an intensely moving, life-changing, world-shaking story. The argument that a story has to be dark to be deep is usually a strawman that relies on claiming anything else is “fluffy” and “watered-down.” And we’ll get around to how handy this rhetoric is later.

Myth #3 Gritty Christian Fiction is Daring and Unique

This is my favorite myth. Most authors I have noticed branding themselves as “gritty” seem to think they’re a rarity. The truth is, they’re really not. It’s kind of like the “not like other girls” complex. Everyone has it.

Quite possibly every work of Christian fiction I have ever read includes some dark, serious or unsettling element. But then again, I haven’t read a lot of those feel-good clean romances off the mainstream Christian market. But that’s for the Hallmark audience. They have the right to exist, too. Still, it’s simply not true that grit doesn’t come up in Christian fiction quite frequently.

In fact, I’d say including big issues like the ones mentioned above is almost a trend right now. I see a lot of authors use hashtags like #mentalhealthrep #disabilitiesrep and #enddomesticabuse in posts promoting their books. It’s a quick way to draw attention to the themes of your book. (And I’m not knocking it. It’s a good shortcut to getting people to care about your story when they’re too lazy to read a blurb.) What I’m saying is, these authors are not outliers. There’s quite a community.

The Problem with Branding Yourself as a Gritty Christian Author

In spite of the apparent advantages of branding your work as “gritty,” there are actually some major problems with leaning too heavily on that image as a brand-identity.

First of all, it’s too subjective.  How gritty are you, really? Everyone is going to come in with different expectations when they start reading a gritty piece of fiction. (This goes for “clean” Christian authors too. No one is going to have the same standards.)

The second issue is it can actually start a little drama within your would-be community. Being particularly vocal about your opinions of “clean” vs.. “gritty” fiction can wind up with you, intentionally or unintentionally putting other Christian authors and readers down. That’s something you probably should avoid if you want any friends.

Lastly, and I’ll repeat myself here, no, it really isn’t that unique. You have to find what truly gives you your own inimitable flair when it comes to branding. If you put all your emphasis on something too many others in your community are emphasizing, you’re going to blend in.

Putting in the work of finding your true brand-identity as an artist is very important, and actually a lot of fun. I’d recommend you check out this post to get started.

If You Want to Write Gritty Content

So, am I against writing about tough issues and including gritty content in Christian fiction? No. Definitely not.

By all means, tackle the tough issues. Hey, some people might even consider my work gritty. It’s entirely up to you what you write about, and God definitely wants Christians to address the hard things in life. But I do have a few quick words of advice if you’re going to write gritty fiction.

Respect your reader’s right to object to your content. Some people are going to be uncomfortable with some of what you write. They might give you bad reviews or DNF you. Never lash out at readers. You’re not a politician. You don’t need to argue, explain or publicly defend yourself. You’re an artist. It’s okay if you’re not universally liked or understood. You’re not here to win people over to your side and score points. Your real readers will find you.

Here’s one more thing to consider: You may or may not want to brand yourself as an “issue writer.” I’ll do a whole post on this sometime. But You might have to decide if you’d rather be an artist or an activist. If the issues you’re trying to bring to light become the point over and above creating great fiction, it might end up hurting your development as a creative. This is happening in a lot of western mainstream entertainment right now.

I guess what I’m saying here is, don’t become a propaganda machine. This is the real reason a lot of Christian media crashes and burns. Not because they’re not talking about real-world problems, but because they’re preaching about them instead of telling stories.

“Clean” or “gritty” it has to be about the story.

Categories
Creativity

How to Find Your Brand as an Artist

Sometimes I’ll admit I don’t know what I am. Sometimes I don’t feel like a whole person—just a creative void that somehow manages to produce art. But nothing can truly come from nothing. The art we create comes from who we are. In less words, you need to find your artist brand.

Art is very much wrapped up in the individuality of the artist. You would never create what you create if you were someone else. But sometimes it’s hard to find the foundation of who you are as an artist. Exactly why do you do what you do? What’s your inspiration? What’s your goal? What’s at the heart of it all?

These questions matter when you are in the process of creating art.

Why is it so important to know who you are as an artist?

Your personality and character will come though and shine if you stay true to who you are, what you want, and what you believe in as you work. To put it simply, to live up to your full potential as an artist, you have to find yourself.

Now you might be a little critical of the idea of “finding yourself.” Maybe it sounds kind of vague or cheesy, or maybe, as a Christian creative, you have a negative reaction to the whole idea. After all, it sounds self-centered. It sounds like you’re focusing too much on yourself instead of on God, who should be the center of your creative life and your mission.

Of course, God should be at the heart of your mission, but here’s what you need to remember: anything you want to do for God with your art he could have done himself with no help from you at all. But he didn’t leave you out. He wants to use you. And he wants to use you specifically—as a unique individual. Exploring and examining the person he made you to be isn’t self-centered at all. It’s a way to find clues to how he wants to use you.

What elements of your identity come into play when you create?

The best of your work will probably lean hard into your personality. When your art grows up from your deepest roots, it will be alive with originality and rare beauty. In order to find your artist brand, you need to find what makes you different and study it. I like to analyze this uniqueness this way:

Your inspirations are the other artists who have influenced your work. Everyone is drawn to different artists for different reasons and as an artist yourself, you have probably picked some things up from other creators you love. This isn’t copying. This is one of the things that makes your work unique.

Your heart—the things you value at the core of your being—will also influence your identity as an artist. What you love and what you consider to be the important things in life will probably show up in your art sooner or later.

Your mission is the reason behind what you do. Why do you create? Who and what do you do it for? You’re bringing art into the world—what value do you want that art to carry with it as it reaches out into the hearts and lives who come in contact with it?

Your aesthetic and your irony or contrast are the more concrete elements in your artistic personality. The aesthetic is your themes, your subject-matter, the genre and tropes and motifs your fall back on. The contrast is the effect that you get from juxtaposing elements of your aesthetic in unexpected ways, and is an often overlooked part of artistic voice. Don’t overlook it. It’s going to help you stand out once you discover and develop it.

How can you pin down what makes you a unique creative artist?

So, that’s a lot to think about and I know I just barely touched on it. That’s why I recommend you sign up to get the key to the Secret Library and grab my Artistic Identity Workbook, where I take you through a simple but thought-provoking questionnaire to help you explore and define all those elements listed above. I designed it as an easy first step on the journey to find your artist brand and explore it.

That’s just a starting point, but I hope it can help you feel more focused and inspired to continue to do what you do best. You are a fantastically unique person—and once you tap into that in your artistic life you’ll never have to worry about being boring or unoriginal.

So go find your artistic identity.

Categories
Writing

7 Ways to Fall Back in Love with Your WIP

Sometimes the spark dies. You take a long break. You put your book on the backburner for some reason. Then you have to figure out how to start writing again.

Maybe you’re coming out of burnout or have simply been too busy with other things to write your current book. Whatever the reason, when you open up your document it hits you hard—you’ve fallen out of love with your WIP.

Some people would give it up at this point. Maybe it’s kind of a lame story after all. It just doesn’t interest you anymore, so why keep torturing yourself over that blank page? It was just a phase. Maybe I’m not really a writer at all.

But you’re here because that isn’t you. You want to start writing again and finish that WIP. You’ve poured too much into it to abandon it now. So, what are you going to do? It’s up to you, but here are seven possible strategies that might help you fall back in love with your WIP.

#1 Make and listen to a playlist

For a lot of authors, music can really get the imagination going full-sail. If you haven’t tried making a playlist for your WIP, maybe you should blow some time doing that now, since you feel stuck anyway. You can go with instrumentals and soundtracks, or try hunting down songs with vibes and lyrics that line up with your characters and themes.

Once you’ve got your playlist, spend some time listening to it while doing other things. You’ll probably start daydreaming which could lead to brainstorming, which could lead to actually wanting to write.

#2 What do you love about the project? Write some of that

Go ahead and write some scenes you’re looking forward to. Write the things that excite you about the story. You know which characters you enjoy the most—write some interactions between them or throw them into a fun action or humor scene you may or may not actually use.

Don’t try to do a good job or fit these scenes into your manuscript. You don’t even have to finish a scene if you don’t feel like it. Skip around to different scenes until you find one you do feel like writing.

#3 Write letters, journal entries, etc. by your favorite characters

You need a deep connection with your characters. Getting into your main characters’ minds and immersing yourself in their hopes struggles and views of their world is a powerful exercise. Writing letters from one character to another, from yourself to your characters, is one way to do it. Journal entries are also great.

Feel free to pick any point in your story to write from. It can be from before the beginning, after the end, near the climax, or exactly wherever it is you’re stuck right now. Grab a notebook or open a new document and start writing. (Plus, this could potentially double as fun bonus material to help promote your book later.)

#4 Re-read your favorite parts

If you feel like your writing as terrible right now, try going back to some scenes you’ve already written and rereading them with an open mind. You might even be able to remember some scenes you actually enjoyed writing, or felt good about once you got them down. Check those out.

You might even end up re-reading several chapters—or even the whole manuscript so far. This is actually a good sign. That means you’re more interested in your story than you might have thought.

#5 Tell someone else about the project—tell them what makes it good

This is a great project. If it wasn’t you wouldn’t have started it. Try talking to someone—anybody who is nice and will listen. Tell them your premise. Tell them why you love the characters and why you wish you lived in their world. You started writing the book you wanted to read, didn’t you? Why did you want to read it?

Recommending your book to other people is a skill you’re going to need to learn anyway. If you don’t want to bother an actual person with your rant, try just writing it out. You might come up with some good loglines or material for your blurb that will come in handy later, so be sure to save it.

#6 Make fan-art or write fan-fiction of your own stories

Be your own biggest fan for a while. If you draw, crack open your sketchbook and start drawing some of the best moments from your story. If you’re not inclined that way, just try writing. Write some alternative universe pieces. Drop your characters into the modern world, or Narnia, or swap them out with the crew of the starship Enterprise and see what happens.

These fan-works can be as lazy or as elaborate as you’d like. The point is to shake out the creative stiffness and have some fun with your characters again. This will give you a chance to develop their personalities and might even give you some idea for plot twists that could liven up your actual story.

#7 Find what’s making you feel stuck and fix it

If you feel up to it, maybe you want to get down to business and find out what’s really making you feel stuck. Is there something you’re actually struggling with about the project itself? Do you know what it is?

Put some thought into it and then start brainstorming. Treat it like a puzzle with an answer you want to find. But don’t put pressure on yourself to solve it too fast. Remember—this is part of the writing process. Not all writing is putting words down in a document. That’s the easy part. This is the part where you have to use your brain and do what only you can do for your story. Don’t be afraid to work hard on it and take your time.

What If I’m Still Stuck?

Did you actually try everything? Have some hope. I doubt you can really stay uninterested in spite of all your efforts to start writing again. There’s a reason you started this WIP. You’re going to find a reason to finish it. There will be hard parts. It’s probably going to take a lot longer than you expected. But if you are truly meant to write it, you’ll fall back in love with it eventually. Trust the process and give yourself grace.

Categories
Creativity

How to Survive a Creative Dry Spell

Sometimes terrible things happen when you’re barreling through a piano piece. You hit a sudden snag, you’re fingers trip, your hand shifts, your brain scrambles and all of a sudden, you’re literally playing every note on the keyboard except the one you were looking for, and that’s that.

That happens now and then in everyone’s creative life. Something goes wrong somewhere and all of a sudden you can’t hit any of the right notes. Call it burnout. Call it a dry spell. Call it not feeling it anymore. It’s discouraging, but it isn’t permanent and it shouldn’t last as long as it often does.

In this post, I’m going to give you a three-step strategy to survive and escape a dry spell. Keep in mind that none of these steps should be rushed. The most likely cause of your burnout is overwhelm, so trying to check off a lot of boxes too quickly is going to defeat the purpose. So be very patient with yourself and take it easy.

And before you start, you’re going to need to stop.

Step one: stop and assess the situation

It pays to be self-aware, especially as creator. Creativity takes a whole lot out of you and requires your mind to be functioning at capacity. If something’s dragging, it’s going to show up in your ability to create.

Pay attention to your intuition, here. If something feels off, don’t ignore it. Keep an eye on yourself for a few days and note how well things seem to be going. It’s normal to have bad days now and then, but if something is actually going wrong, pay attention. Stop and observe what you’re having trouble with.

At this point, try making a list of your WIPs. You are probably working several projects at once right now. List them on paper. You might be doing a lot more that you realize.

Once you’ve got the list, go through the points one by one and note:

  • Anything that has an absolute deadline
  • the projects you feel most stuck on
  • the ones you still feel excited for
  • anything you are nearly finished with

Step two: refocus and organize

My first piece of advice for anyone experiencing burnout is, give yourself as much extra time as possible. There’s not much you can do about the projects that have actual unmovable deadlines, but you may be surprised how few of them actually do, if you think about it carefully.

But you might be thinking, “aren’t you just suggesting I procrastinate? How in the world is that going to help my overwhelm?” No. It’s not procrastination if you’re doing it intentionally. You are in control of your time. In many cases, as long as you’re not working for someone else directly, you have every right and every reason to choose not to rush something.

Next, you’re probably going to realize you need to re-prioritize your projects. This could be hard, but you need to be really honest about which projects you actually need to finish soon and which ones you really care about. You might find certain projects are simply giving you no joy. As long as they’re personal projects not for someone else, you might want to let them go, or at least set them aside for a while.

Now, you need to think about all angles of your projects. You might be struggling to write your next chapter because you need to go back into the outline and rework some mechanics there. You might even find your brain is ready to do that kind of work, even when you are struggling to write a cohesive sentence.

Redefine what it means to make progress on your WIP. Maybe wordcount should slide to the backburner while you focus on adjusting some plot or character work. Maybe if you’re stuck on a drawing you need to break it down into some studies so that you can clean up the details confidently.

Step three: gradually start working again

The former steps hopefully will have prepared you to approach your projects from a new angle. When you feel like you’re ready, or maybe a little before, try returning to your work.

Start with the easiest task. Something you can do in a day or less. Don’t dive in and try to accomplish something huge right away. Give yourself motivation with small accomplishments and move up.

Try working on different aspects of your larger projects, as you considered in the previous stage. Set small goals within larger goals. Stay patient with yourself and don’t start pushing your limits until the idea of doing that sounds exciting instead of exhausting. You’ll bounce back sooner than you think. Be patient!

So, here’s a quick recap for you:

Step 1: stop and assess

  • notice and acknowledge what you’re struggling with
  • list your WIPs
  • make notes on the status of each, and how motivated you are

Step 2: refocus and organize

  • be realistic about deadlines and give yourself as much extra time as possible
  • reprioritize your projects
  • redefine progress on you WIPs

Step 3: start working again

  • start with your easiest task
  • break larger projects into smaller pieces
  • be patient

And here’s a final note of encouragement from me to you.

Creative dry spells are really difficult. For a lot of artists, our whole being revolves around what we do. Creating is what makes us feel alive and joyful and useful in the world. When something happens and we become too exhausted or dull or overwhelmed to do our thing, it’s easy to start feeling like a walking shadow. I know this.

But it happens from time to time. And when it does, we need to have both a plan to recover and get back to it, and an understanding that, even without our creative powers functioning, there is still beauty and purpose in our day-to-day lives. We have a reason we’re here that goes beyond what we do. I know it’s easy to say when you’re feeling good about your output and energy-levels, but it’s true even in our lowest times.

This isn’t an easy thing to grasp. I certainly don’t have it figured out, yet. But you have to fight the mental demons that come around when you’re dealing with burnout. It’s one of the many unique spiritual and emotional struggles artists face.

If you’re in a dry spell right now, I hope this post is helpful to you. It will get better, so don’t give up. The world needs your art.

P.S.

This post was actually written as a bonus for my prompt journal, The Burnout Journal for Artists and Creatives. The Burnout Journal contains 101 prompts that could be used for art, poetry, or writing and space for you to explore each one.

The prompts are richly detailed with a lot of opportunity to take them each your own unique direction. Plus, the limits of the two-page spread, and the comforts of the journal format are designed to take the pressure off your creative process and encourage you to have fun.

Check it out if you want a little extra help recovering from burnout.

Categories
Writing

How to Write an Excellent Book Review

One of the most prized things in the indie author community is a good review. We’re always hoping for one. Checking our Goodreads and Amazon pages periodically wondering if somebody found our book.

We’re always asking for reviews from anyone who picks up our books. From the amount of authors out there begging their readership for reviews, you might be tempted to think a book review is a gift to the author. A little payoff for their hard work. A few stars for their months or years of effort.

But what if I told you reviews aren’t for authors?

I’m an indie author. I also really appreciate reviews. But here’s the thing: books are just like any other product. If you bought a set of deluxe bath towels, and you decided you would highly recommend them, you might leave a review. But who would you be writing that review for? The manufacturer? Or the potential customers who might be looking for some luxurious new bath towels?

Who Are You Writing For?

Now, it’s definitely true that not all book reviewers are writing with the potential reader in mind. I would group book reviewers into three categories according to the apparent intended audience:

  • Author-centric Reviewers

Often, these reviewers are friends or colleges of the author—or people who consider themselves to be. When a reviewer is reviewing a book for the benefit of the author, it can show up in several ways. Some reviewers will literally format their review as an open letter to the author. They are addressing the author, by name, either praising them to the skies or yelling at them for being some kind of monster. There isn’t usually much in-between with this kind of review.

  Other times, the reviewer just seems to be giving a rather generalized “this book is amazing, everyone should read it” kind of summary. Though these kinds of reviews sound, on the surface, like they are aimed at potential readers, at the core, they were written to benefit the author. These reviews are styled after celebrity endorsements rather than reader reviews. They tend to come across as what they probably are—promo material, not actual recommendations to readers.

  Another kind is the review written by a reader who considers his or herself a constructive critic—telling the author what they could do better in the interest of “helping them succeed.” These reviews honestly come off pretty condescending and tone-deaf and are actually some of my personal least-favorite to read. Seriously. If the author didn’t pick you to be an editor or a beta-reader, mind your own business. This is not a good way to set yourself up as an authority in the industry—but then again, apparently you already consider yourself an authority, so you’re probably not listening to me anyway.

  • Self-centric Reviewers

You’re going to run into a lot of this on Goodreads, if you hang around. There isn’t necessarily anything wrong with it. Freedom of speech, after all. People should feel free to express their feelings. But these kinds of reviewers aren’t actually that useful for someone trying to decide whether or not to read a book. Let me explain.

  Basically, a reviewer who writes for their own benefit is just venting. It can be positive, negative, or dead in between, but this kind of reviewer is speaking very specifically from their own point of view and not trying to give an objective evaluation of any kind. They’re strictly comparing a book to their own tastes and expectations. Typically, they star a book according to their enjoyment of it—not how well it was written or executed. This makes their reviews entertaining, but practically useless to anyone who doesn’t have precisely the same tastes in fiction.

  • Reader-centric Reviewers

The reader-centric review is the only one potential readers are going to genuinely trust and consider before buying or borrowing a book. A reader-centric reviewer is actually thinking about potential readers’ interests as they write the review. They’re thinking about the kind of reader who would enjoy the book vs. the kind that probably wouldn’t. They’re recommending or not recommending the book based on a set of important and fairly general criteria, and taking the time to explain what was solid and what seemed off.

  This is what you want to shoot for if you want to write a review that is actually useful to potential readers.

So, what should you include in your review? What should you talk about and focus on? The easiest way to decide is to think about what you’re looking for when you read through reviews of books you’re considering picking up. As the reader, what do you want to know?

 What to Include (some suggestions)

Some systematic types who read and review dozens or hundreds of books a year use a kind of rubric to evaluate a book. Things they tend to consider include:

  • Plot
  • Character development
  • Pacing
  • Worldbuilding
  • Theme

Some reviewers will use star-rating systems for each element. Some will even give letter grades (which annoys me and gives me war-flashbacks.) However you choose to do it, it’s important to explain (with as few spoilers as possible, of course) why you rate things the way you do. Pick things apart a little but try to be fair about it. Readers can sense bias.

Other things many readers want to know when looking for something to read:

  • Content ratings and any sensitive topics or disturbing imagery
  • Approximate age of the target audience
  • Any tropes included and how well-executed they were
  • If there’s a cliffhanger, HEA, or a ton of character death
  • If the chapters are very long or very short
  • How much the story fits into a genera or strays from it
  • The message or worldview that comes through
  • If the dog dies

So, in conclusion, just be aware of the mindset of people who are looking for a good book. You’ve been there. You know how to help someone find something they’ll enjoy. Just write your reviews from that position, and you’ll probably come up with something people will trust and appreciate.

P. S. Speaking of appreciation, I do want to add an endnote from the perspective of an indie author saying how much we really do appreciate your reviews. Positive reviews are extremely important to indie authors. I won’t downplay that. If you’ve ever enjoyed an indie book, by all means, give it a review. It’s not about giving the author an ego-boost, though. What we really need is a review that’s directed toward potential readers, so that you can help the right people find the right books.

Because that’s what great reviewers do.

Categories
Christianity & Creativity

Why It’s So Hard to Find Your Mission as a Christian Creative

“Gospel-focused,” “Faith-centered,” “Based on sound doctrine.” That’s what some people are looking for in Christian media. Others are just looking for “clean,” “family-friendly,” or “positive” content.

There’s a lot out there advising Christian creatives on what they should and shouldn’t create. A lot of people out there think they know what the mission of the Christian artist should be.

It’s like they pick up a Christian book or turn on a Christian film and—instead of sitting back and being immersed in a great story, they sit at the edge of their desk chairs and whip out their pens and clipboards. Let’s see if this one hits all the right points. Let’s calculate the relevancy score and see if we can check all the Romans Road boxes in the correct order.

Should every Christian novel be a “How to Get Saved” guide? Is doctrine the highest priority in art? As Christians, we know leading people to Christ is probably our highest calling on Earth. But exactly how are we supposed to do that with our creativity?

Is Art an Evangelism Tool?

Pop quiz: who consumes Christian media?

This is always the first question that comes into my head when someone suggests the prime directive of Christian media is evangelism. I think you will find the vast majority of people consuming Christian media are…Christian.

Which raises the question, who are we trying to evangelize, here? We’re preaching to the choir.

But maybe you argue that the basic Gospel message bares repeating. Maybe you want to remind and reinforce what your audience probably already knows. Maybe you want to explore some of the details of doctrine.

With all due respect…go write a sermon. Go study the Bible and some commentaries and works of scholarly theology and write a thesis. Get it out of your system. Then come back and we’ll talk about art.

What is Art For?

We have a weird approach to art in Christian communities, sometimes. Nobody would ever tell a Christian dentist, auto mechanic or airline pilot that the first priority in their career should be evangelism. We would never look down on them if they spent the majority of their time learning to better seal teeth, repair radiators, or navigate the sky.

But we know the artist’s influence is unique. Our voices are extremely powerful. It doesn’t matter how famous or popular we are, either. Our potential to affect people’s hearts and minds is enormous. That’s the nature of art. It moves people. It can connect people and create empathy. It can heal, inspire, and enlighten those who consume it in unexpected ways.

I’m not saying you can’t present the whole gospel in your work—or even that you can’t use your work to bring attention to some real-world issues. That’s between you as a creator and God. But too many Christian artists and people who take it upon themselves to instruct Christian artists seem to assume that is the only right way to use you gift.

But in choosing this informational, educational approach where the goal is to more or less tell our audience what to think—it’s quite possible that we’re abandoning the very magic that makes art uniquely powerful.

Where Does Art’s Power Come From?

Art is different from other forms of human communication. It tends to be subtle, unpredictable, and a little ambiguous.

And it doesn’t seem to matter which soapboxes you get up on or how important the message is. A great message can’t save bad art. There’s no substitute for being good at what you do.

Creating art is an act of trust. You have to do it with an open hand, not afraid of other people’s interpretations or reactions. As a Christian creative, you’re not going to be able to harness the full potential of your artistic process until you let God do the speaking. And let your audience do the thinking. Exactly what the audience gets out of your work isn’t your responsibility.

Your responsibility is to pour your all into creating something you love and let God use it as he will.

So, How Can You Find Your Mission as an Artist?

It’s going to take time, and you’re going to have to ask yourself a lot of questions.

It’s alright to not know for certain why you do what you do. In fact, if the only answer to your “why” is “because I love it” right now, that will do. But eventually, if art is a big enough part of your life, it’s likely to become a ministry.

What do you want your art to do for people? What do people need that you can create for them? Sometimes we forget that acts of service are one of the most powerful forms of evangelism. You can serve people with what you make. You can lift spirits and heal wounds. You can lead people through dark times and dark places. You can make people feel seen, loved, and understood.

My advice is that you find your voice, enjoy the process, don’t stress, don’t preach, and don’t worry about checking boxes. Invite God to speak through you and trust that he will use your work.

I thought of this final tip recently, and it revolutionized how I think about creating. I’d often asked myself who I was writing for. Who’s going to read this? What will they get from it? It’s impossible to really know that. But I wanted my spirit of wanting to give something to come through.

So, my last tip is, always create for someone you love.

You don’t have to worry about the masses or the message most people need. All you need to worry about is one person you care about. Do it for them.

Because, as a Christian creative, whatever your mission may be, your motivation will have its roots in love. That’s a good place to start.

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