What Keeps Us Writing - Part 2

Whether we've just started out or are multi-prize-winning published authors - the writing journey can have ups and downs, twists and turns and often what seem insurmountable obstacles. So, what keeps us writing?

Over a two-part series, each of the CWD admin team will share their insights.

Kirsten Hart

I’m going to be honest with you. I had plans to write a blogpost every week for my website, finish some major edits on my manuscript, complete the first draft of my second novel and a few other non-writing related things this year.

This was all before the global pandemic. To use this as an excuse as to why I haven’t written any blogs on my website since April or why none my major edits have made it into my manuscript yet or why that second novel is still only at 8000 words is pretty sad. I mean, hello! Lockdown! Though, my workplace never closed (yes, it’s a good thing, but opportunity lost on all that reading time) and life just seems way more hectic than usual.

So, not much writing has happened this year for me. But that doesn’t mean I haven’t been active in the writing community. I entered the CALEB Award this year, I meet up with the Quirky Quills and we encourage each other in our writing and life’s speed bumps and I have six new story ideas bouncing through my head.

Even though I haven’t actively been writing, I’ve still connected with that passion on some level. While this maybe a year for me to reset and refocus, the writers I surround myself with keep me present. They encourage, they inspire, they teach and they listen. Words are scarce through my fingers this year. Maybe that’s true for some of you too, but the community of writers we have here, is the power God is using to keep us going, keep us on the writing journey.

Stay present.

Jeanette O'Hagan

Since enrolling in post-grad studies in writing in 2011 and my first published short story at the end of 2014, writing has been a major focus. Last year, I wrote at least 50 words, usually more, each and every day. The more I wrote, the easier it was to write --- until this year. This year has been a big black hole of writing for a few reasons.

Up until March, the Omega Writers Book Fair took up much of my writing time, then, Covid. While many writers found the forced isolation a boon, I found the opposite. I think I was still processing emotionally and found it hard to pick up a pen or bash the keyboard for much of April. Then in May, an long-awaited opening for Aged Care placement opened up for my Mum - moving her in the middle of lockdowns, taking over more responsibilities, and then seven months of decluttering and putting her property on the market while still caring for my children and husband took up most of my time and all of my energy. But the inertia went deeper. I've ten unpublished novels in various stages of drafting. I need to edit. But editing, rather than new virgin writing isn't quite as thrilling. Besides, not having new releases - apart from a two part boxed set of my already published five novella series - and not having time to write newsletters, blog posts, social media (because I didn't have the time) meant a dip in sales. Not writing, looking at a long stretch of editing, and only sporadic sales and little positive feedback discouraged me. I doubted my calling to write.

One Sunday morning after church at the end of October, two friends I hadn't seen for a while, asked how my writing going, had I published anything lately. Before I knew it, tears were streaming down my face. It was a wake-up call, a time to focus on why I write. Yes, it would be fantastic to have more people reading and loving my books. Yes, it would be wonderful to be able have more (or any) time to focus on writing. Yes, it would be great to get more of my books published. But at the core of why I write is because of the stories inside and of God's call to write. I might have my plans of how to get there, but God often has different plans than me even when He has the same goals (goals he lodged in my heart).

That Sunday, I decided to trust God's paths and timing. And part of that, was - after a fallow season - to make time to write (well, actually to edit) even when life is insane.





Thanks Kirsten. (In Part 1 Mazzy and Sue shared their inspiration to 'keep on writing). We'd love to hear your stories too - in the comments here or on CWD facebook page.

What Keeps Us Writing - Part 1

 

Whether we've just started out or are multi-prize-winning published authors - the writing journey can have ups and downs, twists and turns and often what seem insurmountable obstacles. So what keeps us writing?

Over a two-part series, each of the CWD admin team will share their insights.

Mazzy Adams

 

This photo shows my planning notes for last Thursday’s CWD blog post. Tentatively titled, ‘Are we there yet?’, I pondered the twists and turns of the writing journey and questioned why we persevere. However, the topic overwhelmed me and, fearing I’d descend into a ‘woe is me’ sob story, I opted to write ‘A Good Yarn’ instead. Then, when Jeanette O’Hagan asked me for a couple of paragraphs on what keeps us going as writers, it confirmed just how desperately we all need encouragement to persevere.

Over the last three years I’ve encountered interruptions and setbacks ad infinitum. I’ve left new stories simmering on the back burner while stirring the Indie Publishing upskill pot, and doused raging spot fires of personal ill health, family crises, and the COVID-19 invasion. Nevertheless, I bless and thank God for a pleasant detour beyond the fetid swamp of frustration as we celebrated our daughter’s ‘pandemic safe’ wedding in July. When life throws a tantrum, it’s tough finding the head and heart space to pursue this passion and calling to which we’re committed. 

But therein lies a significant clue—we keep going because, as Christian believers, our call to write exceeds ourselves and our circumstances. Like all skilled artisans appointed by God (Exodus 31:1-6) our writing comes from and belongs to God just as we belong to him. It is our responsive act of love, devotion, honour, and service to our precious Lord and Saviour, a pleasing sacrifice, a pleasant aroma rising to him because, whether our writing is overtly or covertly Christian, God is the centre of our earthly existence, the central word in our personal story, the heart and soul of every phrase we write, and the Spirit that draws each and every reader to him.

 

That’s why we stop glaring at the obstacles, stop trembling at the giants that threaten and oppose us, and keep our eyes on the One who said, ‘Is anything too difficult or too wonderful for me?’ (Gen 18:14 AMP). Believe me, once we see his eyes smiling at us and his face nodding approval and encouragement, our strength to carry on is renewed and renewed and renewed again. Today, will you look to him, see him and write on? Will you seek out his personal word to you? Maybe he’ll expand upon my scribbled notes. If so, I’d love you to share what the Lord reveals to you in the comments.

Susan Bruce (aka Sue Jeffrey)

What keeps me going as an author? It’s obviously the money, right? Lol, if only. There are many reasons I keep writing but during a recent ghostwriting project (non fiction) I realised afresh that I had a deep inner drive to express the voice God had given me.


It was the first time I’d ghostwritten and I found it much harder than expected. The book was complex with lots of research and there was a great deal of too-and-fro with the author. Overall the project took more than four times the hours allocated and I felt pretty burned out at the end. During that time I had little energy to write my own work. However from about halfway through the project I could feel this nagging voice inside me, like a small child tugging on her mother’s skirt. ‘What about me?’ I realised my own inner voice yearned to be heard. This was why I’d taken on this writing gig. God had given me things to say, and words to uplift and entertain, that needed to be expressed. It was one thing to write someone else’s words but I wouldn’t be happy unless I could express my own voice. 

I’m still pretty exhausted and my back is in a bad way from long hours sitting, but I’m thankful for this gift of fresh focus. When I pray, I feel a deep peace surrounding my desire to write fiction and I believe that’s where I’m to focus my energy for the next few months. I have to write my own book. After that? Who knows. But I press on in the light that I have, pushing the doubts aside and whacking my steroid-enhanced inner critic on the head several times each day. I know if I do this, and persevere, whatever happens success wise I’ll have been true to myself and to God.

That’s what keeps me going as an author.

Thanks Mazzy and Sue.  In Part 2 Kirsten and Jeanette will share their inspiration to 'keep on writing.'

Ditching the Black Dog

Photo copyright Susan J Bruce - all rights reserved

Do you ever find that the difficult patches in the writing life come at unexpected times?

The last part of October and the first part of November was an encouraging time for me. I won the unpublished manuscript section of the Caleb Prize and I flew to the Gold Coast on the following Monday to do a Margie Lawson writing Immersion. For those who don’t know, Margie is an international writing coach, and I was delighted when a place became available in one of her teaching weeks. And yes – it was AWESOME. 

Life was busy when I returned and I lost some of the rhythm that I had built up prior to doing the Immersion. Then I received some negative feedback, had a flare of some health issues and then for some reason I stopped writing. Discouragement struck – and I became stuck. The launch of If They Could Talk: Bible stories told by the animals, an anthology for which I was editor, helped lift my spirits. But even this milestone couldn't fix my writing doldrums.  

Maybe I’m the only one who goes through periods like this. Maybe the rest of you intrepid writers have it together and never feel like a four-wheel-drive bogged to the windows in Gobi desert sand. 

No? 

I also have to admit to a tincture of perfectionism somewhere in the mix. Perfectionism would be okay if we were perfect, wouldn’t it? Imagine a first draft that you never needed to revise. Ah, bliss! Cue serene music…

But back to reality.

Discouragement, seeded with grains of perfectionism, can lead to procrastination which leads to more discouragement and more procrastination, etc., etc., etc., which leads to hopelessness and before you know it, the black dog is something other than my cheeky Chihuahua/ Shihtzu cross pictured above.

I wrote nothing, playing a LOT of Sudoku instead. The only good thing that came from it was that I finally beat my husband’s best time on the online version of the game. We’re not at all competitive in our house by the way (cough). Other than that one moment of domestic triumph, I was sad to the core and didn’t know how to break myself out of the funk. 

Then I remembered a section of a book I’d recently read. A friend had mentioned Stephen Furtick’s book, Greater, a while ago and I was intrigued enough to buy a copy. In Greater, Furtick uses examples from the life of the prophet Elisha to encourage Christians to live out God’s vision for their life.

In chapter five, the author refers to the Bible passage, 2 Kings 3. King Joram of Israel enlists the help of King Jehoshaphat of Judah to fight the Moabite army. The problem is that after seven days of marching in the desert of Edom, they don’t have any water left for their animals or their troops. 

Jehoshaphat, being a godly king, asks Elisha to talk to God about their problem. Elisha agrees and God says something strange. He tells them that they won’t see wind or rain but He will make water flow from the hills in Edom. It is easy for God to do this. In several translations (e.g., the NASV) God tells them to make the valley full of trenches – i.e., dig a vast amount of ditches (2 Kings 3:16). 

Imagine being those people. There were no clouds in the sky, just heat and dust and a sense of hopelessness. Two vast armies on the verge of dying of thirst, and God tells them to start digging. It would seem counterintuitive in the extreme. Sweat and toil all night when there’s no visible way of having your need for water met. Yet they did it, and in the morning the valley was filled with water.

Furtick uses this as a prime example of how faith works. He writes: 

It’s as if God says, “If you really believe I’m going to do what I told you I would do, get busy. Show me your faith, and then I’ll show you My faithfulness. Do your part. If you do what I asked you to do, I will be faithful to My word. 

(Greater, p. 66)

I agree with Furtick, but I also think it's one of the best metaphors I’ve ever read on the nature of the writer’s life. 
We need to believe in what we are doing and act on that belief. Most of us reading this have felt the call to write. We know God wants us to do this. So we need to do it, even if the ideas have dried up and the words we thirst for elude us. When discouragement invades and we feel like giving up, we need to seek God. And when we do, we need to act. Even if it's writing just a few words at a time. 

In this instance of depression God told me to ‘remember’. Remember that I have called you. Remember what I’ve promised you. Remember that I love you. Now go and do your thing. Write in faith: one word after another and I will fill your words with my life. Dig the ditches and I will send my rain.

And so I write – and the black dog morphs back into a naughty puppy again – and I have hope. 

How about you. Do you have times in your life where writing is hard? What helps? Does 'digging ditches' work for you? Let's encourage each other in the comments below.

Reference: S. Furtick, Greater: Dream bigger. Start smaller. Ignite God’s vision for your life., Multnomah Books, Colorado, 2017.

Susan J. Bruce, aka Sue Jeffrey, spent her childhood reading, drawing, and collecting stray animals. Now she’s grown up she does the same kinds of things. Sue works part time as a veterinarian, writes stories filled with themes of overcoming, adventure and belonging, and loves to paint animals. Sue won the Short section of the inaugural Stories of Life writing competition and recently won the 'Unpublished Manuscript' section of the 2018 Caleb prize. Sue is the editor of 'If They Could Talk: Bible Stories Told By the Animals' (Morning Star Publishing) and her stories and poems have appeared in multiple anthologies. Her e-book 'Ruthless The Killer: A Short Story' is available on Amazon.com. You can check out Sue’s animal art on Facebook.

From the Archives: Tips for New Writers

collated by Jeanette O'Hagan



Since its start in 2010, Christian Writers Downunder blogspot has shared a up-welling fountain of encouragement, experience, wisdom about writing for writers.

Today we look at some tips for new writers from our bloggers.

Why Write? 

Passion, vocation, worship?

Many Reasons to Write by Anusha Atukorala

I pondered the fact that having reasons for loving things and loving people is great fuel. Take writing for instance. Why have you chosen to become a writer? Do you know?


I know why I write. It’s because inside this outer covering is a God breathed writer. I believe God has programmed me to write - perhaps there is a wee computer chip called ‘Writer’ embedded deep inside of me? Read more here.

Addicted to Approval? Writing with Purpose ... On Purpose by Josephine-Anne Griffiths

Have you ever questioned what your life’s purpose really is? I know I have.
What motivates me to write? What motivates others to sing or play an instrument?
What makes it worthwhile for each of us to awaken each morning, and do whatever we do over again? Maybe you are an accountant, or drive a truck – or you are a nurse or a teacher. Maybe you are the quiet, shy child at the back of the room, that no one has noticed yet. I am hoping that by telling you why I write and what motivates me, that perhaps you may start thinking about why you do what you do each day, why it is so important to you, and what makes it so motivating and relevant?  Read more here.

Make space and time to write

I Need A Personal Bubble For My Writing Space by K A Hart

A distraction-free writing space. Does anyone have one? I have lived in this house for four years and I still haven’t found the right spot. 

Somewhere that’s comfortable, but not too comfortable. A place with a view or inspirational pictures and famous quotes. Coffee, tea, a few snacks. Music. No music. A clean space, clutter-free. That’s what most writers suggest.


So. Writing space. Where have I made my writing space? Where have I not?! Read more here.

Practice, Practice, Practice 

Practice Makes (Closer Approximations To) Perfect by Nola Passmore

In other disciplines like music and sport, we understand that practice is an important part of skill-building. Sometimes I wonder if we really understand this as writers. We learn the basics of writing at school—grammar, punctuation, vocabulary, spelling. By the time we’re adults, we’ve written essays, reports, letters, and sizzling diary entries declaring our love for David Cassidy and the Osmonds. (Oops – that may have been my diary.) But have we really spent time practising our craft? Here are some reasons why we should value the good ol’ art of practice. Read more here.

Accepting Feedback

Writers: constructive feedback isn't going to kill you by Cecily Ann Paterson

Writing is such a personal thing. We’re told to ‘bleed’ on to the page, in a popular writing meme. We’re told to write what we know, and put our hearts into it. We inhabit our words and search our souls for meaning.

And then we ask for feedback.

And we’re supposed to just sit there and take it. Read more here.

Coping with discouragement

D-Day by Meredith Resce

In recent months, I have faced more than the usual amount of disappointments in both my personal and writing life. I recognise that this has affected my level of positivity, and if we were looking at it on one of those mathematics graphs, it has dipped below zero into negativity a few times.

Read More Here,

Invest wisely and beware of the pitfalls.

Aussie writer on the journey: Publishing pitfalls for new fiction writers by Narelle Atkins

One of the smartest things I did as a new writer was to join professional writing groups and connect with other writers. I gleaned valuable information from writing organisation newsletters, email groups and critique groups that helped me to avoid some of the newbie writer mistakes. There are a couple of things I’ve learned about publishing that I hope will help any new writers reading this post. Read more here.

Don't Do it Alone

All for One, One for All by Jeanette O'Hagan

So most of us don't live in garrets and most of us are not literally starving - though we might be if we tried to feed ourselves from our royalties (if we get royalties). And being seen and heard in a noisy, crowded book market can be daunting. So the struggles of artists and creatives maybe haven't changed that much over the decades, but one thing we don't have to be is lonely.  Read more here.

So ... over to you

Are you just beginning your writing journey? Do any of these things resonate with you? What questions would you like answered?

Have you been adventuring for a while? What would tips would you give to new writers? What things do you wish you'd known when you first started out?

Tell us in the comments below.

---------

Christian Writers Downunder is aimed at Christians writers (and those associated with writing field, e.g. editors, illustrators, reviewers and publishers) who live in Australasia. We have a dedicated team of regular and guest bloggers who share their experience and wisdom each Monday and Thursday.

D-Day

For all those Sesame Street Fans, today’s blog has been brought to you today by the letter ‘D’.

In recent months, I have faced more than the usual amount of disappointments in both my personal and writing life. I recognise that this has affected my level of positivity, and if we were looking at it on one of those mathematics graphs, it has dipped below zero into negativity a few times. Add to this the amount of negativity that is the side-product of what we see on the news every day, and the social and political tension there is on so many different fronts, my soul has become disturbed and at times disgusted. This puts heavy pressure on any positivity index, and I find myself staring at the negative side of the ledger. I realise I am not the only one like this, who has personal and creative disappointments, and unless we unplug completely from the news media, we all have the potential to be disturbed by the things that are swirling in the world around us.

I was heading out bush to the family farm (my favourite place to escape), and my father asked if I would bring the word to their country church the next Sunday morning. I’d done this many times before. There are not many folks out there in that church, but I still believe they are as important as if I was sharing with the larger congregations in the city that number in the hundreds. I was feeling down, to be perfectly frank, but I said yes anyway. It was Dad’s turn to share, and he has been feeling a bit blue himself of late. 

When I hung up from the phone call, I said to God: ‘What on earth will I say. I have nothing. I am feeling really down at the moment.’

As is usual for me, God always starts speaking to me with a thought and here is where it started:

The Downward Spiral

It starts with disappointment or feeling disturbed or disgusted.

Then it leads to:

• Discouragement
• Downcast
• Depressed
• Despairing
• Disillusioned
• Doubt
• Deceived
• Destroyed

In my state of negative mind-set, I thought how ironic that there were so many words that started with a ‘D’ leading to that place of destruction – no hope. Then I thought, I bet there are hardly any words starting with ‘D’ that will lead us back the other way.

I bet wrong. 

I teased this all out into a long sermon with Scriptures, but these are the dot points

•   Decide – Do not keep heading further down. Stop and decide to face the other way, towards God and towards hope.
•   Delight – Delight in the Lord. Bless his name in worship. Give thanks for every good thing (Yes there are good things. You’re breathing, aren’t you? Do you have clothes and food and water? Start there.)
•  Declare – From a Scripture in Isaiah 45:19-24 “Declare what is right. Declare what is to be … present it.” There was much more to this point, but essentially, do you have Scriptures or promises from God? Speak them out loud in prayer.
•   Divine Direction – Keep your heart and ear inclined to God. Let him speak to you. Let him give you direction. Be obedient when he tells you to do something.
•   Divine Deliverance – Of course this involves the waiting part—waiting for God to reveal how he’s going to sort things out, because we all know, after our best shot, we’re still fumbling around in the dark. It is God who will bring the deliverance.
•   Destiny – We might have made plans, and sorted it all out nicely in our head, but when it all comes down to it, God is the one who orders our path. He is the light to our feet. He is the rock upon which we stand. He is the one who is our strength when we are weak. If we are going to have a destiny, let it be in God. 

Meredith Resce is author of seventeen published fiction titles, including the ‘Heart of Green Valley’ series.

She is currently working on two non-fiction titles “When Hell is on Your Doorstep” and “Saints Sinners and Zombies”

To learn more about Meredith and her writing work, visit her website: www.meredithresce.com

Or contact her through her Face Book Author page

Keep on Writing

I was getting ready to leave for the Omega Writer’s Conference in October when I saw it - a call for submmissions for a Children’s Picture Book Writing Competition. They were looking for “creative, winsome charming picture books that help parents instill an open-hearted, transformational, lifelong Christian faith in their children”. I did like the sound of that. Better still, the first prize was $5000.00. Whew! Not an amount to be sneezed at. There were no entrance fees either. I knew I must give it a go when I returned from conference.

Would it herald my big writing moment?

A week later, I came back refreshed and revitalised after a fabulous time in Sydney, having caught up up with those of like minds, learning an abundance of writerly wisdom, being inspired by people and places and best of all, filled with God’s joy. Unfortunately, as it often occurs, a week of intense fibro pain and weariness followed my energetic week away, so it was only a few days before that all important deadline that I had sufficient energy to sit down to create my story.

My dear friend Melissa popped in on the Friday before and spotted our family's pet giraffe (yes, he’s alive …or so we like to think). She suggested I write a story about Raffy - what a brilliant idea! The day before the story had to be submitted, I sat at my computer, concentrating hard. It took hours to craft and refine my award winning picture book. The next day was a busy one. My body felt weak and weary but I persevered, working also on my author bio and the story’s synopsis. Finally, close to midnight and exhausted, I was ready to send in my three documents. Just before I pressed the submit button, the competition’s terms and conditions popped up.

It was then my dream was shattered - a crystal vase smashed into a million shards.

The very first clause had my mouth open, while my jaw dropped a few kilometres downwards. Apparently, the competition was open only to US residents. I could have cried. I’d read the competition details many times over—but for some reason this vital fact had not been publicised. I could hardly believe it. How foolish I'd been!

I wonder what your writing year has been like. Was it filled with instant success, millions of books sold, a plethora of fan mail, TV appearances, a bulging bank balance and a celebrity lifestyle? If you are like many of us Christian writers, you are presently plodding away on your current story, a few drops of hope glistening in your heart, but perhaps also a wee bit discouraged about those writing dreams yet to be fulfilled.

In a few weeks, the curtain will fall on 2016 and we will be left with our memories of the past year. Whatever it brought you in your writing sphere and whatever the future holds for you, let me ask you three questions:

1. Has God called you to write for Him?
2. Have you strived to walk with Him?
3. Have you sought to be obedient to His call?

If you answered ‘yes’ to all three questions, let me shake your hand. Let me celebrate with you. Success for us comes not from the world’s yardstick of accomplishment. It’s simply getting up each morning and doing all that God calls us to do. Persevering. Learning from failure. Not giving up. Perhaps like me you've made a few blunders? No matter - God can redeem them all. He's good at that! So permit any discouragement to fly out of your window like a captive pigeon set free. Congratulate yourself for all the writing you’ve done these past 12 months. Celebrate your conquests with a smile. And let your heart be quick to hear the sound of God’s ‘Well done’.

And now ... put on your writer’s shimmering cloak of joy.
And Keep On Writing.

“Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 3:13-14


Anusha Atukorala is a writer and speaker with music in her heart and a message to proclaim. The abundant love of a faithful God is her theme song. God’s call to writing in 2007 led Anusha on a Grand Adventure which continues to surprise and thrill her. Anusha loves to build the body of Christ and to encourage others through the written and spoken word. Her first book ‘Enjoying the Journey’ is comprised of 75 little God stories. She has twelve short stories published in Anthologies and plenty more books in the pipeline. Do drop in to say G’day at her website Dancing in the Rain. She’d love to meet you.

CHESTNUTS by Rita Stella Galieh

Winter time is chestnut time.  Who can resist these delicious potato tasting nuts once they're baked?

And I wonder why they say an old joke or story is a chestnut?

But they have another side to them. The sweet inside nuts, besides their brown shell, are covered with nasty, large prickles. Pity the growers having to remove these but it must be done.

I couldn't resist this parable similar to the whole area of Writing. I'm sure every one of us who desires to write has to suffer many trials before cracking the actual kernel. Besides the numerous steps of getting your story into shape before you can hope for publication, then begins the tricky hunt for an agent or publisher.

Many of us have felt the discouragement of disinterest, or outright rejections. Worse still the acknowledgement the story is great, but perhaps your platform is minimal or non existent. Or that particular genre is not the trend right now. So what's the next step? Give it up as being too hard?

Most of us are very aware that before finding success, we have to wade through a pond of failures. The inventor's attitude is, 'These are just ways of not doing it' and they persist until they find the way that works. Mind you, we writers have all all the rules set out beforehand and supposedly we know what we shouldn't do. Then ... some author writes a best seller that seems to break all the rules. It helps if they have published before as they have already won the confidence of the publishers.

Now this is the time to step back and work out what's really important to you. And never give up!

To quote my Canadian writer friend, Christine Lindsay:
'When life happens
Admit you can only do so much.
Do what you can and leave the rest to the Lord.
Trust God that your writing career is in His Hands.

Don't let life happen and growl that it is hampering your writing career. But instead rest in the Lord and you just might be amazed at how he takes your efforts during your weary times and blesses you.

EMBRACE your life, the good and the bad.
REST physically and mentally.
TRUST God for the outcome.'

So when you're on the point of tearing out your hair, (as I've been at times) grasp the advice and promise of Proverbs 3:5 and 6.
 
Rita Stella Galieh is enjoying the challenges and rewards of Independent Publishing.

The 2nd edition of her Victoriana Trilogy  has seen her dream realised. As an art student at her convict built college, she wondered about its history. Research revealed the famous actress Sarah Bernhardt had visited there. One of the jailers joked about the local cat, meaning the cruel cat'o nine tails.

The Bloody Code was an all encompassing method of punishment for any offence deemed illegal. Often felons were sent to the gallows or faced transportation to England's brutal prisons in the Southern Hemisphere. After tracing the life of one innocent woman, on whom she based her story, this became the theme of her novel ... Signed Sealed Delivered. Book 2: The Tie that Binds, Book 3: A Parcel of Promises.

See ritastellapress.com     for information on both print and ebooks.

Emerging from the Rubble

For every creative soul there comes times of discouragement and confusion; perhaps even that horrid question: ‘Should I just give up?’

Well, should I? I’ve been published for twenty years, and enjoyed huge success—relatively speaking—in the Australian Christian market. I couldn’t write fast enough, and the re-prints kept rolling in. I didn’t realise that I was riding a wave, and that somewhere around 2007, the wave began to beach. Things didn’t immediately collapse at that time, but with the introduction of the wonder medium, the eBook, the Australian Christian market began to stutter, then cough, then choke.

Concurrently, with this change, Australian Christian writers began to emerge. Writing groups, like Christian Writers Downunder and Omega Writers, began to form and gain momentum. We had conferences where we could listen to some excellent advice on just about anything writing (including how we should avoid using the word ‘just’). Groups like Wombat Books and Even Before Publishing got legs and started to walk. 

But unfortunately, none of us seem to have got to the running pace in the Australian Christian Market.

From my own experience of small independent publishing, I’ve seen the huge support of the Christian Booksellling Association of Australia (CBAA) dwindle by degrees. Part of it has been because of the digital changeover, and some of it (in my case at least) has been because a good part of my audience and support base of twenty years ago were people 60+. Twenty years on, and these people have gone on to the Lord.

So where does that leave me? Where does that leave any of us who have been educating ourselves in the art of writing? Australian Christian writers are more abundant now than when I first started, and the quality of writing is improving all the time. And yet, the better we get, and the more of us there are, the less the opportunities to get that piece of work into the hands of readers.

Sometimes I feel as if the whole thing has collapsed into a heap of rubble, and we are left, picking over the ruins, looking for signs of life.

At a recent conference, I was chatting with a pastor’s wife, and she told me the story of her son. He is a young man who has a music degree, made it to the finals of one of the television singing competitions, had been leading their church music team and is a competent worship leader. He made the choice to go to Nashville in the US to see where else God would take him. This young man and his wife found themselves in a church in Nashville—ironically, it was a church run by a well-known Australian worship leader. This church has exploded, and there are a lot of Australians gathering together there. One morning, the worship leader asked for anyone in the congregation who was a worship leader to stand. No less than fifty people stood up. The young man could see that his chances of becoming a worship leader in this church were not high, and yet he had committed himself to serve in the carpark team.

As I listened to this story I thought, wow! There’s nothing apparent there for him to hope for in terms of his gift, and yet still he chooses to serve.

Then, last week, I caught up with a movie producer friend of mine, and we sat and talked the Australian film industry, which shares many similar frustrations to the Australian Christian book industry. He told me a story from a documentary he saw. The film team were in a Hollywood producer’s office and the camera zoomed in on one corner of the office. Piled up to waist height on both walls in the corner were manuscripts waiting to be reviewed—from the last week! AND apparently these were only the scripts that had a catchy log line and pitch. The rest had been discarded. Wow!

So, in this day and age where everyone can write, and write quickly; anyone can set a manuscript, and put together a cover, and publish online; how does my work or your work find an opportunity to bless others? The competition is ridiculous.

Actually, I don’t have a definitive answer. I’m still troubling through the variables myself. Should I give up?

One thing I do know, if I am picking through the rubble of a collapsed industry, then I must find the survivors, and give them nourishment, however that might be. If I am serving the Lord, and that comes in the guise of cooking a meal for a sick neighbour, or giving courage when I have opportunity to do so, then that is what it is. After all, I do believe the Word of God when it says:

^“5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart
    and lean not on your own understanding;
⁶ in all your ways submit to him,
    and he will make your paths straight.”

Proverbs 3:5-7New International Version (NIV)

Meredith Resce is author of 17 published titles, including The Heart of Green Valley series, and Mellington Hall. 

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www.meredithresce.com