Meet Our Members: Charis Joy Jackson

Each Thursday in 2018 we will be interviewing one of the members of Christian Writers Downunder
– to find out a little bit more about them and their writing/editing goals. 

Today's interview Charis Joy Jackson

Question 1: Tells us three things about who you are and where you come from.

I am a missionary filmmaker, author, and actress. I am from the US and grew up in several places, but have lived in Australia for ten years - which is actually the longest I’ve lived in one place my entire life.

Question 2: Tell us about your writing (or editing/illustrating etc). What do you write and why?

I love to write anything in the speculative genre. My novel, The Rose Of Admirias, is a fantasy. But I also have several sci-fi and dystopian books in the works too.

I've also started a little blog called The Dreamcatcher's Journal, where I capture all the crazy adventurous dreams I've had. I started it because I used to show up to work and tell everyone about my dreams. They couldn't believe how well told the stories were - like full novels or movies, so I thought, I've got to start keeping these written down somewhere. 

Question 3: Who has read your work? Who would you like to read it?
 
Friends and family that I know of, but my novel was just released at the beginning of this month as part of a limited release of 22 novels in an ebook box set called On The Horizon. Besides the fact that I’d love EVERYONE to read my novel ;) I’d love for two of my favorite authors to read it. Robin Hobb and Stephen R. Lawhead. These two have really inspired my own work and I’d love to get their feedback on my writing because I want to keep growing as an author.

Question 4: Tell us something about your process. What challenges do you face? What helps you the most?
 
I’m the worst when it comes to having a process. Each story I write seems to have a process of its own. Most of my stories I know where I want my characters to end up, but I don’t often write out a whole process of how they’re gonna get there. I have a vague idea of where I’m going, but there are a lot of things that happen along the way that surprise me and that’s my favorite. If I can surprise myself, then hopefully I can surprise the audience.

Because I am one of those writers who doesn’t plan a lot this can sometimes be an obstacle I need to overcome. I’ve written myself into holes I don’t know how to get out of, but thankfully I’ve always been able to find a way out in the end. I think a big reason for that is that I am co-creating my story with the Creator or story. With God there’s no such thing as writer's block - instead, they are the adventures we get to find our way out of. 

I think it was C.S. Lewis and Tolkien who said they wrote what they wanted to read. I’m the same, I write what I want to read and that is the thing that helps me the most. It keeps the passion of the story alive and I hope that translates better to the reader too.

Question 5: What is your favorite Writing Craft Book and why?

I really enjoyed Stephen King’s On Writing. While it didn’t cover as much story craft as I thought, it actually opened my mind up to more stories and possible adventures in the future. It taught me a lot about living the life of a novelist and not just dreaming about being one.

Question 6: If you were to give a shout-out to a CWD author, writer, editor or illustrator – who
would they be?
 
There’s several I’d like to give a shout out to - but Jeanette O’Hagan is definitely someone I want the world to know about. Her books are phenomenal. Excellent storytelling and amazing world building. She’s a huge inspiration to my own writing and has been one of my champions. My novel wouldn’t be published yet if it hadn’t been for her. It was because of her encouragement that I finally finished The Rose Of Admirias after writing it for four years! Please read her books. You won’t regret it!

Buy all her books!!!

Question 7: What are your writing goals for 2018? How will you achieve them?
 
My writing goals for the rest of 2018 are to publish The Rose Of Admirias as a paperback. I’d love to write the sequel this year and also finish up the novel I’ve been writing based on the film I produced in 2016 called Out Of The Woods.

Question 8: How does your faith impact and shape your writing?
 
As I mentioned earlier it’s a huge factor. I consider every story I’ve written to be co-written by the ultimate Creator. When I get stuck, I talk to God about how to get the character out of a situation. Sometimes, the best ideas come to me during a time of worship, so I often bring a journal so I can write them out. My passion, tenacity, and creativity are a gift from the Lord and I want to honor him by using it to the best of my abilities.

KEEP UP TO DATE ON WHAT CHARIS IS WRITING. SIGN UP TO HER NEWSLETTER NOW & RECEIVE A NEVER BEFORE SEEN SHORT STORY - FOR FREE!

Charis Joy Jackson is working as a missionary with Youth With a Mission (YWAM) a non-profit organization & is part of The Initiative Production Company. She loves creating stories & her first novel, The Rose Of Admirias, was released this May in a limited release box set called On The Horizon - 22 authors, 22 novels.

Here's to a life lived in awe & wonder.
Welcome to the adventure.

www.charisjoyjackson.com

God As My Muse

God as My Muse

by Melinda Jensen

Few Christians would dispute that we are made in the image of God. It is one of the basic tenets of our faith but also one to which many of us give little thought.

What does it mean to be made in the image of God? Certainly, it means we are wonderfully and powerfully made and that we have twin natures, both human and divine, that often war against one another. It means we have access to the throne of God and are able to throw ourselves on His mercy when we are overwhelmed by adversity. It means He sees us as beautiful and good, even when we don’t see ourselves that way, and it means we have the power and the right to stand against the forces of darkness (as frightening as that can be).

But there is an aspect of God I once took for granted. Selfishly, I attributed it to my fleshly self, instead of appreciating the divine and benevolent gift it truly is. I’m talking about ‘creativity’ – that spark that ignites within us as we writers write.

Like many writers, I’ve always felt I was born to write. I still have an old recipe book of my mother’s in which I wrote ‘Fluff is a cat’ long before I went to school; and there was no kindergarten back then. I tripped along through my school and college English classes, able to produce prose and poetry pretty much on demand. And as the years went by, I discovered I also had a knack for arts and crafts, and my hands have been almost perpetually busy since. Until that one time …

That one time I walked away from God. My grief was immense. My sense of injustice at what had happened, not just to me but to so many others in this world, led me to become a renegade daughter. I raged at God; told Him he was an inadequate God for not protecting his people from such incredible pain; and that I believed He was simply the demi-god of Gnostic tradition – a flawed being who created a flawed world He had no real control over. And then I turned my back, telling Him I could get along very well without Him, thank you very much.

Of course, I see the incredible arrogance in my words now, but in my anguish I lashed out at the one who loves me most, as we humans so often do. I was done and dusted; ready to look out for number one for a change.

But what ensued came as rather a shock. I sat with pen and paper … but no words came to mind. I opted for the keyboard and typed what can only be called gibberish. Frustrated, I told myself I just needed a break; some time to regenerate and give my creative flair some time to swing back to equilibrium again. At least I could still paint and draw; crochet and knit; make beaded sculptures and jewellery. You name it – I’ve probably given it a shot over the years.

So out came the equipment. My tiny duplex was littered with the makings of all sorts of beautiful creations. My cat was quite delirious mucking about amongst the beads, the pencils, the brushes, the mosaic pieces, and most of all the knitting yarn! In fact, as the weeks went by and I tossed project after project in the rubbish bin, it could be said that kitty produced far better work than I did. My frustration levels threatened to erupt into a frenzy that would rival the destruction of Pompeii if I hadn’t been able to somehow keep a lid on it.

It was hindsight though, that revealed the Truth. I didn’t turn back to God because I thought, ‘Well, heck! I want my creativity back and He must have taken it away on purpose!’ I simply missed God so very much. I missed having the friend who’d been my ‘bestie’ since I was 5 years old – Jesus – to talk to and hang with. My heart felt empty … numb. It wasn’t like the pain of my circumstances had gone away. It was that I couldn’t ‘feel’ anything much at all.

And so I got down on my knees, for the hundredth time in my life, and begged forgiveness, and asked Him to please, please let me back into His fold again.

And so it was done.

I found that my heart could both cry and sing again. I felt pain and joy and everything in between.

Over the coming days, I noticed an interesting side effect. My words once more flew across the page. The pencils and paints managed to produce some pleasing pieces (though many still end up in the bin!); and my kitty is now happily chasing shiny baubles and bits of wool around the room again. My creativity returned in full measure, if not more.

Without my creative God at my centre, I simply cannot create. We are a partnership, He and I; one I can’t possibly live without, through thick and thin, sickness and health, adversity and good times. Neither my dabblings, nor yours, will ever come close to the intense beauty He has created for us … but we do have that divine, creative spark somewhere inside us, whether we write, or paint, or build marvellous things, or tinker with electronics. It doesn’t matter … it all comes from Him.

NOTE to readers: I will be away from home for a week as of today and may not have reliable internet access. I apologize in advance for any comments I'm unable to respond to in a timely manner.

Melinda Jensen

www.killingmesoftly.co (A blog, at times disturbing, about the effects of emotional, psychological and verbal abuse, it aims to educate, support and empower victims of abuse.)

Writer concerned with social justice, equality, the environment, and mostly the abiding spirit of our glorious God. Currently working on a number of projects, most notably a couple of fantasy novels with environmental themes for middle school readers.