One of my year end activities is assessing the goals for the year just past and setting new goals for the next year. Annual goals lead quite naturally to monthly and even weekly goals. For the last two or three years, I’ve also set a writing goal of at least 2,000 words a day at least five days a week.

Recently, however, with fiction in a bit of a quiet season, I’ve struggled to find the words. Several days in the last two or three weeks are marked with a big, fat goose egg and I hate it.

Tuesday of this week, I made a rather surprising realization; a realization that led to a seemingly impulsive decision and startling results.

Surprising Realization
It may come as no surprise to some of you, but writing doesn’t have to be about fiction. Even for a novelist, there are other ways to engage in the act of writing.

Articles, for example. Freelance article writing is just as much writing as writing the next chapter in the Great American Novel.

Or blog posts. Articles and blog posts need to be written.

I maintain two blogs. This one and a painting blog for my colored pencil and oil paintings. I also happen to write a twice monthly column for the online art magazine, EmptyEasels.com.

Personal News Flash: When I do writing for any of those three things, I am writing.

Impulsive Decision
Yearly, monthly and daily goals reflect my attitude that fiction writing comes first. I should never, never, NEVER take time away from fiction writing to write a blog post (even for my own blogs) or an article for someone else. Those things are important, but not as important as the fiction.

Sounds noble, but it’s not.

Remember those days I mentioned earlier? The ones with the goose eggs? On some of those days, I ‘sneaked away’ to write blog posts or art articles without working on fiction first because I didn’t have fiction to write. I felt guilty. Lazy. Unfocused. Dissatisfied. Did I mention guilty? I wrote blog posts and worked on articles, but a nagging little voice in the back of my mind taunted me all the while. The net result was no fiction writing and non-fiction writing suffered as well because I wasn’t properly focused.

The startling realization that blog post writing and article writing is writing prompted my impulsive decision to focus on non-fiction until something comes up in the fiction department. If writing is writing (and I’d already realized it was) why not give the hour a day to non-fiction and see what happens?

Startling Results
I made my decision late in the day Tuesday.

Wednesday, I started the day with the idea that I would be writing articles, not fiction. I’d start at the regular time in the morning and do as much as I could by the end of the day.

The results?

Revised and polished a post for Saturday on this blog. I even scheduled the post, two days earlier than usual. (NOTE: The original post was moved to next week when I came home from a walk at almost ten o’clock Wednesday night, got the idea for this post, and promptly drafted a complete post in ten or fifteen minutes. Isn’t writing great?)

Revised a writing post for each of the next two weeks.

Reviewed a mid-week writing post for the next two weeks.

Drafted both art articles for the month of June.

Ended the day with over two hours worth of dedicated effort, over 4,700 words written, and a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction.

The best news is that in the middle of the activity, an idea for a character came drifting into my awareness. Later, a story idea wandered past. I don’t know where either may go, but those moments were pleasant and pleasing occurrences.

The Moral of the Story
Goals are good. Most of us wouldn’t accomplish much without goals to aim at.

But be flexible enough in setting and keeping goals to know when a course correction might be in order and how best to make a course correction. You won’t be sorry.

Questions for You
Do you set writing goals?

Have you ever found your writing goals too confining? If you did, how did you break out of confinement?

Related Articles
Long Term Goals in a Short Term Society
Smart Goal Setting

I read ACFW Rewind: Becoming a More Productive Write this morning and knew it was worth sharing.

It comes from the ACFW Blog and was written by Joseph Bentz. Originally published in 2010, it’s today’s special Rewind article at ACFW.

Enjoy!

Click here to read ACFW Rewind: Becoming a More Productive Write

In the small town of Dogwood, West Virginia, Karin has buried her shattered dreams by settling for a faithful husband whose emotional distance from her deep passions and conflicts leaves her isolated. Loaded with guilt, she tries to raise three small children and “do life” the best she can. Will returns to Dogwood intent on pursuing the only woman he has ever loved—only to find there is far more standing in his way than lost years in prison. The secrets of Will and Karin’s past begin to emerge through Danny Boyd, a young boy who wishes he hadn’t survived the tragedy that knit those two together as well as tore them apart. The trigger that will lay their pain bare and force them to face it rather than flee is the unlikely figure of Ruthie Bowles, a withered, wiry old woman who leads Karin so deep into her anger against God that it forces unexpected consequences.

I only recently discovered Chris Fabry. As so often happens, the first book I found was not the first book he published. It was, in fact, Almost Heaven, and you can read my thoughts on that book here.

That book was Fabry’s third book and the third of three featuring a common character; the fictional town of Dogwood, West Virginia. Though at the end of the series, it was so well-written and so full of ‘story’ that I knew I’d be looking up the other two as soon as possible.

The first book in the series is aptly titled Dogwood and is Chris Fabry’s debut novel. Published in 2008 and the winner of the 2009 Christy Award, it tells the tale of tragedy and the lives of those affected by it. Heartache. Forgiveness. Redemption. Self-sacrifice.

The story is told by four characters who view a 15-year-old tragedy and current repercussions through four widely differing points of view. The author has written entirely first person, presenting the story of Dogwood and it’s residents through the eyes of four pivotal characters. Each one views unfolding events from a unique and surprising perspective and tells their story with believability and honesty.

If you enjoy a good novel strictly for the sense of adventure, you will love Dogwood. A cast of interesting and diverse characters, a small community bonded by small size and isolation; torn apart by a decades old tragedy, with a mystery woven into the fabric of life. What more could you ask for?

If you read for learning as well as enjoyment and adventure, you can scarcely do better than this novel.

If you just like a good read told by an author with a flair for the classic literary style, you will not be disappointed.

About the Author
Chris Fabry is a Christy Award-winning author and radio personality who hosts the daily program, Chris Fabry Live! on Moody Radio. He is the author of of 70 books for children and adults, including Dogwood and June Bug. Chris and his wife, Andrea, are the parents of nine children and live in Arizona.

Visit Chris’ website at www.chrisfabry.com.

**Guest post by Michelle Massaro

In the recent Leading Ladies Clash, Life on the Edge by Jennifer Comeaux and High Desert Haven by Lynnette Bonner  went into the ring on Clash of the Titles.

After the public vote, the winning title was…

HIGH DESERT HAVEN by Lynnette Bonner!!

We’re happy to announce that High Desert Haven has been added to the list of COTT Champ titles!

And we also want to extend our congratulations to the author. I’m sure we’re all eager to add this book to our summer to-be-read pile!

In response to her win, author Lynnette Bonner said:
It was an honor just to have been chosen as a clasher, in the first place, and then to have won… wow, I’m totally blessed by that. I’m still fairly new at this, and putting my stories out to the public is, to say the least, a daunting experience. So every little bit of encouragement and affirmation gets tucked away for days ahead when I will need to draw strength from them. I so appreciate COTT for giving me this opportunity to interact and connect with their readers.

Some of the comments left by readers were:

• Great job!!
• Both excerpts make me want to read the rest of the story. It was hard to choose!
• I think they both did a good job of presenting their books.
• Both leading ladies were believable and presented with
  skill.
• Looks like a whole lotta fun!
• I found it very hard to select only ONE excerpt. They were both great! Keep up the great work!
• Both excerpts have great leads! Would like to read both
  books!

Curious to read the winning excerpt? You can read both contenders’ entries here.

An interview with the winning author can be found here.

Want to congratulate the author? Leave a message in the comments.

Have a question about future Clashes on COTT? Email them at contactCOTT@gmail.com.

Thank you! 

**Michelle Massaro is the Assistant Editor for Clash of the Titles, a mother of four, and a wife of nearly 17 years. She bakes, crochets, cross-stitches, sings, writes, and cries during movies. She champions for Biblical authority, leads a Jr. High girls’ Bible study, and plays a mean game of backgammon. She spends way too much time on the computer, but makes it up to her family (she hopes) with prayer coverings and chocolate chip cookies. The best place to connect with her is on Facebook, naturally.

Nothing against books on learning how to write. I have several of them and have learned a lot from them. They’re a great place to start and I am happy to recommend the books that have helped me most.

But a how-to book can only take you so far. Learning about the principles of writing isn’t the same as practicing the principles of writing.

Whether you’re new at the writing business or have published scores of books, you can learn a lot by reading the work of other authors. If you know how to study and analyze published novels, you can learn how to write a high-quality novel of your own.

But it’s not a quick fix and it’s not a shortcut. I’ll tell you up front it will be work and, if you’re dedicated to craft, it will continue as long as you continue to write.

Want to give it try? Here’s what you do.

Pick up a novel. An old favorite you’ve read many times before or a brand new work. Any genre, any author, any date (classic novel or contemporary). To begin with, choose a book in the same genre you want to write in. Later on, you can branch out and see how the same rules apply or how they differ from genre to genre.

The first step in the process is to determine a few specific places in the novel. You want to identify the 20 percentile mark, the 25 percentile mark, the halfway point, and the 75 percentile mark. Why?

Because most novels – and all the best novels – are divided roughly into three parts. A beginning, a middle, and an end. Three acts. Three stages. Three phases. Three.

The first act generally ends sometime between the 20 and 25 percentile mark. The second act ends around the 75 percentile mark. Near the middle of the story, something will happen that affects the story to that point. Something that changes everything for the lead. Mark these pages before starting so that when you think you’ve found each turning point, you can easily see how close to the ideal location it is.

The way I do this is by dividing the total number of pages for the novel only – no front pages or end pages. Say the novel is 200 pages long. That number divided by four is 50, so on page 50, I put a sticky note indicating that when I reach that point, I’ve read 25% percent of the novel.

Multiply that number by two (50×2=100) to find the middle of the novel and by three (50×3=150) to find the 75% point. I mark each of those pages, too.

Finally, divide the total number of pages by five to get the 20% mark. 200 divided by 5 equals 40.

Jot a note on a sticky and put one sticky on each of those pages. My labels look like this:

• 20%, page number
• 25%, page number
• 50%, page number – mid-point
• 75%, page number

Now that we’re ready to read, let me tell you about a couple ways to conduct your book study.

A Study of Structure

A study of structure is designed to identify the major turning points in the novel. You want to find the places at which the story changes direction. There may be many turning points throughout the novel, but you’re looking for three major turning points.

The end of the first act, sometimes called the first disaster. This is the place where the first act ends and the second act begins. It should represent a shift from the lead character’s normal story world to the new and challenging story world the character is being forced into. This turning point occurs 20-25% of the way into the book.

The second major turning point happens in the middle of the novel and is usually represented by something that changes everything for the character. Depending on the style of novel, it could be an emotional event or the discovery of previously unknown information (literary or contemporary) or the discovery that the prime suspect cannot possibly be the killer/thief/kidnapper/whatever (crime, mystery, suspense). It should happen somewhere around the half way point of the novel.

The third and final major turning point concludes the second act and opens the door into the third act. Again, this should be an event that propels the character forward into the third and final act. It happens at or near the 75% mark.

For a more indepth discussion of the major turning points, click here. To read more about secondary turning points, click here. Both articles focus on design by story summary, but the basic structure is the same.

A Study of Scenes

The other study method is a scene study. I first read about this system in James Scott Bells book, Plot & Structure. With this method, you read and summarize each scene in a few lines. When I do a scene study, I keep index cards handy. Each card is labeled like this:

Line 1: Title & Author

Line 2: Genre

Line 3: Chapter number, scene number

Line 4: POV character

Line 5: Summary of scene

 I try to keep the summary of the scene to three or four lines.

The goal with this study method is to end up with a card for each scene and a study guide to see how the author arranged scenes and how the story progressed through the scenes. You’ll still be noting the overall structure of the story, but the focus will be on individual scenes rather than the big picture.

A scene study is much more labor intensive than a structure study, though both can be as indepth or brief as you prefer.

The Benefits of Book Studies

The benefit to doing such studies is that you can see first hand how another author is setting up his or her story. Understanding how someone else works through the story will help you find the best way to work through yours.

I recommend you study bestselling novels, as I do. Any novel will work, but the authors of bestselling novels have clearly found the key to a great story. I don’t know about you, but I want to learn from people who are doing the best work available. There is a list of the books I recommend to authors with a strong, Christian worldview is available in the sidebar. Look for Carrie’s Bookshelf: Recommended Reading.

Sometime soon, I’ll walk through a study of structure with books on my reading list. I hope you’ll be watching for those and join me.

In the meantime, give either of these study methods a try with a favorite novel and see what you come up with.

And if you have a different study method, I’d be delighted to hear of it. One can never have too many tools in the writer’s toolbox.

Related Articles
Design by Summary: Major Turning Points
Design by Summary: Secondary Turning Points
Using Story Summary to Evaluate New Ideas

Early in the week, I woke up so under the weather that I was reluctant to try anything creative for fear of doing more harm than good. I stayed out of the studio altogether because mistakes on paintings can mean starting over. Late in the day, I ventured into writing, but only because it’s easy enough to undo most of the damage that might be done by writing on a bad day.

Thursday was the funeral of a woman from church who was six-weeks away from her 100th birthday when she passed on. The service was beautiful, a celebration of a life well-lived, but I returned with a headache that pretty much eliminated most creative efforts. Fortunately, I’d done a little bit of writing in the morning and was able to get back to writing a little bit in the evening.

The days in between were fairly constructive in both endeavors. Good work on a portrait in oils and a small format colored pencil and a daily average of one hour writing for each of the three ‘normal’ days. More scene work throughout the week and article writing toward the end of the week.

The scenes were for Saving Grace. Articles were for each of the blogs.

Incidentally, the mystery story idea I flirted with a week or two ago has lost its luster. Again. Thoughts turn continually to the prophet Jeremiah and a story about him or a person in a similar situation. At the moment, ideas are about evenly divided between writing a historical novel about Jeremiah and writing a contemporary or speculative fiction novel about a different character with the same thankless (by earthly standards) task Jeremiah was given.

If you were given the choice of reading two novels in which everything else was the same, would you be most likely to read a historical novel about a real character or a contemporary/near future speculative novel about a fictional character?

Until next week,

When our daughter was young, I was very cautious of the television shows and movies she watched. It wasn’t just the language or violence that concerned me, but the image of women they portrayed. The media seemed to convey a constant message: “Women’s value is only skin deep.”

I was probably overly cautious, but the discussion still holds merit. What do our choice of heroine’s say about our values as a society?

At the risk of sounding cliché, we’ve come a long way … in but a short period of time. The other day my daughter showed me a page from her magazine. On it, there were five models, each with different skin tones and body types.

Hurrah!

I believe the heroines in Christian fiction are changing, too. I’ve read novels of women with disabilities, vices they need to overcome, backgrounds they’re not fond of. I’ve read of women doctors, single moms, those facing divorce. To me, a sinner saved by grace, it’s encouraging to read of women just like me—imperfect, yet strong. Struggling, yet overcoming. Imperfect women living in an imperfect world, embraced and loved by a perfect God.

I believe our cardboard heroines from the past arose out of honorable intentions. There was a general desire to set forth perfection in the hopes that we, as readers, would strive for it. And there is much wisdom to that theory, and yet, the Bible presents a different kind of hero and heroine.

Those like Abraham, who lied, thus betraying his wife.

And Moses, a prince turned murderer turned liberator.

Those like Ruth, who had to beg, well, glean, for her next meal.

Paul, a religious tyrant who watched as Stephen the first martyr was stoned.

A sinful woman with an alabaster jar who was willing to surrender something so costly when she found something of higher value—Jesus.

Each of these characters taught us something about grace and something about ourselves. Through their struggles, God reveals our own. More than that, through their triumphs, God stirs us toward victory.

I’d love to hear from you. Has there been a heroine—in a novel, movie, or the Bible—that God used to tap deep into your heart, revealing an area of weakness He wanted to change? Tell me about her, and what God revealed through her.

*Clash of the Titles’ hostess, Jennifer Slattery, lives in the Midwest with her husband and their teenager. She writes for the ACFW Journal, Internet Café Devotions, Jewels of Encouragement, and the Christian Pulse. Her work has placed in various contests and appeared in numerous publications and compilation works. Visit her online at her devotional blog, Jennifer Slattery Lives Out Loud (http://jenniferslatterylivesoutloud.com) or on Facebook at “Living by Grace,” a modern-day meet-at-the-well community.

Click here for the entire presentation: http://ow.ly/a29bx

This segment was part of a Q&A session following Ravi’s presentation entitled, Coexist: The Question of Intolerance, which took place March 8, 2012 at Clemson University. A DVD of that presentation is available through RZIM.

Other videos from RZIM are available at RZIMMedia on YouTube.

About Ravi Zacharias

About RZIM Global Ministries

First, I decided on Monday not to participate in the a2z Take 2 because I saw no new posts from anyone else. If they’ve quit, I told myself, there’s no sense in me continuing, either.

Then on Saturday, I discovered my mistake in linking everything back to the original ‘n’ post. That led inexorably to the subsequent discovery that quite a few people posted ‘q’ posts this week. I just hadn’t looked in the right place.

The second reason is that when Neal (dear hubby) passed through the room afterward, I told him what had happened and that I was trying to decide whether to post a ‘q’ or just head on over to ‘r’.

He more or less told me the following story off the cuff each time he passed through the room. I typed as quickly as I could, and the result is as follows. I hope you enjoy it!

“Quincy, Illinois,” he quavered. “I wouldn’t be too quick to go back there. Too many questionable people are out to get me in Quincy, Illinois.

“The quotient for danger is quite high,” he added quietly, leaning in close to keep the conversation confidential. “Their quota of bodies has not been filled, yet.”

I found I couldn’t quibble with his assertions. I did, however, have a question.

“Excuse me,” I began. “What did you say your name was?”

He quirked his right eyebrow and offered me a moment’s appraisal. I could almost see the mental wheels turning.

“Quigglly,” he said, laying a finger along his nose.

Just then a pair of ducks flew overhead, quacking quite loudly, and I realized I was quite thirsty. So I suggested to my new friend, Quigglly, that we head for the nearest bar and quaff a few. As we ambled in that direction, I said, “I think this will be quite a quotable day. Especially if anyone queries us about our questionable activities.”

“Quite so,” he agreed with a nod and a wink.

The bar didn’t seem quite so appealing when Quiggly pulled open the door and quadraphonic speakers blasted out around us. My thirst really needed quenching, though, so I waved Quiggly in ahead of me.

We were barely inside when there came a loud blast from blocks away. Quigglly jumped in surprise and spun toward the door.

“What was that?” he exclaimed.

To his query, I said, “Quarry. They’re blasting stone for new grave markers.”

Quiggly settled himself at the bar. I ordered dark lager for myself. Quiggly ordered scotch neat with Quinine water. He then proceeded to tell me about his past, most notably his time with the Queen’s Highland Fusiliers.

“We used to march up and down the street five times a day doing quick time.”

The barmaid came up to us with sheets of paper.

“This is a questionnaire for our customers,” she began. “We’ve just remodeled the place and divided it into quadrants. Each one has a different theme.

Quigglly looked at the questionnaire. It was five pages long. Quigglly blanched and I quailed. We asked her if it was really necessary. She rolled her eyes and said, “Well, it’s what the bar owner wants. He’s an engineer and likes to quantify everything. He actually wanted to ask a few questions about quantum mechanics, but we quashed that idea.”

Just then, a gentleman from another table, asked us if we would like to join him in a game of quoit. He said, “If you join us, we will have a quorum.”

The evening wore on and we finally left. When Quiggly stopped some distance away and looked back, I did likewise. We both realized the bar was a converted quonset hut.

It was time to quit the day.

It’s a lot of fun working with Neal on things like this. In spite of his very ‘engineering’ mindset (he is an engineer, after all), he has an imagination that won’t quit. Good for me, sometimes.

It took about half an hour of listening and typing to get the first draft done. I edited a little, but this is pretty much quintessential Neal. Maybe he should be writing the books!

I hope you enjoyed our offering on the letter ‘q’ today.

If you’re brave enough to explore other posts on the letter ‘q’, click here.

Some people say Billy Allman has a heart of gold. Others say he’s a bit odd. The truth is, they’re all right. He’s a hillbilly genius—a collector, a radio whiz—and he can make the mandolin sing. Though he dreams of making an impact on the world beyond the hills and hollers of Dogwood, West Virginia, things just always seem to go wrong.

But however insignificant Billy’s life seems, it has not gone unnoticed. Malachi is an angel sent to observe and protect Billy. Though it’s not his dream assignment, Malachi always follows orders. And as Billy’s story unfolds, Malachi slowly begins to see the bigger picture—that each step Billy takes is a note added to a beautiful song that will forever change the lives of those who hear it.

There are a lot of things to recommend about Chris Fabry’s 2010 novel, Almost Heaven.

• It is a 2011 ECPA Christian Book Award winner in the fiction category
• It is a 2011 Christy Award Winner in the contemporary standalone novel category
• Its author has 70 books and a successful radio career to his credit

No doubt those things contribute to the book’s appeal, but I knew none of that when I plucked it off the shelf recently. Even now, I’m not recommending the book because of those things. They are merely icing on the cake.

Almost Heaven is based on the life of Lost Creek, West Virginia resident, Billy Allman, who passed away in 2009. The work is fiction, but draws heavily on the struggles Allman faced and the successes he achieved. The obstacles Allman faces and the doubts with which he struggles will touch a chord in every reader. The manner in which he faces those trials and hardships is a testament to faith and persistence and made a deep impact in me in my own endeavors.

The story begins with a devastating and deadly flood the day Billy turns ten and follows his life through what seems like one hardship after another. Through the death of parents, personal heartbreak, professional struggles, and an unspoken secret from his late teen years, the reader follows Billy along a path of service to God and others and the pursuit of personal dreams.

Along the way, he grows up, works for, and interacts with a cast of characters. There is not a dull character in the story. Good or bad, major or minor, Fabry brings every man, woman, and child to unique and vibrant life.

Dogwood, West Virginia is painted with such vivid word pictures that I could almost feel the mists on my face and hear the wind in the trees. It becomes a character in its own right, full of winding roads, hills and hollows, and secrets of its own.

Fabry’s novels are categorized as “contemporary” by publisher, Tyndale House. But for me, reading Almost Heaven was like revisiting a classical literary work. Characterization, plot and pace, even his voice reminded me of the classic works of Scottish author George MacDonald. MacDonald could weave an endearing and moving story around the lives of any character he chose. I have the sense that Fabry also has that ability to turn the ordinary lives of ordinary characters into extraordinary stories.

Needless to say, it was difficult to put Almost Heaven down once I began reading. It was easy to get so lost in the hills and hollows of West Virginia and get caught up in Billy Allman’s life, that I was up until 2 a.m. finishing the book.

Almost Heaven is Fabry’s third novel for adults and follows his debut novel, Dogwood (2008) and June Bug (2009). The novels are standalone, but the lead character in June Bug also appears in Almost Heaven. It was followed by A Marriage Carol (co-authored with Gary Chapman and released Fall of 2011) and Not in the Heart (February 2012). Fabry’s next novel, Borders of the Heart, is scheduled for release October 2012.

About the Author

Chris Fabry is a Christy Award-winning author and radio personality who hosts the daily program, Chris Fabry Live! on Moody Radio. He is the author of of 70 books for children and adults, including Dogwood and June Bug. Chris and his wife, Andrea, are the parents of nine children and live in Arizona.

Visit Chris’ website at www.chrisfabry.com.