Quick Update

Lest you think we are not hard at work on our book, I thought it would be a good idea to give you a quick update!

Since beginning this crazy writing journey in November 2011, we have written 59,000 words! That's equivalent to 144 pages.

What?!

My mind is reeling at those numbers.

While it is hard to comprehend that we've written so much, it is more difficult to realize that we are not done yet.

When we started this journey, our hope was to finish writing & begin the process of getting published by September.  It's October already and we are still writing.  Still wrestling with character development, plot lines, and story flow.  And making sure our story doesn't suck.  ;)

In the midst of it all, we're growing.  As friends.  As writers.  We're encouraging creativity and helping each other develop our craft.

It may be slow-going, but it is worth the while.

We hope that you, our family & friends, will continue to stick with us through this journey.  That you will encourage us and pray for us.  When it's all said and done, we're hoping that you'll be the first ones to read (and hopefully love) the book!

We've updated you on our journey, update us on yours!

A Writing Exercise

Photo by photosteve101

Sometimes during the writing process, the writer might experience writers block.  Or perhaps the writer has taken so much time off from writing that it's difficult to get back into the process.  Whatever the case might be, writing exercises can help the writer get back into the groove.


Here is an example of a writing exercise that one of Totally Fiction's writers recently used.  Using the entire alphabet, from A-Z, tell a story.


All
bets
Charlise
does
everything
for
God
Himself
is
Jehovah
killing
lucifer
many
not
of
purity
quick
response
says
today
useful
very 
wishing 
xerotic
yeast
zealous



Try the writing exercise out for yourself in the comment section!

I'm A Writer & I Believe It?

I (Denise) am participating in a 15 day challenge over at Jeff Goins blog called the 15 Great Habits of Writers.  I'm a few days behind, four days behind, to be exact.  But that's okay.  Life can be crazy and hectic at times, so some things are allowed to fall to the wayside.

On Day 1, the challenge was to declare ourselves as writers.  I've already done that here when Honesty, Josh, and I declared to the world that we were writing a book.  The challenge for Day 2 is a little bit tricky.  You see, I may say I'm a writer, but most days I don't believe it.  The truth is, I've written for the majority of my life.  There are journals, notebooks, and several blogs filled with pages and pages of my writing.  But do I believe that I'm a writer?  No.  Do I think I have something to say to the world?  No.  Yet I love to write.  That's why I've filled journals, notebooks, and blogs with word upon word upon word.  And that's why I'm writing a story.  The message of hope, redemption, and of all the other themes that we're touching on in our book means something to me.  Yet I continue to struggle to believe that I am a writer!

Part of the challenge is to dwell on the fact that I'm a writer, with something to say, and that perhaps, deep down, I was made for this.  Made to tell the story (or stories) that are on my heart.  To bring to life characters and circumstances in a creative way.  So I'm dwelling.  I'm letting that thought sink deep into my soul.

The next step of the challenge is going to be more difficult.  The challenge is to go from just dwelling and believing that I'm writer.  The next step is to take action.  But not just any kind of action.  The challenge is to wake up 2 hours earlier than normal to write.  Ummmm....no.  Are you kidding me?!?!  I HATE mornings.  I'd have to get up at 6am.  Sorry, but that's not happening.

Or maybe it will.  If it's just for one day, I guess I can rise early to write.  Because I do believe that I'm a writer.  It's been one of my goals for as long as I can remember to become a published author.  So if getting up extra early one day this week is going to help me reach my goal, I guess I can do it.  Just this once.

What is one of your goals in life & how are you challenging yourself to achieve it?

Legion

As old as Earth itself, a host of fallen angels have sought to destroy humanity.  One fallen star's only task has been to eliminate the innocent one and gain knowledge from the Book of Prophecy.  Unable to complete the task, the beast sends a Legion determined to rid Earth of love.  But where love abides, the door remains open in one man's heart.  Will love overcome or will evil prevail?


For centuries, a fallen star worked alone trying to accomplish one task, but always failed.  Love was stronger, making all his attempts at destruction impossible.  His master eventually grew tired of his futile attempts and sends the fallen star a legion to finish the task.

Legion's one and only task is to find the Book of Prophecy and to destroy the innocent one.  He comes in many forms to those who are open.  Hatred, envy, lust... all these avenues open the door for Legion to take over the host.  For one man in particular, hatred rages in his heart giving way to Legion to take control.  Even with an open door, Legion continues to struggle to complete his task.  Hatred may have opened the door for Legion to take over, but love is a strong force within the host.

Mankind often struggles with hatred, envy, lust, addiction, etc.  All these things can be a doorway for evil to take over our lives.  But love beckons us. 

In our story, the host struggles most with hatred, especially due to past experiences.  But love beckons him just like it beckons you.  What do you think will allow love to overcome that which you stuggle with the most?

Angels vs. Demons

In fiction, there are many overarching themes, plots, and subplots.  Our story is no different as we explore many different themes and our characters are involved in various plots and subplots.  However, we differ from many Christian authors in that we don't shy away from the supernatural element of spiritual warfare.


"For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places."  New Living Translation


Ephesians 6:12 is clear that our struggle here on Earth contains an unseen spiritual element.  There are times in our story where the characters unknowingly are entangled in a battle with evil forces of the spiritual realm.  Sometimes they stare into the face of pure evil and see only an angel of light.


Their story is a reflection of our own lives.  Each of us is involved in this unseen battle.  There are forces fighting for our very lives.  


Has there ever been a time in your life when you've experienced just a glimpse into the supernatural?

Meet Luke

A few days ago on our Facebook page, we introduced you to one of our main characters - Luke:


Luke is a lost soul trying to find peace in a world of chaos. He doesn't realize that he is a gateway for evil to enter into humanity. On the outside it looks like he's got it all together - perfect husband, perfect father. Will the demons from his past finally be able to overtake him and destroy that which may come?

For Luke, his endless search of peace stems from a traumatic past.  He may seem to be the perfect husband and father, but his own family was far from perfect.  His nightmarish upbringing combined with the tragic death of his parents left Luke with deep wounds too great to comprehend, resulting in periodic black outs and memory loss.  Now, long ago memories begin to surface and old demons once again torment Luke.  Luke's demons are many and threaten to overtake him and destroy the lives of those he loves most.  Yet much more is at stake - that which may come.  Will Luke find the peace that he so desperately searches for, or will the demons overtake him and destroy that which may come?

This character, in many ways, embodies the spirit of humanity.  We're all looking for something albeit peace, love, friendship, acceptance.  Whatever it is, we're trying to find it in a noisy, chaotic world.  Every day our attention is drawn to the latest toys & gadgets, social media, TV shows, advertisements, music, movies, sports.  The list is long and extensive.  Like Luke, in the midst of our search, we're trying to portray an image of having it all together. We tell the world via social media that we're on a date with "the best husband/wife ever" or that "my kids are just so darn cute," when really we wish things were different.  Often we try to hide from our reality, and even more so, our past.  We let people think we're okay when really we're struggling.  Like Luke, sometimes we block out the hurt and pain in order to portray an image of perfection.  Eventually, we will come face to face with our demons.  The question is, will we let our demons overtake and destroy us?  Or, will we face our demons head on and fight for our lives?  

Luke, well, you'll just have to wait and see what he chooses to do.  :)

Writing With Friends

You've probably all heard of the game Words With Friends.  It's a fun, interactive game you can play on Facebook or on your smart phone.  What I like about the game is that it allows you to get to know your friends in a new way, especially if you use the chat/message feature of the game.

The same can be said when it comes to writing with friends.  No, it's not a game.  It's simply what my best friend, husband, and I have been doing for the last 6 months.  We finally stopped talking about our dream and actually starting pursuing it.  

Westbow Press published a blog post today entitled "3 Advantages of Writing with Friends," and I totally agreed with the post.  There are many advantages of writing with friends as I've been learning!  I've gotten to know my best friend and husband in new ways.  I've seen their artistic and creative sides that I haven't seen in years.  In return, they've challenged me in my writing abilities, and maybe more so in my editing abilities!

Have you ever written with a group of friends?  If so, what have you learned in the process?

Behold As You Pass By

"Behold as you pass by. As you are now so once was I. As I am now so you will be. Therefore prepare to follow me."

The scenes I saw on the wall as the creature led me down the hall made me wonder if I should even be there at all. Dark, violent, blood-filled pictures painted the wall. Highlights of the life I once lived. The images made my skin crawl and my stomach churn. My life was a twisted mess, filled with unimaginable hurt and pain.

The creature’s words flitted through my mind, “As you are now so once was I. As I am now so you will be.” What could that possibly mean?

My thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the creature’s gravelly voice. “Follow me,” it said. "It's easy to lose your way in these halls." Fumbling for words, all I could muster was "okay" as I continued to follow the creature. Where it was taking me, I had no idea.

"Can you tell me where we’re going," I said.

"You shall see. Just follow me"

We began to ascend a dark, windy stair case. We climbed for what seemed like hours. When I thought I could not climb any farther, we came to a door. He stuck a golden key into the lock and said, "behold, you need to see this." The pain was very raw and all strength had left my body.  My soul thirsted for the unknown and my body ached for relief. 


Here's a taste of our book.  If you can't tell, we're writing a supernatural thriller.  What do you think?  We value your opinion as the reader, so please leave a comment.  If you really like what you've read, please share this with your friends!

We're Writing a Book!

Our journey began with a walk among the dead.    As teenagers, Honesty & I were walking through a cemetery and stumbled upon a creepy old grave with an intriguing epitaph that read:

"Behold as you pass by
As you are now so once was I
As I am now so you will be
Prepare to follow me"

From that moment, we just knew we had to research the family whose name was on the headstone.  We spent hours at the library pouring over old newspaper articles and any other documents that we could find.  What we found birthed a desire in us to tell the story to the world.

But, as with all things, life got in the way.  We grew up, moved away from each other, got married, had kids... you know how the story goes.  We'd always say to each other "remember when we started writing that book? That was so much fun!"   But that's all we'd do, reminisce about the good old days and then go back to the same old thing.

That is, until November 2011.  Somehow the conversation rolled around to way back when we wanted to write this book together.  Only this time we started talking about characters, themes, plots, twists, and turns.  We talked about the reader and what kind of story we could tell that would keep them guessing.  Then we started writing.  We wrote down our thoughts and ideas, our character's names and personalities, and whatever else came to us.  Somewhere along the way, Josh joined us in the process, adding his own unique thoughts, ideas, and creativity into the mix.

So now, instead of talking about wanting to write a book, we're actually writing a book!  For the past six months we've collaborated together and have nearly half the book written.  Our hope is to finish the book by the end of the summer.  If all goes as planned, we will begin submitting queries to agents in the fall in hopes that they will request the completed manuscript.  Obviously we don't just want to write a book, we want to publish our book as well.

We invite you to join us on our journey!  We ask you to pray with us as we write and plan for the future.  We aren't simply writing for the fun of it, although it is fun.  Our prayer is that lives will be changed as readers connect with the characters and the themes of the story.  Ultimately, we desire to see the reader be drawn into a relationship with the Maker, the one who began the story for each of us.

-Denise