Is anyone currently writing anything?

I wrote a collection of short stories about a fictional singles' group in a fictional church in a fictional town. This was years ago, and I was not able to interest publishers. So now I am beginning a revision process, making this a more mature age group to conform to my own advance in maturity (by number of years, anyway) in such a group. Usually they want sample chapters, or in this case, it would be a sample story. So when I painstakingly revise the story which has always gotten the most interest among the relatively few who have read them, I will attempt some more submissions. If the responses are anything other than the typical "not the type of material we are looking for presently," I may finally give it up and just 'self-publish' the stories and hand them out for free.

 

A word of caution--if your work is really good, don't self-publish. Any writer worth his salt should be paid, not the other way around. I've been published many times and used to write for a paper (for pay) until my hubby became a pastor. Since then I haven't found the time to write, although I still have tons of book plots floating around in my head. Maybe this summer I'll have time to work on some things.

Keep trying different publishers and be open to constructive criticism. Readers are fickle and publishers do change their minds occasionaly. I wish you well.

 

Yes, I'm working on a novel.

 

I write for my website all the time, but nothing officially published as yet on paper. Did look into one publisher, that was interested but even though they said they were not a self publisher, they seemed to be in my mind.

Actually web visitors are more numerous than any publisher could produce :laugh:

As to "Though it may be too early to ask...who can help me with what I'm trying to write?" -- uuuuummmmmm I think you will find all the critics you would ever want on this board :thumbs:

 

I have wanted for sometime to write a book about the life experiences of my grandfather. I went so far as to write down some of the major events of his life, but haven't gone any further than that.

It may sound corny and over-used, but the idea for this "project" came to me in a dream. I immediately woke up and began the "events list".

I do not believe I am the type of person who could sit down and write a book though. My attention gets diverted very easily and I bore of things pretty quickly.

I can't tell you how many times I've sat down and written a lengthy reply to a message on the BB only to delete it half way through because I got tired of writing and/or lost interest in the thread. That's really pretty sad.:laugh:

Now, as far as getting someone to ghost write for me, I do have the patience to be an advisor and oversee the process.

Anyone interested?

 

Btw,

It's not a book or short story, but I actually did write an article today that I sent in to be published in one of our Primitive Baptist newspapers.

I have also written a few hymns, one of which was published in a hymnal, and another of which should show up in the supplemental to that hymnal in the next couple of years.

 

I'm currently working on three books. One is in Japanese, a source book on raising kids. The second is almost done, a book of stories about unknown believers in Japan and the US entitled, Unsung Christian Heroes. This was written partly on the BB. (See my threads, "Unsung Missionaries, 9/14/06, and Unusual Soul Winners, 5/24/06, on Missions / Witnessing / eVangelism.) The other book I'm working on is an introduction to missions which hopefully will be a college textbook someday.

So, maybe we can help you. What are you trying to write?

 

Well, friend, consider all the animals in the Bible. When I preach to kids sometimes I preach about the animals of the Bible, and I imitate them and tell how God used them, and kids love it! Consider the donkey God used to talk to Balaam, the ravens He used to feed Elijah (why didn't the ravens eat the food themselves?), the hornets God used to drive out the heathen from the promised land, the fish God told to pick up a coin so Peter could pay the temple tax, the donkey that had the privilege of carrying Jesus in his triumphal entry into Jerusalem, and many more.

I've often thought of writing a book for kids on the animals of the Bible, but you are entirely welcome to use my idea--maybe even a comic version.

Furthermore, the only way to be a writer is to write. Write lots, write more, throw away lots, keep some, write some more, develop your talent. Here is what my grandfather, who wrote over 200 books, told me:

"You know, it is important to get some of these things settled now. It is more important to conquer self than to conquer nations. You'll forgive me for talking about myself for a moment. I remember that people used to say to me, 'You have so much talent, Brother Rice. You sing, you write songs, you publish a newspaper, you write books.' I would say to them, 'No, not really. I have just one talent, and that is the talent of hard work; you can do just about anything if you put your mind to it and are willing to work hard at it.

"Son, now is the time for you to be learning how to work, and to get the right habits, the times to study settled, and the days planned. You remember that dear Dr. Bob Jones, Sr., used to say, 'The greatest ability is dependability.' You need to get that settled now.

"Many preachers say, 'Oh, I couldn't learn to write; I have no talent in that area.' But the truth is, they are lazy. They are not willing to take the time to practice, to work hard at learning to write, at developing a style. A famous columnist once said, 'Do you want to learn to get things published? Work at it! Every day, for ten years, write down everything you can think of. Everywhere you go, write. At the end of the ten years, burn it all and then start writing to be published.'"

From The Making of a Soul Winner, by John R. Himes, pp. 13-14.​

 

Hmm. You've got me there! I've never written a kids' novel. Somehow you have to get the kids to suspend their disbelief, don't you, like they do with Aslan in the Narnia tales.

 

Would it work to make the bobcat dumb and humorous? He doesn't know that he's supposed to be a carnivore, and when someone tells him is unable to quite grasp the concept.... :laugh:

 

Sounds like it could work! And don't sell yourself short on the sense of humor thing. I'm sure it's in there waiting to burst forth! :type: