Christian Writers' Reading Challenge Day 40

 Hello, fellow writers! Sorry for the slight delay, it's been a busy weekend. Welcome to the Christian Writers' Reading Challenge. If you're just joining us, we're here to learn what it means to be a Christian writer and how to better serve God with our work. Of course, if you're not a Christian, you're welcome to read along--the works in challenge are full of solid writing advice no matter your faith (or lack thereof). Thanks for coming!

ICYMI, here are the links to the other parts of the Challenge. You don't have to go in order or read all the posts in order to make sense of each one, but if you want to, here they are:

Day 1: Short Works by JRR Tolkien

Days 2-8: Walking on Water by Madeleine L'Engle

Days 9-16: Adorning the Dark by Andrew Peterson

Days 17-25: If You Want to Write by Brenda Ueland

Day 26: "On Stories" by CS Lewis

Day 27: "On Fairy Stories" by JRR Tolkien

Days 28-39: Two Books on the Writing Craft by Christian Authors

For the next two weeks, we're reading Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott, a classic among "writing books."

Days 40-54

Quick Guide

Required Material: Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott

Reading Guide: You have been given 15 days to read 29 chapters and a lengthy, solid-gold introduction. Prepare to be educated and entertained.

Notes: Lamott is worldlier and more down-to-earth than L'Engle or Peterson, but this is a virtue rather than a flaw: In Bird by Bird, you will see the reality of suffering as most people experience it. Because often, when people die, we cope in unhealthy ways. Often, when we stub our toes, we cuss. In this book, we are not given a picture of the world as it should be, but of the world as it is, and we receive tips on how to bring the two a bit closer together through love, perseverance, and terrible first drafts.

Annotate the crap out of this book. There are so many good quotes and passages that ring true. Read "Looking Around" and "The Moral Point of View" especially carefully. Throughout this book you will see a theme: Writing is an act of faith. To write well for God requires a lot of trust: that the right words are out there, that this is what God wants, that it's all for something and not a waste of time. The creative process that Brenda Ueland wrote about passionately and abstractly is here put down in concrete language. The world is broken, and life sometimes sucks, but we as Christians have a responsibility to remain hopeful and keep fighting for what's good. Lamott offers helpful techniques and reminds us not to take ourselves so seriously.

Deep Dive

Weird Stuff: This book isn't for everyone. It contains content that many Christians are uncomfortable with, such as cussing, sexual innuendos, and mentions of drugs and homosexuality. Lamott is nonetheless a Christian, and her observations on writing and living a writer's life are funny, relatable, and generally accurate (if occasionally exaggerated). Once again, different perspectives are what allow us to see in three dimensions.

Notes for Christians:

One thing writers, especially Christian writers, have to be wary of is how much pride we take in what is, in the end, something we don't have to "show up" for. For all the difficulties writers face, we have comfortable white-collar jobs (or if not that, enough time and mental energy to write, which is something many people don't have). This isn't to say our lives are easy, but they could be a lot worse, and we shouldn't smugly play the victim and simultaneously whine and brag at social events, "Writing is soooo hard..." (Writing Exercise: Make a counterargument against the point I just made. There are prob'ly several, and you wouldn't be wrong.)

In the first chapter, "Getting Started," we see a very different kind of ethics than that of Beate Not the Poore Desk. Lamott suggests writing down everything, including the ugly private things that cast your loved ones in a not-so-flattering light. One of Lamott's better-known quotes is, "You own everything that happened to you. Tell your stories. If people wanted you to write warmly about them, they should have behaved better," which I believe came from elsewhere in this same book. While it may be true that your story is your story, and you have a right to tell it, the motives with which you tell it matter. Vengeance and judgment belong to the LORD alone. So how do we view this advice from a Christian perspective? Lamott acknowledges her judgmental-ness and sinfulness later in the book. She confesses that her gut reactions to being wronged are different from how God would want her to react. This is important: We all act in ways we know we shouldn't--Paul's lament in Romans 7:15-20 is a prime example. What's important is recognizing sin's and the world's influence where it occurs.

In the second chapter, "Short Assignments," Lamott quotes E.L. Doctorow, and this quote is why I have the following phrases written down somewhere where I can see them when I write: "What story am I telling? Why does it matter? How far can I see?" Whenever I stop writing, I can look up at these questions, mentally answer them (or scribble responses in the margins of my story), and forge on. Write down some encouraging, practical questions or a good quote and pin them up where you can see them when you write. This can help nip writer's block in the bud.

The third chapter, whose title I shall omit for reasons of human decency and because my mother reads this blog, is prob'ly the most useful chapter in the book for the struggling writer, so don't be scared off by the title.

"I think perfectionism is based on the obsessive belief that if you run carefully enough, hitting each stepping-stone just right, you won't have to die," say Lamott. This is not only totally accurate, but also holds significance for Christian writers. We know as Christians that we are going to die, that we are imperfect, and we're bound to mess up. Yet as writers, we often strive for unattainable perfection in our ideas and words. We may not even realize we're using this double-standard. Writing is just like the rest of life: We can't do it perfectly, and on our own, we can't even make it worthwhile. God is the only one who can make our passionate pursuits more than a chasing after the wind.

Describe your school lunches. I've been homeschooled since I was a third grader, but I still remember the harrowing horrors of the lunchroom from the first and second grades. I never had a sandwich, that I can remember. I remember the baggies of cholate chips or blueberries, and the cups of yogurt for which I never seemed to have a spoon. The plastic spoons in the lunchroom were to be avoided, as they were washed and reused but never looked quite clean again. I remember apple slices tart with lemon juice to keep them from browning. Who knows, maybe there was a sandwich, but it never caused enough problems to become cemented in my memory. I remember the blueberries because one boy was allergic and went out of his way to tell me not to sit by him. I hated that kid. (Actually, I hated most of the kids--which prob'ly contributed to my mother's decision to homeschool.) The chocolate chips caused problems when I refused to give them to one of my so-called friends. And the yogurt, of course, I've already explained. As with Lamott's boy on the fence, the most valuable thing you get out of this exercise will almost certainly have nothing to do with food. For example, what I learned from my lunch-y tangent is that I tend to only remember (in any amount of detail) problems.

Lamott says, "One line of dialogue that rings true reveals character in a way the pages of description can't." Look at your stories and your characters. Find that one line of dialogue that tells the reader everything they need to know. It's there somewhere. In one of my stories, the line is "Bad things happen to good people for no reason. Get over it," which says a lot about my cheerful, supposedly-fearless MC.

Lamott defines plot as what people will do when they follow a dubious urge. The people who follow that urge are the heroes of the story--or the villains.

For a few seconds, let's stop looking at characters as heroes and villains, and look at them as simply people. Take your villain and your hero and lay them side by side. Make a list of each one's fears, flaws, and desires. Compare these basest attributes without bias. Is your hero really so good? Is your villain really evil? I once saw a writing prompt that went, "Draw a monster. Why is it a monster?" As Christian writers, we need to consider what makes our villains the "bad guys," and why we classify heroes as "good." If our reasons don't line up with God's word, we're doing something wrong.

"Every room is about memory," Lamott says. Take a look at the setting in your WIP. Undoubtedly, even if your story is set in another universe or on another planet or a thousand years ago or a century in the future, you'll recognize it from somewhere. My fantasy worlds tend to reflect the Oregon Coast or the Cascade Mountains, because these were the most beautiful places I knew growing up.

The seventeenth chapter, another title-omission, is also helpful, if a bit crude. But calming the voices in our heads is one thing many writers struggle with, so if that's your problem, it's worth a read.

Index cards. Commonplace books. If you haven't taken a hint yet, now is your time: Carry paper and pencil with you at all times so you can remember all the beauty and sorrow life has to offer and put it in your work.

Find a writing community. Honestly, it is one of the best things that will ever happen to your writing. You will gain accountability. You will have friends whose work you can criticize, and who will criticize your work. You can be a mentor, or be mentored. You can share your stresses and your laughter. Seriously. Find other writers, if you haven't already. There are more of us than you think. At the bottom of this blog there are links to various websites, such as The Habit and The Young Writer, which can provide online community, if there's no one nearby.

 Alpha and beta readers, guys. These are amazing tools you can find on Goodreads or in your writing community who will read your draft or manuscript from a reader's perspective and tell you what works and what doesn't. Then it's left to you to edit. Some even do it for free, for fun, because they love to read it. Take advantage of this.

Writer's block is "like a little chickadee being hit by an H-bomb," says Lamott. And why is it so painful, and why does it put us in such a bad mood? I believe it's because we become unsatisfied with our work and ungrateful for all the wonderful things allotted to us. Bring gratefulness back into the equation, and the writer's block won't look so bad anymore. If you're not writing, you might as well be happy while you don't write.

I once wrote a picture book for my cousin's second birthday. My mom did the illustrations, I wrote the poetic description of a bumblebee, and we put it together on MPix. But even if you're not writing a present, you're always writing for at least three people: God, your audience, and yourself. Hopefully you can make something that is pleasing to all three.

Writing out of your "big dark place" while still maintaining hope can be a challenge. Perhaps you don't want to relive that dark place. Perhaps you're scared you'll fall into it again. I know I am. But when we write about a character conquering that darkness, we give the reader much-needed hope in their own dark place. That's something worth writing for, even if it scares us.

1 Peter 5:7 "Cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you."

Study Questions:

Introduction: Why did you start writing? If you are friends with other writers, then do you know why they started writing? Do you think there are certain traits writers have in common that cause them to write? If so, what are they?

1. How have you trained your brain to be creative? If you haven't tried to do this (it's an interesting experiment), then what are some ways you can try?

2. What gives you hope when you write? How can we, as Christian writers, find hope in God when we write?

3.  "It is just a piece of chicken. It is just a bit of cake." How does this ever-so-sane advice apply to writers of all kinds? How can you apply it in your own writing? And when (or why) is it not true?

4. How should we pray before we write? In other words, what should we ask God for when it comes to our writing?

5. What is "Okay"? Is it possible to attain? Should we strive for it? Why or why not?

6. What photo are you trying to take with your current work in progress? Consider your past works. Is what you pointed at with your writer's camera what you ended up with a picture of?

7. How does who your character is in the face of death (imminent or conceptual) point towards God? Even in stories that aren't explicitly faithful, our worldview as Christians should shine through. How do you propagate a message of hope over fear?

8. How does your conflict or plot relate to/stem from your character(s)?

9. What is the difference between an intellectual understanding of your character, and an emotional understanding? In what way(s) do you understand your own characters? In what ways do you understand the people around you?

10. How can your setting be a symbol in your story? In your current story, what are all the things the setting could represent or bring to mind?

11. When is patience necessary as a writer? What are the benefits of this patience?

12. How do you plot? How do you edit? What do the two processes--one at the beginning of writing, one at the end--have to do with each other?

13. Is a writer ever done? What role does trust play in this process?

14. Are you gentle with yourself? Be honest. Or are you kicking yourself into the yard every time you mess up? What are some methods for being gentle that you can cultivate into habits?

15. Why are you writing the story you are writing, right now? Is this reason changing? Has it changed?

16. What is "your broccoli," in this context?

17. What does it mean, from a Christian perspective, to be "aligned with the Gulf Stream"? How do we know that this is the case? How can we align ourselves if we're not?

18. What is the line between jealousy and appreciation? How can we as Christians turn our jealousy into appreciation?

19. What does the chapter titled "Index Cards" teach us about joy?

20. Just for Fun: What is the weirdest thing you've had to research? (For example, I've had to look up the smell of chloroform.)

21. As Christian writers, how should we receive failure?

22. When do you show someone your writing, and how do you make that decision? What role does your faith play in that decision?

23. If you could write a letter to your past self, what would be in it?

24. What do you do when you have writer's block? What would you do if you thought you were dying? And why is there a difference? 

25. How does a writer balance responsibility to the audience with responsibility to the self?

26. Why must you go through the forbidden door? Looking at it from a Christian perspective, should you? (I can see an argument for either way.)

27. How can the Christian writer offer communion in his work? How do you in yours? With whom is this communion?

28. What are some good Bible verses for when we're anxious, paranoid, and impatient? Pin 'em up where you can see 'em, because you'll need them at some point--if you're to be published, then hopefully soon.

29. Do you want to write?

Well, that's all for now, folks! Come back in a couple weeks for the last book of the Challenge, The Writing Life by Annie Dillard, and look at the literary side of the writing process.