Why Create?

"Trust yourself. Create the kind of self that you will be happy to live with all your life. Make the most of yourself by fanning the tiny, inner sparks of possibility into flames of achievement." 

~Golda Meir, (Israeli Founder and Prime Minister, 1898-1978)

Happy November! One of my favorite months of the year -- because it has Thanksgiving in it, one of my favorite holidays. Also, November is officially the National Novel Writing Month, in the United States, and beyond the borders. NaNoWriMo, as writers call it, also is an organization that encourages people to write a (short) novel during the month of November. They have an official website that helps track progress, and a network that helps to keep participants encouraged along the way. Click here to see my writing goal.

Reaching the goal (here above the tree line, in the Austrian Alps)

This year, I am participating in NaNoWriMo. Why? For a few reasons, really ... but it all comes down to the fact that I love to write. As with the title of this blog, I share the View through My Lens, but if you've read my bio, you know that my passion is writing. Writing novels. 

As with all of the arts, the writing world is a tough place to break in ... or get a publisher for one's work. But just as someone can't walk up to the London Symphony Orchestra and say they want to join and learn how to play a violin, a person can't walk up to a publisher and say they want to use a computer and have their book published. (Well, with self-publishing, technically people can. But that also means the product could be about the same quality as if a novice violinist opened for the London Symphony.) 

The only way to break-in to the Arts is to work. Work more. And keep working through until the quality of an artist's work is of the highest quality. Then, that artist, if it is their time, their hard work will pay off. Their dream will come true. Until then, the term "starving artist" applies well, because it usually takes years. Of work. To get there.

This novel I am writing now is my fifth. And though my last novel was within a breath of being published, it was not. It wasn't the time, yet. And so I work ... and work more.  Well, I also write because I will continue to write, regardless; it is what I deeply love to do.

It is for this reason that I am participating in NaNoWriMo. I've been spinning this novel in my head for the past few months, plotting and feeling the characters come to life inside my head; it was ready to come out.  Creativity takes courage. To create something is to say, "I have something inside to offer, to give, to share." To create is to be fully alive.

I think that comfort (or inaction) is the enemy of reaching our dreams. It is much easier to make ourselves too busy for the sake of being busy so that we don't have time to work toward a goal. But, we can make time. We can clear the schedule. We can realign with our goals. For me, NaNoWriMo is a great kick in the pants. It happened to be the perfect time to pick myself up and move ahead, keeping my sight fixed on the next goal.

Creating something, pursuing a dream, becoming all that we were created to be, and using the gifts we have been given -- none of these are easy. But to achieve something worthwhile, something that resonates and satisfies, we have to trust inner compass and step ahead, in the direction of our dreams. 

Starting the Conversation: What holds you back from pursuing your dreams? How can you begin again, moving in that direction?

The Gift of Meeting Face-to-Face

"Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another, 'What! You too? I thought I was the only one ..." 

- C.S. Lewis, British Scholar and Novelist 1898-1963

Photo of me and my great literary agent, Chip MacGregor, at ACFW. Thanks to Susan Meissner for the photo!

Last week, I had the amazing privilege of attending the ACFW conference in Indianapolis. On so many levels, I loved being there, with 650 other great people in the world of writing fiction. Somehow, in the combination of writers and editors and agents and publishers all gathered in one location, synergy happened. And the resulting energy was contagious. There, together, over coffees and classes and sunshine and meals, meaningful conversations happened about books and the words that define them like theme and voice and dialogue and character. 

There aren't many ways for this writer to say how wonderful it was to be there, but it was an incredible experience. Now, back in Prague as I unpack and allow conversations and new friends to seep into my thoughts, I return to the great gift in being with like-minded people. We meet, and click, and our lives are changed for the better. A gift.

Though the internet is a powerful force in connecting people, meeting in person allows the live energy between people to flow, for those present to shine and show their depth and colors, and to truly connect. Again, a gift.

So, as I reflect on my writer's conference experience, I want to thank all the people who made the time possible for me, to thank my family for their unending support. And to the many friends who made the time in the USA a rich experience full of laughter and stories -- thank you! All gift. 

Truly, time face-to-face with dear friends is one of the greatest gifts in life. I'm so very grateful.

Starting the conversation: When are times you feel the richest? Time with friends and family? 

Entering the Arena

It's not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena ... who, at best, knows in the end the triumph of great achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly. So that his place will never be with those cold timid souls who know neither victory or defeat. -Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President of the United States of America

A steep mountain to climb

A few years ago, I remember when our oldest son stood about so-high (a little over waist height for my nearly 6-foot-frame) and we visited a popular amusement park as a family. We started the day over in the kiddie-land, which is always filled with double strollers, moms in high jeans, dads wearing stuffed backpacks, and kids running in every direction usually sucking pacifiers or lollipops, depending on the age. Kiddie-land at every amusement park seems to be a place of fleeting laughter and wailing kids, not understanding why their tilt-a-whirl ride ended so soon.

So when our oldest son, probably 6 at the time, asked to ride a "big" roller coaster, my husband and I eyed each other, raised eyebrows, and followed his lead.

It turns out we ended up ogling one of the largest roller coasters on the premises-- I'll call it the "Grand Shoot-Em-Up Loop-D-Loop." Again, our oldest son pointed, and my husband, pushing the double stroller with our other two sons, raised his eyebrows again. And since he measured above the height requirement line, we had no argument left. He had big dreams. And we weren't about to stop him.

Off we went, my oldest and me, to stand in an hour-long line while I contemplated whether I could stomach the ride ...

Isn't it a gift when we know what our goals are, and where we want to go with our days, years, and lives? When we do find those things in everyday life--those things that make us tick, the essence of our hopes and dreams--it's important not to settle for less, for the pacifier crowd in the wailing kiddie-land. But to stretch ourselves to pursue wholeheartedly following our dreams.

When we do, we enter the ring. We walk into the arena. With all of those who dare to live, to dream big, and to pursue that vision regardless of the daunts from the bully called failure. Because after the giant roller coaster, we may know the thrill of having stepped up to the challenge and laughed all the way back down to solid ground.

This week, I'm in the US, in the Heartland, at a national fiction conference, learning and meeting new people who share my love for writing and fiction. What a great place to be! So very grateful to have the opportunity, and so thankful for my family and so many friends supporting me on the journey. Here's to entering the arena ... and to the adventure always found in a life well lived.


Starting the conversation: What giant roller-coaster-type dreams do you have? How can you move toward fulfilling those dreams?

Memorial: Three Thoughts on Terezin

Last Friday, I journeyed with two European friends to Terezin Concentration Camp an hour north of Prague. We spent the day there, in the post-Nazi ghost-town that remains. After a few days of processing the visit, I am sure it is a day I will never forget.

a window in the Ghetto

The facts:

Terezín Nazi Concentration Camp:

140,000 imprisoned from 1941-45

88,000 were deported to Auschwitz

34,000 died in Terezin.

the prison in the small fort at Terezin

I knew little more than Auschwitz, before I went to Terezin. But the Nazis set up concentration camps, and smaller feeder camps all through central Europe. The more notorious camps, like Auschwitz in Poland, became known because of their "effective elimination" programs like the gas chambers. Before the gas chambers came to be, the Nazis used all sorts of methods, including exhaust chambers, where a truck exhaust was funneled into an enclosed chamber packed with humans. It is horrific.

"Arbeit Macht Frei": Work makes you free.

Most sobering is what the Nazis did for appearances' sake. This is what makes Terezin unlike all the other camps. There, at Terezin, the Nazis turned a fort built in the 1700's into a large cage for the Jews. But the ghetto in Terezin became known for "humane" treatment--the Nazis allowed sporting games, musical concerts, medicine and food to be provided. For SHOW. As a front for what they really were doing at Terezin and the rest of the major concentration camps, the Nazis invited the outside world to see what a nice job they were doing caring for the Jews in the Terezin ghetto. The Red Cross arrived to inspect Terezin in 1944. The Nazis "passed".

fierce conditions

We watched the Nazi Propoganda video at our visit. And then stood utterly speechless as we saw the truth unfold from beneath the deception. Terezin, at the time of the visit, even underwent construction for gas chambers, underground.

cells 28, 29, and 30 in the Prison Camp

Beneath the surface, if the humans at Terezin survived the starvation, the cold, the cramped conditions (1.5 m3 of space), and the labor, they were shipped to other "extermination" camps like Auschwitz within months. Worst--what they did to the kids. An entire population of children stayed at Terezin for months, put up the show for the Red Cross, and the day of Yom Kippur, were shipped to Auschwitz. The model "family camp" put on for the Red Cross visit disappeared days after they were forced to write post-dated postcards to key outside world destinations. Chilling.

a torture corner

The stories I learned from Terezin linger in my mind. But three thoughts have dominated the others in my mind:

1. Story: I love to write; I am fascinated with the difference between what seems to be and what actually is, what looks nice on the surface, and what truth boils underneath. This is why I write: life holds stories that need to be told, especially ones with difficult truths buried under a decent façade. 

2. Art: A few brave souls at Terezin dared to express themselves in art--paintings, writings, sketches--and hid them for others to find later. Many of these artists survived, against incredible odds. Art brings hope.

3. God: Despite the inexplicable horror hovering in a place like Terezin, God is evident. He is there in the art left behind, and the stories that have survived, and even in the tremendous loss and despair. God was there, even as today He is here--and He is not silent.

Thank you for sharing in my visit to Terezin, even though the horrors of a Nazi camp are difficult to swallow. More than anything, we need to remember.

On this Memorial Week, I want to say thank you to all who have gone before us, whose bravery has paved a way to a brighter future for us. Here is to above all remembering history's difficult lessons and using them to learn and never repeat again. In Memoriam.

Starting the Conversation: What heros and events do you take time to remember? In memory of those who have gone on before ...

The Colors of Art and Writing

“I found I could say things with color and shapes

that I couldn't say any other way - things I had no words for.”

-Georgia O'Keeffe (American Painter, 1887-1986)

the back border, from our former backyard gardens I planted from scratch

I've always been a color girl. In second grade, I remember wearing kelly green pants with my daffodil yellow shirt, because blue jeans just didn't match. :0) Artistically speaking, I find my preference remains the same--I love color, especially when color creates drama and interest and beauty.

Several years ago, I spent many weeks painting with a renowned artist in our area. I learned so many things about art, light and dark, painting with oils, and canvas. But one of the things that has stuck with me since is my understanding and use of the Color Wheel.

The primary colors are easy--blue, yellow, red. From mixing the primaries in different combinations, we get the rest of the colors, shades, tints, and all the beauties in between. It's magical, really.

What interests me most is the contrast, how different colors attract the eye and please it, and how we experience the dissonance in the contrast. The crocus, below, shows Nature's keen eye for complements, two colors on opposing sides of the color wheel. (The orange and purple and green make a complementary triad-- a pleasing combination.)  

In fiction, the color contrast theory also remains the same as in visual arts. Where two characters from opposite sides of the wheel come together in story, the clash between the two characters of opposing colors creates interest. Placed together in a story, the contrast between the two characters can create lasting resonance and art through story. 

Character 1 + Character 2 = Clash = Interest

 pink peony

“Art is unquestionably one of the purest and highest elements in human happiness. It trains the mind through the eye, and the eye through the mind. As the sun colors flowers, so does art color life.”

-John Lubbock

  

 tangerine azaleas

A few garden flowers to touch along the color wheel. Yes, art colors life. 

 sunny daffodils

green-striped tulips 

striking blue delphinium 

Purple bearded Iris

 
 
Starting the conversation: How does art color your life? Look around you, in your home, on your walls, in your closet ... what colors does your life favor? And what color contrast do you enjoy?

How to Write and Finish Your Novel in 2010

"Everything you ever wanted - personally and professionally - is 2 or 3 steps beyond your comfort zone." -Andy Andrews

Everyone has a story to tell. I believe that. So, based on that belief, I’m writing to encourage you to tell your story. With today being near the end of March, I’m laying out a plan to help you figure out how to write and finish your very own novel by the end of 2010, roughly 275 days away.
I wrote a very similar post in February of last year ... and I heard from a lot of people. Since I'm working on polishing my novel, I thought I'd post on the same topic again, for 2010.

Why, you ask, should I think I can write a novel before the end of the year?

Great question. Two years ago at a writer’s festival, I listened to a man speak about how his novel had taken him over ten years to complete. Every fall, the NaNoWriMo phenomenon goes on, or National Novel Writing Month, where writers complete an entire novel in one month. If we take a middle ground somewhere between the two, I’m guessing nine months to complete a first-draft of a novel might be just about right.

photo of William Faulkner's writing space

Here’s the plan:

Since a full-length novel falls somewhere near 80,000 words, 275 days will provide plenty of time to write at a leisurely pace.

In my experience, writing 500 words per hour is very doable (1000 words per hour is also doable for some). With only one hour spent per day (500 words), nearly two novels could be written in the remainder of the year (150,000 words in 300 days). So, if you factor in taking a day off on the weekend and a few days for holidays and sick days, an 80,000 word novel can be written in the remainder of 2010 with extra time to spare. What to do with extra time? Revision and editing are always a great use of time after the novel is done. In fact, rewriting and editing and revision are what I'm doing right now on my own novel.

Hopefully, by now, I’ve convinced you that you can finish your novel in 2010. But I’m sure you have a couple more reservations. A novel is a big undertaking, after all.

Why write?

For me, I’ve found writing to be an amazing cathartic experience, therapeutic in profound ways. I am a better and more complete person by writing. Story is a powerful connector in the world, and there is no better way to engage in story than in your own novel.

When can I find time to write?

Easy—the hour watching television or surfing the web, instead write. Or the hour before everyone else wakes in the morning. Or the hour when everyone is at school. Or the hour after dinner. Just one hour is all you need.

What do I write?

Well, I would start by thinking what it is you like to read, and even reflect on shows you like to watch. Thriller? Romance? Literary?

How do I know the proper format, margins, etc? Since many books are devoted to this question, I’ll start by pointing to some I think are very helpful. The First Five Pages and The Plot Thickens by Noah Lukeman, Writing the Breakout Novel by Donald Maass, Novel Idea by Angela Hunt, Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Browne, and my personal favorite Stein on Writing by Sol Stein along with his How to Grow a Novel.

See? It can be done.But in my experience, the ONE THING that will enable or prevent you from finishing your novel in 2010 is … discipline.The most grueling thing I face in writing each day is just that—writing each day. No matter how comfy the chair I choose, I find it almost impossible to put my bottom in it. No matter how sleek and powerful the computer, I find it tough every day to place my fingers on its keyboard. No matter how simply the clock says it’s time to write, my whole will pushes back and says it’s time to do other things.

 

Writing is hard work.

BUT, if you are one of those adventurous people who says Just Do It … I know without question that you CAN do it. To close, here are some of the benefits I’ve found from the discipline of writing each day.

1. The biggest advantage to writing each day is that the story stays fresh. The writing flows, and continues to flow day after day by writing (even a little—500 words) each day.

2. Like heading to bed at a similar time each night, writing at a similar time each day can be beneficial. The body knows what to expect. The mind comes ready to write, and the flow is easier.

3. The story becomes a place to look forward to going each day, if only for an hour.

4. The routine lends itself to the others in your life respecting your time to write. Distractions are always plentiful, and my house certainly has a constant list of more things to do, but with a routine hour set aside each day, writing becomes a priority.

Go ahead, start thinking today about your novel, and plan to start. You CAN write and finish your novel in 2010.

Questions or extra thoughts? I’d love to hear them—post in the comments section below.

And of course, I’d love to hear about your journey along the way to finishing your novel. You can contact me directly at http://www.jenniferlynking.com/ on the Contact page.

Godspeed!

-Jennifer

Beauty Is ...

"Beauty is not caused. It is."  -Emily Dickinson

Lately, as I write, and rewrite, and rework my novel, I have thought much about beauty-- in stories, in relationships, in the way things look and feel, and the way words sound when read. But beauty and achieving it is not something easily done. Anyone with a blank canvas and a handful of brushes knows that beautiful art is not easily created. Anyone with a keyboard and a blank screen knows that excellent writing cannot quickly be hammered out. But somehow, beauty is ...

Often, I turn to photographs for inspiration. I thought I would share a few with you, flowers I photographed in our former gardens.

Beauty is ...

one of my favorite combinations of garden roses in bloom

a beautifully-painted Black Swallowtail butterfly on Echinacea

the jaw-dropper of a daylily, about twelve inches wide

my personal favorite: Bellaroma rose dazzling in dew at first morning's light

"Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything that is beautiful; for beauty is God's handwriting ... "  -Ralph Waldo Emerson

Starting the Conversation (leave a comment below):  What do you think about beauty and art? Can beauty be created? Or like Emily Dickinson said so eloquently, do you believe that "beauty is"?

A Writing Time of Year

I had to suppress a laugh this morning, when one of my sons went to pour milk on his cereal, but poured water instead.

I couldn’t help laughing because I, too, often do absentminded things, especially during this time of year.

During this time of year, the scenery in and around Prague is glorious. The final leaves of autumn glow in ochre and lemon brilliance in fading sunlight, and flutter and twirl their way to the chilling ground. And as the seasons give way to the frosty entrance of winter, I prepare to hunker down in my writing chair, and set off to write my next novel. Then, when I’m submerged in writing a new story, I drift toward committing absentminded deeds. Thus, why I had to chuckle, and enjoy that my sons love to read and get lost in a good story, too.

I’ve had a few people write and ask if I am writing, amongst the changes and busyness of expat life. I am.

November is NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month in the States. The goal is to write a short novel, or 50,000 words in one month. If you do the math, yes, it’s a lot of writing. Somehow, though, November is a great month to start a novel.

I always find, as I begin to write on a new project, the hardest part is getting past the blank page. There is something paralyzing about the endless possibilities of a white piece of oblivion that causes the writer, the painter, the musician—creative people—to lock up. And though NaNoWriMo is the month to write a novel, perhaps the greatest accomplishment achieved in the entire month is getting past the blank page. Putting the words on paper. Overcoming the gripping paralysis that keeps a new story from coming to life. Whether it’s 50,000 words or 50 words, a true success might be birthing the courage to triumph over the Blank Page. For only once there, moving forward, can the true literary genius begin. Only there, moving onward past page one, can the beauty of a story take shape. And only there, putting our seat in the writing seat, can the habit of daily writing begin.

From here, in November, we have the rest of the glorious days of winter to draft, rewrite, and polish. November is a great beginning …

Happy writing, and finishing up with a successful NaNoWriMo!

-Jennifer

How to Write and Finish Your Own Novel in 2009

Everyone has a story to tell. I believe that. So, based on that belief, I’m writing to encourage you to tell your story. With today being near the end of February, I’m laying out a plan to help you figure out how to write and finish your very own novel by the end of 2009, roughly 300 days away.

Why, you ask, should I think I can write a novel before the end of the year?

Great question. Last spring at a writer’s festival, I listened to a man speak about how his novel had taken him over ten years to complete. Every fall, the NaNoWriMo phenomenon goes on, or National Novel Writing Month, where writers complete an entire novel in one month. If we take a middle ground somewhere between the two, I’m guessing ten months to complete a novel might be just about right.

Here’s the plan:

Since a full-length novel falls somewhere near 80,000 words, 300 days will provide plenty of time to write at a leisurely pace.

In my experience, writing 500 words per hour is very doable (1000 words per hour is what I normally hear writers assume). With only one hour spent per day (500 words), nearly two novels could be written in the remainder of the year (150,000 words in 300 days). So, if you factor in taking a day off on the weekend and a few days for holidays and sick days, an 80,000 word novel can be written in the remainder of 2009 with extra time to spare. What to do with extra time? Revision and editing are always a great use of time after the novel is done.

Hopefully, by now, I’ve convinced you that you can finish your novel in 2009. But I’m sure you have a couple more reservations. A novel is a big undertaking, after all.

Why write? For me, I’ve found writing to be an amazing cathartic experience, therapeutic in profound ways. I am a better and more complete person by writing. Story is a powerful connector in the world, and there is no better way to engage in story than in your own novel.

When can I find time to write? Easy—the hour watching television or surfing the web. Or the hour before everyone else wakes in the morning. Or the hour when everyone is at school. Or the hour after dinner. Just one hour is all you need.

What do I write? Well, I would start by thinking what it is you like to read, and even reflect on shows you like to watch. Thriller? Chic lit? Literary?

How do I know the proper format, margins, etc? Since many books are devoted to this question, I’ll start by pointing to some I think are very helpful. The First Five Pages and The Plot Thickens by Noah Lukeman, The Breakout Novel by Donald Maass, Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Browne, and my personal favorite Stein on Writing by Sol Stein along with his How to Grow a Novel.

See? It can be done.

But in my experience, the ONE THING that will enable or prevent you from finishing your novel in 2009 is … discipline.

The most grueling thing I face in writing each day is just that—writing each day. No matter how comfy the chair I choose, I find it almost impossible to put my bottom in it. No matter how sleek and powerful the computer, I find it tough every day to place my fingers on its keyboard. No matter how simply the clock says it’s time to write, my whole will pushes back and says it’s time to do other things. Writing is hard work.

BUT, if you are one of those adventurous people who says Just Do It … I know without question that you CAN do it.

To close, here are some of the benefits I’ve found from the discipline of writing each day.

1. The biggest advantage to writing each day is that the story stays fresh. The writing flows, and continues to flow day after day by writing (even a little—500 words) each day.

2. Like heading to bed at a similar time each night, writing at a similar time each day can be beneficial. The body knows what to expect. The mind comes ready to write, and the flow is easier.

3. The story becomes a place to look forward to going each day, if just for an hour.

4. The routine lends itself to the others in your life respecting your time to write. Distractions are always plentiful, and my house certainly has a constant list of more things to do, but with a routine hour set aside each day, writing becomes a priority.

Go ahead, start thinking today about your novel, and plan to start. You CAN write and finish your novel in 2009.

Questions or extra thoughts? I’d love to hear them—post in the comments section below. And of course, I’d love to hear about your journey along the way to finishing your novel. You can contact me directly at http://www.jenniferlynking.com/ on the Contact page.

Godspeed!