Guest Post Friday. It's baaaack! 

Get ready to read a stellar post by writer and author (and my cousin!) Natalie Brock. Her journey includes Harry Potter, self-publishing under a pseudonym (you'll laugh as to why), traveling throughout England and more. Grab a cup of coffee and enjoy!  

My writing journey. Wow. When when I look back, I can see what a long road it’s been. I’ve had the writing bug for as long as I can remember. You know- that tiny itch that just compels you to write and you can’t get rid of it until you’ve penned something. I would always be writing these short stories- so short I could count the number of pages on one hand- and skits my friends and I would perform. Whenever I had to write a short story for school- well- that was always the highlight of my week! I’d jump at the opportunity with full gusto.

And then I got obsessed with Harry Potter. I blame my sister for introducing me to that world of magic. I was newly-13. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve read the books since then, but I couldn’t get enough of Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Even though I liked writing beforehand, this was the series that really propelled me into saying “You know what? I want to become a writer!” 

Thus it began: with Harry Potter fanfiction. First, at the IMDB message boards for the fourth Harry Potter film and then, later, I did stories on both that and fanfiction.net. No, you’re not getting the link; good gravy was my writing atrocious back then! But that was the catalyst to eventually starting my own, original projects. I mean, fanfiction gave me plenty of practice. Practice makes perfect, you know?

I started with original fiction and stuck with that for several years. It was painstaking and took for-freaking-ever, but I loved the stuffing out of it. I even self-published three novels. They never really got off the ground, but I did it! I felt so accomplished and I wanted more! I kept on writing, putting fingers to keyboard my story ideas. I still have two that need editing and a third that’s nearly good to go. 

Side note: the ones I self-published are not under my own name. Someone else had already published books- someone with the same name as me- that were of the smutty-romance variety. NOT my preferred genre by a long shot.

But here’s the thing- motivation can be a tricky bugger and as much as I love those three unpublished tomes, the first two need A LOT of editing and the third one some fact-checking. It’s at a state that, if I published it now, I’d get laughed at by people in certain circles. 

Why do I feel so unmotivated to tackle those works?

I suppose it’s because, at one point a couple years ago, I wrote two novels back to back. I felt unbelievably burned out, you guys. I thought, “Hey! Take a break! You deserve it. Step away for a few weeks and come back to your works with fresh eyes!” 

So I did. 

And when I came back to those novels? I couldn’t get the gumption to finish them. 

I thought, “Let’s give it some more time.”

I went back a few times. I mean, I tried. I did. But I couldn’t do it. My mind wouldn’t let me. Each time I tried, it’s like my creative juices would shut down on me. It was excruciating and heartbreaking, because those books were my babies. But I just. Couldn’t. Do it. 

To paraphrase Bilbo Baggins: trying to write felt like butter, scraped over too much bread.

In short, a year and a half slid by. A year and a half of not doing anything, just waiting for that right moment, for the writing juices to punch me in the face once more. 

~*~

I went to England for the second time this past April. You guys; I fell in love all over again. I yearned so badly to go back; so much so that I just HAD to talk about it with such a degree that I was afraid I would otherwise burst. The best way I felt was to write about it, and so I did, documenting everything I did every day I was away. 

Do you know what? Because of that, I fell in love with writing all over again. With the simple snap of a finger, I was out of the dark, dry mode and back into the light. I felt motivated again. But not to write fiction: nope. This time, I instinctively knew nonfiction was where it was at. It was the only thing that felt real to me, know what I’m talking about? 

I have enough material for my solo England/Paris trip to fill a short book, and that is my ultimate goal.

And thus was the inspiration for my travel blog. I have a consistent case of the wanderlusts.  When I was just a wee kid, my parents would always take my sister and me on their anniversary vacations with them. We’d go camping, too. Road trips, summer and holiday trips… It was all so glorious and gave me an insatiable thirst to see more! I mean, I just had to get out there and experience more of what life had to offer. To see more of the world, darn it! Even now, right this second, I feel the travel bug prickling at me, and the urge to talk about it. So, if people like Bill Bryson and Cheryl Strayed can do it, why can’t I?

To read more of Natalie's travel adventures, head to nataliestravels.com
To buy her books: A Question of Nobility | Through the Storm 
To follow Natalie on Instagram: @natster0905 

Guys, it's GUEST POST FRIDAY! ::cue confetti:: Today's post is by Daniel Graham, a writer I connected with on Instagram, who's got a killer style and unique voice. Be sure to give him some love after reading his post and check out his website!

Hi, my name is Daniel R Graham, a writer and author of the series White Stag Trials. I run the blog serialauthor.com which is founded on my love of writing and desire to publish serially (lots and often). I’m also looking into freelance writing, so basically I enjoy writing and spend much of my time doing so!

Something I haven't talked about yet is that I am a Christian, someone who believes that God exists, that He is good, and that He sent his son Jesus to restore relationship with humanity by taking the full burden of sin - that which stops relationship with God - upon himself and dying on a cross only to be raised by the Holy Spirit of God and ascending to the right hand of God The Father in Heaven.

The reason why I consider my faith in God when I write something, is not because I'm wanting to follow a set of laws for Christian writers. I'm really not interested in any sort of obligation in my walk with God other than following his leading. To see my relationship with God as anything other than that  - a relationship - would be disservice to what He has done for me. It would also be a disservice to myself as I'd be cutting myself off from the joy in freedom of relationship with God who wants just that. You wouldn't hug a friend or relative because you ought to, as if not living up to that expectation would land you in serious trouble. That wouldn't be a healthy relationship. I want my life to be an embrace to God, free from 'oughts' and 'musts', just a hug.

I also believe that writing is an expression of creativity, an aspect of the personality of my Creator. I don't want to bury this talent, but rather grow this gift to its fullest potential and honour my Heavenly Father with it. That's what gives the following paragraphs purpose and meaning.

So with that said, this is how my faith affects my fiction writing!

Short Form Fiction
I've written a few short stories over the last couple of years. Two of them - Blight and Drowning - are up on serialauthor.com for all to read. I began writing them as submissions for short story competitions and anthologies (a compilation of short stories usually from various authors), but soon discovered they had a different purpose for me. The themes and thoughts that the abstract stories explore were deeply personal. The stories became more like a soul search than a story, but I enjoyed writing them all the same.

Long Form Fiction
For my novels or serial stories I write a lot of fantasy. I really enjoyed The Chronicles of Narnia when I was growing up and although C.S. Lewis is an inspiration and a bit of a hero for me in both his fiction and Christian writings, I'm not so much like him in my fiction. I'm not writing such blatant allegories as Lewis - not at this point in my writing career anyway.

The audience I'm aiming to write for is YA (Young Adult) whose exposure to the fantasy genre is more likely to be George R.R. Martin's Game of Thrones than J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. Now I'm not about to slam one of the most successful fantasy authors of my time, but Game of Thrones is famous for more than dragons and the constant killing off of characters. It's pretty well known that both the TV series and the books don't shy away from raw, gritty and explicit scenes.

To me wholesomeness in writing is important. I know that what you spend your time looking at and listening to can really affect you. I want to provide that sort of wholesome writing. That translates into what I allow my characters to do, talk about and even how they talk.

Let’s talk about swearing! I grew up with a Scottish father so swearing doesn't really bother me as much as it may bother others, but I know for those who are trying to have self control over what they say, hearing and reading these words isn’t helpful. They tend to bounce around in your mind until you are tired or frustrated enough to let them slip out. Swearing is pretty unavoidable these days, but I’d like my stories to be a safe place for the mind to be. If I feel that a character would be someone who swore in a scene, I usually write something like - Jason grit his teeth and cursed - rather than the actual curse word. And it doesn't seem out of place in fantasy as usually the culture of a fantasy setting would be totally different from ours, so the same curse words being used wouldn't make sense.

Something I am a bit more lax with is violence. When it comes to my fight scenes I don’t hold back. To me fantasy is about battles and struggle in foreign and dangerous worlds, where magic and creatures will tear the unprepared apart. Also if you read The Old Testament, there is plenty of violence and gore - so I don’t feel convicted to put a damper on that aspect of my writing.

Speaking of The Old Testament, I draw on some of it for inspiration especially for mythology. During C.S. Lewis’s conversion he was studying Mythology and found that many of them shared aspects of Christianity. J.R.R. Tolkien and his friend Hugo Dyson explained to Lewis (all three of whom belonged to the Inklings literary group) that Christianity doesn’t run from the idea of mythology in creation but rather embraces it. Without getting too preachy here, there are things written as fact in the creation story that are trying to describe purpose and intention of the Creator God, not the textbook-like science of how He created it (opinions may differ here but I believe this to be true). This was a key part in Lewis’s conversion and I believe part of what prompted the creation story of Narnia in The Magician's Nephew. In a similar way, I draw on the themes in the bible as inspiration for my fiction.

Closing Statements
I hope you enjoyed reading my thoughts on faith and fiction. I’d just like to say that these statements that I’ve made are my personal convictions, not judgments on other writers or even other Christians. I enjoy reading  most genres by many different authors, but I set a certain standard for my own writing. Thanks for reading!

Guuuuuuys! I'm SO excited! Because today marks the FIRST guest post in a new series. On the last Friday of every month, I'll be featuring a new-to-this-blog writer, who'll share everything from tips and tricks to writing lessons and personal stories.

It's only fitting that my first guest is James Aries, a middle-grade author and elementary school teacher who's penned some of my favorite books, including Ninth Night, UNDER, and Verve Stones. I've known James for over ten years (he is, after all, married to my best friend Ingrid). And have benefited immensely from his writing advice, story ideas, and editing skills. 

Today, we both talk about how we became writers. To view my post, visit his blog (and then purchase his books. Seriously, you won't be sorry.)

​I started writing fiction at 23 years old, the year after I graduated from Western Washington University. On a hike, my roommates from college participated in a campfire game called Team Story Telling. You might be familiar with it. To start the game, someone contributes the first lines of a story. Then, going around the circle, everyone adds a few lines. We enjoyed the story so much, we decided to continue it over email. We named it Goat vs Ferret Wars. (Yes, you read that correctly. Imagine Narnia with a hint of Lord of the Rings meets immature guys who just graduated from college.) It grew to 12,328 words over three years though it remains unfinished to this day.

During my first emailed addition to Goat vs Ferret Wars, I described the world. Nothing else. My friends’ additions to the novel blew me away. Hilarious. Suspenseful. Epic. I refused to embarrass myself with misspelled words and incomplete thoughts. 

I managed to increase the amount of words I added to our novel. 215 words. 834 words. 3,254 words. Newly married, my wife’s proofreading skills gave me confidence as well. Little did I realize, I was hooked on writing. I had never written that many words, or for that long, ever. Not for fun. Yet, I felt proud of my work. I thought about how to make the story better day and night. I became addicted to crafting the world, the characters, the plot.  

The week after I added my longest chapter, the next friend emailed his section to Goat vs Ferret Wars. His chapter changed a plot line I adored. He ruined my plan for the story. I was so mad. That moment was an epiphany for me. I knew I had to write. Yet, if I wanted full control, I needed to write my own story. 

That’s exactly what I did. I bought a journal, and wrote down the name Spoon. I wanted Spoon to travel to another world to stop an evil king. I wanted him to get superpowers. This is the birth of me as an author. Altrea, too. 

www.jamesaries.wordpress.com 
​

Photo of Robin taken by Heidi Ryder Photography 

I love this idea of #writershelpingwriters. Especially in a field that is often lonely and quiet. (Though, I think most writers prefer it that way. Ironic, I suppose!) We are on such different journeys as writers. We have received varied advice; write with varying styles; work in various ways. So why not share with each other? 

I'm working on a monthly guest series, where other writers will share whatever it is they want to share--about the journey, about the craft, about the writer's life. If this interests you as a writer, I'd love to feature you! 

I'm thinking of launching it on the last Friday of every month. What say you? Let me know if you're interested!