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Comments
A writer's community might be good here. You've got to admit, a lot of Way Corps have a unique perspective on Christianity and it makes for unique stories.
The marketing page sounds really good. I don't know how to write a query letter yet... or even a presentable synopsis.
How can I get a copy of the Coach's Midnight Diner?
I'll check with John R. about a writer's community.
:) :) :)
In the meantime, anyone that wants to can always join me at Christianwriters.com Now, the down-side of that is that I've sent a few people through the roof with the things I write, the 'up' part is that more and more of these upcoming writers are less fearful of making their writing fit a certain mold...it's quality over pleasing a system...and that's been great to see. Also, there is also a big 'brain trust' over there of already published writers, people who know how to critique a work..etc. I'm also working with the administrator on putting up a new site that includes more helps for new writers...like a market page! Yay!
Oh, I can't put up Paint it Black since Coach's Midnight Diner, the magazine it's going to be in, is under production as we speak, I'd get in a lot of trouble. But it should be out very soon! Thanks!
Congratulations on your award!
I have read Samaquezeel and Bless the Children, both are excellent. :) How can I read Paint It Black?
Since we seem to have so many writers in the Corps, perhaps we should start a writer's community here?
love & blessings, Karen
You make good points. My own life story would probably be too much for a Christian publisher. And it's true.
I want to read Bless the Children. It sounds compelling.
You really love writing, don't you? I can tell.
J
Well, Janis there's always somebody wanting to alter something. Sometimes it's a reasonable request, like with Paint it Black; it started out life as 8,000 plus words. The editor sent it back and said he needed it cut to 5,000. After giving a long cry of AHHHHHHHH!!! I just did it. Hey, otherwise, it's not doing me any good just sitting in my computer.
But censorship..when someone is trying to alter your work for their desired outcome...I don't like..This may surprise you, maybe not...but the worst censors are the Christian publishers. Holy smokes! I get censored all the time when it comes to Christians.
Example: there was this Christian horror magazine, I'm going to skip the name, ... just a small online zine. It was touted, when it first opened, as edgy and willing to print things too scary for any other Christian zines. So I said, Cool, and sent them a story I wrote called 'Ellie.' It's the tale of a Jr. High kid who, along with a gang of her girlfriends, leads a little Believer girl to a rock quarry where they stone her to death.
The acceptance letter said things like, "Although it lacks the sense of hope we usually like i our stories...(I was thinking, dudes, it's a Horror Magazine...) we'll take your story. But we are very concerned about the effect it may have on teenagers who read it. We don't want to inspire anyone to this kind of violence.
Therefore, we will run it, but only if we can attach a warning label."
I said, "Sure," since they pretty much guaranteed it would be read by anyone browsing the site. And that turned out to be the case.
But...a warning label? In a horror magazine? C'mon!
I wrote another story called "Bless the Children." It's based on the 1950's urban legend of alligator's that get flushed down the toilet and grow into monsters. Except, I did it with aborted fetuses. Okay, so, unlike some writer's, I realize my stories practically beg to get censored. But the story follows one of the kids, a fourteen year old boy, and what he does during a days time to survive. The way the story flowed I got so much in there about Jesus and His love, it was nuts! At the stories end the boy is just starting to think there might be a way to get out of the darkness where he lives, but he is still way too bitter to make a change. Except, when it's done, you know something huge is going to happen in his life.
I thought a secular magazine would never touch it. But they were the only ones who would. It appeared in Alienskin magazine last January. The Christians I sent it to had comments like, "Compelling but we'd like the boy to meet Jesus at the end of the story" I had to say, Sorry, it can't end that way. It just doesn't.
Other comments..."Too grotesque....are you really a Christian?...and my personal favorite...."We just don't get it."
The guys at Alienskin got it..."Your story stayed with us long after we finished reading it. Among other things, I don't believe we will ever feel good about abortion."
Well, that was a case of mission accomplished.
In the Christian publishing world they say they want edgy, some dark, and lot's of action, but too many times those elements are required to be managed. And I'm not saying that exploitative literature needs to be coming out, but at least let the stories be more organic. For goodness sakes, if a guy hits his thumb with a hammer I think adults can handle him saying, Dammit! If you're writing a witnessing tract where everything ends up in perfect Christian walk, that's on thing, but since real life rarely works that way, it makes a crummy story. Or, worse yet a dishonest one.
No matter what the back drop for your story, whether it's a prairie romance, or giant bugs invading the planet, you have to write as if your characters are real people, doing the things real people would do, otherwise, it's junk. And it's sad to say, but there's a lot of junk for Jesus out there.
Well, that's me rambling about censorship. Hope I made a modicum of sense.
Thanks,
Janis
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