by Jason Joyner | Jul 20, 2022 | Blog, Uncategorized
Hello friends! I thought I had gotten an idiot-proof website builder for WordPress. Turns out you just need the right type of idiot to mess things up ;).
Thankfully, I found Jake Doberenz of Theophany Media. He was able to wrangle my messy site into something respectable. I hope you’ll check out the new layout and some of the fun bonuses under the Books tab in the menu.
I’ll be sharing some more thoughts on my blog soon. If you want to contact me, check out my socials or sign up for my newsletter. I love hearing from readers!
by Jason Joyner | Oct 29, 2019 | Blog, fiction, writing craft
Hey gang, I’m trilled to have JPC Allen sharing a guest post here today. She writes about how to beat a tight deadline. Check it out, and don’t miss the link for the giveaway at the end of her post.
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Last December, I was faced with creating a 5,000-word short story that actually made sense in two weeks. While I got ready for Christmas, taught Sunday School, and prepared for a visit from my in-laws. And I don’t write fast. It took me years to get my YA crime novel in shape.
But I decided to go for it. I met the deadline, got accepted, and my YA mystery, “A Rose from the Ashes”, was published in Christmas fiction off the beaten path on October 1.
If you face a tight deadline, the lessons I learned may help you.
- Know your ending before you start.
I wasted one whole day because I wasn’t sure what the theme of my story was. I wrote fourteen pages that were pretty much worthless. Once I knew the theme and how it would end, I directed all my efforts to reaching that conclusion. If my writing seemed to be veering away off course, knowing where I needed to end up got me back on track.
- Write a synopsis.
“A Rose from the Ashes” is about nineteen-year-old Rae Riley investigating who tried to kill her pregnant mother twenty years before and if the attacker is the father she’s never met. Because my mystery hinges on a twenty-year-old cold case, I wrote out exactly what happened, like book report. Then I could keep straight what Rae knew and what she had to discover.
- Tell your story to someone.
After I’d wasted a day, I sat down with my husband and told him my story. I am blessed to be married to an engineer. He looks at my plots logically, which is so important when writing a mystery. He was able to tell me what made sense and what I needed to work on.
- Write the basic story.
My first draft was getting down on paper the bare bones of the story. If inspiration hit for a description, I threw that in, but the point wasn’t to write well. I just wanted to write the story from beginning to end and see how it hung together.
- Rewrite with description
After I got down the basic story with the basic plot, I rewrote it with the idea of adding descriptions, both for characters and settings. I did this several times because each time I read through the story, I saw places that needed fleshing out.
- Ask readers, not writers, to read your story
Writers read a story differently than non-writers. Writers usually read with their professional hats on. Readers read simply to enjoy the story. I have a good friend and several relatives who love mysteries. I asked them to read my story for things that didn’t make sense or made them pause. Two of my sisters read a description that they took for an insult. That wasn’t my intent at all and completely changed the nature of a character. So I changed the description.
- Get a handle on your main character.
This should probably be #4, but I didn’t get around to it until late in the process. I wrote the story in first person. My mind was so deeply rooted into my main character that I didn’t realize I wasn’t putting all those thoughts and feelings on the page. After several drafts, I realized Rae was the sketchiest of all the major characters. I needed to get a handle on her, a way to sum her up. I enjoy photography and thought amateur photographer was a good way to describe Rae. It covered how she responded to settings and saw the people around her.
Have you faced a tight deadline? What lessons did you learn?
I’m holding a book giveaway on my site! Click here for details.
BIO
JPC Allen started her writing career in second grade with an homage to Scooby Doo. She’s been tracking down mysteries ever since. A former children’s librarian, she is a member of ACFW and has written mystery short stories for Mt. Zion Ridge Press. Online, she offers writing tips and prompts to beginning writers. She also leads writing workshops for tweens, teens, and adults, encouraging them to discover the adventure of writing. A lifelong Buckeye, she has deep roots in the Mountain State. Join the adventure on her blog, Facebook, Instagram, or Goodreads.
Book Blurb
Christmas fiction off the beaten path
Not your Granny’s Christmas stories …
Step off the beaten path and enjoy six stories that look beyond the expected, the traditional, the tried-and-true.
Inspired by the song, “Mary Did You Know?” – a mother’s memories of events leading up to and following that one holy night. MARY DID YOU KNOW? By Patricia Meredith
A young woman seeking her own identity searches for the man who tried to kill her and her mother on Christmas Eve twenty years before. A ROSE FROM THE ASHES. By JPC Allen
Princess, tower, sorceress, dragon, brave knight, clever peasant – combine these ingredients into a Christmas-time story that isn’t quite what you’d expect. RETURN TO CALLIDORA. By Laurie Lucking
Anticipating tough financial times, the decision not to buy or exchanged presents leads to some painful and surprising revelations for a hardworking man and his family. NOT THIS YEAR. Sandra Merville Hart
Years ago, a gunman and a store full of hostages learned some important lessons about faith and pain and what really matters in life – and the echoes from that day continued to the present. THOSE WHO STAYED. By Ronnell Kay Gibson
A community of refugees, a brutal winter, a doorway to another world – a touch of magic creating holiday joy for others leads to a Christmas wish fulfilled. CRYSTAL CHRISTMAS. By Michelle L. Levigne
BUY LINKS
Amazon, Barnes and Noble, 24Symbols, Kobo
by Jason Joyner | Oct 23, 2019 | Blog
I’m re-upping one of my favorite blog posts. Since Zombieland Double Tap just came out, and it’s October, this is good timing for this. I gave this as a sermon back in 2011. I was searching for a hook, and ended up realizing using a zombie analogy would work for the whole thing. So here’s my thoughts on “Escaping the Zombie Life.”
Zombies are such a big deal in pop culture right now. I did try to watch Zombieland in the past to be up on things. In the movie the main guy, Columbus, has an attractive neighbor in apartment 406, whom he silently crushes on her. As things start going crazy in the world, he finds her banging on on his door, asking to stay with him. She barely escaped an encounter with the undead, and wanted some company after her trauma.
They dozed on the couch, but Columbus woke up just in time. Miss 406 apparently had a closer call than she let on, because her eyes were sunken, her skin was pale, and she hungered for more than his company.
He jumped away just before he got more than a playful nibble on his ear. I suppose he got away as it was too early in the movie for the hero to die, but I couldn’t deal with the suspense and violence of her chasing him around.
This is something I can control – whether to subject myself to something like that movie.
Still, the zombie theme makes me think of the struggles we have in the Christian life.
See, she didn’t come in to his apartment intending to munch on him. She was infected by a virus (as most zombies are) and she was driven to fulfill her flesh. Desire for flesh. Whatever.
Have you ever felt like this – not able to control what you want to do? At least we’re not alone. We have good company in Paul.
Romans 7:14-24
We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.
So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death?
The sin nature in us is powerful. Paul is talking to Christians in this passage. These aren’t people who need Jesus – but people who have already found Him. In Romans 1-8 Paul talks about the three stages of Christian life – the full process of salvation.
- Justification – The initial entrance into the Kingdom (what most people think of as salvation, when our debt is paid).
- Sanctification – Discipleship; growing in Christ.
- Glorification – Eternal life in heaven.
So how do we get out of walking in the sin nature?
Galatians 5:22-25 tells us about the fruit of the Spirit. Beautiful attributes are listed: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. However, as my pastor has said recently, we are not responsible, nor are we able, to live the Christian life.
We can’t manufacture the fruit. I have an apple tree. I can talk nice to it. I can encourage it, exhort it, but I can’t get a nice red apple unless – there is death.
I’m amazed at my compost pile each spring. The dead leaves and grass make rich soil, helping life come to my garden and fruit trees. So it is in the Christian life. We live by dying.
Francis Shaeffer says in his book The Finished Work of Christ says, “Jesus didn’t die on the cross just to die on the cross. Jesus died on the cross in order that we might be redeemed. Likewise, we are not called upon to die daily just in order to be dead;, we are called upon to die daily in order that we might experience the reality of being alive with Christ” (p155).
We will see the fruit of the Spirit in our lives by dying to ourselves.
Romans 8:10-13 says:
But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.
Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.
I’ve heard this termed the “resurrection life.” If we can submit to the Holy Spirit day by day, we can walk in the life intended for us – not the life we struggle through.
Schaeffer says, “It means that, through faith, I am to die to all things both good and bad, but then to take my resurrected body, as though I had already been raised physically from the dead, and step back into this present world, to serve in the power of the indwelling Spirit” (p188).
We won’t be these physical bodies that are shuffling around waiting for the grave. Salvation is not waiting to get into heaven. Like I said, that is the third aspect of salvation. As Schaeffer said, we can live as if we’re already in that state. It becomes a battle to submit or yield everyday.
Romans 6:12-14
Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.
“You and I have the possibility every moment of our lives to hand ourselves to the Lord, to be that out of which He will bring forth all that is wonderful. ‘Yield yourselves’ (the phrase from Romans 6:13 in the King James for ‘offer’) is an ‘active passivity.’ People are naturally afraid of that which is only passive, but we should be afraid of that which is only active as well. Our calling is to active passivity. God will bring about our sanctification, but we are called to be active partners in the process as we yield ourselves to Him” (Schaeffer, p172).
This is a major challenge to us as modern Americans. We like our individuality and our own initiative to carry us. I wake up most every morning with an agenda, whether it is to work hard, play hard, or even veg. If we can learn to submit day by day to the Spirit’s leading, we won’t be mindlessly shuffling along in our lives, but we can truly walk in the glorious adventure God has for us. Even if we have to do something – work, care for family, etc. – if we give it up each day. He can make something new with it.
Our fruit will grow as we let the Spirit lead. The fruit will come in season, and provide what we need at that time. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. (Galatians 5:22-25)
I didn’t intend to follow a zombie metaphor through my whole sermon. I was going for a hook, but it certainly is one that can be used to speak Kingdom truth. Not that I’d recommend any zombie movies as spiritual guidance.
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by Jason Joyner | Oct 9, 2019 | Blog, theblog, Uncategorized
A month ago I was able to connect with an old friend. We had both done a Discipleship Training School with Youth With A Mission
(YWAM), with our outreach in Thailand. It was over twenty years ago when I flew out of the Bangkok airport – but Phil did not. He and his young family stayed behind and became long-term missionaries serving the Thai people.
It was amazing to catch up after so many years, and to hear stories of how God has worked in their lives and in such a beautiful country. There was one story that caught my attention over all the others.
YWAM Thailand was chosen to host a global gathering for YWAMers a couple years ago. This is a big deal, drawing thousands to be encouraged and to build camaraderie and strategy going forward to reach the nations. Phil worked with a team for over a year to plan and execute this conference in Pattaya, a resort city in Thailand known for beauty and sin.
The leadership of the gathering was wise in their planning. They knew that a majority of the attendees would be from the Majority World (Third World is an outdated term – the majority of the world population lives in Asia, Africa, and South America; basically the conference would not be focused on Western attendees). Therefore they tailored the program accordingly.
Translators worked together to bring messages to a broad swath of languages. Instead of the big name Western speakers dominating the agenda, leaders from Majority World areas brought the Word. There were workshops when attendees were split up into groups where one or two experienced people would be with younger attendees, so that the wisdom of older leaders could be spread wide instead of concentrated in their own groups.
My favorite part of the story was hearing about the worship. Different groups and leaders from various nations worked to lead worship sessions. Phil spoke on how special it was to see the diversity of worship – how each nation/ethnic group brought different aspects and flavors to the times of praise. It wasn’t overdone Western songs from K-LOVE. It was a glimpse of heaven.
We saw a highlight video. It was so beautiful. To see the Thai dancers, the haka performed by Maori brothers and sisters, the special touches by peoples I didn’t even know about, it was truly a peek into future glory.
The Lord has created amazing diversity in our world. As a writer, I feel that it is my obligation to write in such a way that I can show a small taste of creation, which isn’t just natural wonders, but cultural treasures as well.
I know that there are stories that do not lend themselves to a diverse cast, and that’s okay. Sometimes the cultural mandate of the day demands a certain quota of representation, even if it’s not the story for it. And there are challenges to writing/presenting other cultures in a sensitive way that is not appropriating said cultures.
However, when I saw the nations brought together in such a gathering in Thailand, and I saw the amazing sights and sounds that came from a true unity in the body of Christ – a unity made richer by the diversity, I was deeply moved. It truly is a representation of what the Bride of Christ will be. If I can showcase that even a little in my writing, then I believe it is worshipful and glorifying to the God who made us all.
May we all be able to show glimpses of eternity in our work as Christian creatives.
by Jason Joyner | Jul 30, 2019 | Blog, Uncategorized
The best times in life take too long to get here and go by too fast.
That’s how it is each year for the annual Realm Makers conference for me. From July 18-20 a few hundred of my friends converged on a chalet-like hotel in St. Louis to celebrate faith, fiction, and fandom at this writing collective.
I’m the grizzled veteran for Realm Makers now, having gone to five of seven conferences. But every time there’s magic when we gather to enjoy old and new friends, sit under fantastic teaching for the craft, lifestyle, and business of writing, see writers pitch to agents and editor, learn from mentors, and celebrate the best in speculative fiction from Christian writers.conference for me. From July 18-20 a few hundred of my friends converged on a chalet-like hotel in St. Louis to celebrate faith, fiction, and fandom at this writing collective.
This year we returned to the same hotel as last year, so veterans had a comfort level with the location. The hallways spilled over with excited writers, from grey-haired folks to teens in the youth track. I love reconnecting with old friends and making new ones the most. I’ve heard a lot of great teaching, and I know there’s plenty for me to learn, but making connections with others who love fiction and faith like I do? That’s priceless.
I’m part of the staff, so I had some volunteer responsibilities. I’ve found writer conferences more enjoyable when I go with the attitude of “how can I serve?” There’s always comparison that a writer battles. When will my book get picked? Then when your book is picked, you see someone else sell more books. Or they win that award. But when I go to see how I can help others, then I get my eyes off my hang-ups and work to bless people.
Speaking of awards: Realm Makers has a unique awards banquet, in that it’s a costume dinner. There are so many creative people! From original characters to steampunk DC villains to a bevy of Doctors who aim their sonic screwdrivers at photographers, there’s always something to gawk at wandering the banquet. My friends went as the Avengers. I thought about going as Fat Thor from Endgame, but I was up for two awards this time, so my vanity got the best of me.![]()
It was very exciting to win the Realm Award for Best Debut Novel. But I cheered harder for my friend Lindsay Franklin, who won Best YA and Book of the Year.![]()
Winning the award was special. Yet I found more rewarding was people coming up to me to say how much they enjoyed Launch. It released right before Realm Makers 2018, so I was able to sell it there. This year I got good feedback from folks. When a grandfather said the first sentence sucked him in, and he was so happy to have a clean, exciting book to pass on to his grandkids—that made my day right there.
Alas, Realm Makers comes and goes too quickly. Before I knew it, my roommates (brothers in arm) had put away the Superfight card game and said goodbye. Now I’m in real life mode, and the days scream by so fast.
Even though the brilliant RM 2019 is in the past, I’m already excited for RM 2020. Atlantic City, are you ready for an invasion of Realmies?
Maybe I’ll see y’all there.
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Jason Joyner
Author of the YA novel Launch
Available online at Barnes and Noble, Amazon, and other outlets.www.jasoncjoyner.com
by Jason Joyner | Jul 1, 2019 | Blog, Uncategorized
Last week I posted some thoughts about Toy Story 4. It’s a spoiler post if you want to check it out, but I explained how I really enjoyed the movie even though I thought there was a glaring mistake.
Despite that flaw, there was something grand in TS4 that I continued to think about after leaving the theater, so here comes another blog post. But like last time, there’s SPOILERS if you haven’t seen it.
There’s several new toys introduced in the movie, including a fun motorcycle stuntman voiced by Keanu Reeves. The most important new toy is “Forky”, a craft Bonnie made at kindergarten orientation. She was very upset there and Woody had stowed away in her backpack. He threw some objects out of the trash to Bonnie’s table, and Forky was born.
Made out of a spork, googly eyes, a pipe cleaner, some yarn, and two halves of a wood ice cream spoon, Forky achieves sentience. I don’t know what kind of magic Bonnie has, but her new creation is alive and is now her favorite toy.
The only problem? Forky doesn’t believe his favored status with Bonnie. In fact, he’s in denial over his whole existence as a toy. Forky knows where he came from – the trash can. He’s trash, and all he wants to do is go back to where he belongs in the garbage can.
Thus begins an amusing montage of Forky diving for any trash can nearby, and an exasperated Woody keeping Forky from literally throwing his life away, because Woody knows how much Forky means to Bonnie.
This conflict of Forky not accepting what he was created to be leads to the main complication of the movie, when he falls out of Bonnie’s family’s RV and Woody dives after the runaway spork. Ever the dutiful sheriff, Woody tries to explain to Forky that he’s created for more than being trash, and he has a purpose in bringing joy to Bonnie.
That’s pretty deep for a kid’s movie.
It’s very impressive that they made it work. As Forky comes to life, he’s like an infant, with a singular purpose: getting back to the trash. Then he argues with Woody more and more, until he sees the light and realizes he is so much more than the trash from which he was created.
This speaks to the deep story of humanity. Too often we act like Forky. We’re created from dust and to dust we’ll go, so we live as if we are only going to return to the “trash”. We abuse ourselves, unable to be convinced of our true worth.
In our case, our creator is God the Father. We were created much like Forky, to bring pleasure to him who gave us life. That is the chief end of humanity. But how often do we wallow in the garbage of life, not willing to accept the truth that despite our humble nature, we have a glorious purpose and place of acceptance with God? All too often, I’m afraid.
But we are a new creation in Jesus, and even though we started as “trash”, we are no longer that, and we should live with a respect for the image of God in everyone, including ourselves.
There’s even a Christ parallel in Woody. He cares so much about Bonnie’s happiness that he risks himself over and over to keep Forky and Bonnie together, even when Forky openly rebels against that idea. The idea can’t be stretched too far, but it is a very noble pursuit for Woody.
So, Pixar. Even though I was critical of how you handled Woody’s character by his ultimate choice, I have to give you huge praise for setting up such a beautiful image of the One True Myth, the original heroic story of sacrifice to restore a creation in rebellion. I hope Forky always keeps his new identity – not trash, but a beloved toy created for pleasure.
Just like we are toward the Father.
