Potiphar’s Wife Q&A – Part III (On Writing)

Mesu AndrewsNewsletter

Today, we tackle the third category of great questions submitted during release week of Potiphar’s Wife. We’ll span writing topics from general practices to the specific challenges of forming real-life biblical characters with fact and fiction.

Will today’s article have anything to inspire or challenge those who aren’t interested in writing?

I think so…I hope so. Here’s why.

One of the questions submitted was:

“Did you always want to be a writer?”

I always feel a little guilty about my answer, but I must be honest. Frankly, no. I was an off-the-charts extrovert and couldn’t sit still long enough to write a Thank You note, let alone an entire book!

So I can relate to those of you who might not be excited to read an entire post about writing-related Q&A’s. But that’s not all you’ll be reading. What I hope to share is God’s BETTER plan for me in hopes that you’ll see He might use hard circumstances to show you His better plan for you.

I hope you’ll continue reading to discover more about how writing–and writing Potiphar’s Wife in particular–helped me grow in ways I could never have imagined.

Questions About Writing In General:

Question #1
  • Will you be writing any more biblical stories?

Absolutely! I’m currently waiting on edits for the sequel to Potiphar’s Wife. In Feast or Famine continues Joseph’s story with his release from prison, his rise to vizier, and his marriage to Asenath–the daughter of Potiphera, priest of On. I also plan to continue writing short stories. Currently, folks subscribe through a platform called Patreon and receive a story each month. I’m researching the possibility of moving away from that monthly subscription (poor customer service from Patreon and stringent monthly deadlines for stories have made for considerable stress). But we’re hoping to move the short stories to Amazon so they’ll be available on a single-purchase basis and make them more affordable for all!

Question #2
  • What goals do you set when writing? Hours per day? Words per day?

I’m a maniac about work. Very driven. If I’m on deadline, I work 12-16 hours a day; six days a week. Sabbath is very important for Hubby and me, so I refresh on Sundays and enjoy family time then. If I’m not on deadline, I try to stop working by 6pm so I can have family, church, and personal life. Since I love what I do and get lots of “fellowship” online through emails and texts with friends, it’s sometimes hard to drag myself away from the virtual world.

I’ve never been a goal-setter. Goals make my teeth itch. Since I work as hard as I can all the time, if I set a goal and miss it, condemnation sets in pretty quickly. However, without goals, the enemy of my soul can make me believe I’m behind on the “To Do List” all the time. Since my sweet hubby retired, he’s been keeping track of my word count for me and letting me know that I’m on track–without me having to sweat the word counts. I try to write at least 2,000 words a day (novel or short story) plus the marketing and/or admin stuff to fulfill all my commitments.

Questions Specific To Biblical Fiction:

Question #1
  • Do you think it’s harder to write Biblical Fiction than other kind of fiction (personally I would think so)?

Very insightful question! Yes, I do–and not just because I write it. LOL! 😛 With other historical fiction, there are some parameters that guide authors. Scholarly findings and academic works give guidance. Historical facts–such as dates, locations, and world/national leaders–are largely accepted in most eras. However, authors who write novels about biblical time periods must juggle more parameters–eternally significant ones.

Granted, some don’t believe the Bible is immutable and authoritative, but for me it is the absolute Truth and final Word of God. Unchanging and THE FOREMOST unalterable parameter by which my novels are first outlined. The second so-called parameters–the historians and scholars–seldom agree on dates, locations, or world/national leaders. So, rather than the neat and tidy outline we’d like, we get a hodgepodge of contradictions that can become discouraging. I’m convinced it’s only by the power of the Holy Spirit that anyone writes a coherent biblical novel. It’s the reason I can say with COMPLETE HONESTY–only by His grace and power can I write even a Facebook post!

Question #2
  • Have you thought of doing one on Lot’s wife?

YES! In fact, my Patreon readers will read a short story about her today (6/27/22). It’s tough for me to promise full-length novels about reader-suggested characters since publisher’s contracts are done so far in the future. However, it’s easier to consider suggestions for short stories and Amazon (indie) published works.

Questions Specific To Potiphar’s Wife:

Question #1
  • When did you first get the idea for this book. Something you wanted to write or some direction from God on the subject? Why Potiphar’s wife, who is not someone we should imitate?

I answered this question with my May 9th post about Antiheroes in the Bible. An antihero is a flawed main character that we don’t want to imitate (like Potiphar’s wife), but who we can sympathize with or relate to in order to learn something from. I don’t CHOOSE to write about villainous characters in the Bible–but there are so many! LOL!

I choose to write about women in the shadows of heroic men. Some of those women are antiheroes (like Gomer in Love in a Broken Vessel or Shulle in Isaiah’s Legacy). Some are truly heroic (like Hephzibah in Isaiah’s Daughter or Solomon’s shepherdess in Love’s Sacred Song). Each of them has something to teach us–as do all the blessings and struggles in our lives.

Question #2
  • Is this entire book from Potiphar’s wife’s perspective, or do we also get Joseph’s perspective?

You actually get FOUR perspectives in this book! For those unfamiliar with this technical question, it might be fun for you to learn that each chapter is written in a particular character’s “point-of-view” (POV). When I wrote my first novel, I had no idea what POV was, so I was “head hopping” and wrote the whole book as if everyone knew what everyone else was thinking–but that’s not real life, is it? We only know life and thought from our own perspective–as do the characters in a book.

So, Potiphar’s Wife is written in four different characters’ POVs: Zully’s, Joseph’s, Ahira’s (Zully’s maid), and Potiphar’s.

Zully’s chapters are in 1st-person, so her chapters feel much more intimate and personal:

The sea was choppy, angry, spitting its salty mist on my lips. My stomach grumbled, anxious to sample whatever delicacies our Minoan sailors brought home from their eight-month trading season.

The other three characters are written in 3rd-person deep POV, so their chapters sound a little more distant, but you still experience what they’re feeling:

Joseph grew vaguely aware of silence in the darkness as consciousness seeped into his senses.

See the difference? It’s a technique I started using with Isaiah’s Daughter (click here to see all my books in order). I LOVE the intimacy 1st-person POV brings to the main character. Do you like the switching between POVs? Did you notice it while reading my last four books?

Question #3
  • Did you feel sorry for or compassion for Zully while writing this book? I really think I did while reading (at least lots of times I did).

My compassion meter is pretty low. When I took the spiritual gifts quiz at church, I scored a “0” on the gift of mercy (eeek!). So, if I feel sorry for someone, it’s epic! That being said, I lost count of how many times I cried while writing this book (some of those tears were from sheer exhaustion and lots of rewrites).

Yes, I felt sorry for Zully, but also frustrated AT her. I wanted her to DO THE RIGHT THING! Many times I shouted at my laptop screen for her to make a different choice, but I knew she couldn’t to be true to the biblical story. She HAD TO remain focused on the wrong things. That’s when the lesson smacked me between the eyes.

She couldn’t release her old desires to embrace the new blessings God offered.

Question #4
  • Was it hard to hold back on Joseph’s story that will come in the next book? I know by the time Potiphar’s Wife launched you were already writing In Feast or Famine, the second book in the Egyptian Chronicles series. Did you have a hard time talking about Potiphar’s Wife while going into the depths of the next story?

I remember one day I sat at my computer and couldn’t remember whether I was in Egypt or Canaan or Haran; whether I was supposed to be writing about Abraham or Joseph. April and May are a blur. Were it not for the magnificent team of people around me (family, VA assistant, Waterbrook partners, BFF team, and my newsies), this launch wouldn’t have happened.

My husband Roy has been especially amazing. He took over most of my administrative and household duties so I could focus on writing. I literally woke up and went straight to my laptop, wrote all day, closed the laptop, and went to bed. Then repeated it the next day–and the next and the next.

AND WE MADE IT!

Now, Hubby and I both get to relax a bit and enjoy the fruit of our labor! I get to edit In Feast or Famine, engage with readers a little more on social media, and enjoy writing my short stories again! Woot!

OH! And I start writing a new novel about Sarah for Guideposts books in August! Yeehaw! Roy still gets to do laundry, which makes him happy, too. LOL! 😆

Coming in July!

I divided my newsies’ fabulous questions into four categories. You’ve just finished Category #3. Click on #1 or #2 below to see the articles you might have missed! #4–Spiritual Themes in Potiphar’s Wife–comes next month in July’s first newsletter!

  1. Research Related
  2. Truth, Fact, or Fiction
  3. Writing Related (today’s)
  4. Spiritual Themes (coming 7/4)

Today’s Question:

  • What part of writing seems most daunting to you?
  • What part of writing seems like the most fun?

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