YOU ASKED! Part II of Your FB LIVE Questions

In today’s Bargain Lover newsletter, I’ll finish up the questions y’all asked during the Release Day FB LIVE event. Today we’ll take a look at the last two categories of questions about my books overall and writing in general. 

Questions About My Books 

• Do you dream about these stories before you write  them?

   

Interesting question! I don’t dream about the whole stories, but I definitely work out scenes in those half-dazed minutes (and sometimes hours) before falling asleep. I’ve found it VERY difficult to sleep when I’m in the first draft stage of writing a new manuscript because of this very thing. I’ll often get out of bed after tossing and turning for several hours with whole scenes and character conversations having been worked out in my head and needing to be written out—because I’ve learned I DON’T remember them in the morning. 

• How do you select the scriptures for the beginning of each chapter? 

   

Even though I answered this during the Live event, I forgot to say that sometimes certain Scriptures come up in other venues while I’m writing a chapter. Like our pastor will refer to a passage in his Sunday sermons that perfectly fit a scene! Or my ladies’ Bible study. It’s amazing how the Lord brings a Scripture through various resources when I keep my eyes and ears open! 

• What has been your favorite book to write so far?

   

I think I might have answered this on the FB Live night also, but I’ll give a short answer. Miriam was my favorite book to WRITE because it had the most familiar characters for me, and I got to work closely with my eighty-six-year-old mama on the characterization of Miriam, the eighty-six-year-old prophetess. 

• Are there any characters you look forward to writing about?

   

I’ve proposed a couple to my publisher. I’d love to write about Naaman’s servant girl. I’d also love to write a series on Joseph and the women that might have influenced his life. 

• What is the biggest lesson you learned while writing any of your books?

   

I think the greatest lesson I’ve learned as an author is to take editorial advice. I may not always agree with an editor’s remarks (or a friend’s or a first/beta-reader’s), but if something in my writing “interrupted their dream” while reading, then there’s something I need to fix in that spot. If they can explain what jolted them out of the story, great. I’ll follow their advice (probably–LOL!). If they can’t explain why it sounds wonky or what is confusing to them, I STILL need to change it. Find a different way to say the same thing so the next person can move forward in my story world–undisturbed. 

Questions About Writing 

• What advice do you have for other writers? 

Try to separate your passion from your emotions. If you’re truly called to write, you’re undoubtedly passionate about what you’re writing. However, in order to make our writing better, we MUST be teachable and take editing instruction from others–without being defensive or wounded. It’s vital to develop distance between what we’ve written and our self-worth. When a first-reader or editor critiques our work, it’s vital to listen and learn.  

• Do you hand write or use a computer?

   

I always write on my computer. I even journal on my computer. Once in a while I’ll get out a spiral-bound notebook and journal the old-fashioned way, but I seldom even take handwritten notes for research anymore. I generally take pics of pages with my phone and add them to my digital filing system. Crazy, huh? My sweet friend Laura Frantz is the only author I know who still writes her whole first draft out long-hand on a legal pad! Isn’t she A.M.A.Z.I.N.G!?!?! 

• How much of your writing comes from your own personal experience? 

It seems like the Lord allows me to experience a little bit of every book while I’m writing it–a relapse of illness while writing about Job, our daughter miscarried while writing Isaiah’s Daughter. Some might call that coincidence, but those of us who are Christ-followers and temples of the Holy Spirit know when He’s teaching us in the midst of a situation. And there’s a bit of my past, my personality, and my character in each of the heroines–good and bad. I think most writers are that way. 

• Do you keep track of multiple book ideas all at once or only work on one at a time and then come up with another idea? Do you research more than one at a time—the little snippets just to oil the machine before you begin to fully work on one?

   

Nope. I can only research one project at a time because I go so deeply into the time period and locations of the story. The only exception has been The Treasures of the Nile series and By the Waters of Babylon and Of Fire and Lions. Each of those couplets were in the same location and same basic time period (though The Pharaoh’s Daughter and Miriam were separated by about sixty years). I was able to do the general research for each set and then do the specific research for the characters and special contexts during the actual writing of the first drafts. 

• I know you do intense research for your books; how many hours do you study for each book? Do you have set writing times each day? How do you stay disciplined? 

The discipline for me is to STOP working. I love what I do and have to set an alarm so I remember to eat. When I get focused on a research project or am in the throes of a deadline, I’d be afraid to add up the hours I spend on a project. It’s difficult for me to relax. I need accountability to make that happen, and my family is helping me put down my phone and my laptop to enjoy life a little more now that my crazy year of deadlines is past!   

• I’m looking into getting a journal published; how would you go about that?

   

The bad news is memoirs are difficult to get published through a traditional house. The good news is self-publishing has never been easier! If you have an Amazon account, you can self-publish through Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) like the pros. Spend some time on Google and YouTube to discover all the tips and tricks you’ll need. 

• How much time do you spend in actual research vs. writing time? 

Another great question! As I’ve researched more locations and more time periods, my knowledge has grown and time needed for research decreased from at least 6 months to now only about 3 months. I’d say research/writing ratio has gone from 50%-50% to a 25% research, 75% writing/editing. But I do more research during the writing process to find the more specialized facts/details rather than doing all the general information up front. 

• What is your preferred version of the Bible? 

   

Depends. Reading for pleasure, I enjoy NIV because it was the translation I first started with as a believer and the one I’m most familiar with. For OT study, I love the Jewish Study Bible because it’s translated by Jewish scholars who still use the Hebrew language in their daily lives and worship, and they explain the historical and cultural notes within their generational context. However, I’m reading through the Bible this year in the ESV and really enjoying it. 

• So you study the history and culture, as well as Biblical information. How do you do your research? What other resources influence your writing? 

   

I’m sort of compulsive about research. I follow all sorts of seemingly insignificant bunny trails (like hair products and native birds to a certain area) that have become major hinge points for my plots. The hoopoe bird in Love Amid the Ashes and doves in Isaiah’s Daughter were significant emotional pieces that I hadn’t planned out. They sort of just happened when I ran across interesting information while researching. I get a lot of minor characters from other “sacred texts” (https://www.sacred-texts.com/index.htm) such as the Pseudepigrapha or Ginzberg’s Legends of the Jews. When we’re solidly grounded in our faith in Yahweh, His only begotten Son, and the Spirit who dwells within us, I look at the religions of the world with an objective eye for the interesting ways they intersect God’s Truth—and discard the contradictions. 

• Do you begin an inspiration board when you begin a story idea? Do you use pictures or just your imagination to come up with characters?

   

Love that term “inspiration board!” Finding photos of people that might look like my characters so I can describe them more fully is always helpful. I also look for pics (gettyimages.com) or videos of ancient items (like musical instruments, tools, weapons, etc) in order to understand their usage—also to describe them in detail. I save pictures of every main character and most of the minor characters on a software called MS OneNote that’s included in some MS Office packages. 

• What’s next, Mesu?

   

Isaiah’s Legacy, the sequel to Isaiah’s Daughter, is with my editor right now and will release Feb/Mar 2020. It’s the story of Hezekiah’s and Hephzibah’s son, King Manasseh of Judah, who was the most wicked king in the Bible. Eeeeep! But it’s also the GREATEST prodigal story in Scripture. 

Tweet-A-Licious! 

• Mesu answers questions about her books and writing today! 
• Ever wanted to know how Mesu does her research? Check out this post! 
• May resumes the Biblical profiling for OF FIRE AND LIONS Characters and topics in my newsletter. Sign up today to download your FREE NOVELLA!

Today’s Question: 

• Was there an answer that surprised you? Which one and why?