Blood, Guts and Peanuts: What it’s Like Writing with Ted Dekker?

Guest blog by Tosca Lee

Our guest today is Tosca Lee, author of Demon: A Memoir and Havah: The Story of Eve. She is also the co-author with Ted Dekker of the NYTimes bestseller Forbidden. The next book in that series will be out this Summer. A sought-after speaker and former Mrs. Nebraska, Tosca was a senior consultant for a global consulting firm until turning to writing full-time. She holds a degree in English and International Relations from Smith College and also studied at Oxford University. Please visit her web site at www.toscalee.com.

(Reposted with permission www.stevelaube.com.)

People ask me often what it’s like writing with Ted. “Is he weird?” they say. “Does he really paint his nails/eat small children/write from a dungeon?”

Of course he’s weird. As weird as anyone else who grew up with cannibals. As strange as your average seven million bookselling novelist who lives mostly on peanuts and barbeque in Texas and, you know, speaks an obscure language known only to remote tribes in Papua New Guinea.

Or as weird as you and me.

And yet, the questions persist. “He scares me,” author friends confess in low tones.

He scares me, too. Because, you know, it’s just not healthy to eat that many peanuts.

***

Snippets of the work day, below. It’s up to you in most cases to guess who’s saying what.

“So, I accidentally killed ___ in this scene.”
“WHAT? That’s not on the outline.”
“Dude. It was his time.”
“But—”
“You gotta let him go, man. Let him go.”

On iChat:
“What’ve you got for lunch?”
“Um, sandwich (holds it up).”
“Oh man. That is way better than my V8/Greenfood shake/Cheetos.”
“You seriously live on that?”
“So far.”

“Look. This is what I think we need to do.”
“I don’t like it.”
“What? Why not? It’s brilliant.”
“Because.”
“Why not?”
“Because I don’t.”

“Okay, this is what needs to happen now.”
“I don’t want to do that.”
“But it’d be cool.”
“Okay.”
“What?”
“I said let’s do it.”
“You’re supposed to defend your position.”

***

Some days, Ted’s wife, LeeAnn, comes up to talk to her husband. She leans in to say hello, waving at the screen. She’s always gorgeous, put together and made up.

Without fail, I’m wearing the same t-shirt I wore yesterday. And, truth by told, the day before. Except that I had one of my ever-present polar fleece tops on, so no one knew it. At least no one can smell me.

***

 Ted: “Check out the UK version of Forbidden. Look! It’s so cute!”
Me: “You said ‘cute.’”

“They have to kiss here.”
“Is this a kissing book? Can we skip that part?”
“They have to kiss.”
“I hate it when they kiss.”
“You write it.”

“I think ___ should happen here.”
“No.”
“Yes. Or I’m going to say you pick your nose in my status update.”

“You’re being difficult.”
“No I’m not.”
“You are.”
“No I’m not.”
“I’m calling your wife.”
“Okay. Okay, okay.”

 Ted: “Every time I talk to you you’re eating.”

“I have to go. I have a workout.”
“Me, too.”
“I don’t want to. It hurts.”
“Let’s call in sick.”

“Why’d you change that? It was great!”
(Silence.)
“Hello?”

“We’ve been talking about TV shows for 45 minutes.”
“Yeah. We need to work.”
“Yeah, let’s work.”
“Did you see The Walking Dead?”

“That last scene you did was really cool.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. Except that you kind of went on and on.”
“What?”
“And then you used a semi-colon.”
“So?”
“And you have this habit of—”
“I thought you said it was cool?!”

“You’re eating peanuts again.”
“No I’m not.”
“I can hear you crunching.”
“That’s not crunching.”
“Crunching!”
“I always make that sound.”
“Because you’re eating peanuts.”

“It’s hard work making stuff up.”
“I’ve written 30 books. Don’t talk to me.”

“You done with that scene yet?”
“No.”
“You done yet?”
“No.”
“You done yet?”
“I’m hanging up.”

“So, listen. I need to ask you a really uncomfortable question.”
“Um. Okay.”
“I’ve been wondering this for a year and a half.”
“Okay?”
“So I know you grew up with cannibals.”
“Yeah?”
“Did you uh, ever eat anyone?”
“Not that I know of.”

“No. No no. I know who we need to kill. It’s ___.”
(Stare)
(Choked up)
We got so choked up we had to come back later.

Via text:
“Are you up?”
(Nothing)
“Are you awake?”
(Silence)
“Awake yet?”
(Blank)
“I’m going to kill Rom.”
“I’m here. I’m here. Don’t touch anything.”

“I think we should have the old guy pick his nose.”
“We can’t have him pick his nose.”
“Everyone picks their nose.”
“He can’t pick his nose.”
“You pick your nose.”

“I’m writing this thing about what it’s like to write with you. Wanna read it?”
“Yeah.”
(Screen-sharing ensues)
(Laughter)
“This is great. Just make sure they know it’s you picking your nose and not me.”
“Uh huh.”

Find out what Frank Peretti had to say about writing with Ted Dekker in a previous interview: HERE. 

The winner of Karen Witemeyer's book is

Yvette Carol. Please email me with your snail mail address.

How I Got Here ... I Think, by guest blogger Deb Kinnard

Deborah Kinnard started writing at age ten. She’s a member of American Christian Fiction Writers, serving as Midwest Zone Director, and confesses to being a loud singer at church. In the early 2000s, she sold her first two novels. Now with eight books published, she's won the Grace Award in speculative fiction in 2010. “The Faith Box”, a series of medieval romances, will release from Desert Breeze starting in September, 2012 with Peaceweaver. When Deb’s not at the computer writing, she keeps busy reading and doing beadwork, and needlework. She loves to travel and meet new people, some of whom turn up later in her stories.  So if you meet a short woman with a light in her eye…

How I Got Here – I Think

Sum up a long road in few words?

I started writing due to becoming a honked off ten year old. I was a fan of “Bonanza.” Being a less-than-patient sort of kid, I kept waiting for the women to appear. I waited. And waited. No women. Or worse, whenever a woman appeared, she was either a Loose Woman or a Doomed One. Remember Ben’s wives? Doomed, every single one of ‘em, and no surprise there. Ben wasn’t known for holding onto ‘em very well.

I gave it half a season. “If they don’t put one in, I’ll do it myself.”

Enter Vanessa Cartwright, Ben’s long-lost, newly discovered daughter. Being ten, I didn’t speculate how she’d gotten onto the Ponderosa. She just arrived. No six-gun, of course, but leather pants and her own horse. She had adventures, mostly with Hoss and Little Joe, ‘cause I didn’t care for Adam. Too much black.

They spoiled her stupid, the Ponderosa men. My parents wouldn’t get me a pony, but Vanessa had a palomino quarter horse. I wrote her as spoiled as I wanted (of course it didn’t ruin her character—Vanessa was a sweetie in spite of overindulgence by four grown men). I could give her long, curly hair! I could make her a redhead, a brunette, someone who could handle a rope and a calf. I could take her up into the high Sierras and have desperadoes menace her. I could make her outwit them.

All this, and she never had to cope with 6^th grade!

Opening my mind to Vanessa awakened all sorts of possibilities. Once I outgrew “Bonanza,” I wrote popular girls. I wrote athletic types, adventuresses, career women, co-eds, sharp and witty and successful. Better still, for an hour or so at a time I was all these people. Free to wander my own imagination’s Ponderosa, I could get into lives and make things happen.

I never stopped writing. In college and afterwards, I filled notebook after notebook. Anya Seton awoke me to the possibility of writing real, true love stories. A few years later, Carolyne Aarsen showed I could write real, true love stories that encompassed God’s amazing love as well as that of a man and woman. I wrote the end on my first book in 1983, and foolishly sent it out. My rejection letter was kind. That’s all I’ll say about it.

From then on, I’ve written to publish. My first novel, POWERLINE, sold to a small press in 2002, and since then it’s been a ride up and down them hills on the Ponderosa. Though not everything has sold as of now, I’ve made a quality decision to write only what I love. It’s all rooted in Vanessa Cartwright, and feeling my way toward how things should be. That’s my power. That’s my pen. Writing romance in a Christian worldview gives me freedom to express faith, love, and hope—and not always in order.

I wouldn’t trade that for Vanessa’s palomino.

Powerline

Is healing really a phone call away?  Cassandra McAdam volunteers at the church-sponsored crisis line. With a wall around her heart due to early losses, she believes all she can do is listen. Only God's help gives her anything of value to offer.  

A devastated man calls the Powerline to discuss his thoughts of suicide. Jeff Hadley recently lost his wife, and questions why a loving God allows such suffering. Though caller and client are not supposed to meet, a neighbor's illness accidentally brings them face-to-face. Jeff realizes Cassie's voice is that of the woman on Powerline.

Cassie soon wonders if a relationship of helping can possibly turn into a partnership of equals.

Introducing Author Valerie Comer!

Valerie Comer's life on a small farm in western Canada provides the seed for stories of contemporary inspirational romance. Like many of her characters, Valerie grows much of her own food and is active in the local food movement as well as her church. She only hopes her imaginary friends enjoy their happily ever afters as much as she does hers, gardening and geocaching with her husband, adult kids, and adorable granddaughters. Check out her website and blog at http://valeriecomer.com.

Tell us about your new release

My novella, "Topaz Treasure," is the first story in a 4-in-1 collection called Rainbow's End written with Annalisa Daughety, Cara Putman, and Nicole O'Dell. Rainbow's End is set around the Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri, with all the characters participating in a geocaching challenge set up as a church outreach event.

How did you come up with this story? Was there a specific 'what if' moment?

My husband and I began geocaching in 2008 and find it a great way to explore the area we live in. If you're not familiar with geocaching, it's basically an electronic treasure hunt that uses a GPS (global positioning system) receiver to provide (and locate) precise coordinates, where someone has hidden a 'treasure' cache.

It didn't take long for me to begin musing ways to use geocaching in story form, but it took longer to gel. When Nicole O'Dell and I were chatting about submitting a proposal to Barbour for a novella anthology, I mentioned it to her. We tossed it around for a while and decided to run with it. The rest, as they say, is history!

Did anything strange or funny happen while researching or writing your book?

I hadn't been to Missouri since I was a young teen, which, um, was quite a few years ago. Though I could find plenty of info online about the types of trees, plants, and animals my characters could encounter in the Ozark wilderness, getting specifics about one of the trails proved more difficult. The Lake Area Chamber of Commerce couldn't help, as none of the staff had hiked the Trail of the Four Winds. A general plea for local information on Facebook didn't help either. Eventually I found Ozark Mountain Geocachers, a club covering a much larger area, on Facebook and joined the group. Then I 'haunted' the page, waiting for someone to be online that I could chat with. The woman I met gave me the name of an avid geocacher from Osage Beach, whom I then messaged on FB. He answered all my questions in great detail. I know I wouldn't have gotten as much right if it hadn't been for Gary.

Every novelist has a journey. How long was your road to publication? How did you find out and what went through your mind? 

My road began in earnest ten years ago, when I found myself with plenty of spare time at a new job in a small-town flooring shop. If ever there was a golden opportunity to write, this was it. I wrote eight complete novels over as many years, learning the craft piece by piece. I finaled in ACFW's Genesis contest in 2007, '08, and '09, and began getting 'nice' rejections from agents and editors, but was unable to break in.

When I saw Barbour's call for novella anthology submissions in December of 2010, I realized it was a great opportunity. Rainbow's End was the second proposal Nicole and I submitted, but with a different set of friends. We got 'the call' via email on January 31, 2011, and I signed with Joyce Hart of Hartline Literary Agency a few days later. For the story details, check out my blog post!

Do you ever bang your head against the wall from writer's block? If so, how do you overcome it? 

Of course. Doesn't everyone? (If not, don't answer!) I have three methods, I guess. One is to bounce stuff off a friend in chat, if someone is available. I also like to freewrite, just starting with what the problem is and what I know about it and why I can't do this or that with a story and how I feel about it. I simply explore options as they come to mind until I find a direction that works better than the others at reaching the desired goal. 

The third method I use is mind mapping, which I haven't been doing as long. I'll write something in the middle of a large piece of paper (the back of a calendar blotter works well) and circle it. Then I note options, circling them and connecting with the central thought. If an option contains an interesting thread, I'll keep jotting words and linking them back. Hit a roadblock? Try one of the other ideas. It's a lot like freewriting, but it's easier to see where I've been and how ideas connect.

Do you consider yourself a visual writer? If so, what visuals do you use?

I am quite visually oriented. My niece created a large inspiration board that hangs over my desk. On it I pin images of my characters (often printed from jupiterimages.com), floorplans of their houses, and maps of their neighborhoods. I also have monthly calendar printouts near my desk to remind me of blogging and other obligations, and pictures of my granddaughters to make me smile.

I've also started Pinterest boards with various inspirations for works in progress. It's a great place to see pretty pictures and still have the link to its original website right there, ready to click, if I want to read the info over again.

Novelists sometimes dig themselves into a hole over implausible plots, flat characters or a host of other problems. What's the most difficult part of writing for you?

My characters tend to be the opposite of flat. Instead, they come with all sorts of baggage and hobbies and interests and friends and enemies. The most difficult part of writing is not to let all the subplots get out of hand!

How do you overcome it?

Now that I'm writing my tenth full-length novel (still without contract for any), I'm learning to see which pieces of my characters directly affect the main plot, and to cut away the other (vitally intriguing) parts. In the first draft of "Topaz Treasure," Lyssa's mother, who walked out when Lyssa was 12 and hasn't been heard from since, calls her. There simply wasn't room in 20,000 words to let them have that conversation and follow the ramifications, so those scenes hit the cutting room floor.

If I can't see the parts of the story that can be trimmed out, I have critique partners who are willing to tell me the unflinching truth.

Where do you write: In a cave, a coffeehouse, or a cozy attic nook?

I write at work. I've partitioned a section off with flooring sample racks and have a cozy corner all to myself. My boss guys, thrilled to have an employee that can entertain herself for hours on end, got me an internet connection and occasionally ask about my work.

What does a typical day look like for you?

I arrive at work at 9:00 am and check messages. If there's nothing pressing, I'll pop open my laptop, check email and Facebook, and get started with my day's work. If I'm diligent to get into my story world first thing, I can pack several thousand words into the morning. Of course, if there are sales reps, freight trucks, customers, ringing phones, or boss guys with questions, comments, or requests, my morning can get sidelined easily. Honestly, it's rare to have so many work 'distractions' that I can't funnel back in easily once I've started. Some days it's the getting started that's the big problem, and it's more likely me than outside forces.

Some authors report writing 5-10 thousand words a day. Do scenes flow freely from your veins or do you have to tweeze each word out? 

There are days either could be true. I tend to write more slowly at the beginning and end of stories, and faster in the middle. When I'm first-drafting, my goal is 10K a week, or 2500 words per work day (allowing a day of flex because I never know what will happen). When I'm in the groove, a 1500-word hour isn't unheard of.

What’s the best writing advice you’ve heard?

Two-fold: Keep writing, and be patient. Don't be so addicted to the first story you write that you overly invest in it. One book isn't a career. Certainly work and rework to learn from it, but if you've done what you can with it and it still has deep flaws, write another one and build on what you've learned. Yes, it takes time, hence the 'be patient' part. Writing isn't a quick track to wealth. In fact, it probably doesn't lead there at all.

Do you have any parting words of advice?

Enjoy the journey, because the end isn't guaranteed. If you don't LOVE the process of thinking up stories, creating characters, writing their tales, and editing until the story shines, find another hobby. The moments where publishing houses write you checks and readers write glowing reviews are fleeting compared to the time it took to get there.

For the next few weeks my co-authors and I are featured at Romancing America, a site I developed to bring awareness to all the novella collections coming out from Barbour in 2012. There will be author interviews, excerpts of each story, and 'guest' posts about various aspects of writing the novellas. The opening of "Topaz Treasure" is posted here. Hope you'll all come by and say hello!

 Rainbow's End

"Topaz Treasure" is the story of Lyssa Quinn, who's the volunteer coordinator for the challenge. She's shy about sharing her faith, and hopes canvassing businesses for sponsorship will help get her out of her shell. But at the very first business she walks into, a soon-to-open electronics store, she encounters her former college professor--young, handsome, and decidedly anti-Christian Kirk Kennedy. To her surprise, he's interested in the geocaching hunt and, apparently, in her. How can she trust someone who once shredded her best friend's faith?

Here are links to various online retailer

Search and Destroy ... er ... Find

Now a literary agent at WordServe Literary, Barbara J. Scott has been a book editor for 13+ years and has more than 30 years of publishing experience, ranging from newspapers and magazines to books. The fiction line at Abingdon Press exceeded all sales expectations, and Barbara has been credited for kicking off a well-rounded series of quality, highly-reviewed novels. Among her many published works, Barbara is the co-author of best-selling novel Sedona Storm, as well as the sequel Secrets of the Gathering Darkness, both published by Thomas. Nelson. 

The Search-and-Find Feature

Over the years I’ve harped at authors never, ever to turn in a first draft. Some writers think the editor’s job is to spiff up their grammar, correct misspelled words, change passive voice to active, eliminate repeated words and phrases, or do laser surgery on their mixed metaphors.

Word travels in publishing circles about whether you’re a professional or you’ve made your living on the backs of good editors. You don’t want to be known as a hack writer.

Hopefully, the electronic tool known as search and find will make your self-editing chore more enjoyable.

1. Passive voice (one of my pet peeves): Passive voice is created by using a form of be, such as am, is, are, was, were, being, be, or been and followed by the past participle of the main verb, or gerunds comprised of a present participle (ending in “ing”) that functions as a noun. Learn more in Hacker’s Rules for Writers. Search for these words and recast your sentences to make them more active. Examples:

Passive: He was jumping over the cliff into the river below to escape.

Active: He jumped over the cliff into the river below to escape.

2. Qualifiers: These words clutter up your writing. Sometimes I think writers use them to boost their word counts. Examples: begin, start, started to, almost, decided to, planned to, a little bit, almost, etc. Examples:

With qualifier: Mary felt a little bit out of place among the nouveau riche.

Better: Mary felt out of place among the nouveau riche.

3. Weasel Words: These words are easy to spot. You can drop them and no one will notice. My high school English teacher told me that if you could replace the word very with the word damn, you didn’t need it. Other examples: really, well, so, a lot of, anyway, just, oh, suddenly, immediately, kind of, extremely, etc. I’m sure you can come up with your favorites.

With weasel words: Suddenly, she stood up and said, “Oh well, let’s retire to the drawing room and just stay out of his way.”

Better: She stood and said, “Let’s retire to the drawing room and stay out of his way.”

4.Adverbs: I don’t hate adverbs, but they “usually” are unnecessary, especially in dialogue tags. Your prose should communicate a character’s state of mind without using a tag line such as the example below. Use search and find to look for an ly followed by a space or a period.

With adverb: “I’ll kill him,” she said ferociously. (Really?)

Better: “I’ll kill him,” she said.

5. Extraneous thats or thens: Use the global search-and-find feature for the word that. If you can understand the sentence without it, you don’t need it. You notice I didn’t write, then you don’t need it. Both of these words are over used.

Writing is rewriting, and rewriting involves self-editing. It’s your job to turn in the cleanest manuscript possible to your agent or editor. Use the search-and-find tool to speed up the process.

Can you think of other ways you can employ the search-and-find feature in Word to edit your work?

In Other Words...

The 2012 edition of Novel Rocket's Launch Pad Contest: Boosting You Out of the Slush Pile has launched; it's set sail; it's under way; it's begun; we've commenced the proceedings.

The submission deadline for the first category, Historical Fiction, has all ready passed, and the judges are working on the entries right now. The winner will be announced on June 11.

However, there's till time to participate in the other categories. Consult the chart below for the schedule of submission deadlines for each genre:

Each category winner will be asked to provide the complete manuscript as he or she moves on to the final round Then, when all six categories are finished, a new panel of judges will determine our Grand Prize Winner.

And don't miss this important point: each entry will be critiqued, and the judges' personal comments and suggestions will be returned to the entrant. Many past participants, even those who didn't win, have found the feedback received very helpful in furthering their writing careers.

So if you're an unpublished novelist, it's time to get busy. Complete details are available on the Launch Pad Contest tab.

We want to hear from YOU.

The Supporting Cast

I've been reading a lot of novels lately and noticing that I love some characters, while others I care nothing about. I'm also writing a new book and rethinking ways to make readers know and love my characters. Specifically, I've been thinking about secondary characters, and it occurs to me that there are two major errors writers make with secondary characters: 1) readers either don't know these character well enough, or 2) readers know these characters too well.

Problem One: We Don't Know The Characters Well Enough

Like the lady in the GPS navigation device who speaks only when she wants you to make a turn, some of my secondary characters show up only when I need them to deliver news that will push the story in a new direction. They are more like disembodied voices than flesh and blood people. Readers don't know them, readers don't love them, readers don't even remember they exist until they pipe up with, "Prepare to turn left, now."

One Solution: Find Out What They Want 

We need to fight the urge to write parables. The father and his two sons, the unjust judge and the woman who keeps bugging him, the man who finds the pearl in the field--those people don't have names. The woman who sweeps her house looking for the lost coin could just as easily be a carpenter who searches his shop for an expensive tool he misplaced. Parable characters are interchangeable because parables are meant to deliver a message, not people we think of as friends.

Characters we love don't exist only to give us a message. They have names and hopes and dreams and shortcomings. They're real people and we can relate to them.

We celebrate them in song. And we do this not just for the protagonists, but for the secondary character, too. We sing All Hail King Jesus, but we also sing, Dare to be a Daniel. The hero of the Bible is Jesus Christ and he gets the most songs. But everybody, even secondary characters, are heroes in their own little corners of the story world--in their own subplots. They have a part to play, which can't be played by any other character.

Do you remember this from The Two Towers? 

Sam: I wonder if we'll ever be put into songs or tales.

Frodo: What?

Sam: I wonder if people will ever say, 'Let's hear about Frodo and the Ring.' And they'll say 'Yes, that's one of my favorite stories. Frodo was really courageous, wasn't he, Dad?' 'Yes, my boy, the most famousest of hobbits. And that's saying a lot.'

Frodo: You've left out one of the chief characters - Samwise the Brave. I want to hear more about Sam. Frodo wouldn't have got far without Sam.

Sam: Now Mr. Frodo, you shouldn't make fun; I was being serious.

Frodo: So was I.

Sam is real. We know him. He's not smart, but he's wise. He's not flashy, but he's solid as a rock.

If our secondary characters are the heroes of their own stories they'll feel real. If they have their own goals we won't be able to manipulate them and use them every now and again, and then shove them back into their corners to wait quietly until we need them again. 

Of course we don't want to make their stories so important that they overshadow the hero's story. If we overcorrect here, we'll fall into...

Problem Two: We Know Them Too Well

My sidekick characters sometimes like to steal the scene--hog the spotlight.

Have you experienced this? I think I know why it happens to me. My hero usually doubles as narrator. He looks at other characters and tells me what he sees, and since the hero is usually is well-spoken and discerning and witty, he gives me a colorful description of the quirky sidekick.

Once I get that description, I find myself falling in love with the supporting actor. I know him, I understand his quirks, and I think he's funny and sweet, despite his faults.

Meanwhile, no one is telling me about the main character. He doesn't sit around thinking about himself, ticking off his eccentricities. He sees himself as a serious,  honest person, working toward an important goal. He doesn't usually poke fun at himself the way he pokes fun, lovingly, at his friends.

One Solution: Let Them Tell You About the Protagonist

I let two or three secondary characters tell me what they think of the main character. What does he look like, what kind of personality does he have? Does he have any quirks? What are his strengths and weaknesses? What do they love best about him, and what fault rubs them the wrong way?

Early on, my main character protects himself, hiding away his peccadilloes. Once his secrets are out, he loosens up and lets people see him for who he really is. I naturally enjoy writing him, he naturally wants more of the spotlight, and the secondary characters take a step back, to their proper places.

Other solutions? What have you found that works to make your secondary characters come to life, while not allowing them to get too big for the britches and hog the whole stage?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sally Apokedak is the local liaison for SCBWI in Cobb County, Georgia. She has published short works in a number of places and has received an SCBWI Work in Progress grant. She can usually be found blogging about young adult novels at sally-apokedak.com.