Not a lot of them. You might start with only five or six.

You can easily buy a small metal holder with half a dozen or so coloured folders in it. Mark the blue folder Nonfiction Ideas, the red one Fiction Ideas, the Purple one Drama Ideas, the yellow one Poetry, the pink one Resources, and the grey one Business….

Now, you may have decided you only want to write in a specific genre. Say fiction. No non-fiction for you. And definitely no poetry or drama. That’s your choice, but if you’re just beginning to write, I’d suggest you at least have a few extra file folders just in case. You never really know where an idea will take you. Better to be prepared.

If you’re sure you are sticking to one genre, say Fiction, then you might want files for novels, short stories, characters, plot ideas, settings, and so forth. For Non-Fiction, you might want article ideas, column ideas, personal story ideas, anecdotes, quotations, etc. For poetry, different types. And so forth.

Of course, as you get going, and one or more of your folders begins to get full, you’ll need more folders. Or you may already have lots of ideas. In which case you’ll want a desk drawer, a filing cabinet, or a few cardboard filing boxes filled with folders.

What you do next is tear each idea page from your notebook and file it in the right spot. Or, if you have a notebook filled with ideas, write each one down on a separate page and file it.

What happens next?

Let’s say the idea you take from your fiction folder begins to blossom into a short story. Now you need a file folder for that story. If your catchall Fiction folder for ideas is red, you might want to get more red folders and give one of them the title of your new short story. As you go on, creating first drafts of stories, article, poems, or plays, you can designate a folder for each one.

You’ll also soon find yourself in need of more general business files. One for writers groups you belong to (maybe one for each group if they send out a lot of information). One or more for writers conferences you attend. Another one for information about potential publishers, one or more for information you gather on topics such as writing believable characters, how to create rhymes that aren’t cheesy, goals, and so forth.

The other thing you may want to do if (or when) you have oodles of ideas, is to sort them into a few topics.

Maybe you’re a parent and have lots of ideas for other parents. Or maybe you’re a nurse, a pastor, a lawyer… and you have a lot of ideas that might be of interest to others in your profession. Or maybe you’re passionate about justice, good food, safe water, etc. You can not only gather your ideas for things you could write about, but also print off relevant articles, cut out stories from newspapers, and file all the items you want to keep until you know what you want to do with them.

Can you do all this electronically?

Sure. I’ll take about that later.  If you’re like me, you might want everything in hard copy and electronic.

My previous post on “Getting organized to write: filing”

My previous post on “Tips for writers: finding things”

To see my office and get more details, watch my YouTube video, Organizing to Write: Your Space.

You name it, I’ve misplaced it. And I’ve spent hours and hours and hours searching for something, only to have it turn up shortly after I stopped looking for it. 

Can you relate?

I won’t try to fool you into thinking I’ve solved this issue. But this week, I will mention a few things I’ve learned.

It’s much easier to find things if you leave them in the location where you put them down the first time.

If I put things down once, I can usually find them again. But if I move them to a “better, safer” place, I can guarantee you I won’t remember where I put them.

The old adage,”A place for everything and everything in its place” really works.

The trick is to have a place ready for whatever you’re going to have coming in.

• A slip of paper with an idea on it should go either into a file folder for ideas or the file folder for the project the idea concerns.

• A new book on writing should go on the shelf for that kind of book.

• A contract should be put it either a file for contracts or the file for that particular project, be it on your computer or in your filing drawer.

• Even an email you don’t want to lose should be put it into the file folder for that topic in your email program.

By having places for everything, you won’t do what I’ve frequently done—stand in the middle of my office surrounded by piles of clutter, feeling overwhelmed because I don’t know where to put any of it. Or worse, wanting to write, but not not being able to because I don’t know where relevant information is hiding, and berating myself that before I can write, I have to first get my space in order. And that feels like such a huge task, I just want to walk away and forget about writing at all!

More coming on how to get organized so you have places for everything.

My previous post on “Getting organized to write: filing”

To see my office and get more details, watch my YouTube video, Organizing to Write: Your Space.

They’re in various places, including a 4-level horizontal filing cabinet, a smaller narrow filing cabinet, drawers in two desks, several Omni carts, several other movable carts with file folder spaces on the top and plastic drawers underneath, and a few file boxes.

The files are in many categories. Files with stories and articles that have been published. Files with stories and articles that might never be published. Resource files on a variety of topics. Files on various areas necessary for writers. A file for each book of the Bible. Files for contracts and marketing pages and characters in new books I’m working on….

But that’s not all I have.

I also have clear plastic bins. And binders filled with drafts of books and workshops I teach. Some of us are complicated…complex…

But never fear. There’s a book for us that I have found very helpful. It’s called Get Organized, Get Published: 50 Ways to Make Time for Success, and it’s by Don Aslett, who has written a number of books about cleaning, and Carol Cartaino.

I’ve read it several times. When it first came out, it let me know I wasn’t crazy to want to write 5 or 6 or 20 books at the same time. Later reads taught me other things about how best to organize so that I could work on all those books at one time. I reread it again last fall and it eased the panic I was feeling that I’d never be able to fulfill all my writing goals. One step at a time. One file at a time….

A file folder holds beginning info, but when you start adding pages cut from magazines or newspapers, books, audio tapes, journals, and other materials, it’s time to get a small plastic bin and label it with the title of the book, so you have a proper place to put things.

When you’re ready to stop gathering information—and that might be a few months after you begin or 20 years later—you can go through the materials and then create file folders to start organizing the book. Maybe a folder per chapter, or maybe a folder each for characters, plot, theme, etc. And then a folder for query letters and proposals, and one for marketing ideas, and so forth.

The point is, whether you’re just going to do a little writing—maybe 3 or 4 stories per year—or a lot of writing—say 30 or 40 articles a month or three or four books per year, a little organization will help you get there.

To see my office and get more details, watch my YouTube video, Organizing to Write: Your Space.

But when you begin a story, you usually have only of these things: a character you find interesting for whatever reason (might be completely made-up, based on someone you know, or a combo); a setting (again, either completely imaginary, very real, or a combination); a plot, or at least the beginning of a plot, even if only a “What if?”; or a theme (a message you want to present in some fashion to your reader).

There’s no rule about which kind of idea you should have first. A story or a book can come from any of of these places.The trick is to start with your beginning idea and build from there, adding the other foundation blocks.

Here are some concrete examples from my books to show you what I mean:

1. A Character

My novel, In Time of Trouble, started with a character.

The boy who was the model for the character, Shane, was in a high school class I taught years ago. He was tall, athletic, blond, and as communicative as a brick wall. But there was something in him I had to reach. and eventually we did have a breakthrough.

Don’t get me wrong. He isn’t Shane—there are many differences between them—but without him, I doubt very much that I would ever have conceived the character of Shane.

Later, as the story began to develop and I had to make choices as to what Shane did and said, he became very real to me, and I began to see what would happen (the plot), based on his personality and his strengths and weaknesses. I knew Shane was going to accept Christ half-way through the book, and I knew that in the end he and Sandy would, if not reconcile, at least find a meeting-point.

By the way, the entire episode, which takes place near the end, with Sandy dating Janice (who Shane was dating), actually began as a short story that I wrote long before I wrote the book. I simply incorporated the story into the book.

As for the message, I realized in a drama class at a Write! Canada (then God Uses Ink) conference, after I had written the book, that in a sense it’s a different take on the prodigal son story. God gives second chances.

The title came from Proverbs 17:17 a few days before it went to print—up until then it had been called Two of A Kind. However, a TV show with that name had come out and I realized I needed to change it. I like the second title better.

In Time of Trouble

2. A Setting

My novel, Shaded Light, came about because of a setting idea. I was in a beautiful Japanese garden in Vancouver and as I came around a corner I thought, “That would be a good place to find a body.” (No, not really!)

I actually called the book A Setting for Murder up until a little while before it was published.

Since I wanted to write a classic style mystery, I placed the garden in a closed estate in the Toronto area.

Then I began to develop the characters, beginning with the type of person who would become the body. I decided the estate would be owned by a corporate lawyer whose wife Ellen was uncomfortable with their new lifestyle. And they would have an only son who Ellen wanted to match up with her favourite cousin’s daughter. That led to the young lady, Lorry, visiting from Alberta. From there, the rest of the characters just appeared: the son’s lady-killer roommate; the other lawyers in the firm and their wives; the black sheep nephew, the housekeeper and her daughter, and so on.

Put all those characters together for a few days and things happen. My plot simply fell into place because of who the characters were and their  interactions with each other.

The message? Hmm. Good question. In the beginning, I think it was the fact that everyone has secrets. But later, I’d say it kind of morphed into something about materialism’s not being the answer—and the constant battle between evil/dark and good/light.—which of course is where the final title came from

Shaded Light

3. A Plot

My second mystery, Glitter of Diamonds, came about because of a comment I heard one day on a sports radio talk show in Toronto. I was driving on the 401 (4 or more lanes freeway) at the time, and you should have seen me trying to jot down the idea in my notebook while keeping my eyes on the traffic, which normally whizzes along well above the speed limit.. (Don’t try this at home.)

Oh yeah, the gist of the comment was that someone needed to take a certain hockey player outside and knock some sense into his head.

Now, I’m a total sports fan, and I’d been thinking for some time that I’d love to set a book in the world of sports. When I heard this comment, the plot literally leaped into my mind. What if a sports announcer suggested taking a bat to the head of an annoying baseball player? And what if someone actually did? Would the announcer be responsible?

When I got home, I had a huge amount of fun creating characters to fit the plot: a couple of talk show hosts, a long-suffering producer, a baseball team, including a very annoying but gifted Cuban pitcher and a struggling, older pitcher, a couple of newspaper reporters, a rather odd team owner, a jilted wife, a Marilyn Monroe clone, and a James Bond style mystery man. Put those characters together and, naturally, the story just flowed. It was probably the book I’ve had the most fun writing.

The theme? It began with “All that glisters (glitters?) is not gold” from The Merchant of Venice, one of my absolute favourite plays. And ended there.

Glitter of Diamonds

4. A Message

My novel Best of Friends came about because I had something I really wanted to say to kids. So many of the kids I’d taught in school or worked with in youth groups had their priorities a bit mixed up, in my opinion.

I remembered I Samuel 16:7. God had asked Samuel to find a man named Jesse and anoint one of his sons as the next king of Israel. Samuel was ready to anoint the first son, Eliab, who was tall and handsome. But God said no. And then we have this verse: “But the LORD said to Samuel, ‘Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.’”

So I set out to write a book that showed that what’s inside—in one’s heart—is far more important than outward appearance, material possessions, or popularity.

I created three teenage boys: Glen, who is Mr. Average Teenager in every way; Charlie, the doctor’s son, who is the new kid in town and who is handsome, smart, athletic, and well-off; and Phil, who was top dog before Charlie arrived, but who has more of the rebel vibe.

And then I created three girls: Nicole, who is smart, sweet, and gorgeous; her friend, Joyce, who is quiet and kind of average; and Marta, attractive but with a personality like nails on a chalkboard.

And I put them in a small town like the one I grew up in.

As is the case with most teenagers, lots of things, both good and bad, happened quite naturally.

And then I wrote three more books with the same characters.

After four books, I think the series gives my beginning message, but I also think the books says a lot more, and I would suggest that each person might see something different.

As the writer, I may have one message in mind, but as a reader, what you see may be quite different from what I intended. That comes in part from our being different people with different experiences and needs, and partly from my skill in helping you see what I want you to see.

So can you start with a message? Sure, why not? The trick is that you don’t force a message where it isn’t needed, or tack on a message that doesn’t fit, or get so determined to put in the message that you ignore the characters and the plot and the setting.

Best of Friends

No matter where your first idea comes from, there have to be strong characters who drive the story; a setting the reader can visualize, and which affects the story, and a compelling story. If you do that, the message, if there is one, will come out on its own, and might well be different for different readers.

I told him he couldn’t. I don’t swear myself. Why would I swear when writing?

He said he wasn’t me.

True.

He said that he was hot, tired, and frustrated, and he really needed to say one mild swear word.

I agreed that under those circumstances I might feel the same way.

Paul said, “So?”

I reminded him that I’m a Christian; although I think the real reason I don’t swear is that I find the words offensive.

Paul reminded me that although he attends church with his wife now and then, he doesn’t feel any restrictions for religious reasons. Plus he doesn’t swear much. What’s the harm in one little word?

I explained that Christian publishers don’t want any swear words in their books.

He countered by saying, “If you want me to be me, you should let me use the word.”

I gave in.

Later, my publisher, a Christian who was not actually publishing for the Christian market, asked me to take it out. I removed the offensive word, but I felt dishonest.

Much later, I decided that my integrity is more important to me than having a book in print. In future, I would write the book that is inside me wanting to get out, being true to the character and situations that I need to write about, and I would not worry about getting published.

Every writer is unique. And every author will have a different book burning inside. Someone raised in an evangelical Christian home may find it quite easy to write a book that will fit into most Christian publishing houses. But I wasn’t raised in that kind of home. So I can write for a different audience; one that, like Paul Manziuk, might use a swear word now and then.

But Paul was a small stretch: Shane Donahue, my main character in In Time of Trouble, was something else. A troubled 18-year old from a non-Christian home, in real life, Shane would not only swear but probably get drunk, take drugs, start fights, and have sex with people who didn’t mean a lot to him.

Why would a nice Christian lady who doesn’t do any of those things, and who has four well-adjusted, terrific sons, choose to write about a character like this? No idea, except I had to. God placed him in my heart.

How could I portray him without being dishonest? I had to show him drinking, hanging out with the wrong crowd, swearing, alienating his parents, making poor choices….

Because my real goal was to show what happens to someone like Shane who allows God into his life, I strove for balance, to give just enough images of his life without wallowing in them. I wanted the reader to understand what it was like for Shane so that he or she would look at flesh and blood young people with compassion instead of anger.

My husband and I ended up forming a publishing company to publish the book. It was far too “Christian” for a secular publisher, but based on the rejections letter I’d received (which all said a version of “you’re a terrific writer, but write something else”) we knew it would never fit the guidelines of the Christian publishers.

And the reviews we got, mostly from Christian sources, praised the book for being “honest” and “real.”

I still find it odd. Jesus said he was the Truth. He told the story of the prodigal son and forgave the women caught in adultery. Should we as Christians not be the ones leading the “reality” charge?

Yet many Christians seem to prefer books that are safe. “Our customers trust us, and certain shelves need to provide the safety our customers expect,” Margo Smith of Hull’s Family Bookstore in Winnipeg told me.  But Margo also said that there could be shelves for the other books written by Christians that perhaps aren’t quite so safe. Not all Christians want to be protected.

The reality is that less than half of the people who call themselves Christian even go inside Christian bookstores. What books do they read? Grisham, perhaps? Stephen King? Who knows?

For years, I’ve read very little “Christian fiction” because I couldn’t find much I wanted to read. I wanted books I could identify with, stories that helped me deal with the realities of my life, in which normal people, with all their flaws, play a definite role.

For me, there’s a huge difference between glorifying bad language and allowing a character to swear or do something I might not do so that I can see the character as he or she is.

There is a huge difference between pretending that Christians only have little problems that are easily resolved and showing what might happen when a Christian commits adultery or drinks too much or gets divorced or has an abortion.

“Christian fiction writers and indeed their readers,” says Margo Smith, “are often much more comfortable when the ugly side of life is portrayed as life outside of Christ. [But] the best Christian writers effectively weave in the theme of ordinary people committing evil, which is much more interesting, applicable and even helpful to those of us who are trying to come to grips with a complex world.”

Every writer will struggle with the external boundaries for characters and plot lines, but above all else, we must be honest with ourselves, and trust the God who made us to help us write the books we have in our hearts.

Copyright N. J. Lindquist 2013. Not to be reused in any way without permission. This article was first published in Exchange newsletter in July 2003.

You might also want to read my post, The Dilemma of Being a Christian Who Writes Fiction

I’m talking about the kind of editing where someone who is an expert in the genre takes apart the manuscript and points out every single flaw and potential problem so that the author can  hone it and mold it. It’s called crafting.

In my opinion, writing has four aspects: art, craft, business, and ministry.

It’s very easy to focus on only one of those aspects. But the really great book will have all four in balance.

• You need the art – the concepts and nuances that make it unique.
• You need the crafting – the refining, tine-tuning, checks and balances that make it great.
• Then you need the business side – the marketing, distribution, and everything that ensures the book has its own place and that it reaches the people you want to reach.
• Finally, there is the ministry – where the book leaves the reader entertained, enriched, challenged, and satisfied.

What is most likely to be missing these days – especially when the book is published independently by the author, but even in some books that are royalty published, is the crafting. Fewer and fewer books I read have been edited as well as they might have been. And I don’t simply mean making sure there aren’t any mistakes in spelling or punctuation.

Many writers don’t realize that editing is more than one thing.

You have concept editing. Does this idea work? Is there an audience looking for it? How can it find a niche?

Then there is substantive editing. This is the big picture stuff. Does the plot work? Do the ideas flow? Should there be major changes in the structure of the book?

Only after the substantive editing (which can feel like major surgery to the author) should the copy-editing and fact-checking come in to ensure that every detail is accurate and every subtle nuance is perfected, and there is flow, and the tension builds or ideas grow into a resounding climax.

And then there is the final proof-reading that catches every little misplaced comma and out-of-place word.

Unfortunately, as authors are given total control of their work, and royalty publishers employ fewer editors, expecting the authors to send them near-perfect manuscripts, the role of the really great editor – especially the substantive editor – is gradually being phased out.

Which means the role of freelance editors becomes more and more important. But that is a difficulty in itself – how does the author know which editor will be the right one for his or her particular manuscript? What isn’t needed is a “yes” editor who will basically just tell you what you want to hear. You want and need an expert who knows the genre you are writing in backwards and forward and can really direct and guide you – even tear apart your work so you can rebuild it from a stronger foundation.

Unfortunately, especially in Christian circles, there are too many authors who either don’t want their work touched or who don’t want to pay for substantive editing.

The ones who want their ideas untouched apparently believe they are God-given, and refuse to even look at the possibility that the ideas themselves or the way the ideas are presented might need some more work. I think some writers feel that the editor will cloud their writing with other ideas or overshadow it with another voice.

In reality, a good editor will actually make the author’s ideas more substantial and his or her voice stronger.

As to paying for quality substantive editing, that’s a decision each person has to make. But the old saw that you get what you pay for is frequently true.

Think about this quotation from “The Joy of Writing” by Pierre Berton, one of Canada’s most successful authors. He had hired a free-lance editor to go over his book before he sent it to the publisher. But after writing the book, he felt “My book didn’t need an editor; it was perfect as it was! She’d hardly have to take a pencil to it. As a courtesy, I sent it along to her….  Her assessment came back a week or so later in an eight-page letter, accompanied by notes throughout the manuscript.”  Yes, much more work was required.

And then Berton says, “I should have been devastated, but in fact I was grateful. She had brought me up short. I had been too close to the book, and had needed an outsider’s view to sober me up.”

I was speaking recently with a long-time Canadian publisher who said, “The more professional the writer, the more they value the editing process, and the easier they are to work with.”

To close with Berton. “A writer can get too close to his material, so that it becomes like a brick wall blocking off the horizon. That is why editors are needed.”

Whether you publish you’re own book or look for a royalty publisher, your book will benefit greatly from quality editing by a person who knows that particular genre well, and is also adept at knowing what to look for and how to advise you to make the changes that will ramp up the quality of your book.

First published on this site in 2009.

When I began writing more than 35 years ago, I had a BA in English and the English medal for my graduating class. I also had a very strong faith in God. It seemed natural to me to combine my knowledge of good literature with my faith.

I soon found, however, that not all fiction written by Christians was for me. Some books, like the Narnia series, delighted me. A few, like In His Steps, challenged me. But many of the others seemed trite and unrealistic. How could I write in a genre that I couldn’t whole-heartedly endorse? (Of course I didn’t like a lot of mainstream books either!)

As a Christian, did I need to write for the Christian market? Or should I just try to write great fiction, regardless of content or theme?

Over the years, I tried various things. Some worked and some didn’t. Eventually, I realized it wasn’t simply a Christian/secular issue, but a far more complex one. I had to understand the various kinds of fiction, determine whether I was going to write for the market or for myself, and strive to achieve excellence in all my work.

To begin with, I sorted the possible fiction markets into four categories and I decided I wouldn’t limit what I write but simply determine which ideas fit best in each category and write accordingly.

Category A

That which is commonly known as Christian fiction—stories that are comfortable and safe for evangelical Christians to read—no overt sex or violence or swearing, solid hope-filled themes, Christian characters another Christian can relate to, plot-lines which teach something good for a person who is already a Christian. Likely to be found primarily in Christian bookstores.

Many Christian writers, including myself, still sometimes find writing for category A frustrating. The restrictions can be stifling. Sometimes a character really needs to swear. Sometimes there can be no happy ending.

A surprising number of the Christian writers I’ve talked to (especially in Canada) say they don’t read a lot of Christian fiction because in the past so many of these stories have placed the message above the character and plot. These writers say they care more about well-written stories than stories with a Christian message. But the same authors who may not read much Christian fiction may still want to include a Christian perspective in the stories they write. Perhaps the hope is that the level of quality will be raised, and perhaps that is indeed happening.

Category B

Stories where the main theme or themes fit with Christianity—redemption, salvation, etc.—but the story may have elements that some evangelical Christians would be uncomfortable reading. Some will be close to category A (e.g. the Narnia books, the Mitford series), but others will have swearing or other unacceptable things in them. While some will be found in Christian bookstores, most will be found in secular bookstores or public libraries. (e.g. Susan Howatch.) These may be published by Christian companies, secular companies, or companies that have divisions in both areas.

Category C

Stories written by Christians but not specifically dealing with any Christian issues or themes. May be light or heavy. Likely to be found in only secular bookstores. (e.g. Dorothy Sayers, P. D. James). They are normally published by secular companies.

Category D

Stories with at least one character who comes to have a faith (or a stronger faith) in God. The evangelistic overtones can be overt or subtle. The goal is normally to have the reader make a similar decision. These stories are normally quite difficult to get published, especially if they are overtly evangelical. They are not really targeted for Christians and therefore may not interest Christian publishers, yet may be too Christian for a secular publisher/bookstore.

While many Christian writers veer toward this type of book, few publishers are actually looking for this kind of story.

Choosing

As I struggled over the years to decide which of these categories is the best one, I finally realized that none of them is any better or more sacred than the others. In other words, God calls Christians to write in every one of these categories. Some of us will stick to a single category; others will write in two or even three categories; a few of us will write in all four. But every Christian doesn’t have to write Christian fiction; and every book written by a Christian doesn’t have to have the gospel message in it. If we seek God’s direction, strive for excellence, and ask him to use not only our writing but every part of our lives, we will be fulfilling his call to be fiction writers.

Re-posted from January 2006. Copyright N. J. Lindquist, 2013. This article was first published in Exchange magazine in 2002. Not to be reprinted without permission.

Is your goal for being on Twitter to convince me to buy your product?

If you said yes, it’s okay. However, my question for you is this: “What if I’ve already done it?”

I’ve either bought your product or checked it out and decided it really isn’t for me. Now what?

If all you do, day in and day out, is tweet about that same product, please give me one reason why I should continue to follow you. (Our being related or bffs doesn’t count.)

Can’t think of one, can you?

So, now that I have your attention, I’d advise you to do one of two things:

1. Decide to continue tweeting about your product and accept that I might decide not to follow you. No hard feelings.

2. Come up with a goal that’s broader than just selling this particular product. What are the possibilities? Will you have another product in the future? Might you decide to add some blogs I might like? Do you just want to keep that contact just in case?

The bottom line is that I want to follow you – I really do. I feel guilty when I hit “unfollow.” But you need to make it worth my time to stay. That means giving me something more than appeals to buy your product.

More of my posts about Twitter:

How to improve your chances of selling me something on twitter

How to make me want to check out your link on twitter

8 random things that make me “unfollow” people on Twitter