Posts Tagged ‘Writing’

She Speaks Scholarship Giveaway

Friday, April 1st, 2011

She Speaks

I receive emails all the time from women of all ages who want to write and speak but have no clue how to get started. While I’m happy to help women of any age, I have a special place in my heart for the 20-something woman who feels this tug and desire.

At the age of nineteen I sat down at my laptop, alone in my dorm room, and tapped out the following words thinking I was just writing a journal entry:

In a busy, noisy world, a little girl walks onto a dark stage and begins to perform. She wears her pink princess costume with pride.

Will you love me? her actions ask. Will you hold me; will you keep me close to your heart forever?

The pain in her eyes screams at you. And with graceful pirouettes across the stage, she beckons you to choose her, to set her apart from the other performers, and to call her beloved.

She has wounds buried so deeply beneath her costume that she has almost forgotten they are there. But the laughter of her audiences echoes through her mind as she thinks of all the times she has tried and failed.

All she has ever wanted is acceptance, but she has never found it—at least not for long…

She has been missing the Divine Dance because she has been too busy dancing for men and princes to notice the king.

When I finished that night I had no idea God was beginning the process of calling me to write and speak for His glory. Over the course of the next year He took me on a journey that led me (butterflies in my stomach and all) to a writer’s conference where I sat before editors and agents and tried to figure out if the dream God placed in my heart was just my imagination. 

Turns out, it wasn’t. At the age of twenty, a real-life publisher offered me my very first book contract and God and I were off on an exciting adventure I could have never imagined. It’s been a whirlwind ever since.

In all of the conferences I‘ve been to since, one of my absolute favorites is the Proverbs 31 Ministries She Speaks Conference in Concord, NC. If you sense God beginning to tug on your heart and lead you in the direction of writing or speaking for Him, then you MUST attend this conference.

And, as a special treat, I want to let you know that the She Seeks division of Proverbs 31 is giving away a scholarship to one lucky 20-something woman who is willing to step out in faith and enter their contest. You can learn more about that here.

For those of you of any age who want to attend She Speaks you can head over to She Reads and read about they contest they are hosting here.

My story attests to the fact that God doesn’t look at us and see age. Instead, He looks for willingness, faithfulness and availability. Be willing to follow God down the path He is leading you on no matter how crazy it seems.

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Posted in Contests, Shannon Recommends, She Seeks, Writing | 8 Comments »

The Danger of Being an Expert

Thursday, May 13th, 2010

librarygirl

I teach writing. To elementary students.

While that sounds harmless it really is a scary thing. For the past four years I’ve taught writing to students of all ages ranging from 6 to 19. During that time I’ve seen students of all skill levels pass through my classroom. Some students are gifted, others are diligent and some could really care less about writing or anything pertaining to it.

I always do my best to treat each student the same, but there is one type of student that is especially difficult for me: the expert. This student comes in all shapes and sizes but there are several common denominators making him or her easy to spot within the first week of class.

He or she typically:

▪Has been told by friends and family members that his/her storytelling is exceptional

▪Has been told by someone not in the publishing industry that his/her stories should be published

▪Has never had any formal writing training

▪Doesn’t see a need for editing

▪Was enrolled in my class because he/she loves writing not because he/she wants to learn anything new about how to write

Students who are experts are hard for me because they refuse to be taught. You would think that the fact I am author of ten published books or that I have a degree in a publishing related field would give me some credibility in their eyes. But it doesn’t.

So the experts continue to tell instead of show, skip the quotation marks, write boring dialogue and use cliché endings in their stories. Every year, without fail, one of my students who began the year at the top of the class finds herself at the bottom.

Average and mediocre writers outshine the expert with their end of the year stories. Yet, the expert sits with her arms crossed and a smug look on her face believing that the shoddy piece of work she has in her portfolio will become the next great American novel.

As my students shuffle out of my classroom I shake my head silently and think to myself, Someday she’ll learn.

You see, I used to be an expert too. From the moment I could hold a pencil my teachers were dubbing me a future author. My family spent hours entertained by my stories. Every writing assignment I ever had seemed too easy for me. Thanks to some God given talent I was always a good writer. For years that was a roadblock when it came to making any progress toward becoming a great writer. (While I’ve still not arrived at the pinnacle of greatness I would like to think I’ve made progress.)

I was a twenty year old college student when I signed my first book contract. While most of my professors were starry-eyed over my accomplishment there was one man who wasn’t. During the day he worked as the sports editor at a major newspaper and at night he taught writing classes to journalism students.

During the semester he took each student’s best work and put it up on the overhead projector (with their name on it) and let the class critique it. When my turn came he chose my worst and sloppiest assignment. It was awful. I know everyone in the class must have thought Um, this is the girl with the book contract? I was so embarrassed.  

If the humiliation wasn’t enough he asked me to stay after class.

“The number one rule of being a published writer,” he said, “is to always do your best work because you never know who is going to read it.”

After I let those words sink in he offered me some parting words before I left.

“By the way,” he said casually, “if anyone else turned that paper in I would give them an A because that might be their best work. But you’re better than that.”

With that he packed up his bag and walked out of the room. He had no idea then that I would think about that moment at least once a month in the years that followed. I am incredibly grateful for that experience, as painful as it was. That lesson alone was worth the price of my college tuition because it made me a better writer.

Being an expert may make you feel important but it stunts your growth. Aim instead to be teachable. You will go much further that way.

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Posted in Life Lessons, My Life | 6 Comments »

So You Want to Be a Writer/Speaker?

Thursday, March 11th, 2010

She Speaks

Eight years ago I was an unpublished girl with a dream of writing books and speaking to audiences across the nation. I had no clue about the realities of the publishing industry or the business aspect of speaking. All I knew was that God had put a dream in my heart and I wanted to pursue it with everything I had.

So I signed up and went to a local writers’ conference and pitched an idea I had to an editor from an actual publishing house. Surprisingly, she liked it. A few months later she offered me a contract and became my editor. She introduced me to another author who mentored me and introduced me to her agent. My career took off from there.

Sometimes I wonder where I would be if I never went to that first writer’s conference. I was so scared that I almost backed out multiple times. But that was the experience that God used to set me on the path He had for me. Had I let fear have its way I would have missed out on one of the most exciting adventures of my life.

Because of that, I’m a huge advocate of writers and speakers conferences. I often tell anyone who even dreams of writing and speaking to make whatever sacrifices are necessary to get to a conference near them. 

And conferences aren’t just for beginners. They are for any of us who need some help, improvement or encouragement along the way. For that reason I’m signed up to go to my two favorite conferences this year: Mt. Hermon Christian Writers’ Conference and She Speaks. Now, the registration deadline for Mt. Hermon has passed, so I won’t waste time telling you all about that one.

But I do want to encourage those of you who are thinking about writing and speaking to consider coming out to She Speaks this year. They even have a teen track for those of you who are still in high school but would like to pursue writing and speaking in the future.

This is your chance to be mentored and taught by some of the godliest women I know. Now only will you get a chance to sit down with editors and agents in person and pitch your ideas to them, but you will also get the chance to take classes taught by industry insiders and you will have the opportunity to connect with countless women (and girls) who share your life’s passion.

Like I said, I’ll be there. So check out the conference here. And if you have questions leave them in the comments section and I will answer them as quickly as possible. Last year they ran a contest that allowed teens to win scholarships. If they do that again, I’ll be sure to post a link to how to enter. My friend and former student Sarah won last year and it was an unforgettable experience for her (and we had a good time hanging out).

If this conference won’t work for you financially, keep your eyes and ears open to conferences in your area. Even if you have to spend birthday money or Christmas money do what it takes to go.

You never know. Going could change your life. It changed mine.

UPDATE: There’s a contest going on right now for three scholarships to the 2010 She Speaks conference. You can learn more and enter here.

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Posted in Shannon Recommends | 10 Comments »

Fan Mail Friday: Writing Questions

Friday, October 30th, 2009

This month’s Fan Mail Friday questions pertain to writing and how I got started. You can also hear me talk about my passion for the New York Yankees.

If you have a question you would like me to answer in a future edition of Fan Mail Friday you can send it to fanmailfriday AT beingagirlbooks.com (replace AT with @).

Happy Fall!

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Posted in Fanmail Friday, Writing | 1 Comment »

Are You Afraid of Failure?

Friday, August 7th, 2009

Stage

Deep down, many of us are afraid of failing. More of us are probably afraid of criticism. None of us want to be told that our dreams can’t be made into reality or that we don’t have what it takes.

I don’t think there’s a soul alive that could be more afraid of criticism and failure than me.

Yet, I work in an industry where agents and editors scrutinize your work before they decide if they want to offer you a contract and other writers publicly critique your work once it’s complete and call it a review. Just today I lost a great opportunity because I don’t have enough Facebook friends or comments on my blog.

I could have cried about it. But I didn’t. Instead I shrugged it off and went back to work on the project I’m in the middle of. If anything, the lost opportunity made me work harder to be excellent. People are watching and I’m representing Christ.

I’m no expert in overcoming the fear of failure. In fact, I’m probably one harsh comment away from my next meltdown. But there are a few things I have learned about overcoming the fear of failure. I want to share three of them with you today.

1) Understand that failure and/or criticism won’t kill you. I know someone who tried out for American Idol recently. She was turned down in two cities. Do you know what she’s doing now? Fixing the things they told her they didn’t like and planning on traveling to a third city. This friend got turned down twice. Her “flaws” and mistakes were pointed out twice.

Each time she fixed what they suggested, improved as a singer and continued toward her goal. She could have stopped in the first city and cried herself to sleep for weeks. But she didn’t. She trusted the judgment of experts and decided to grow in the process. Even if she doesn’t make the show this season, she’ll probably be a better singer from the professional critique.

2) Do things that scare you. If you never expose yourself to the possibility of failure, if you never put yourself in a situation where you can be criticized, you will probably never do anything that really matters. Last week I went to a conference for professional writers and speakers, and I signed up to be critiqued by a group of my peers. Don’t think I wasn’t terrified. I was so nervous I could hardly see straight. But I knew I would never get better as a speaker if I didn’t put myself in an environment where I could figure out where I needed to improve. So I sought out a safe place where I could get the kind of feedback I needed.

I do the same thing with my writing. It goes to a team of people I trust to honestly critique it before it ever finds its way to an editor. Every time I see an email in my inbox from someone who is giving me feedback I have to calm my queasy stomach before I can open her email. But my work is always better for it.     

3) Don’t assume that God’s plans are ruined when yours are. Psalm 138:8 says that the Lord will fulfill His purpose for each of us. That means His plans for us aren’t ruined even when our plans for ourselves are. My senior year of high school I ran for senior class president. I lost the race by a narrow margin. A few weeks later I was offered the position of yearbook editor. Instead of spending my senior year politicking I spent it up to my elbows in publishing—fitting when you consider my future.

God knew then the plans He had mapped out for me. He had to disappoint me before He could exceed my expectations. My time as the yearbook editor was part of what made me choose to pursue journalism and writing in college.

When you trust a sovereign God who has good plans for you—plans to prosper you and not harm you—like Jeremiah 29:11 tells us, then you don’t need to fear failure. God is in control. Even if you experience a few disappointments and setbacks along the way, He will fulfill His purpose for you. Of that you can be sure.

How has a past failure or criticism helped you? Explain how something that once scared you became a growing experience when you were willing to step out in faith. Has there been a time in your life where God had to disappoint your plans to fulfill His plans for you?

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Posted in Fear, God, Life Lessons, Writing | 6 Comments »

I Always Wondered if She Was Proud

Wednesday, June 24th, 2009

iStock_000008962604XSmallWe called her Mrs. C.  She had short blonde hair and a wedding ring the size of Texas. Every day she came to work in a sharp looking outfit and a perfect French manicure. Her class was always my favorite. I’m guessing that she’d read thousands of books by that time. Sure, she’d never written a book but anyone who has read that many knows good writing from bad.

The wife of a surgeon, she didn’t have to work but she came to class each day for the pleasure of it all. As one of the most revered teachers in my high school she sent her students off to colleges as prestigious as Stanford and Annapolis and as small and unknown as the one I chose.

I loved her. Not because she was wise and well read or kind and funny. She was all of those things. But that’s not why I loved her. I loved her because she gave me a C-. It was the only C of any kind that I had ever (and have since) received on a writing assignment. I deserved it and she knew it. Writing  has always come naturally to me.

From the moment I could hold a pencil and write my name in squiggly letters across the top of a page I’ve been able to wow people with my writing. My second grade teacher was the first who told me I’d grow up to be an author. Every teacher I had since agreed with his assessment. Because I possessed a little bit of raw talent nobody ever gave much thought to helping me develop it—until my senior year in high school.

She saw potential in me and she wanted me to know it. That school year she marked up my papers like red was her favorite color. During timed writings I was usually the first in my class to finish, so she’d send me back to my desk.

“Just write for five more minutes,” she’d say, “and your essay will be that much better.” Her voice is still the one I hear in my head when I’m nearing a deadline for a book or an article. Nine years after leaving her classroom I still write for five more minutes hoping that it will take my work from good to great.

Two years after leaving her classroom I was offered my first publishing contract, and I sent her an autographed copy of The Divine Dance. I always wondered what she thought—as my teacher—when I found success and satisfaction as a writer. Was she surprised? Proud? Had she already moved on to new students with their own dreams and stopped caring?

This week I got my answer. No, I didn’t hear from Mrs. C. (although it would be nice to). One of my own writing students entered and won a writing contest and will be getting her first official byline—and a trip to a writers and speakers conference. When I got the email containing the good news I screamed. I was so proud of my student in that moment that I felt like I had won something too.

The truth is I had. There’s an immense amount of satisfaction that comes from watching someone else realize his or her potential. I don’t want my students to ever wonder if I am proud of them and all they accomplish. So, for the record, I want to publicly congratulate my former student, Sarah Rupp, on winning her first writing contest.

Great job, Sarah! This will be the first of many of your writing successes. I am so proud of you.

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Posted in Teaching, Writing | 5 Comments »