Lara D. Elliott - Inspirations

I haven't posted in a while, so here's a quick update on what's going on. I tried revising my novels. Several of them. Nothing was really feeling like "the one." I even tried going back to an old manuscript to transpose it from 3rd person to 1st. I stalled on all my attempts to do anything novel related. So I stopped. I read a book. And another. I took a break. I stayed active on Twitter in the writing community. I chatted with my critique group. I did some beta reading for a friend. I think it was the beginning of May that an announcement was made for a picture book mentorship contest. It had been a while since I'd worked on any picture books, but it sounded like a good opportunity. Maybe I could write some more picture book manuscripts so I had some to choose from if I wanted to apply. Holy cow was I in for a ride! Over the next few days I wrote four drafts of new picture books! I tried rhyming. I tried unconventional composition. I was on a roll! ...

I was trying to link this year's NaNoWriMo story to the story of my first Nano which had so many obstacles to it. But, of course, that post was on my old blog! So, here it is for you. The tale of my first (and maybe my hardest) NaNoWriMo. Friday, December 4, 2015 How I (Almost) Failed at NaNoWriMo I haven't posted in weeks and that is because I was consumed with my crazy life and NaNoWriMo (that thing where you try to write a 50,000 word novel during the month of November). Here's the gist of things: I recently turned that spark of writing desire into a flame of writing reality. However, my everyday life is not set up for a writing addict. Here are the reasons I shouldn't have had time to write this November. #1--I work full time. Not just 40 hours a week full time, but  at least  40 hours, sometimes 50 hours or more on the job. #2--I'm a mom. I have a 5 year old Kindergartener and a 2 and a half year old terror who need Mommy's const...

I did it! I won NaNoWriMo! Woot! NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) is a writing challenge where you aim to write 50,000 words during the month of November. If you succeed, you ”win” and are gifted with coupon codes for wonderful writerly stuff. It’s not a competition against other writers, just a challenge for yourself. For the many people who don’t hit 50,000 words, the event is still worthwhile for the camaraderie of community, the establishment of a daily writing habit, and any bit of progress on a novel. My first Nano was three years ago. I had just started seriously writing a couple months before and had a completed novella. That Nano was a win and my first work over 50k. I had many challenges in my life at the time. You can read the story here . I shouldn’t have won, but I did. The following year, I only hit 20k. Took many months to hit 50k and the piece was a structural mess, so it’s still sitting. Last year I started a couple weeks early, but was able to reach 5...

In a book I'm reading, the characters mention the God moments in their life. Little ways that God has shown himself. I've mentioned several of my moments in previous posts. Here's another. Yesterday, on the way home from work, the Christian radio station I usually listen to was playing the same song yet again. I just wasn't in the mood. I flipped to the other Christian radio station on my presets and they were also playing something I didn't want to listen to. I have Christian CDs in my car and I just wasn't in the mood to listen to those same songs again. I changed the station to pop music. I used to listen to it a lot. I used to sing along to the worldly songs (leaving out the bad words cause I've always been a goody two shoes). I used to laugh at the DJs and their inappropriate jokes. The first pop song I heard yesterday was really good. A slow duet about love. The next one was awful. Dirty lyrics and not even a good beat or melody. The next one ...

I firmly believe that God called me to be a writer. He has made it clear time and again that I must write and I must tell the story He has given me. And yet I question Him. Why would God tell me to write a book, but not give me the talent to do it well? Why would God choose me when He could have chosen someone far more qualified to tell His story? I am reminded of the movie Amadeus wherein the composer Salieri constantly compares himself to the genius of Mozart. God gave Salieri the desire to be a composer, but did not give him the talent that Mozart had. Salieri had a good career, but never achieved the greatness of Mozart. So why did God give me the task to write but not the talent? Well, maybe He did. God gave me the task to be a writer. It is my calling. But God never told me I would be an overnight success. Writing is a long process. Getting good at writing is a longer process. Maybe I'm in the exact place God intended me to be at this moment. Maybe I'm not done ...

NaNoWriMo. National Novel Writing Month. Write a 50,000 word novel in the thirty days of November. And I won. Sorta. Last year's Nano project was started early too, but I only wrote a few thousand words in November. And then I kept writing for months. Over a year later, I finally had 50,000 words, but I was stumped on how to end it. After a couple critique partners read some chapters, I realized I had spent a year writing 50,000 words worth of crap. There were some good scenes in there. There was some good writing. But the plot lacked cohesion. Lacked motivation. I finally decided to give it up. Work on something else for a while. One project I started working on had actually started as a couple of scenes I jotted down many years ago. Even before I really became a serious "writer." I had an epiphany what direction I could take the story and I started outlining. It felt good to have some structure thought out. Then one day in October, I had a really crushing mom...

How does God speak to you? Are you listening? I’m not one of those people who pray and then hear God’s voice. Like literally. With my ears. Maybe some people do. They did in the Bible. But nowadays, most people receive God’s message through other means. Mine is through music. I’ve posted before about how music has been the vehicle to answer a prayer. This week it happened again. I had been hopeful, but knew that a couple of quasi-rejections were on their way. And I was right.   Wednesday, I learned that I was not a finalist in a contest that critiqued the first five pages of a manuscript. I entered two manuscripts. Neither was accepted. I’d only had a shred of hope left anyway, but the news still hit hard. I’d found out just before leaving work, so getting in the car for the ride home, I was sure the tears were going to come. But on the way home I heard the song that had encouraged me once before. They were the perfect words to express what I was feeling. ...

Have you ever been depressed? It's a hard topic. I have been debating writing this post for some time. Today I finally had the courage to write it. I felt compelled to. I will admit I have been depressed at times. I have been struggling with it a lot this year. Depression can come from a lot of places. For me it was feelings of inadequacy. Inadequacy in lots of different ways in lots of different parts of my life. Those feelings also spurred jealousy, anger, sadness, and a feeling of being overwhelmed. For me, depression feels like this weight pressing on my chest. I can’t take a full breath. My heart feels like it’s working extra hard to keep me alive. Depression doesn’t always show. A lot of times, I’m able to smile and act normal, carry on with business as usual. Temporary distractions can make me happy in the moment. The lesson in this is not to judge a book by its cover. You never know what someone is going through. I’ve never been clinically diagnosed with d...

Recently I had a bad week. I can't exactly express how bad it was without revealing everything that was wrong with it, but let's just say it sucked. I had an issue with my health. Bad. I had an issue with my job. Bad. I had an issue with my family. Bad. I was depressed. I was lonely. I was lost. I was angry. Part of me wanted to stay angry. Make a point. Show those causing stress in my life that they were destroying me. Get sympathy. I made a half-hearted prayer. "Lord, take my anger. Take my worry." I had obligations at work that I couldn't skip, though I sorely wanted to. Most inconvenient of all, I had a concert with my students. I had to stand up in front of hundreds of people and pretend that everything was okay. I dolled myself up then fought back tears as I drove to school. I hurried to be ready. I avoided talking to people as much as possible, merely answering questions and giving directions without chit-chatting. Finally, I crossed the front of ...

I'm not a speed demon on the highway, but I don't always abide by the speed limit either. A lot of times when I find myself in a hurry, a slow car gets in front of me and I have to sigh. "Yes, Lord. I need to learn patience. I'll slow down." This was not one of those days. I left work five minutes early. I leisurely rode in the slow lane. It's a good thing I wasn't in a hurry because halfway home, I got stuck behind a very slow merging vehicle that didn't seem to know how to accelerate onto a highway. Too many cars passing us for me to move over for a good while. When I got to town, the usual rush hour traffic, but I also hit every red light. Only two more intersections to go and I got stopped again. This time, a tractor trailer turned across my lane and was blocked from completing it's turn. I sat still at the green light while the truck inched forward. "Okay, Lord. I'm not in a hurry so this can't be a lesson on patience. Why are y...

Have you heard the song " My   Story " by Big Daddy Weave? It has been  my  anthem this past year. The fall of 2015 was when I was called to write seriously. There was a period when I was questioning whether to put God in  my   stories . I pondered this often in the car while I listened to Christian radio. Every time I had the question in  my  heart, the song " My Story " came on which basically says "If I told you  my   story , I would tell of Jesus." God was answering  my  question. He wanted me to put Him in the  story .   Flash forward a year. This week has been trying. Lots of struggles in home life, work life, and writing life. I asked God for a song to be played on the radio to help me through ("Thy Will" by Hillary Scott). He didn't give it to me. On the verge of depression, I considered throwing in the towel with  my  writing. I have too much to learn to be good. I have too much else in  my ...

As a musician, I learned to seek perfection. One wrong note can ruin a performance, so musicians seek to perform with 100% accuracy. Not just good. Perfect. On the other hand, I have heard that perfection is an ever-receding goal. It's like chasing the horizon. So, I have ingrained in me a desire for perfection without the ability to reach it. What a bummer! I think we all have some sort of desire to be perfect. One of my "friends" online posted her before and after pics. She went from skinny to skinnier! Sheesh. If she can't be happy with her size 1 body, how can I be happy with my (much bigger) size? I hear teenagers talking all the time about how they're fat or ugly or dumb or untalented. In my writing life, I have surrounded myself with peers who are in the same endeavor--to write a great book. So many authors talk about how their work stinks! Even famous writers of books studied in English class have fallen into the belief of "my books are rubbish....

Have you ever heard a song at just the right time and the lyric was something you needed to hear at that exact moment? It happens to me a lot. This past fall when I was debating what direction to take my novel, I heard the song “My Story” by Big Daddy Weave. A line from the song states “to tell you my story is to tell of Him.” I knew I had to make it a Christian novel. This impacted me so much that I actually included a scene where the male protagonist hears a song that changes him. Unfortunately, there are all kinds of rights and permissions you need to print song lyrics in a novel so I went the easy route: I wrote my own. Below are the lyrics to the song from my first novel. It was just what the character needed to hear at just the right time. (The character is blind which makes the lyric even more meaningful). Why are you questioning me? Everything has been for a reason. I control the tides of the seas. I command the changing of the seasons. You are broken and y...