Encouragement

So... The prayers have been working, I think. God has been using not only friends and family, but complete strangers to tell me, "Hey, you're on the right path. Keep going."

Today at work (for those that don't know, I watch over a community pool [read: sit and read/write all day]) I had a guy who started talking to me about my life and what I intended to do as a career. When I told him, "I'm a writer," he kinda gave me a look and said, "What, like, for film?"

I said, "Yeah, a bit. I want to focus on Fantasy novels, but film and video games are definitely on the 'to do' list."

He said, "That's really awesome! I've worked in the film industry for about 20 years now... Done a bit of everything. Acting, art direction..." Before I could say, "Wow, that's awesome," and ask for advice/tips/anything, he said, "Well, keep working. It will happen for you." And before I could even thank him, he just swam away. This man whom I'd never met told me - with a bizzare sort of confidence - to keep doing what I was doing, and that if I did, it would pay off. And then, with his message delivered, he just left.

So this kinda excited me, and I got to thinking about how to revise the plot for "Tobias", changing the parts that certain people didn't really like in order to hopefully make it more marketable.

That's when the mystery guy returned, passing me as he was getting ready to leave. Unprovoked, he said, "Keep up the writing. And hey, just write what you love, and don't worry about what anybody else thinks. That's the best way to go."

This time I was able to get a somewhat shocked, "Thank you," in before he vanished, never to be seen again... At least until some other day that I might see him.

And this isn't the only instance of this happening in the past few days. Heck, the day after I posted my prayer request, I was telling another guy that I write Fantasy, and he got SUPER excited, saying that that's mainly what he reads. Talking to him was pretty awesome.

I got in my car after work that day at 9, and on the Christian radio station I keep it on they were having a discussion about success - mostly in relation to jobs and stuff - , and made a point to mention that if you're following God, he'll put what you're supposed to do with you're life, and he'll make it happen. I was just able to catch this stuff at the end of the program as they were saying it.

So God has definitely been saying, "Yeah, I'm here, don't worry," and He's been using a lot of different people for that, and I'm EXTREMELY grateful to each and every one of them.

Call for Prayer - The Plot Needs to Thicken

Hey, guys. I know I do this a fair amount, but bear with me... I do think that it's extremely important, as well as exceedingly helpful.

A sane person might wait until morning to type up a post like this, but I feel an extreme pull to do it now, at 2AM. Take that as you will.

I really need prayer in regards to my writing. Specifically, I need help with:

1) Drive. While this is what I want to do with my life more than anything, more often than not it's really, REALLY hard to push myself to write every day, which leaves absolutely nothing done and helps nobody.

2) Creativity. God has given me the skills I need to make my goals happen... And they improve with each passing day. However, there are still a lot of times where I look at something I've written and said, "No, this sucks." Almost to my relief, a few of my test readers have agreed with me (without saying those words) and reaffirmed my belief that bits and pieces of "Tobias" really need work. This thing can't just be good, it has to be great if it's to stand ANY chance of doing what I want it to do. At the moment, it could be better. I need help getting where I'm going.

3) Luck/Being in the right place at the right time. Authors - even the skilled ones - in this industry can't just walk into Random House and say, "Hey, I've got a book trilogy. How many copies can you get into Barnes & Noble?" It's a lot tougher than that. And while I (somehow) have no doubt in my mind that it'll happen for me at some point...

3) Time/Speed. ...I'm having this voice in the back of my head lately telling me that sooner is going to be rather than later for this stuff. I don't exactly know the specifics - I'm no psychic or god - but I think that God is trying to tell me something... And I really feel like there are people out there that need my help, and that this whole bestselling-fantasy-novels-then-speeches-and-Christian-books-akin-to-Lewis plan is the best (if not only) way for me to get to them.

Now, I know that God isn't a fool... He'll get me where I need to be, without breaking a sweat. But I'm only human, and I could use some help. I have no doubt at all that prayer works - if it didn't, heck, I might not even be here now. And in the past when I've asked people to pray for me about this - be them family, friends, pastors, etc. - I've been MUCH more productive.

So I could use some of that now.

I know, somehow, that this is what I'm supposed to do. And I have no doubt at all that God has been starting to position and prepare me for it over my first year of college. For example:

- Meeting Stephen Graham Jones. Getting to sit down and talk to an author - one nominated for the Bram Stoker award no less - and having him give me tips (as well as lots of encouragement) was a pretty awesome thing for me.

- Getting the job at the Daily Toreador. I hadn't seeked out the position too much (much to my mother's grief), so God was forced to shove the "Help Wanted" ad down my throat. I had never written for a paper or anything really like it before, so I didn't have a clue what I was doing. The thought of writing a column (for which I knew none of the details. Heck, I'd barely read the DT) actually scared me a bit. So I just said, "God, if you want me to do this, give me the job, and I'll trust you. If not, just have them turn me down."

After a literal 5 minute meeting in which editor-in-chief Michelle Cassidy talked to me and glanced and the writing sample I'd brought, she offered me a job on the spot.

That would've been enough for most, but God had to be all like, "Nu-uh, dude! You 'aint done yet!" and so after only one semester of writing for the DT, departing opinions editor Britney Drumm offered me the job as her replacement. Something that terrified me (and still does, a bit), but I didn't see it entirely as a coincidence. So after some prayer, I accepted. God, I hope I don't screw that one up.

- Having an English teacher that was actually competent. That was pretty nice. What's more, she seems to have a graciously large amount of faith in my chances of making it in the literary world (she's a published poet, so she has at least some experience). As with Dr. Jones, Michelle, and Britney, that confidence really help me.

So yeah, if you guys could keep me in your thoughts and prayers for awhile, that'd be HUGE. I'm of course willing to return the favor (though I hope most of you know that I'd do it anyway), and would be extremely grateful... I've got a lot of projects planned and in progress: "Tobias", plus the rest of the Talebearer Trilogy, several short stories, and another project I'll talk about later (if things go well), all while working a lot this summer and then working at the DT when school starts again.

At least in my opinion, this kinda stuff beats partying and lollygagging any day of the week.

So thanks, guys. I hope I'll be able to share the fruits of all this labor with each and every one of you very soon. More importantly, though, I hope to be sharing the idea that it was God that put me on Letterman to talk about my book and the overall power of storytelling. There are a lot of things that I think far too few people hear, and this is my contribution to try to change that. Help wanted, as it's far from an easy task.

God bless you, every one.

- Britton