“Surround yourself with only people who are going to lift you higher.” (Oprah Winfrey)
This is my commitment to myself for the rest of forever. We’re going up. Be fearless in your willingness to soar.
We’re Going Up
Confessions of a Planner Addict
I am a planner addict.
I started using them in eighth grade, and I never looked back.
One of my 2016 goals was to actually USE my planner. I’ve been using planners since high school, but after turning into a grown up, using a planner regularly became hard. I think this was due in part to the fact that I haven’t found a planner that suits me…until now. Last year, I gave the Day Designer by Whitney English a test run by printing off one of their daily sheets and using it for myself. I liked the layout of the page and quickly ordered one for 2016.
For 2017, I’ve decided to give one lucky winner the gift of time. I ordered TWO planners. One for me and one for a lucky winner 🙂
*Just a note that this is NOT a sponsored post and I bought both Day Designers with my own money. I am sponsoring this giveaway myself! I have no affiliation with Whitney English or the Day Designer company. Just wanted to show some love to y’all and help you achieve your 2017 goal(s)!*
Haiku Friday
I’ve been trying my hand at writing creative snippets lately. It’s a great way for me to experiment and give myself a break from the longer stories that I write. Here’s a haiku. I never wrote one before…or I may have written one in elementary school and forgotten about it. Anyway, here it goes 🙂 Have a great weekend!
The Book of the Covenant
Then he took the book of the covenant and read it in the hearing of the people; and they said, “All that the LORD has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient!” (Exodus 24:7, NASB)
After going over this third instance in the Bible which uses the word ‘book’, I noticed a pattern. God must really want us to recite and hear His Word.
What struck me about this particular verse however is the Israelites immediate decision to be obeidient to the Word. If you’re familiar with the stories of the Old Testament, you know the Israelites failed in keeping this promise many times, as we often do. What can we do if we fail to live up to God’s standards?
God’s answer is the covenant.
One definition of ‘covenant’ given in dictionary.com is “the agreement between God and the ancient Israelites, in which God promised to protect them if they kept His law and were faithful to Him.”
The Israelites obviously messed that one up.
We often mess up too.
But the beauty of God’s covenant is He sealed it with His Blood, the Blood of His Son Jesus. As a result, all penalties for failing to live up to the covenant standards written in His Book fell on Jesus over two thousand years ago. He bore the penalty for all. We receives the promises of the covenant by believing and confessing His Son as Lord and Savior over our lives.
Declaring His Lordship means He becomes Master over our lives. Absolving us of all the mess we’ve created as a result of our sinful nature and empowering us with His Holy Spirit so we can live a life pleasing to Him.
So, fill your thoughts with the Book of the Covenant (the Bible, that is).
And, repent and believe in His Son, Jesus (the One who frees us from the penalties of breaking the covenant and imparts us with His eternal life. His eternal life empowers us to fulfill His covenant and receive its benefits)
How did Jesus make this happen?
First: Jesus died. Acts 2:22, NASB says “this Man (Jesus), delivered over by the predetermined plan and forknowledge of God, you nailed to the cross by the hands of godless men who put Him to death”
Second: Jesus rose from the dead. Acts 2:24, NASB says “but God raised Him Jesus) from the dead, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power.”
Third: Jesus is presently exalted and seated at the right hand of the Father. Acts 2:33, NASB says “Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured forth this which you both see and hear”
What’s the next step?
First: Repent. The Greek word for repent is ‘metanoeo‘ and it literally means to “perceive afterwards, to change one’s mind or purpose and it always involves a change for the better.” The first step involves your personal decision to make Jesus Lord of your life. (Acts 2:38)
Second: Confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord of your life and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead and you will be saved (Romans 10:9-10, paraphrased)
Then what?
God empowers you with the gift of the Holy Spirit and you receive His eternal life. You then embark on the lifelong journey of growing in your faith. Following His leading enables you to grow.
Concluding Thoughts..
That was a lot from one verse in Exodus but its invaluable truth. I first heard the gospel as an eleven year old at a flea market! One day, I sent up a random prayer to God asking Him why church was so boring, lol. He replied by sending someone my way to clearly lay out the gospel and give me an opportunity to make that decision for myself. Years later, that decision continues to shape my life.
For Readers
As one added benefits to my readers, if you have recently made a personal decision to make Jesus the Lord of your life, I would like to send you a New Testament and a pamphlet on growing in your Christian walk. In addition, I’ll commit to personally praying for you once a week for a year during my personal prayer time so you won’t feel alone as you embark on the life of faith. Email me at preslaysa(dot)c(dot)williams(at)gmail(dot)com with your name and mailing address.
BTW, this offer stands if you are reading this post months or years later after the date of this posting.
Till next week…
Then he took the book of the covenant and read it in the hearing of the people; and they said, “All that the LORD has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient!” (Exodus 24:7, NASB)
Restored Hope: My Writing Journey, Part 4
I have to be super completely honest, I’ve been avoiding writing this post all week. Why? Because when you’re presently in a hard part of your journey, well…the natural response is to avoid talking about anything related to it. Yet I know that telling my story will heal my soul, and so I will.
I left the 2013 ACFW writing conference intent on filling all those requests and increasing my knowledge of the writing craft. (Read part 1, part 2, and part 3 here) I promptly sent out proposals and manuscripts. Afterwards, I didn’t think much of it because I know it takes a while for people to respond. However, within a few days to a few weeks of the conference, I started receiving responses from agents, and they were positive. Some wanted to chat on the phone. Others offered representation on the spot! I was thrilled and overwhelmed. But how would I choose?
Despite the interest I had garnered from agents, I was slow to sign with one. (I was very, very slow to sign with one. I waited to close to a year after the 2013 ACFW conference to sign a contract.) My stories are a vital extension of myself, and so I took my time with choosing an agent. After much thought and prayer and research (a year’s worth of thought and prayer and research 😉 ), I signed with an agent the following year.
I also received a rejection on my manuscript. 🙁 That was super hard, but I had learned from being in show business to just keep going. So I started work on another one. I still believed in my first manuscript however, and so I got to work on improving that one as well.
When I started my second book, I was riddled with second book syndrome. I didn’t know if I could actually do this thing! Was that first book a fluke of nature? Was I a fraud? I inhaled writing craft books and work, work, worked on this second story. Then something special happened. After “hours and hours of beating on my craft” (to quote Will Smith), I tapped into what I call creative gold.
I had reached a new level of mastery in my craft. It was freeing and liberating and all around awesome. I knew that I knew that I knew the reasons behind the creative choices I had made, and I didn’t second guess myself. This video from Will Smith expresses my sentiments on talent, skill, and getting from Point A (nothing) to Point Z (something).
The Point A in my life was 41 Throop Avenue in New Brunswick, New Jersey. That’s where I grew up. You can Google the address and see my childhood home. The windows weren’t boarded up like they are now, but it wasn’t the best area in town.
As a child, I witnessed some bad things going on in my neighborhood unfortunately. But there was great beauty and great goodness too.
I remember catching fireflies on the front porch on warm summer nights. I remember playing double Dutch (or at least trying to play double Dutch) with the girls in the neighborhood. I remember receiving a winter coat from the local church around the corner. I remember sitting on the front porch and getting my hair cornrowed by Ms. Lee, our neighbor. I remember love.
My parents weren’t rich, but they did what they could to give me the best. They ensured that I attended the best schools, and that I wouldn’t be at a disadvantage because of how others perceived me. From this, I learned how to work, how to bounce back from failure and mistreatment, and how to…work. I think these early lessons help me even today as I navigate myself through 1) improving my craft and 2) building my writing career amidst setbacks.
God has carried me a long way so far. Only He could have taken a little girl with big dreams, and do what He has done. Thank you, Lord. I’m looking forward to seeing what He’ll do next.
Anyway, after “hours and hours of beating on my craft,” I not only went to the next level in my writing craft. I tapped into something even more special, I allowed the Holy Spirit to enter into my writing process.
On my first book, there were moments of creative inspiration, but they seemed so random and fleeting. On this second book, I can recall exact moments where I had let the Holy Spirit take over. When I did, the Holy Spirit opened my eyes, so to speak, and showed me how and where to put things together in the story. It is the most AH-mazing experience when the Holy Spirit comes alongside you and writes. That’s when the story is no longer yours. It’s HIS story, and you’re just the scribe. Awesome. Awesome. Awesome.
{Side note: Now that I’m writing this, my confidence is building. After the low points in my writing journey this year, when I see how God stepped in, I can’t help but believe that He has got my current obstacle in the palm of His hand!!}
Okay, so then I entered my books in all these contests. I entered both books in RWA contests and the 2015 ACFW Genesis. I also had a Young Adult novel hiding in my stash, and I polished that one up and entered it in contests as well. I didn’t final in all the RWA contests I entered. But that year, all three of my manuscripts semi-finaled in the 2015 Genesis. And then two of them went on to final. Then other RWA contests started emailing/calling with news that my manuscripts were finalists in their contests as well. When all this started to happen, I couldn’t help but think of the times when I allowed the Holy Spirit to move in my writing process. I give Him all the credit for the good news that started popping up in my writing life. I’m not special in any respect, but I do know my Lord 🙂
{Another side note 🙂 : When God moves, He moves! Nothing can stop His hand upon my life or your life. Invite Him into the details of your own journey, and let Him lead as He wills…Okay, I’m preaching to myself now because I needed to hear that too!}
The conclusion (the conclusion for now) to my writing journey will be posted next week!
Restored Hope: My Writing Journey, Pt 3
So it’s been a couple of weeks since I posted on my writing journey. I intended to finish up this series in August, but alas I attended the ACFW conference + I ran my first half marathon. Then I was busy gearing up for a new homeschool year with the children, so there ya go.
But I haven’t forgotten my promise to share my story in all it’s glory, lol.
Here’s part 1 and part 2 in case you missed it.
The Present
2016 has been a really tough year for me as a writer. There have been major God-can-only-fix-this obstacles tossed in my path, and it hasn’t been your usual rejection of a manuscript. Manuscript rejections are typical in the publishing industry. Manuscript rejections are like earning your battle stripes. I’m cool with battle stripes.
The writing obstacles I’ve undergone in 2016 have been deeper and unnerving.
My core values have been tested. Truths have been revealed. I’ve had to run into the arms of a God who shines His light in the darkness, and who I believe is 100% fighting on my behalf.
He sees all the details, and He knows all the details. He will work this out for me in the end.
The Distant Past: My High School Story
In the first post, I told you about how I think our past gives us clues on how we can develop in the present. In high school, I was accepted into one of the top universities in the nation, but the vice principal of the high school said I couldn’t graduate because I hadn’t met the attendance requirement. You can read the details here.
To combat this obstacle, we had to appeal to a higher authority. My mother contacted the Bishop of our Diocese and explained the issue to him. The Bishop contacted the principal, and then he came up with a solution: I’d attend a senior retreat that was hosted by another high school, and that would fulfill my attendance requirement. Problem solved. I graduated high school and went on to attend and graduate from my dream college.
In my present (2016 writing situation), I’m appealing to an even higher authority: God.
The Not So Distant Past: The 2013 ACFW Conference + Pitching Nervousness + Finalist Nervousness
I had lots of hope coming into the 2013 ACFW conference as a Genesis finalist. But there was one problem: I didn’t know who I should pitch to! There were so many options for agents and editors, and I didn’t want to make the wrong choice. I figured that I’d request an appointment with an agent who I had queried and sent a subsequent follow up email, but who had never responded.
My husband said: “Don’t meet with that person. If someone isn’t going to answer your simple email, why spend over a thousand bucks to meet with them one on one for 15 minutes?”
That was my first lesson in determining my worth as a writer. I never requested an appointment with that agent.
Know your worth.
I pitched to other agents and editors at that conference, and I left with multiple requests all around. I didn’t win the Genesis that year, and yes, I was bummed out. Thankfully, my husband attended the conference with me. He gave me a pep talk before my pitch appointments, scoped out the people I’d be pitching to, and he gave me a tough love talk after the awards gala. This was the tough love talk:
“You better get your tail downstairs and mingle. I’m going for a swim.”
He doesn’t mince words.
I followed his advice, and that evening I ended up meeting writers who would be my companions on this publishing journey.
I left the 2013 ACFW conference early the next morning intent on two things: 1) fulfilling those agent and editor requests and 2) upping my mastery of the writing craft.
Part 4 Next Week (For real this time!!)
Restored Hope: My Writing Journey (Pt 2)
All righty folks, here we are for part two of my writing journey. Part 1 is here in case you’ve missed it. So far in my journey, I’ve:
- Quit my full time job to be a mama at home
- Started learning the craft of fiction
- Decided to focus on contemporary inspirational romance
- Entered the ACFW Genesis contest for the first time (I didn’t place.)
- Attended my first ACFW conference and scoped out agents
- Received a publishing contract
- Turned down publishing contract
- Decided to enter the ACFW Genesis a second time
Does my journey sound hopeful to you so far? 🙂
2013, Writing Contests, and the Voice of God
Around 2013, I entered the ACFW Genesis. I remember entering and thinking not much was going to come from the contest. I had been still feeling the disappointment of having to say ‘no’ to the offer to buy my book. I know what you’re thinking at this point: “If you were so disappointed about it, why’d you say no?” Good question. I had to think long term about my career. If I had accepted that contract, I wouldn’t have been a happy writer in the long run. (Side piece of advice: Whenever you’re faced with a decision, carry out the ramifications of that decision to its ultimate end. Take your emotions out of it and really ask yourself: Is this where I want to end up?)
Anyway, I entered the Genesis. I forgot about the deadlines and all that and kept on with my life. Then one day, I was sitting at my computer, and the phone rang. That’s when I heard the voice of the Holy Spirit speaking to my spirit.
(I’m not joking y’all. I heard His voice. If you ever meet me in person, please don’t run in the other direction and think I’m some kind of weirdo 🙂 I don’t hear His voice all the time, but when I do, I know.)
I can describe the voice of the Holy Spirit in four words: calm, quiet, steady, authoritative, and true. True, true. True. Okay that was five words (or eight).
Anyway, I heard the Holy Spirit talking while the phone was ringing, He said: “That’s the category coordinator for the Genesis. She’s calling to tell you that you semi-finaled in the Genesis.
Me: She is?
No answer from Upstairs.
I’m completely frozen at this point, a bundle of nerves, and the phone is ringing and ringing and ringing. Finally, I pick up.
Category Coordinator: Hello, is Preslaysa Williams there?
Me: Yeah.
Category Coordinator: Congratulations, you semi-finaled in the Genesis.
God was right. (He usually is 🙂 ) After I heard that first sentence she started talking about some other stuff which I forgot about because by then my brain was going a million miles an hour. After I got off the phone, I was still in this twilight zone state of mind.
Someone else (a couple of someone else’s) liked my work. My writing wasn’t a complete fluke! I was a semi-finalist!
So I did what any over-the-moon excited writer would do. I waited until they made the official announcement, and then I wrote my huge Facebook post!
I then checked how many likes I received. I got about thirty of those…
A Contest Final, Queries, Insecurities…and Hope
A couple months later, I found out that my manuscript was a finalist in the Genesis too! (I didn’t hear the voice of God that time 🙂 )
And shortly after that, another editor whom I had submitted to had requested my full manuscript!!! At this time, I was also actively querying and researching agents. I received some non-responses from agents, some rejections from agents, and some requests for fulls too!!
Squee!!! I am over the moon thrilled. But then I realized that I’d be attending the 2013 ACFW conference as a Genesis finalist and all my fears and doubts and insecurities soon followed:
What if I win?
What if I don’t win?
What if the editor buys my book?
What if the editor rejects my book?
Who do I pitch to at ACFW?
Should I get an agent?
How do I pitch anyway?
What if I mess up my pitch?
Too many questions in my head. But there was one thing that had held me together during that time…hope.
I had hope.
Part Three Next Week….
(P.S. I haven’t forgotten about my high school story, either. I’ll be continuing that in future posts.)
Restored Hope: My Writing Journey (Pt 1)
This month, I’m talking about my writing journey. I’ve recently received some emails asking me: “You’ve won all these writing awards, when will I be able to read your books?”
God knows the answer to that one. I’m fully trusting in Him. But I wanted to answer the question posed in those emails by sharing my publishing journey with you to date. In doing so, I hope to restore your hope in your own dreams.
Just as an aside, I had hoped to write about my publishing journey in one blog post, but there was absolutely NO WAY I could cram eight and a half years of writing and publishing experience into one post. So this is the first of a multi-part series 🙂
First, a Bible verse (And second, a little anecdote…And then third, my publishing journey.)
“They that trust in the Lord will be like Mount Zion. They shall never be removed.” (Psalm 125:1)
Since becoming a writer, I’ve learned to notice patterns. Patterns in events. Patterns in behavior. Patterns in my life. I think that’s because the gargantuan task of writing novel length manuscripts causes me to pay more attention. And so I’ve started paying attention to my life’s patterns. Whenever I reach a personal turning point, God always brings me to what I now call: “the very end of the end of the end”. Meaning, there’s no one else I can trust in but Him to make it through. Hence, Psalm 125:1 This “end of the end of the end” moment happened to me when I was a high school senior.
My Anecdote
As a high school senior, I had one dream college: Columbia University. I loved everything about Columbia. Their Core Curriculum. Their location (Manhattan). Their history of producing some of the greatest minds in the world. I loved Columbia so much that I applied to it through the Early Decision process. Early decision shows the Admissions Committee that you’re serious about attending their school. You’re not “playing the field” so to speak. Early decision is also a binding agreement (versus Early Action admission, which is non-binding) Early decision means that you send in your application exclusively to this school and withdraw all other applications to other schools. You can’t apply to more than one school under Early Decision. If you are not accepted via Early Decision, you will be either rejected or deferred. Rejected applicants can’t apply again to that school until the following year. Deferred applicants will have to compete in the larger, regular admission pool. If you are accepted via Early Decision, then you HAVE to attend that school. You are committed.
I applied to Columbia University through Early Decision, and I was accepted! Squee!! I remember receiving that letter and thinking about all the hard work I’ve done leading to that point. I didn’t excel in academics alone. A lot of the applicants to Columbia were also top students. Everyone was highly intelligent. For me to really stand out, I had to focus on one non-academic pursuit and shine in that pursuit. For me, that was acting. (I hadn’t discovered writing at this point in my life.) The Columbia admissions committee saw this in me and decided to give me a chance.
However, there was a hiccup in my dream even after I received the acceptance letter. I was a series regular on a TV show. Acting on a TV series meant that I was out of school a couple of months of the year. There are union regulations and laws in place for these situations, and so my teachers, producers, and I made sure we met them. I had a tutor on set, and I had to fulfill a set number of school hours each day. I would regularly mail my work to my teachers. They’d grade them, and I’d move on to the next assignment. I did pretty well, ranking in the top ten percent of my high school class and graduating with honors.
Yet the vice principal of my school didn’t think this was enough. He had met with me in his office and stated that because I wasn’t physically in the school building, I hadn’t met all the attendance requirements to graduate. And so I wouldn’t graduate from high school. Mind you, I have already received my acceptance letter from my dream college and I told them I’d be going. Under the Early Decision criteria, I had to attend that fall or my chance would be gone.
A huge dilemma for sure…
(Anecdote to be continued next week…)
My Writing Journey…the beginnings
I started writing fiction in January of 2008. I had left my full time job which held the promise of promotion and increased income to become a mother at home. My first child was eventually born two years later, and so I used these quiet years to start learning the craft of fiction. This was my adult “Early Decision.”
I wrote a lot of stuff. Journal entries. Young Adult. Fantasy. I finally decided that I’d focus on writing contemporary inspirational romance. I’d eat, sleep, and read romance until I knew the genre. (Okay, I’m exaggerating a bit when I say that I ate, slept, and read romance, but you get the gist. I had a strong hunger to master the romance genre.)
After a couple of years, I felt confident enough to enter the Genesis in 2011. (Okay, I’m exaggerating here too. I wasn’t confident at all about putting my work and my heart out there for people to judge! I was so nervous when I entered the Genesis in 2011!) I didn’t place that year, but I attended the ACFW conference and learned all that I could about the craft and business of writing. I love the ACFW conference. I even scoped out some agents and pondered someday signing with a literary agent 🙂
After the conference, I submitted my book to some publishers. I received non-acceptance letters. The letters were all very kind and professional. I wallowed a bit, but then I kept writing and submitting to publishers. I eventually received interest in my manuscript from one publisher, and they offered me a contract! I was over the moon happy! I was un-agented, and there was little room for negotiation in the contract. I didn’t think the terms would benefit my career in the long run, so I declined.
That was one of the toughest decisions I have ever made. Especially after my adult “Early Decision” to become a professional writer years earlier. I had set my other options aside and decided that for the rest of my adult life, I’d be a professional writer. Tough. Tough. Tough.
But I said to myself that I’d remain pre-published for now and trust that God had something better in mind for my writing career. By this time it was 2013, and I entered the ACFW Genesis contest a second time…
(To be continued next week!)
