Timely Reminders

I recently read an article by Jill Kemerer (visit the original article here) that served as a great reminder for me.

A month or so after I got over Wuhan Virus, I started experiencing post-WuVi (my term) symptoms. Some include short-term memory loss, severe lack of focus (way worse than my normal ADD), and quick exhaustion. These symptoms come and go as they feel like it, disrupting my train of thought and ability to accomplish goals.

You might have noticed my blog has been more miss than hit so far this year.

The thing is, I still have goals that I want to accomplish. I'm frustrated that these symptoms are not allowing me to do so.

When I read Mrs. Kemerer's article about writing through one's moods, this hit home for me. Not necessarily about writing through a wide variety of moods, though that's necessary too. But to write through the symptoms I'm continuing to deal with.

It hasn't been easy since I realized that on June 9. My writing has still seemed to only trickle in the following weeks. Not for lack of trying. Not for lack of motivation. Solely because of symptoms I couldn't seem to lick.

Then I received an e-mail encouragement from the hostess of Go Teen Writers' 100-for-100 Writing Challenge that I'm participating in this summer and autumn. In that e-mail, Stephanie Morrill shared the following quote by James Scott Bell:

The Strength in Our Weaknesses by Kellyn Roth {At Her Fingertips Launch Tour} + Giveaway!

Friends, today we have a special guest. Kellyn Roth is the author of The Chronicles of Alice and Ivy series, a series which I have had the pleasure of copy editing for her. The latest Alice & Ivy book, At Her Fingertips, released on July 17, 2021, so is now available.

Be sure to stay tuned after the guest article, because Kellyn is hosting a giveaway.

The Strength in Our Weaknesses

by Kellyn Roth

Hello everyone!

I’m Kellyn Roth, a historical women’s fiction and romance writer who loves filling my novels with Christian themes. Today I’m here to talk about one of the themes in my novel, At Her Fingertips.

This book is practically brimming with ideas—and I never planned for any of them! God just likes to toss random things into my novels, and this was one I hadn’t planned at all.

You see, my idea was to write a novel in which my main character, Alice, struggles to release her plans to Christ. As the Bible notes, “[God] knows the plans [He] thinks toward you.” (Jeremiah 29:11) Our end is “expected” to Him—He’s already got it all figured out!

So with a control freak like Alice (sorry, girl—it’s true!), I had a lot to work with!

However, one day, I was writing along, minding my own business, and suddenly, this happened:

“She was doing it again—letting pride and stubbornness pull her away from those she loved. She’d rather appear strong and reject vulnerability than have a close relationship with her family. But she wasn’t strong; she was weak, and every time she failed to show her weakness, she became weaker.”

After this happened, I had to go back through the rest of the novel during rewrites and think over what I really meant and do some serious Bible research.

Here’s what I arrived at.