what if – Almost An Author

This Little Light

Sharing your fantastical words and worlds can be terrifying. You feel everyone’s eyes on you, weighing the thoughts you had the audacity to record.

What if I’m not good enough?

What if they laugh?

What if I make a fool of myself?

These are not the what ifs you want to dive deep with.

Of course we imagine the worst—imagining is what writers do best! But only you can change that narrative and write a different adventure. We are encouraged to identify the lie our character believes, but dare we dig deeper and challenge the lies we believe?

When you dream up worlds that don’t exist outside your mind and then people them with inhabitants from your imagination, it can be intimidating to reveal your creation. But if you find a kindred spirit it’s a little less scary.

Still, someone needs to make the first move, to confess,

“My name is Sophia and I write science fiction and fantasy.”

Two things can guide you through these unknown waters:

1- The spark you brought with you

2- The wisdom of those who have gone before.

Hold onto the candle of your imagination. Remember, you came because you had a thought, an idea, a story. You had a little light, and it led you into this universe. Your flame, whether large or small, is more than what meets the eye. Colored and shaped by the experiences that make you unique, this light is unlike any other.

Nurture it. Don’t compare it to the bonfires of those you meet.

Yes, learn from the professionals you want to emulate, those who’ve produced what you’re aiming for, but don’t judge your works by theirs. Study, practice, and follow their advice, then work it out with others whose lights are similar to yours.

Find support among your peers while you follow the pros. Critique partners, writing groups, retreats, conferences, and seminars are great opportunities to find like-feathered friends. Flock with them.

Remember, everyone starts as a beginner. so don’t be afraid to ask how they got started. Only those who haven’t gone through the trenches think writing is easy.

Be generous with what you’ve gleaned. We don’t all have the skills to teach a master class, but we can pass along the bits we’ve learned here and there. It all counts. Frequently, our experience provides what is lacking in another’s.

Share opportunities. Let your friends know where you’ve found beneficial input. Whether you call this networking or collaboration, it falls under the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have others do unto you. You don’t need to bring a slew of new contacts, but if you add even one person their circle is unique, which can add to and enrich all the parties involved.

You never know who’s hesitating in the wings, working up the courage to step out.

That little flame flickering across the way? It might belong to a new partner in your writing ventures and adventures. Bring your light close to theirs and increase your candlepower.

The funny thing is, once you gather a bunch of little candles, their lights combine and overcome darkness. The effect of the sum is truly greater than that of the parts, and together can illuminate new paths for many.

Sophia L Hansen is an author and editor with Havok Publishing and loves to write In Other Worlds. She’s lived on a tiny island in Alaska, the bustling cities of New York and Boston, raised kids in Tennessee, and now resides just outside Birmingham, AL. After 30+ years of marriage, seven children, and numerous pets, Sophia still fits into her high school earrings.

You can follow Sophia’s words and worlds at https://www.sophialhansen.com/, Facebook, and Instagram.

Questions Childen’s Writers Should be Asking

When I was in India recently, our team leader told of an Indian child who asked her if the streets in India were anything like the streets in America. Umm. No. Not one street in India resembled any form of a street in America. She explained that we don’t generally have men walking their oxen, camels or goats down the streets in America. At which point the child quickly asked, “Then where do you walk your goats?”

Where do we walk our goats, indeed! That is a question a children’s writer needs to ask.

What would happen if a shepherd walked his goats through the streets of San Francisco? What might Los Angeles look like if a woman rode her camel down the boulevard? What if a farmer’s pigs got loose and wandered through Macy’s in New York? Would they try on the dresses, shoes, jewelry? Ride the escalators up and down?

Why might a shepherd even end up on a street of San Francisco? Well, his goat was sick of course and he’d heard that an ingredient in sour dough bread could cure his sick little goat. Or maybe he was chasing his dream of becoming a chef and making the best clam chowder. He was done being a shepherd. Play around with your idea until you find the story, the goal, the lesson, the mystery. Was the shepherd following a suspect whom he thought had been poisoning his goats? What brings him to San Francisco? How can he get there? Then what happens? Do others help him achieve his goal? Is he ridiculed? Is he forbidden from bringing his goats, then how will he ever find the cure? His goat is dying! Each minute counts!

Children’s writers seem to ask the question, “What if?” And a story is born. What if a man placed gold tickets in candy bar wrappers as tickets to visit his chocolate factory? What if a boy was actually a wizard and attended a wizard school? What if a man was bitten by a spider and took on spider qualities and could sling himself across buildings with his silk webbing?

Thinking differently is what creates amazing stories. What was a little lamb thinking when he saw Jesus born? What other animal could have been present? How could they make a difference? What would it have been like being in the garden when Jesus arose from the dead? What did the giraffes see from their point of view on the Ark? Or a slug’s point of view? Was he being trampled? Ridiculed for being invited on the cruise? Did he feel stomped on? Did this little slug matter in the scheme of things?

We don’t always need to know where a story is going from the onset. Ask the questions and pursue it. See if an interesting, amusing, or sweet story emerges. Other stories may blossom far different from your original story, but ones that may not have even budded had you not started with the first idea.

Be observant in your world. Listen for interesting comments. Watch for strange ideas, or new slants to established concepts. Twist it around. Ask the ‘what if’ questions and run with it. Have fun on the journey! Create a new world for children. Take them to new places. Help them view normal things in a fresh way. Open up their world of dreams, stretch their imaginations. Take them deeper, higher, swifter, slower. Show them a new side of Jesus, an amazing side of God. A new truth in a fashionable way.

There is nothing new under the sun. But as writers of children’s stories, it is our goal, our adventure, our desire to create new twists and slants to common entities. So roll up your sleeves, put on your specs, and jump in with both feet. But watch where you step, there may be goats out there.