Being part of Lawless has been the most wonderful opportunity. I learned a great deal while working with Alli, most notably that I could actually get a story written and edited in under a week! Yes, I was given my deadline far in advance, but I took my sweet time thinking about writing it first.
The Lawless project also taught me how much I still need to learn about writing. I knew the first draft of my story would not be identical to the final, but I had no idea just how much of a change it would undergo. And I’m insanely grateful!
Every time I got a round of edits back from Alli, I got to see the clunky words I started with get pruned and shaped, reworked and reimagined. She has an incredible talent at pulling your hazy imaginings into brilliant focus, all the while maintaining the integrity of the story you wanted to tell in the first place. Her guidance was worth every bit of stress and tension I endured during the writing/editing process, and I would do it again in a heartbeat.
Alli was particularly insightful on my main character. See, all authors put themselves somewhere in the story, whether consciously or unconsciously. For me, I put a lot of myself into my main character, Eyan. And as much as I wanted Eyan to play his role in the story, he was just not that interesting. That’s when Alli highlighted the problem: Eyan had no flaws. No one likes that they have flaws, so Eyan really didn’t have any in the first draft. But, perfect characters typically make for perfectly boring stories. And besides, no character inspired by an actual human is truly perfect. So I had to humble myself and really look at my character (as well as my character), and see what weaknesses lay just below the mask. Eyan is rash and self-important and often thinks his view on a situation is absolutely correct. I have struggled with each of these in my life to varying degrees. And it was an interesting challenge to write Eyan through the same journey I’m on, just a couple of steps behind me.
Eyan’s uncle is also me, in a sense. He represents what I want to be someday: a calm and compassionate leader who doesn’t lose sight of the goal. He uses his clear thinking and determination to find the best possible course of action. I hope to one day be as steady as him.
This project was a privilege to be a part of, and I am so grateful for everything it allowed me to learn about writing and myself.
Get your own copy of Lawless and see what all the buzz is about on Amazon. Lawless is available in paperback and e-book, and available for free to members of Kindle Unlimited.
Released January 18, 2024, Lawless quickly became a #1 bestselling book on Amazon. Join the community of readers ready for a new era of Christian fiction. Grab your copy today, read it, and leave an honest review.
Produced by The Company, Lawless features 14 short stories inspired by the biblical book of Judges, each written by an emerging Christian author.
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