Help! I’ve been sucked into Storyworld and I can’t get out!
Since I left my first Deep Thinker’s Retreat, everywhere I go, I notice everything from the soft cabin light melting over the blue, fabric airline seats; to the crinkle of the toilet seat liners in the ladies room.
Wait a minute, do I really want to escape? Okay, maybe I won’t linger in the restroom longer than necessary, but Storyworld is everywhere, alive and vibrant, bringing all five senses into the moment to be relished. It pulls us in, entices, twining our readers into the story. Have you ever felt like you’ve fallen into a book, forgetting which reality is your own? Want to create that?
My Book Therapy presented a buffet of knowledge on the craft of writing at the 2012 Deep Thinker’s Retreat. Every day and evening overflowed with rich and plentiful workshops teaching us how to capture and change our readers’ hearts, through our characters and their journeys, and to love them as much as we do. (Alena’s awesome meals were abundant and delicious as well.)
During these meals, in sessions, dissecting movie plots, sharing rooms, sharing hearts, laughing, crying and learning to soar, I made sixteen new lifelong friends. Kindred spirits who share my passion and desire to hone our craft and honor God with our voices.
Sometimes God has to grab me with a SHARP Hook and drag me where He’s been trying to point me, because occasionally I’m directionally challenged. But I’m glad He does. He’s never content to leave us floundering. He gently lifts us off the sand and pours us back into the water, refreshing our soul and allowing us to swim free.
On our first morning at DT, we trekked to the shoreline and gathered on the beautiful, white sandy beach for devotionals. Susie pointed out how God made that huge ocean and knows where it goes, even if we can’t see the other side. She compared this to our writing journey and how we need to trust that God sees the other shore and knows where He’s leading us. MBT gives us our writer’s map.
I also discovered that Florida is not always hot and sunny, so you may want to layer your wardrobe as well as your stories. Pack up your suitcase, and bring an extra one for all the knowledge you’ll carry home. See you next year?
~*~
Following God’s call on her heart, Melissa Isaksen writes Christian romance. She lives in Washington State with her hero husband, and their two children.
