Platform

After reading this article about platform, I started looking at mine. The biggest thing going for me is my license in Marriage and Family Therapy. I loved counseling and learning more about how to help people with varying degrees of mental disorders. I also felt that this population was underrepresented in Christian fiction (although I will concede that there are a few authors out there who have included a secondary character here or there with a serious mental problem), and this became sort of a soapbox of mine. So Mind-Healing Fiction was born, as was my tagline, "Where Romance Meets Therapy."

According to the platform article, these things must be on your business cards, which you hand out at conferences or tack up on community boards, etc. Now platform is most essential for non-fiction writers, but it can't hurt for fiction. I love how Scoti Springfield Domeij wrote that a platform isn't all about YOU. It's about a "God-given passion, understanding how God gifted you, and using your writing and speaking to make a difference in the lives of others." He asks you to begin by asking who your audience is, how you can serve them with your distinct mesage/specialty/niche, and what information are you offering for your audience to benefit them?

Tough questions, some of them. But it's got me thinking about what else I can use this blog for besides just writing about my dream to publication. So, I'm asking for your help. I'd like to start a weekly "help" post, sort of like practical ways to fight a particular mental disorder or something like that. I could maybe highlight one disorder per month. What do you think about this idea? What could I call the weekly post? (Like, think Mary DeMuth's "Free Critique Per Week" kind of idea...something I would call the post every time.) Something catchy. And thoughts would be appreciated!

I Write Corrected

I just finished Fatal Deduction by Gayle Roper that definitely included elements of bipolar disorder and gambling addictions. Both disorders made up subplots in the story, as the hero's ex-wife had bipolar disorder (and from the indications in the novel, she was a rapid-cycler) and the heroine's sister was involved with a loan shark who made his money feeding off others' gambling addictions.

I just picked up Sharon Hinck's Stepping Into Sunlight, which looks like it will include some elements of mental disturbance. The heroine witnesses a horrific crime, which likely will result in post-traumatic stress or some other depression or anxiety disorder, that renders her wanting to hide away in her home and not take care of everyday affairs. The twist in Hinck's story seems to be how the heroine plans to overcome this...by doing one good thing for someone else every day. So I'm eager to start in on her book, as it likely will help me with my own current WIP.

Faux Pas Fiction

I'm a fan of romantic Christian fiction for women, particularly the genre known as "chick lit." The more I read of this genre, the more I find myself wanting a bit more in terms of character development.

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, 1 in 4 adults suffer from a mental disorder...TWENTY-FIVE PERCENT. This percentage isn't translated into Christian fiction much (that I know about, at least). Women (and men) struggle with depression, anxiety, grief, trauma, eating disorders...you name it, yet the romantic chick lit genre is certainly silent about them.

As a result of this omission, I believe that I've found my niche as a writer after three years. My intimate acquaintance with these disorders (among others) paves the way for me to weave how they affect women and their relationships with others into the pages of fiction.

So for now, I'm working on a book about a social worker with post-traumatic stress (PTSD). I've completed a book about a woman grieving the loss of her husband and dealing with the reluctance (and guilt) of moving on.

My hope is to get published and bring hope and healing to women everywhere who might struggle with these same disorders or know someone else who does. Once the pain and confusion some people live in as a result of a mental health diagnosis is brought to light, I hope others will have more compassion and understanding, as well.