Signature

Ted Dekker's signature mark is the way he presents vital themes through his characters' lives in dramatic ways. Many well-known CBA authors have a common thread throughout their titles. Sometimes this can be used as a marketing tag: Brandilyn Collins - "Don't forget to breathe." Or it's simply an area of focus in an author's best-known titles: Janette Oke - prairie romances; B.J. Hoff - Irish immigrants. After a distinction is formed, it's hard to change. Imagine Janette Oke writing a thriller. Or Frank Peretti writing a western. Or B.J. Hoff writing chick lit. T. Davis Bunn dropped the T. for his latest thriller (and wrote juvenile fantasy under the name Thomas Locke), and Dee Henderson states on her website that she'll use a pen name if she switches genres.

All that to say: Now is the time to decide what you want to be known for with your writing. Not just your genre, although that may play a part if you stick to only one. Make it catchy, but make sure it fits your writing and doesn't promise more than you can deliver. Don't let it box you in, though. Use your phrase on your website but don't overdo it. Your readers may come up with one on their own. This is mostly for you to focus your writing - in the idea stage and when you present your work to editors.

This month has been full for me so far, and I have lots more writing to do before it ends. But there's been fun, too. Tuesday night I joined my sisters for a sleepover at their friends' house, and we watched movies till 6AM. Also went to a game night for the college-aged young people - about a dozen guys and girls playing double-deck Hilarium. Bad thing about college people in August, though. They leave. And our little black kitten, Caspian, after surviving an infected neck wound, only lasted a few days after an attack by our yellow lab. (Micah's in the doghouse - literally - and I hope he stays there for a while. Maybe we should change his name to Miraz.) Been plowing through more fantasy books, and have a bunch of reviews due. I really should go to bed before my post becomes completely disconnected, though. Night!