by James L. Rubart, @jameslrubart
A few days from now, Susie (Warren) and I will MC the Oregon Christian Writers summer conference awards banquet where we’ll have the pleasure of announcing the winners of the Cascade Writing Contest. And we’ll get to act a little strange.
That’s because every year we host, Lindy Jacobs, the conference director, lets us create a crazy theme for the night. (Last year I ended up in my dirt bike gear, and was the villain of the story we created.)
This year I suggested a theme idea to Susie, and after I’d finished laying the whole thing out, she said, “Wow, that’s great. I love it. Now what if we did this, and this, and this?”
She immediately made the theme stronger.
That’s exactly what Lennon and McCartney did for each other. Yes, Lennon did amazing work after the Beatles. So did Paul. But neither topped what they did together.
My point is, John and Paul combined their talents. One would come with a a song three quarters of the way done, and the other would put the finishing touches on it. Their rivalry, their friendship, their competitiveness, their creative input all made their sum rocket far beyond their individual parts.
You already know where I’m going with this. Find your Lennon. Find your McCartney. I’m talking about more than a critique partner who tweaks a sentence here or there.
Find someone that will push you hard. A friend that will challenge not just your technique, but your themes, your vision, your growth, your goals.
Do you have that person? Of are you realizing in this moment you need to find a new songwriting partner?
There are seasons in our writing journey. Maybe it’s time for you to find a John or a Paul.
Good novels are never written solo. Great novels are never written without a writing partner who will strap a parachute to your back, take you to a cliff higher than you’ve ever been, and then tell you to jump.
To you and putting on that chute,
What if You Woke up One Morning and the Darkest Parts of Yourself Were Gone?
Toren Daniels vanished eight months back, and his wife and kids have moved on—with more than a little relief. Toren was a good man but carried a raging temper that often exploded without warning. So when he shows up on their doorstep out of the blue, they’re shocked to see him alive. But more shocked to see he’s changed. Radically.
His anger is gone. He’s oddly patient. Kind. Fun. The man he always wanted to be. Toren has no clue where he’s been but knows he’s been utterly transformed. He focuses on three things: Finding out where he’s been. Finding out how it happened. And winning back his family.
But then shards of his old self start to rise from deep inside—like the man kicked out of the NFL for his fury—and Toren must face the supreme battle of his life.
In this fresh take on the classic Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, James L. Rubart explores the war between the good and evil within each of us—and one man’s only chance to overcome the greatest divide of the soul.
James L. Rubart is 28 years old, but lives trapped inside an older man’s body. He thinks he’s still young enough to water ski and dirt bike with his two grown sons, and loves to send readers on journeys they’ll remember months after they finish his stories. He’s the best-selling, Christy BOOK of the YEAR, CAROL, INSPY and RT Book Reviews award winning author of nine novels, a speaker, branding expert, co-host of the Novel Marketing podcast, and co-founder of the Rubart Writing Academy. He lives with his amazing wife on a small lake in Washington. More at jamesLrubart.com