by Beth K. Vogt, @bethvogt
Photo by Marc Rafanell López on Unsplash
I’m a longtime American Ninja Warrior (ANW) fan. No, there’s no obstacle course in our backyard, although my family might champion that idea. I harbor no secret dreams of running the course and conquering the 14.5-foot Warped Wall, but I do cheer “Beat that wall!” every time a contestant attempts it on TV. While watching my favorite ninjas run the course, I often discover life lessons applicable to the writing life. Consider these three:
- Own who you are. Every contestant walks onto the course with some kind of claim to ninja fame. A particular moniker emblazoned across their T-shirt:
- The Deaf Ninja, Kyle Shulze, an obstacle athlete and motivational speaker
- The Eskimo Ninja, who hails from a small town in – you guessed it – Alaska
- Jesse “Flex” LaBreck, who was the first rookie woman to qualify for the Vegas Nationals.
- Lance Pekus, the Cowboy Ninja, who works on his father-in-law’s ranch in Idaho, and runs the course in jeans and a cowboy hat.
As writers, we need to discover and embrace our individual writing voice.
- Fall down … and keep going for the buzzer. The goal of ANW is to make it through a series of crazy-challenging obstacles like Wing Nuts and Shrinking Steps and Tilt-a-Whirl, conquer the Warped Wall, and hit the buzzer. Some of the most nerve-wracking runs are when a contestant falls on a balance obstacle, such as the Spinning Log, and somehow, someway, manages to get back up and keep going. One recent contestant fell on the log roll and fought for more than a minute – that’s a long time and expends a lot of needed energy – to not fall into the water. The end of his run was (seemingly) inevitable, but he refused to quit. He conquered that obstacle, as well as the entire course.
As writers, we’re going to be discouraged. But we need to fight to get back up and keep moving forward.
- Remember how stories connect us. ANW is a show about people who run obstacle courses. But the producers also know the value of story. They share contestants’ personal stories – think backstory – so we care about them as they compete. Yes, I’m watching the competition in my family room, but I’m on the edge of my seat, cheering along with everyone there in person.
As writers, we know how valuable stories are because ink flows through our veins. Our fictional characters become real to us. We need to write in such a way that readers are sitting in their chairs, cheering for our characters with every turn of the page.
The Thatcher Sisters Series, published by Tyndale House, is a three-book “Little Women gone wrong” women’s fiction collection. Examining the complicated relationships between sisters, the series includes Things I Never Told You, which won the AWSA 2019 Contemporary Novel of the Year, Moments We Forget, and The Best We’ve Been, a 2021 Selah finalist.
Beth K. Vogt is a non-fiction author and editor who said she’d never write fiction. She’s the wife of an Air Force family physician (now in solo practice) who said she’d never marry a doctor—or anyone in the military. She’s a mom of four who said she’d never have kids. Now Beth believes God’s best often waits behind the doors marked “Never.”
Beth is a 2016 Christy Award winner, a 2016 ACFW Carol Award winner, and a 2015 RITA® finalist. Her 2014 novel, Somebody Like You, was one of Publisher’s Weekly’s Best Books of 2014. A November Bride was part of the Year of Wedding Series by Zondervan. Having authored 10 contemporary romance novels or novellas, Beth believes there’s more to happily-ever-after than the fairy tales tell us.
An established magazine writer and former editor of the leadership magazine for MOPS International, Beth blogs for Learn How to Write a Novel and The Write Conversation and also enjoys speaking to writers group and mentoring other writers. She lives in Colorado with her husband Rob, who has adjusted to discussing the lives of imaginary people. Connect with Beth at bethvogt.com.