Donna Brennan
Interviews
CCWC & GPCW
Faculty Member
Dina Sleiman

Author Dina Sleiman writes with the same flowing grace one could find in a song or a dance. If you’ve read her books, you wouldn’t be surprised to learn that she’s also a poet, a songwriter, and a worship dance choreographer, director, and dancer. Her novels, poetry, songs, and dancing all can be considered forms of worship.

Dina will be teaching a continuing session at the May 15 – 18 Colorado Christian Writers Conference on “The Inspiration and the Perspiration.” This course is designed to help Christian writers seek God for writing inspiration and also learn the skills needed to craft that inspiration into a fully publishable book. I got in touch with Dina to ask her a few questions about the session.

Q: How would you define Christian writing? Is being a “Christian writer” different from being a “Christian who writes”?

I have my own definition for Christian writing: “Any writing inspired by the Holy Spirit that advances the kingdom of God on earth.” I will explain why that is my definition, and we will discuss other definitions and examples of classic Christian writing as well. This is always an interesting topic, and I love to hear feedback from my students. I do think being a Christian writer can be different than being a Christian who writes, although that is a fairly subjective distinction.

Q: As a Christian I feel I should already know how to hear from God, but I admit sometimes I only hear silence. Will you be showing us methods for communicating with God so we can hear his voice? Will these methods help us only with our writing or with other issues in our lives as well?

I think every Christian wants to believe they can hear God’s voice, but the majority of us suffer a good bit of confusion in this area. This was a huge struggle for me throughout much of my life. A wonderful Christian brother told me recently that he tossed a coin to try to discern God’s voice. That’s just sad. We have the Holy Spirit dwelling in us and should not have to resort to those sorts of Old Testament methods. Although I do not buy into overly simplified formulas, I have learned a number of techniques during my own quest that really help me to hone in on and hear God’s voice, and yes, I will be sharing all of these. In class we will be focusing on how to use these techniques for writing, but they will absolutely bless you in every area of your life. I remember one student receiving a powerful word from God during our in class prayer time that had nothing to do with writing at all, and it truly changed her.

Q: How can we tell if our inspiration comes from God or from or own imagination?

Again, I have a number of tips to share in this area, including checks and balances. But the most basic answer is that the Spirit of God is often referred to as a flowing river, so you want to tap into that sense of flow that comes from the kingdom of God deep within you.

Q: So once we get that inspiration—that lump of clay—now what?

Now the real work starts. LOL. Even the biblical writers spent extensive time crafting their writing into the best of ancient poetry. We’ll look at examples of how this worked with a number of poets and prophets.

Q: If our inspiration comes from God, that’s all we need, right? Why would we need to learn the writing craft—wouldn’t God just give us all the words, too?

I won’t deny that it is possible for God to give us precise words that are correct the first time, or to teach us to write through practice and adherence to his voice, but this is the rare exception rather than the rule, even among biblical writers. Habakkuk is the only real example of this. Of course, the deeper we can tap into the flow of the Holy Spirit, the better our writing will be the first time. But that is no excuse to be lazy or stubborn about revising and editing.

Q: Will the class be more about inspiration and hearing from God, or more about the perspiration and crafting we need to do to shape that lump of clay idea into a publishable book?

We will spend the first few hours learning about inspiration and transitioning to perspiration. The remainder of the class will be about the hard work needed to create that publishable book and all the steps of editing involved. I’ve actually considered calling the class “The Inspiration, The Perspiration, and The Commercialization” but I didn’t know how that would strike people. We will spend the last hour or so discussing the business side of writing, though, because it’s very important if you want anyone to read the message you’ve put so much work into.

Q: What are some of the crafting topics you’ll cover?

We will look at all the steps of editing that publishing houses use and learn to apply these to our own work. I will try to tailor the class to the genres of writing represented in the group. But in general we will look at a plan to start with major content editing and work through the process until every letter and punctuation mark is in place. Generally I end up teaching about plot, scene structure, and characterization for fiction and essay structure for nonfiction. Sometimes I get to teach a little about poetry and lyric essay as well, depending on my audience. Fortunately, my background covers all of these areas. I think my class is a great one for new writers who want to see the full process involved in writing a book, and also for writers who are having difficulties, but can’t seem to pinpoint why.

Q: Would strategic planning include outlines and plot summaries? What about for folks who call themselves pantsters?

By strategic planning, I primarily mean that you should pin down your genre, audience, and premise before you get too far into your writing. And I will explain why these are important. Beyond that, I believe that the writing process works differently for different writers. In basic nonfiction, it would be difficult to write without a plan. In fiction and narrative nonfiction, some writers plan the whole plot in advance. Some must experience the entire story along with their characters without much forethought. Many writers fall somewhere in between, using free writing to get them started before planning. But in order to have a strong story, at some point you must examine the structure. Every story must have the same basic “bones” as Angela Hunt puts it. And we will discuss those bones. For pantsters, this might mean extra editing once the first draft is finished.

Q: As acquisitions editor for WhiteFire Publishing, you’ll be taking appointments at both the May 15-18 Colorado and July 31-Augut 3 Greater Philly Christian Writers Conference. Is there any advice you care to share with folks planning to pitch to you?

Thanks Dina and Donna. Great questions and responses. “The Inspiration and the Perspiration” is going to be an exciting continuing session.