As I’ve mentioned a few times, I’m writing a novel in the paranormal and Christian genres. I started a year ago, and I’m presently rewriting/revising it. I hope to have it agent-ready by my birthday, May 5. Will I make it? I’ve invested a year writing this story. I’m determined to try.

Every day, whether I’m working on it or not, I discover ways to make the story better, deeper. In the process, I’ve learned tension- and suspense-building techniques, the qualities that keep the reader turning the pages, without being over the top. These things must arise organically from the story you’re trying to tell. So much to learn. I think my idea is good, but the execution? TBD.

If you’re an LBC reader also working on a novel, or you’ve completed one, I’d love to hear from you. No one in my offline life is writing a novel, and I’ve yet to join a writers group. It would be nice to “know” others also aspiring to be published novelists.

(Questions for writers who’ve completed at least two drafts of their work-in-progress: Are you a member of a writers group? Or do you go the critique partner route?)

In the meantime, I’ve become a contributor to The Bible Answer Man Hank Hanegraaff’s Christian Research Journal. My article on Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy, theologically speaking, is the cover story for the February/March 2010 issue. Quite an honor. I’ve never written a cover story before. Two more articles are forthcoming.

I miss football season. Over and out.

I started blogging on November 5, 2003, and received 4,960,172 visits since then. I briefly tasted big blog success, and it was good. Mostly. Thank you, readers! It still amazes me.

Will I resurrect past glory? Maybe. Perhaps, one day. Such things used to mean a lot more to me than they do now.

Blogging is no longer rebellious or novel. It just…is. My whole life I’ve tried to be different from the crowd. It’s a compulsion. However, a blog is still a wonderful medium, and I encourage anyone to give it try.

When I started back in 2003, it felt new and exciting. These days, I still see the value in it, and I can’t imagine giving it up. But I’ve mellowed in six years, and some things just aren’t worth the aggravation. My blog is nowhere near as popular as it once was, and that’s by design. I slowed down, chilled out, and took it in stride. Now, I make a living blogging and writing for others.

“La Shawn Barber’s Corner,” and the wonderful people I’ve met online and in person, made it possible.

Thanks again, readers.

(Image: Bloggersblog.com)

To find out if I had the discipline and stamina, I started outlining, plotting, and writing a story in long-hand in late February. Three months later, I typed it up, then let it “rest.” In mid-July, I started revising. Today, I completed the second draft, 75,000 words and 32 chapters worth. For the next couple of weeks, I’ll let it rest, then I’ll return to it with fresh eyes for draft #3.

What is the novel about? I mentioned it on the blog several months ago. I can tell you it’s written from a Christian worldview with a paranormal twist, in the vein of Christian superstars like Eric Wilson and Frank Peretti.

Will the manuscript see the publishing light of day? I’ll have a better idea once I finish a third draft. It takes as many drafts for a novice like me to turn something of this size into a readable and coherent story.

Why did I write a novel? Partly to see if I could do it, partly because I want to see my books on a shelf in Barnes & Noble some day, but mostly to tell a redemptive, God-glorifying story taut with tension and infused with suspense, and defy negative stereotypes about Christian books…even if my family and friends are the only ones who’ll ever read it.

Can’t believe I did it.

As this blog currently stands, it’s got Google juice. But if you want to know what I’m reading and linking in real-time, follow me on Twitter.

If you want to discuss the commentary with others, friend me on Facebook. Today’s topics include high-scoring homeschoolers and Joker-face posters. The number of comments I get on status updates reminds me of the old “rollicking” days on the blog, where discussions sometimes got heated. To be young again…

A novel.

It’s a Christian, paranormal mystery with a bit of romance thrown into the mix. I briefly mentioned the specific topic a couple months ago. Do you remember what it was? (In the vein of Eric Wilson and Ted Dekker)

I don’t know if my book will see the publishing light of day, but I’m determined to finish the draft, revise it until it shines, and edit it. I’m almost halfway through the first draft. I plotted and outlined during February and started writing by the end of that month. I’m aiming for first draft completion by May 5, my birthday.

So, I haven’t dropped off the planet or given up blogging or ceased responding to e-mails. Just busy with clients, who pay my bills, and Book 1 of a three-book series, which may end up paying my bills. (God willing!)

But…what I miss in feedback here I make up for on Facebook, Twitter, and to a lesser extent, MySpace. If you’re reluctant to try these social networking sites, you should overcome your skepticism. I did. With no regrets.

Friend me on Facebook, where I’ve made over 1,000 professional and personal connections. Follow me on Twitter for blogging/writing topics, news links, other resources, and tidbits about my excruciatingly exciting life. Or don’t follow me. Follow others! And finally, if you’re a solo artist or in a band, let’s connect on MySpace. Why friend me? I enjoy blogging/writing about music and plan to do more. If I really like your sound, I’ll blog about you and try to convince editors to publish my stories about you.

I have a vision of what I want this web site to look like. This new theme is rest stop (will add blogroll), not the final destination. The next step is to come up with a cool header, something quick and simple to tide me over.

This blog will cover culture, digital technology, faith, and politics, and I want a header that reflects these topics. If you’re a web site designer and have ideas you’d like to share, e-mail me at lashawn@lashawnbarber.com. Please include your prices and availability.

La Shawn Barber
PO Box 55341
Santa Clarita CA 91385

I’m kept up-to-date about events, groups, causes, and people I support, and Facebook brings traffic to my blog. I’ve “met” a lot of like-minded people. If I wanted to plan an LA-area blogger meet-up, it would be easier to organize on Facebook than on the blog. In fact, I think I’ll plan a meet-up. The first and only one I attended was in 2004. I’d like to meet people in the area who read my blog, and vice versa.

• “Friend” me on Facebook, and join me and 595 pals for a fabulous meet-up party!
• “Friend” me on MySpace (especially if you’re in a band; I’m pitching music article ideas and would love to get a backstage pass), and read the unbearably exciting details of my life on Twitter.

(I know the avatar looks nothing like me, but I can pretend, can’t I?)

Thanks for reading!

Thanks for reading!

I get e-mails from political and Christian authors and publicists about reviewing or mentioning books on the blog. Authors, you can reach thousands of like-minded people who may want to buy your book. Place an ad on my blog with a link to your Amazon page.

The ad strip on the left is in a prime location: top left. On any web page, that’s where the eyes wander first. (I read about it in some report). And it’s true. Ads in that location get the most clicks.

Grab the Premium spot while it’s open, starting at $100 for one week.

Ad strips on the right start at $60 for one week.

I am the lone blogger at LBC and responsible for every post, good or bad. I wish I could take credit for coming up with the outsourced blogging idea. I shamelessly and without shame stole it from Tim Ferriss, author of The 4-Hour Workweek, who did the thing much better than I.

I didn’t do an April Fool’s post last year, because I didn’t think I could top the one I wrote in 2006, Secrets. As the story goes, I was really a white woman posing as a black woman, and I used a black friend as a stand-in to pose as “La Shawn Barber.” That was fun.

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Wow. It’s early. I haven’t been sleeping well. I need to say something, so please bear with me.

This is the first time I’ve blogged in eight months. I can’t believe I held out. And I’m not sure if this little experiment worked. I’ll explain.

I wanted to take time off, but I didn’t want to shut down LBC. Totally burned out and disgusted, I thought of asking a few people to guest blog for me. Then I read a book about people who outsourced everything from answering e-mails to picking up dry cleaning. As I mentioned before, when I get excited about something, I tend to take it to the extreme. That’s when I decided to outsource blogging.

I hired someone from India (super cheap!) to update the blog a few times a week. I asked him to review at least a year’s worth of posts to get a sense of my blogging style. I checked in with him once a week and let him know if I wanted him to cover a certain topic. I asked him to avoid politics like Black Death, which he did. I must say, I’ve been pleased. My traffic is half what it used to be, and he closed comments, but that’s spilled milk under the bridge now.

The only BIG issue I have with him is his Hanson fixation (though I dig his interest in music and digital tech). Maybe that’s my fault. Shortly after he started blogging for me, I told him I “rediscovered” the band and wanted to write an article about what the brothers had been up to the last 10 years. Well, he became a huge fan and kept linking to this photo of me and Hanson every chance he got. Talk about embarrassing.

“Great, now everyone will think I’m obsessed,” I told him. He laughed heartily and told me to “take a pill.”

Anyway, I don’t care about that anymore. I’m still trying to decide whether to resume blogging or just shut this thing down. I sort of feel bad for pretending, but I like a challenge. I wanted to see if I could outsource blogging and get away with it. Based on feedback I’ve received, I did get away with it. But at what cost?

Sorry. I’ll update this post later with a better explanation. When I say I’ll update this post, I mean me, La Shawn Barber.

It’s cool getting “friend” requests from people I’ve met in person or “know” through their blogs. But I also receive requests from people I’ve never heard of. That’s OK, as long as we have something in common (Reformed Christian, “very conservative,” “conservative,” that sort of thing). I also don’t mind requests from strangers, as long as they tell me how they know me. What really bothers me are friend requests from people whose main goal is to collect “warm” bodies. I know the type. (I’ve got 300 Facebook friends!) And all those “poke me!” “toss me!” “hug me!” applications. Oy!

What am I not getting about Facebook? Maybe my online networking skills are underdeveloped. Do active Facebook users still have time to maintain blogs and pursue other interests? Is Facebook meant to replace or supplement blogs? Are such questions even relevant? Hit me up at lashawn [at] lashawnbarber [dot] com and share, if you’ve got the time.

MySpace, I understand. It’s ugly, but bands are over there. I want to nurture my growing interest in writing about music (digital downloading, mainly) and to network with bands and fans.

Perhaps it’s too soon to judge Facebook. Maybe I haven’t found the right use for it yet. I read the site’s getting a facelift. Hey, more power to ya! When I became active on Facebook, I mentioned finding the day-to-day obsessiveness funny. It’s not just funny anymore; it’s hilarious. And sort of mundane. Anyway, thanks for listening.

Update (2/28): Music on Facebook? I just might have to change my tune about it (bad pun not intended).

Later…Come to think of it, I already knew about the music page feature. It isn’t as robust at MySpace’s music pages, though. One day, perhaps…

By the way, thanks for great advice on “getting” Facebook.