I Broke the Rules

In writing circles, no matter where or how large the membership, any author worth their weight will tell an aspiring author that they must first know who they are writing for, or to. Knowing your avatar, that person who you are writing for, is essential to the success of any book, story, poem, etc. It helps keep the message grounded and focused. Knowing your avatar helps you in marketing as well. Wanna know a secret?

I don't know who my avatar is.

This cardinal sin of writing is at the center of some of the angst that I feel as my book has been released and is in the hands of a few faithful friends willing to give my words a try. Actually, I summarily dismissed the idea of an avatar, because after spending so much time pondering what the ideal reader for my book looked like, I decided to forgo envisioning one because it would keep me in the holding pattern of wanting to write a book versus actually getting the book written. I went through several iterations of this needed avatar. Allow me to share.

Avatar #1- Male, 30-40, midlife crisis, in a reflective mood because life is not where he wants it to be.

Avatar #2- Male, 50-70, looking back on his life, seeing patterns of behavior that have lead to an undesired present.

Avatar #3- Churchgoer who has heard all of the sermons about how God helps those who help themselves, and now finds themselves in a situation that might have been avoided had they "helped themselves" better.

Avatar #4- ???????????

See, I broke the cardinal rule of writing a book because the more I thought about the content of Slaying the Lion, the more I saw myself. I saw my dissatisfaction I saw my introspection over having allowed fear to rule my life. I saw my guilt and shame. I saw how church tropes of my childhood were still hanging on to the way that I saw the Father. And I decided that if I could see myself in the message, then others might be able to as well.

So as I pondered the question, recently, of why I wrote this book, I wrote it for people who have been chased all of their lives by things and situations that they feel have rendered them helpless and hopeless. It's for the man who has made mistake after mistake because he felt rejected as a child, or the woman who has been left alone with children, who is trying to figure life out. It's for the child who sees nothing but errors in front of him/ her and wants to not be a willing party to any of them as life goes on. It's for the person, whom God loves immensely, who is willing to lay themselves open, face their fears, and allow God to resurrect the champion that has laid dormant for way too long.

I write for me. I write for you. I write because there is freedom for me in being transparent in my flaws and issues. I write because there is healing for both of us as I share, you read, and we bond over what God can do in honest moments. I write not just for men, but for women as well, because gender does not negate the feeling of shared experiences. And if you can forgive this shameless plug, I believe that no matter who you are, avatar or not, Slaying the Lion has something within the words on the page that can change your life.

And that simple truth is why I broke the rules.