Mom Approved!

“Well, at least I know my mom will like it.”

I used to laugh at that line, because my mother tends to be one of my tougher, no-nonsense critics…and I love her for it. She doesn’t do the flattery thing, and being her child does not give you any automatic bonus points in her evaluation of your work.

            Mom is a voracious reader (She’s currently working her way through the church library, alphabetically by author), and has basically two criteria for good books: it had better teach you something useful, and/or tell an interesting story. She generally does not find these criteria met by fantasy novels. Which, of course, are what I love to write.

            Gulp.

            When, as a confidence-challenged teenager, I brought her my first real novel, Tales of Rhohin: The Calling, she only got through a few chapters before declaring it needed a lot of work and giving up. However, she respected that I had a love and skill for words, and she had good advice to offer, such as:

            *Don’t start with a history lecture. Start in the middle of the action.

            *Tie descriptions to action:

                        No: He had dark brown hair. He ran toward her.

                        Yes: His dark brown hair flew wildly as he ran toward her.

            *Don’t state the obvious.

I took the advice, got back to work, read books by writers, joined a writers group, and received great reviews from lots of people. Recently, at the still-not-so-confident age of twenty-two, I decided the time had come. I presented the current draft of the novel to my mother, imploring her to please, please read all the way through it this time, just in case I had written something heretical. With fear and trembling, I left the manuscript with her. I was expecting, at best, she would say it was tolerable.

            She liked it. A lot.

            She actually raved about it.

            She couldn’t believe how much better I’d gotten. She could hardly put it down. She definitely thought I should publish it.

            I think I’m still a little bit in shock.

If Mom hadn’t been so tough on the first draft, if she had smiled and been blindly supportive of my work, like good parents are supposedly supposed to be, I don’t think I would be about to self-publish my first novel. Because of her loving honesty, her affirmation is all the more valuable.

A true encourager is motivated by their care for you, but they tell the truth, even if it’s hard. A true encourager NEVER belittles you; they help you grow. And a true encourager cheers loud when you succeed.

            Thank you Mom for being a true encourager! Now I pray God will give me wisdom to be a true encourager to others.