The Secret Life of Wolf – Part Two
The Secret Life of Wolf Series
In this series, you will find out the first time I met Wolf (one of my characters in the Bloodline series), how meeting him in the way I did changed my entire writing career, and why Wolf holds the keys to my past and my future.
In today’s episode …
Part Two: Why the day I met Wolf matters.
What is so significant about the first time I met Wolf? And how did the day I met him change the course of my writing and my career?
*******
How Meeting Wolf Changed Everything
I was about to go on the apprenticeship of my life, and it began with Wolf.
Earlier I had been given a dream that gave me the story of Bloodline: Alliance. I then had a second dream months later that totally changed my writing from that day on. You can read about those in the post: “The dream that changed everything.” At the time, I did not see God’s hand in those dreams. I began to wonder about that second dream – the likelihood of the second one that dramatically changed the way I wrote – but I didn’t fully equate that to God’s intervention. That came when I met Wolf.
I had written several books before I wrote Bloodline: Alliance, but I did not know what I was doing and I did not write them well at all. But all that changed after a long God-led education which you can read about in “An unexpected education.” I learnt many things during those years where God led me to the next book and the next, and the next piece of advice and the next. And when I sat down to write Bloodline: Alliance, I thought I was completely in control of the process and now understood how to write well. But I was in for a surprise because there was Wolf.
I did not plan Wolf but I knew without a doubt that he was meant to be in the book. Something took over me when I let him in the book; when I trusted that voice. And suddenly Bloodline: Alliance became this incredible collaboration between myself and God. God showed me whole story plots and arcs I had never envisioned. At that point, I stopped everything I was doing, and I did a meticulous plan and extensive notes of the characters, the plot and many subplots, and I wrote blow-by-blow outlines of the chapters (the kind of process I wrote about in: “7 Steps to Plotting Your Novel”). And as I did, I listened to God and saw a story that was far bigger, far better than anything I had imagined. A story that was waiting to be told since my childhood – a story preordained for me. And STILL there were surprises along the way as God revealed more and more the further in I went.
Something took over me when I let him in the book; when I trusted that voice. And suddenly Bloodline: Alliance became this incredible collaboration between myself and God.
Bloodline: Alliance became so much more than I had ever, ever intended. I never intended it to be two books. I never intended a character called Wolf. I never intended the strong themes of forgiveness and revenge. I never intended the allegorical elements, or the themes of racial hatred, or the elements of the Demon Prince and all that he stood for. I never intended so much of that book but I heard a voice take over and I followed it into one of the most amazing experiences of my life. I look at Bloodline: Alliance and I see a book I never, ever would have or could have written on my own. That writing experience was so different, so spiritual, and such a close walk with God, that I learnt beyond doubt when it is God writing with me and when it is not. When it is without God, and not something I should be writing, it is a physical reaction. It is like my whole being turning to sludge. I feel ill and disgusting and heavy. When it is God, though it isn’t always easy, I feel light and at times exuberant even if I’m writing about and thus experiencing the darkness of what I write. I know that voice that guided that book now, and I had to listen to it intimately to write my latest six-book series in which I just said, “What happens next, God?” (You can read about that in the third part of the article: “Pantsers vs Planners”.)
Wolf began my apprenticeship and my intimate partnership with God. That, and the two dreams I had about Bloodline: Alliance. Those were the moments God took over and the gift of writing poured out. But Wolf was SO much more than that. The secrets of Wolf and the importance of Wolf go all the way back to my childhood to a story that I feel is finally time to tell.
To find out how Wolf is connected to the darkness of my childhood and to a destiny I never imagined, read The Secret Life of Wolf Part Three (subscriber only due to its sensitive nature). You can subscribe below or on the post.
About the Author: Lisa Saul
