Finding Inspiration

Inspiration is an interesting word with Biblical roots. It literally means that something is breathed out by God. I would not put the fictional story of Distant Thunder in that category, but its foundation of Biblical prophecy certainly qualifies. Being a life-long student of Bible Prophecy, I found it a natural transition from teaching those prophecies to creating a story with prophecy as its basis.

One of the stunning aspects of ancient Old Testament scripture is how what was predicted over twenty-five hundred years ago has, and is coming true today. Ezekiel the prophet witnessed a vision that described the re-birth of the nation of Israel. He also related how a coalition of nations, soon after that re-birth, would gather to destroy the Jewish nation. I use the word stunning because Ezekiel listed the exact nations that are headlining today’s news as being mortal enemies of Israel. Is that a coincidence? I think not and therein the idea to write a fictional story based on current events was born.

Now, in the creation of Distant Thunder and The Lightning Chronicles, inspiration comes into play. I took two passions from my personal life, Bible prophecy and the military thriller genre, and blended them into what I am calling a prophetic fiction thriller. Using what is most familiar to my own purpose I began by creating a character based on the life of a Pastor. As with my wife, many have asked if Pastor Ty Dempsey, one of the two main characters in the book, happened to be my alter ego. The answer is a resounding no. Aspects of my daily life show up simply because that is what is familiar to me. But Ty is his own man. He is an ordinary individual that is confronted with an extraordinary and frightening circumstance. He portrays how heroism is alive and well, even though that heroism might go unnoticed.

The real work came with the second main character, something that was totally apart from my personal experience. Moshe Eldan is an Israeli F-16 fighter pilot. Although the thought of flying something so powerful and dangerous as a fighter jet has always been a dream, I have never been within a hundred yards of an F-16. So, I began with a series of questions that led me deep into the research of my character’s surroundings. That included studying the advanced military weaponry and tactics used by the Israelis and other national air forces. It meant buying an F-16 flight simulator and spending hours trying to figure out how the thing worked. I confess I had a blast, plus, the aerial dogfight sequences in which fighter jets are shot from the sky became quite realistic. Thankfully, the military aspects of Distant Thunder passed muster as a 9th Air Force Combat Instructor reviewed the material and called it “spot on.” From that point, the rest of the story was easy and just exciting in the writing as it will be for the reader.

I have read of authors spending weeks outlining a storyline in order to make their book come alive. But for me, the story seemed to flow from the very start. I found myself surprised and perplexed at the actions of my characters, and that is how it should be. They were as unpredictable and conflict-driven as any normal human being. That, to me, is the greatest inspiration of all.

Jimmy Root Jr
Author of Distant Thunder A Prophetic Fiction Thriller based on Bible Prophecy
www.lightningchronicles.com
www.prophecyalert.blogspot.com
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The Storyline: Part One--Using the Mundane

What, no glamour? No adventure? How can you have a proper story without the fluff? That is a great question, and one that every writer has to answer at one point or another in their writing.

In my development of Distant Thunder, I found that placing the character within a world filled with everyday, seemingly mundane activities helped bring to life whatever emotion was being experienced. Yes, the Lightning Chronicles series is a work of Prophetic Fiction, filled with action, renewed terrorism, death, mayhem, and the fulfillment of Biblical Prophecy. But it was in between the action sets that the mundane opened the door to truly understand the character and his/her conflict. For example; Pastor Ty Dempsey will soon be facing the most dramatic event to ever hit the mainland of the United States...although he has no clue. The climax will be an epic moment, but to get there, I had to reveal how Ty's particular conflict was building in him the character to withstand the coming disaster.

How does a writer create 'feel' without using action? I confess, I'm no expert. Rather, I used ordinary moments in my own routine to draw out of Ty his inner conflict. At one point the antagonist, a board member in his church, is being a rather large pain in the.....neck. Ty finds himself working through the feelings of betrayal, manipulation, and hopelessness, all while thumbing through the Church's Child Protection Policy. Let me tell you, there is nothing more mundane and boring than a Child Protection Policy: necessary, but BORING! Yet Ty's emotions flooded the paragraphs of the page without anything adventurous actually happening in the storyline.

You can do it to. In fact, you can practice right now. At the top of the page I posted a picture of garden green beans. Why? Because just last evening I spent an hour picking the little stinkers while sweating out every last ounce of my body fluid in the extreme humidity of Missouri. (I love hyperbole!) Take a moment and place your character, conflict and all, in a garden. Have him or her pick some green beans. Something like this:

Jana tugged at a long, fat bean and lamented. Rust had marred the most tender portion, a little clump of dirt clinging to the end was the culprit. At least half the bean was tainted, ruined, scarred. A tear found its way down her cheek as she saw her own life staring back at her. She'd ignored how the scars had layered themselves upon scars. But now, there was no innocence left to mar. This one, rusted relationship had finished it off.

Pardon me, I got way too in touch with my feminine side there. Okay, maybe something humorous:

Bob knew he'd gone way too far. It was one thing to try to lighten a moment with laughter. It was quite another to act out in unabashed tomfoolery, but here he'd done it again. That one bean, out in the middle of the wet, raised bed had called to him. He couldn't resist. Now, his face was covered in muddy slime and a warty, obese toad had locked him eye to eye. Wait, was that a smile on the toad's face?

I never realized how picking green beans could actually be cathartic. Yes, it's raw. It's unrefined. But it uses something ordinary to create a climate for development of your character. Try it! Let me know what you do with this little green bean patch.

Jimmy Root Jr

Distant Thunder Book One of the Lightning Chronicles

Watch for the Virtual Book Tour coming in August.

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