A former Christian radio broadcast producer/writer, Cynthia Ruchti now writes both fiction and non-fiction with a passion to minister and serve. One of her greatest joys is helping other writers grow in their craft. She speaks frequently for women’s groups and writer’s conferences. Her work has appeared in Christian Communicator, Charisma, Marriage Partnership, and Christian Retailing, and her books—fifteen total to date—have been recognized by RT Reviewers’ Choice, Selah Awards, Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence, Carol Award honors, and Family Fiction Readers’ Choice Awards.
Cynthia and her husband live in the heart of Wisconsin, near their three children and five grandchildren.
You spent many years working your way toward a full time writing career. Now, as a multi-published author, what advice would you give to those just beginning?
I have a few standard answers, but they’re not standard in the sense of ordinary. I believe they’re vital and can be career-altering.
- Find and attend the best writers’ conference you can afford. The boost in your education in the craft, the writing life, networking, and direction is invaluable.
- Establish a system early in the game. Don’t wait — as many of us did — to figure out your systems for collecting ideas, labeling computer files, blocking out time to write, prioritizing, delegating, and submitting projects. It won’t happen without thought. Be intentional in those areas.
- Realize that it’s all about the reader. Pray for, care about, and write with readers in mind. Plan to market with reader needs in mind.
- Maintain your grip on a teachable spirit and an appetite for perpetual learning.
Sometimes our plot (or one of our characters) takes a detour we didn’t expect, changing the theme or final outcome of a story. Has that ever happened to you? If so, do you find it frustrating when a character surprises you like that? Or is it a part of the creative process you embrace, maybe even hope for?
I’m thrilled when my characters or the plot take an unexpected detour. Discovering the God-intended path, even if it’s one I didn’t anticipate, adds the kind of awe and wonder to the process that I get when I round a bend in the road and am met with a cascading waterfall or other scenic vista. I have no choice but to pull over and take a closer look, capturing the images on my camera to enjoy both now and later.
And yes, it happens frequently to me. I often don’t discover the key turning points for my characters until well into the writing process. The end isn’t always clear to me until I get there. And interestingly, I find out even more about those characters and their journeys after the book is finished and I hear how it has affected readers. Their insights help me see dimensions I didn’t realize I’d written into the story.
Let’s talk about As Waters Gone By (Abingdon Press, May 2015). Please tell us about it.
Emmalyn Ross believes she’s lost everything when her husband Max is taken away to prison. Her marriage, life, reputation, financial stability, and her longing to be a mother.
He’s scheduled to be released in a few months. Will their marriage have anything left when he is? Four years ago, he went silent, not responding to her letters, not calling even though the prison allowed brief phone calls home. Had he already written them off as a lost cause? Emmalyn — forced to sell their house — retreats to a self-imposed exile on Madeline Island and dives into rehabbing their tattered hunting cottage. The island and its inhabitants become a true refuge for her, and the cottage starts to resemble a home. Her heart, too, is refurbished in the process. But will it be a place where Max wants to settle when he’s released? Will either of them be ready for what that means?
What led you to write this particular story?
In recent years, I’ve become intimately aware of the struggles some women face when trying to make a home when their spouse is never home. Over-the-road truckers, the deployed, the incarcerated… How do they manage that? How do they make every decision long-distance and maintain the relationship part of marriage with that much distance between them?
Through Emmalyn and Max and the community on Madeline Island, I had an opportunity to explore what daily life is like and the role faith plays in holding marriages like that together. I have several great examples around me who are proving that it’s not only possible but amazing when a challenge like that deepens a relationship rather than destroying it.
[ctt title=”It’s all about the reader. Pray for, care about, and write with readers in mind. ~ Cynthia Ruchti” tweet=”It’s all about the reader. Pray for, care about, & write with readers in mind. ~ @CynthiaRuchti http://ctt.ec/d5J5O+” coverup=”d5J5O”]A few fun questions…
What’s the name of the last GREAT book you read?
I really enjoyed Kate Breslin’s For Such a Time. It’s the first book I’ve read that she wrote. What an interesting take on what we think of as a familiar aspect of WWII.
If you knew you couldn’t fail, what dream would you pursue?
I would establish a series of women’s and writers’ retreats to fill their souls and hem them in hope.
What Bible passage or story best describes your journey of faith?
I identify with Jeremiah’s natural hesitance about the gift God gave him, with his compassion for the people to whom he was sent, and with the word pictures he used to communicate. A favorite passage from Jeremiah is “While he was still confined to the prison quarters, the Lord’s word came to Jeremiah a second time: The Lord proclaims, the Lord who made the earth, who formed and established it, whose name is the Lord: Call to me and I will answer and reveal to you wondrous secrets that you haven’t known” (Jeremiah 33:1-3 CEB). It’s interesting how well that verse fits with this new book, As Waters Gone By.
Thank you, Cynthia. It’s nice to have you back at Divine Detour.
It’s always a blessing for me to visit here, and to be offered the opportunity to encourage others in whatever way I can. Please know how grateful I am.
For more information about Cynthia, visit her website, follow her on Twitter, or like her on Facebook.
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Cynthia, as a big fan of yours, I enjoyed learning even more about you. One of the most beautiful things I ever heard at a writer’s conference was at one of the ACFW ones from a few years ago when you said that before the conference began you’d walked the halls praying for blessings for all.
I also agree about Kate Breslin’s novel.
Kathy, thanks for another great Detour interview.
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Amen to that, Elaine. A beautiful thought!
Hi Cynthia,
This was refreshing – the perpetual learning was what struck me. I can’t seem to EVER be totally done w/a manuscript b/c I ALWAYS find something to fix no matter how many times I’ve edited it. Maybe this is b/c I keep learning new things….and I really like your book cover. Thanks.