Alex Marestaing’s passion lies in encouraging believers to rethink the way they engage with secular culture. As a writer, he’s worked on creative projects for The Walt Disney Company, Lego, Thomas Nelson/Harper Collins and The Los Angeles Times.
In addition, he’s written freelance for various faith-based publications and has covered soccer in Europe and the U.S. for Sports Spectrum Magazine and Yanks Abroad. Alex’s novels have earned him an honorable mention at the London Book Festival and an EPIC Award nomination. Alex speaks to audiences about faith and the creative process throughout the U.S.A, Europe, and Australia.
Alex will be teaching the workshop Writing Beyond the Church Parking Lot and sharing a Special presentation for all attendees: Outside Voices. Visit the workshop page to learn more.
We asked Alex a few questions to help you get to know him a bit.
Who influenced you most in your life? My mother and oldest sister were the biggest creative influences in my life. They valued creativity, and that made me feel as if my creative endeavors mattered and were worthy to pursue. The world doesn’t always value art, like writing, and to have encouragers like my mom and sister was a gift. They’re both gone now, but their support growing up has definitely stayed with me.
What is your favorite hobby? How does it help or influence your writing? Last year I started a podcast called The Stories Tour, where I interview people of faith making a difference in the mainstream creative market. Talking to directors, screenwriters, and authors who have made a cultural impact has been so fun and enlightening that I guess I would say it’s become one of my favorite hobbies. The podcast started as part of the marketing plan for a book I was writing called Outside Voices, but now it’s become far more than just an add-on to a book. It’s become a creative outlet and ministry tool independent of my writing.
All of us have faced rejection, how do you (did you) deal with it at the time and now that you look back upon it? Pursue writing seriously, and rejection will come. It’s pretty much guaranteed. How you cope with that rejection is what matters. When I get rejections, I’m disappointed at first. But over time, that disappointment always goes away, and I tend to learn from them. Sometimes rejection is a sign that I need to dust myself off and walk away from an idea. Other times it’s a call to change. Tenacity is of course important, but if I’m simply being tenacious and not evolving as a writer, not listening to why a manuscript was rejected, not changing, then I’m not being smart. And in order to make it in any creative field, one needs to act creatively…and intelligently.
Do you have anything posted around your writing desk–a reminder of why you sit at a computer for hours on end? I have a Donald Duck toy on my writing desk. That toy reminds me of my first writing job for Disney. The job was a total miracle and was the foundation for the rest of my writing and speaking career. Donald Duck reminds me that risks pay off, that the unexpected can happen, and that God can open impossible doors.
Do you have a favorite scripture, if so, how has it helped you? Proverbs 3:6 – In all your ways acknowledge Him, and he will make your paths straight. (NIV) I love this verse because it reminds me that I can take risks and move out on my creative endeavors, even if I’m not one hundred percent sure that they will work. If I’m praying, seeking wisdom from God, and getting counsel from those I trust, I can move out in the assurance that even if my path isn’t perfect, God is going to make my paths straight.
Visit Alex’s website, The Stories Tour, to learn more about Alex and what he does.