As a writer, we have all joined a special club that I'm happily a member of: The Writer's Club. It doesn't take much to join. Actually, it's relatively painless. Simply put, you just have to write. That's it. Nothing more. Nothing less. I joined the writer's club while my daughter lay before me getting sicker over those 16 days. At the time, I didn't even know I had joined the club. I was accepted without question. And all I did at the time was relay information to family and friends about … [Read more...]
Archives for March 2013
Day 46: Frou-Frou in Your Head
I love this quote from the book. "Remember this: there is nothing until there’s something on the page." We can all have a million and one thoughts and dreams rolling around in our head, but until they are written down they are all frou-frou in your head. If you have thoughts or ideas, no matter how silly or strange you may think they are, write them down. Nothing may ever come from them. But what if something does? What if one of those ideas happens to become the next great American novel. You … [Read more...]
Day 45: Stubborn and Stupid
I think at some point in our lives we are stubborn and can make some really stupid mistakes. Being stubborn is good in writing because if we were to stop writing after receiving our first rejection letter, there would only be a few books in the world today. I know I have made plenty of stupid mistakes throughout my lifetime. It is how I've learner to not make those same mistakes over and over again. As a writer we will make tons of mistakes. It's okay. How can you learn to be a better writer … [Read more...]
Day 44: Sad Flailing and Panic
Look at the following quote. "Writing is magic, as much the water of life as any other creative art. The water is free. So drink. Drink and be filled up." —STEPHEN KING I would have to agree with Mr. King. No, you will never ever see me reading one of his novels (talk about nightmares for days). However, finding out that even a writer as good as he is gets writer's block and he looks at writing the same way I do makes it so I can relate to him. We all have those time where we panic because … [Read more...]
Day 43: Nelson’s News
Perception. There can be ten people who read the same exact story and you will have ten differing opinions on whether the story is any good and what they liked and disliked about it. A great example for me is the "The Shack." Personally, I loved this book. It was recommended to me by a friend shortly after my daughter died. It took me a long time to finally sit down wand read it. I loved how the author was able to show God in such a way that the main character of the book could finally … [Read more...]
Day 42: Darling, What If You Tried…
Constructive criticism. With anything we do in our life we need someone who is willing to take the time and help us to get better. However, there are two very different ways to go about doing it. Let's say in your writing you head hop with your POV's (point of view). One critiquer says, "This is terrible. When you write you have to keep the same POV. How do you expect someone to follow the right character if you're constantly head hopping." Here is the other critiquer. "You have a strong … [Read more...]
Day 41: Overnight Success Story
I think we would all like to be an overnight success story. It's a dream of ours as a writer. The process would be simple. We write out our novel. We work ferociously to get it just right. Then we query the agent of our dreams. You receive a phone call almost immediately from the said agent where he says, "You're the writer I've been waiting for." You sign the contact he has for you the next day because he's flown to your house. Then next he calls and tells you that Thomas Nelson, Bethany House, … [Read more...]
Day 40: Inspiration
I think inspiration can come from anywhere at anytime. It just hits us. I still remember being up in my bedroom when the story idea came to me and that very night I started my first attempt at writing fiction. To take a simple idea and then turn that into a 100,000 word book is mind-boggling. Not many people have the patience or stamina to do it. You really have to want to be a writer to do it. The amazing part about all of this is that when you type out that first novel you will find out what … [Read more...]
Day 39: Keeping a Journal
I love keeping a journal. I typically go for long periods of time without writing in it but when I do it becomes a daily ritual. Right after Mari died I told Keith I had to get a journal. What I wrote in there were all my very raw and exposed emotions. Sometimes it felt like I wrote the same things over and over again. It's one of the ways that helped me through my grief. And then one day I had tons of thought swirling around in my head. But I had a different feeling this time about writing … [Read more...]
Day 38: Ideal Conditions
Are there ever any? I kind of think about when a husband and wife decide they want to start having children but then they wait. To have enough money, but there never seems to be enough. To have the right job, but never seem to find it. To get that promotion you've been waiting for, but it never comes. To, to, to, there seems to always be something that gets in the way. As any parent will tell you, if you wait until the "perfect" time you will never have them. You just have to do it and somehow … [Read more...]
