When I began to write the fiction novel I'm working on I had no clue how to really do it. There was so much I needed to learn. My true growth started after I became a member of ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers) and joined the large critique group they have. Over that first month in that group it was amazing how much I had learned. Yet, I had so much more to learn and am still doing so now. I came to realize that I'm a plotter. One day I had an idea to write a quick and concise outline … [Read more...]
Archives for April 2014
C is for Chewy Tube
You might be asking what a chewy tube is exactly. Well, it something my daughter needed. So many children with autism need to be orally stimulated by either sucking on things or chewing on them. If Mari didn't have one on, she'd put her shirt in her mouth and suck that. She did it to the point sometimes that she'd put holes in her shirts. So at all times she had one attached to either her shirt or her dress to take care of that need. We have one of Mari's chewy tubes attached to the pink hippo … [Read more...]
B is for “Backyardigans”
The "Backyardigans." It brings a smile to my face every time I think of them as they were one of Mari's favorite shows. As soon as the music would start she begin to dance. She might flap her arms and do a little awwwwwwww as she watched. I wonder sometimes what drew her the most. Maybe it was the vivid bright colors that each of the five characters were. Or maybe it was the fact none of them were human beings but all animals of some sort, although Uniqua, I never did find out exactly what kind … [Read more...]
B is for Backstory
How do we get to know the characters of the stories we either write or read about. One way is to weave backstory into book. However, you don't want an info dump of information where you completely lose your reader as they've lost interest with your novel. You want to engage the reader from the first page to the last. One place considered a no-no is to put backstory in the first chapter, and especially the first scene. As a reader they may say who cares because she wants to feel like she's … [Read more...]
A is for Adorable
What better word could describe my precious little girl than the word adorable (well, I'm sure I could find several :) )? Mari had this way about her. She'd be watching one of her favorite show whether it was Dora or the movie "Cars" where she be in front of the TV dancing around or flapping her arms in excitement at whatever was being played out before her. She'd be sitting in her high chair eat whatever meal it was at the time and all of a sudden she just start to giggle out of no where. … [Read more...]
A is for Antagonist
The antagonist, the one we all love to hate, or at least most of the time, as we read our stories and immerse ourselves into the world of the characters we grow to love. In my fiction story, my antagonist is my protagonists mom. She one of these types of characters that likes to make sure appearances count. She doesn't know how to show lover to her two girls because her own mom never showed her what love is really supposed to look like. Sometimes within a story the antagonist happens to be … [Read more...]
