To have an abundance of whatever is important to you is what matters most. For me, it's the knowledge of writing and knowing my craft top my list. Would I've ever thought that five and half years ago? Nope. I was in blissful unawareness that my life was about to be uprooted and changed forever because in three months I would loss my daughter. Three months after the loss I began to write on her dedication website. It was my outlet during a very hard time in my life as this has, and will always … [Read more...]
Volunteering
There are so many things we can volunteer for in our life. There are outreach programs, programs for boys or girls or both, church related things, good causes, at a hospital, and the list goes on. When I believe in whatever I'm volunteering for it can make you feel good. I think most people when they volunteer they do it for selfless reasons. They want to help whether it's the needy, the poor, or maybe a group you're apart of. But are their some that do it just for selfish reasons? I have no … [Read more...]
Feeling Invincible
When was the last time you felt invincible? I don't know if I've ever felt invincible. My life has been anything but. I've had abuse, abandonment, neglect, and that was all from my childhood. My husband and I have had to deal in almost 20 years of marriage my childhood, meeting in the Army, infertility, having our only child end up with severe autism, recruiting in the Army, and finally our only child dying. And I feel like I'm forgetting something. So do feel invincible? No. But do I feel … [Read more...]
Day 1: Family Owned Diner
In my book, "The Unknown Door," one of my main characters, Nate, his family own their own little family diner. When I think of a family diner, I think of a quaint little place. Everyone knows everyone type of atmosphere. That's the kind of diner I'm going to have for Nate and his family. One of those types of diner I remember seeing in a movie is in "Picture Perfect" with Jennifer Aniston, Jay Mohr, and Kevin Bacon. In the movie, there is this scene where Jennifer's character is sitting in a … [Read more...]
Money, Time, or Expertise?
Which of these is more important: money, time, or expertise? Well, if we are fortunate enough I'd go with all three. However, most of us aren't or maybe we aren't will to give of one of those listed. For me, I think time is the most valuable. No amount of money in the world can make someone feel better. To have more experience in something might be good but would it really help. However, time, you can always give of your time. Even if it's just five minutes to say a kind word to someone who … [Read more...]
A new journey (of sorts)
On my daughter's dedication website, I started a journey at the beginning of the year where I'd write for 365 days from reading prompts out of this book. I've been loving it and it's been an interesting ride along the way. The thing is, I'd like to do something similar on here but don't want to use the same book. So I went on a search today and found five new books, one of which I'm going to start for my journey here. They're simple word prompts. I think it will fun and exciting as I start … [Read more...]
Do we take the easy or the hard way?
Well, this week I was more productive than I thought I'd be. I was able to rewrite out a new scene. Then while I was talking to a friend on Facebook just chatting away an idea came to me that might help to enhance the scene even better. But then a question came to my mind. "Is it worth all the effort to try and write the scene in the new way or take the easy route and just leave it be?" Well, I think our gut instinct, if we are honest with ourselves, is to take the easy way as it's just that: … [Read more...]
Day 140: Making Soup
I love this quote: Stories are what show up on the page once you start hitting the keys. —LARRY MCMURTRY Isn't that the truth? Whether it's nonfiction or fiction, the stories we decide to write about won't happen unless we take that first step to get them written down. And when we do this it's like we're making our own little soup story. I think back to the day when this website was born. I'd been told by my mom for a while to write down my thoughts and share them. It's good for you. I didn't … [Read more...]
The Journey with Terri Main
Please welcome this weeks guest Terri Main for The Journey. She answers the question: How have you seen God work in your writing journey? When I was 18, and recently published, I knelt at the altar one night after church. My knees still worked back then. Now, when I kneel, it's a matter of faith that I'll be able to stand up again. I laid my new pen, the one given to my by my parents as a graduation gift, on the altar and pledged myself to write for God. That was 43 years ago, and I have … [Read more...]
Getting Credit for Good Deeds
Do you like to get credit for the good deeds you do or do you prefer to stay anonymous knowing you did something to someone else? I think most people if they are completely honest with themselves they like to get a little thank your or some form of acknowledgement for something they have done. I think its human nature to want to be recognized for the good things we do. However, have you ever done something where you received no recognition at all because you went out of your way to help someone … [Read more...]
