Here's a question for you? Are you ever fully satisfied with yourself? If you say yes, I don't think you're being truthful with yourself. No matter who we are or what we do there is always room to grow. As a writer, I'm still a long way off from being able to write a book with as few of edits as possible. I'm so in the throes of learning this craft to make it the best I can. In the past year since I joined ACFW, I have learned so much on how to improve my writing. I'm still amazed … [Read more...]
Day 89: Worries of Writing Memoir
I want, no, I need to share this excerpt from the book I'm using. Even as I sit here writing this, I feel my eyes moistening. I hope you will see why this has touched my heart and maybe why God lead me to the very book to use in my 365 day journey. "Robin Romm worried whether to publish the memoir she had written about the last three weeks of her mother’s life. She wrote thirty pages of notes during those weeks, then ninety pages in the ten days after her mother died. Romm felt there were … [Read more...]
Day 88: From the Desk of God
This one is interesting. When we write we are writing out what is playing in our heads. Read this section from the book: "Writing a novel is like living in a parallel universe. A universe that, unlike reality, you can more or less control. Every day, you find your characters sitting around like polite house-guests waiting to see what you have planned for them. It can be exhilarating on good days, and on other days so difficult and frustrating you think your head might explode. But if you keep … [Read more...]
Day 87: Lessons of Drama
Which one of these paragraphs has more of an emotional effect? Mom stared off into the distance. Her mouth didn't move. Her hands stayed in her lap. One tear trailed down the side of her face. She stood and walked out of the room. Mom longingly stared off in the distance. Her stoic mouth didn't move at all. Her hands stayed perfectly still in her lap. One lonely little tear made its way down the side of her face. She gracefully stood and gently walked out of the room. I hope you said … [Read more...]
Day 86: Looking vs. Seeing
Have you ever been told before that you might be looking at something but you're not seeing it? I think we all have at some point. An example is my daughter Mari. When we would go into a store and Mari would have a meltdown, people would look at her but that is just the outside they were seeing. They wouldn't stop to think that maybe there's a reason she is acting like this. So in other words, they looked at her outside, but they never saw the inner beauty of Mari as they rushed to judge not … [Read more...]
Day 85: Motivation
Motivation. What a word. It can mean so much to so many people, yet what motivates us is all so different. Just like our fingerprints are all different, so is the motivating power behind what we do. For me, what motivates me to keep writing on this website is my daughter. I can write about the good times and the bad. When I'm feeling lonely or have a need to write down the thoughts that swirl around in my brain like a tornado. To hear comments or replies to things I write will always have … [Read more...]
Day 84: How to Be a Writer
There's an age-old saying that says "patience is a virtue." However, God skipped the boat with me on that front. Sometimes I can feel the frustration boiling up to where my lid could blow a hole through the roof. I know my voice can suddenly shoot up to screaming in a second. This has been a flaw of mine since I can remember. Through all of this, God decided in His infinite wisdom that I could handle a blond hair, Caribbean blue-eyed beautiful little girl who happened to have severe classic … [Read more...]
Wow, Three Months Already
It's hard to believe that only three months ago I started my 365 day quest of writing on Mari's site. It's been really fun to do. In this past month we have been getting ready to move to Anchorage, Alaska, to start a new adventure. We've heard nothing but good things about living there. I can only imagine all the things we can do and see once we are there. I sit here on the couch in my in-laws house and it's kind of quiet and nice. I've missed being away from everyone so it's nice to know … [Read more...]
Day 83: Retyping the Best
This is an interesting concept. Have you ever thought about taking one of your very favorite books and retyping it out? That's right, the entire thing. Nope? Well, I hadn't either until I read about today's phrase. Here is a small excerpt from the book: "When Donald Ray Pollock turned forty-five, he decided he wanted to do something different with his life; he was going to learn how to write. He began by retyping stories by writers he liked —John Cheever, Richard Yates, and Ernest … [Read more...]
Day 82: Finding a Genre
I'm a romance nut. I started off reading teen romances by the time I was 13 or 14 years old. I eventually graduated to he adult romances. The ones I like the most are historical romances set in the UK somewhere, but mostly in London. I also like to read historical romances set in the US. Once in a while I will read a contemporary romance. The point is, I love my romance books. So, when I had my first book idea pop into my head I was sure that I'd be writing a romance. I began to write my … [Read more...]
