Motivation. I can be a tricky thing to conquer (especially when all motivation has failed you thus far). You know in your heart you want to do this (whatever it is) and nothing you say or do moves you forward to do it. It's rather irritation quite frankly. For me, I have a couple of things I want to be continuously motivated to do but I'm simply not: Writing and a Personal Quiet Time After Mari died writing became cathartic for me. I had constant ideas floating around my head. However, … [Read more...]
Day 109: Just Reading #acfw
For years I have read romances and they are my favorite to read. I can remember thinking as a teenager, and even as an adult sometimes, that I'd love to write one but had no clue how to or, for that matter, any desire to do so. Today, I not only read books but I also have been doing a lot of writing. I've been working on both my fiction book as well as Mari's story (which is basically done and almost ready for beta readers). I've learned so much in the last few years. I understand better what … [Read more...]
Z is for ZZZs #AtoZchallenge #acfw
The dreaded ZZZs. It's exactly what we don't want to do to our readers. That is make them fall asleep as they are read our books. We want our novels to be so engaging that they have a hard time putting it down so much so they don't want to go to sleep. This has happened to me so many times where I'm so into the book that it's hard to put it down. I still remember waking up not to long ago and my Kindle was on my bed beside me. I was so close to the end of a book the night before that I wanted … [Read more...]
The Journey with Elizabeth Kitchens
Please welcome this weeks guest Elizabeth Kitchens for The Journey. She answers the question: How have you seen God work in your writing journey? As a writer of fairy tales, it’s fitting that I am under a curse. Not a curse to prick my finger on a spinning wheel’s spindle or to be a beast, but to write. But if writing is a curse, then I’ll happily live with it. Actually, what my father was referring to when he called writing “the family curse” was the frustration that happens when you’re a … [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 36: The Peculiar Art
As writers, it takes a certain type of person who doesn't mind sitting by themselves diving deep into the recesses of their minds as they write or type out onto the page lines for their story. You can't be in an office work space surrounded by people who constantly interrupt you. Scenes can flow out of you fluidly which requires sitting down and getting it all out on paper. Writing is a peculiar art in that as writers we do like to be alone. Quite frankly I think many of us thrive on it. I … [Read more...]
First Friends
Do you remember back to when you were a kid and your first friend? I don't know if the person I'm thinking of was actually my first friend. I just know that I knew her clear back to when I was in Kindergarten. Her name was Julie Buffington. She was the main friend I had when I was little. She was a couple of years older than me if I'm remembering her correctly. Here's a picture from many, many moons ago. It's not the greatest quality but you can see me on the right, I'm about 6 or 7 years old. … [Read more...]
To Change Something About Yourself
If I were given the opportunity to change one thing about myself it would be to have much better patience. I didn't want to just say patience, because no matter who you are you have some. It might seem microscopic, but it's still there. God may have bestowed many gifts upon me, some still unknown, but the one He didn't give was the gift of patience. This is a weak area for me. I can easily get frustrated and don't dare try to talk to me in those moments of deep frustration because I have a … [Read more...]
Pumpkin or Apple Pie at Thanksgiving?
Talk about two of my very favorite pies. It’s hard to choose which is possibly my favorite. So I won’t. However, I will give the recipes that I use when making them from scratch (And yes, I make everything from scratch to include the pie crust. Yummy!!) The basis for my pie crust comes from the Betty Crocker cookbook, yet I’ve done some slight alterations to give it my own little touch. I use this for both my pumpkin and apple pies. One-Crust Pie (Pumpkin): ⅓ cup plus 1 tablespoon butter … [Read more...]
Which is better to jump in: a leaf pile or a puddle?
Absolutely a leaf pile. It’s that time of year where all the trees have begun or have changed colors and the leaves have started to fall. When you’re an adult and you see the leaves have fallen all over your yard at this time of the year, you just shake your head because all you can think about is how it’s more work for you to do. However, when you’re a kid, man, it’s time to play. You will spend an hour piling up the leaves into a nice big mountain. The bigger the pile the softer the cushion … [Read more...]
