I normally don’t like to quote from the book but I like what this had to say: “I learned to swim from a magazine article I read when I was eight years old. It told me to grab my knees, duck my head, form a tight little ball in the water, and then float. The next step was to stretch out and continue to float. I did exactly what the article said to do, and lo and behold, it worked. I got my arms going at some point, and I was a swimmer. It’s kind of like writing: get a paper and a pen, start with … [Read more...]
Day 127: One True Sentence #acfw #365days
In writing, there is both fiction and nonfiction. Obviously, nonfiction is going to be based on a true story or based on something that has happened in real life. However, fiction is all made up in the mind of the individual who writes it. However, even with fiction, there is a little bit of truth behind. I might be wrong, but from what I've experienced and other authors I’ve talked to, they always put a little bit of either themselves and/or people they know into their writing. Not that they … [Read more...]
Day 125: Approval #acfw
That one little word, approval, can mean so much to someone. To know that someone approves of something you have said or done. It gives you the confidence you might not have had otherwise. I think back on the time when Mari was in the hospital. When she had made it to her fourth and final hospital, I was told by one of the nurses about CarePages. She told me it was a way to keep family and friends updated on Mari and how she was doing. I couldn’t wait to get started. We had so many people … [Read more...]
Day 122: Fiction vs. Nonfiction #acfw
I think back to the day Mari was in the hospital and I told someone whether Mari made it or if she passed I was thinking about writing a book about her life. I’m not exactly sure why I would've thought to do something like this as I definitely didn’t believe I was a writer. After she passed and a little time went by, I decided to write a book about her life. The only drawback is I had no idea what I was doing. My husband tried to help me with editing it the best he could. His main comment was … [Read more...]
Day 120: Writing the Event #acfw
There an old adage in writing about ‘show don’t tell.’ I’d never heard of this personally before I started to write my first fiction book. Even when I was writing the original book about my daughter I was being told to add fiction elements to her story. I’d never understood exactly what that meant until I made my first attempt. When I submitted it for comments, I was told that it was much better but I knew I needed to go deep to really convey what I was trying to say. One day I had an idea … [Read more...]
Day 117: The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Writer #acfw
I love this. Here is what the author said about loneliness: “Writing can be a lonely business. But gradually your characters, or the scenes and people from your past, begin to rise up around you, and you find yourself writing your way out of loneliness, writing your own company. And you’ll find yourself at dinner some evening telling your family or friends, “Well, Natalie really made a mess of things today” or “I can’t believe what John said about Kathryn’s dog.” And everyone will look at you … [Read more...]
The Journey with Angie Brashear #acfw
Please welcome this week's guest Angie Brashear for The Journey. She answers the question: How have you seen God work in your writing journey? Venturing to Other Worlds The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis, a childhood dream, and a journal. What do they have in common? Take a short venture with me to find out… My path to salvation began with a classic fantasy, told to me in the midst of my secular world, for when I was in the fifth grade, my teacher read aloud The Lion, the … [Read more...]
Day 114: The idea That Won’t Go Away #acfw
Have you ever had one of those moment when you're writing where your characters just won’t shut up. They continue to talk and talk and talk. They won’t quit until you write what they're telling you to write down. This has happened to me a few times with the fiction novel I’ve been writing to the point I have a major rewrite in the works that'll need to be completed by the time I go to my first writer's conference in September. If you aren’t a writer you may think that we have something … [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...]
Reflecting back over the A to Z Challenge #AtoZchallenge #acfw
This year is the first time I did the A to Z Challenge on this site. However, I did do it last year on my daughter's dedication site (mommysangelinheaven.com) and fell in love with doing it. So this year I decided to really up the ante, so to speak, and do the challenge on both this site as well as my daughter's site. It wasn't easy and I even was late a couple of times with posting, but I was able to write on every letter and get them posted on both sites. Yea!!!! The topic I chose to write … [Read more...]
