Picture this. You take a woman who is an avid reader of romance. She loves both historical and contemporary. With or without suspense. She's been reading it since the time she was about thirteen. So what kind of book do you think she would probably write? I bet you'd logically said romance. However, since today's letter is W and the topic is women's fiction, it must be women's fiction, and that writer would be me. From the time I first read a teen romance I fell in love with the heroine and … [Read more...]
W is for Water #atozchallenge
Mari and water, a dynamic combination. Mari loved being in, playing in, basically anything to do with in the water. From the time Mari was a baby, she loved to go swimming. My husband's family was always amazed that I could put her in the swimming pool and she had the time of her life. She didn't mind if the water got in her face. She just giggled and had a blast. As most of you know I've been writing a book about what happened with our little girl. In the book there is a dedication section … [Read more...]
The Journey with Sylvia Bambola #acfw
Please welcome this weeks guest Sylvia Bambola for The Journey. She answers the question: How have you seen God work in your writing journey? Years ago God spoke to me about writing a novel for the secular world. I believed it. I received it. There was no doubt in my mind that it was God even though He sounded nothing like Cecil B. DeMille. So, for two years I worked feverishly until finally the great American novel was ready. I had amassed a list of all the publishers I planned to favor with … [Read more...]
V is for Vibrant #atozchallenge
The word 'vibrant'. When I think of this word immediately Mari's sweet angelic face pops in my head. I can see her vivid blue eyes. Her bright shining smile. She had a zest for life I think most people wish they could have. I sit here thinking back on Mari's life, and while there are those time that made raising her very hard due to her autism and her inability to be able to communicate and understand safety awareness, she was a very happy little girl. Her vibrancy seemed almost contagious at … [Read more...]
T is for Tagline (Dialogue Tags) #atozchallenge
Taglines, or better known as dialogue tags, have been used in writing clear back to the Bible. They help the reader to know exactly who is talking during a scene. However, today, many publishers are moving away from dialogue tags as this is more telling than showing. Adding an action beat for whoever is talking is a way to show that person is the one talking instead of saying so-in-such said. As a reader, to be honest, I never really noticed that kind of stuff and it never bothered me. But … [Read more...]
T is for Time #atozchallenge
Time, is there really ever enough of it? No, not really. How many times have you heard someone say they wish they just had two or three more hours in a day to do something? I've heard it many times throughout my lifetime. It's probably been like this since the beginning. However, no matter how much we would wish it to be true, we will always have just twenty-four hours in a day. The thing is even if we did have those two or three more hours in a day those wouldn't seem enough either. We'd … [Read more...]
R is for Revisions #atozchallenge
When it comes to writing, no one should ever just take the first draft as the final draft because we need to be certain that it sounds okay, grammar and punctuation is correct, spelling errors, and things like that. We should know going in that whatever we write down (or type) that we will go back and read over what's been said to make sure it looks okay. Even if we are one of those lucky people who gets it right the first time through, most of us must do this. Editing can be a tedious thing … [Read more...]
The Journey with Bonnie Doran #acfw
Please welcome this weeks guest Bonnie Doran for The Journey. She answers the question: How have you seen God work in your writing journey? I’ve seen God bring about a lot of “chance” meetings that led me from writing devotions and magazine articles to fiction novels. Here are a few high points: After I moved to Colorado, I learned somehow (God’s providence) about the Colorado Christian Writers Conference (CCWC). Through this conference and others, God developed my writing skills. I sold a … [Read more...]
P is for Potty Time
It brings a smile to my face when I think of Mari and potty time. I know that may sound weird but it's because of what the words 'potty time' actually signified for my little girl. Mari used the words 'potty time' more as a way of getting what she wanted or getting out of something she no longer wanted to do. Whether it was doing an activity she was tired of doing or if she simply wanted to get out of her room because she wanted to do something else. She'd say, "Let's go potty" as a way of … [Read more...]
O is for Outline
Or as I like to call it: Plotter. In writing a novel you have what we writers like to call either Pantsers or Plotters or somewhere in between. A pantser is someone who writes their novel, as they say, by the seat of their pants. In other words, there is absolutely no plotting of the novel whatsoever. They write their novel as it comes to them. However, with a plotter, it 180 degrees in the opposite direction where they outline everything before they write a single word for their … [Read more...]
