As a writer, we have all joined a special club that I'm happily a member of: The Writer's Club. It doesn't take much to join. Actually, it's relatively painless. Simply put, you just have to write. That's it. Nothing more. Nothing less. I joined the writer's club while my daughter lay before me getting sicker over those 16 days. At the time, I didn't even know I had joined. I was accepted without question. And all I had done was relay information to family and friends about Mari's … [Read more...]
The Journey with Patty Smith Hall
Please welcome this weeks guest Patty Smith Hall for The Journey. She answers the question: How have you seen God work in your writing journey? My writing journey has been one long and winding road(a nod to the Beatles there) full of twists and turns, stopping and starting on a moment’s whims depending on what daughter needed me at the time. But 2004 was a pivotal year for me, the year I was awarded a scholarship to the ACFW National Conference in Denver. At that time, I had been writing … [Read more...]
Day 44: Sad Flailing and Panic
Look at the following quote. "Writing is magic, as much the water of life as any other creative art. The water is free. So drink. Drink and be filled up." —STEPHEN KING I would have to agree with Mr. King. No, you will never ever see me reading one of his novels (talk about nightmares for days). However, finding out that even a writer as good as he is gets writer's block and he looks at writing the same way I do makes it so I can relate to him. We all have those time where we panic because … [Read more...]
Day 43: Nelson’s News
Perception. There can be ten people who read the same exact story and you will have ten differing opinions on whether the story is any good and what they liked and disliked about it. A great example for me is the "The Shack." Personally, I loved this book. It was recommended to me by a friend shortly after my daughter died. It took me a long time to finally sit down and read it. I loved how the author was able to show God in such a way that the main character of the book could finally … [Read more...]
Day 42: Darling, What If You Tried…
Constructive criticism. With anything we do in our life we need someone who is willing to take the time and help us to get better. However, there are two very different ways to go about doing it. Let's say in your writing you head hop with your POV's (point of view). One critiquer says, "This is terrible. When you write you have to keep the same POV. How do you expect someone to follow the right character if you're constantly head hopping." Here is the other critiquer. "You have a strong … [Read more...]
Day 41: Overnight Success Story
I think we'd all like to be an overnight success story. It's a dream of ours as a writer. The process would be simple. We write out our novel. We work ferociously to get it just right. Then we query the agent of our dreams. You receive a phone call almost immediately from said agent where he says, "You're the writer I've been waiting for." You sign the contact he has for you the next day because he's flown to your house. Next he calls and tells you that Thomas Nelson, Bethany House, and … [Read more...]
The Journey with Lillian Duncan
Please welcome this weeks guest Lillian Duncan for The Journey. She answers the question: How have you seen God work in your writing journey? How has God figured into my writing journey? In more ways than I have space to tell. I started writing when I was 40. As much as I hate to admit it now, I wasn’t living a Christian lifestyle at the time, even though I’d become a Christian as a young teenager many years before. My writing reflected the fact that I wasn’t living a Christian … [Read more...]
Day 39: Keeping a Journal
I love keeping a journal. I typically go for long periods of time without writing in it but when I do it becomes a daily ritual. Right after Mari died I told Keith I had to get a journal. What I wrote in there were all my very raw and exposed emotions. Sometimes it felt like I wrote the same things over and over. It's one of the ways that helped me through my grief. And then one day I had tons of thoughts swirling around in my head. But I had a different feeling this time about writing … [Read more...]
Day 38: Ideal Conditions
Are there ever any? I kind of think about when a husband and wife decide they want to start having children but then they wait. To have enough money, but there never seems to be enough. To have the right job, but never seem to find it. To get that promotion you've been waiting for, but it never comes. To, to, to, there seems to always be something that gets in the way. As any parent will tell you, if you wait until the "perfect" time you will never have them. You just have to do it and … [Read more...]
Been a little absent
I'm sure those of you who have been following me here have noticed I went silent over the month of December. Most might think it was because of the holidays and in particularly Christmas. The thing is, I was looking forward to Christmas; however, Mari's birthday was December 29 and she would have turned fourteen. Man, fourteen years have come and gone since I gave birth to my precious little girl. Fourteen years. I still remember how difficult my pregnancy had been. How giving birth to her had … [Read more...]
