My plan this morning had been to get back to writing my 365 day journey. However, I came across something in my email this morning that I'm quite excited about. It's the ACFW Pre-Conference Mix and Mingle. Laurie Tomlinson has been gracious enough to start this and I'm excited to participate. All you have to do is answer a few questions, which I've put below. If you'd like to join in the fun and add yourself to the list, please click this link: laurietomlinson.com and if you don't have a … [Read more...]
Sorry it took so long… #acfw
I sit here this morning thinking back on the last couple of months, and the time seems to have flown by. Only eight months ago I sat up in my room with my husband discussing with him why I felt I needed to go to the ACFW writers conference in September. Besides that awesome friends I'll finally get to meet in person (Joy Avery Melville, Julie Lessman, Dineen Miller, just to name a few :) ) and the fantastic workshops I'll get to go to, I'll have that rare opportunity to pitch both my fiction … [Read more...]
Seeing the Gift
Wow, it's hard to believe that Mari's book is done. I entered the last of the edits to part 2 and sent it off to my editor (my dear sweet friend Deirdre). This day has been almost six years in the making. A week from tonight I will be on a plane heading toward Chicago as I go visit family. But even bigger than this is the reason I'm heading out that way to begin with. ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers) is having their annual writing conference September 25-27 in St. Louis, MO. I'm … [Read more...]
Postponing my journey
Many of you have probably noticed I have not been posting about my 365 day journey since the end of June. While I plan to keep going with it, this past month is always hard for me. For those of you who don't know me very well, my husband and I have lost our only child, our 8 1/2-year-old daughter, six years ago on July 16. I end up having a hard time focusing as the days draw closer to this time. This year has been no different. On July 1 we also had family fly in from California and has been … [Read more...]
The Journey with Kathy Nickerson
Please welcome this weeks guest Kathy Nickerson for The Journey. She answers the question: How have you seen God work in your writing journey? Thanks to Kristena for sharing her space to let me talk about my writing journey. In the late eighties, I wrote a personal experience piece about my battle with depression for Christian Herald Magazine. I was thrilled with the check that came in the mail and excited by the opportunities Editor Dean Merrill offered me for more articles. We worked … [Read more...]
Day 132: Double-Edged Sword of the Internet #acfw #365days
This is so true. As with so many things, there is the good and the bad side to the Internet. Starting with the obvious is the ability to do research about almost anything. I remember being in my 4th grade class and being told to write a book report on whatever the subject was. So I’d go get the trusty old encyclopedia hardcover book and go to the section with the info I needed. And then of course I’d plagiarize the heck out of that section of the book as I copied down verbatim what it said. Back … [Read more...]
Day 131: Do Not Try This at Home #acfw #365days
Well, this is a little different. There are so many things where there is a warning, especially on TV, where it says, “Do Not Try This At Home.” I think of that movie “Jack (you know the word)” where there is a guy who I guess does a bunch of really stupid things. Personally, I’ve never seen this movie and really never want to either. Dare devils who do their death-defying stunts. And you’re like, “Yeah right would I try that at home. I’m sane.” Or how about those who go after things like … [Read more...]
Day 130: Paying Attention #acfw #365days
When I write about Mari, I’m paying attention to my internal thoughts and feelings I have at the time. She will be at the forefront as I write out the words on the screen. For me, it’s knowing I’m being truthful about what I’m feeling at the time. It helps me to grieve for her and heal at the same time. Sometimes it’s when I’m feeling sad and really missing her. Other times it’s about the happy memories I have of her. I know all of this requires me to pay attention to my thoughts and feelings … [Read more...]
Was or Is?
I sit here thinking of Mari today. Time is moving one step at a time closer to the six year mark for Mari being gone. Can you believe it’s been six years already? I think back on all the times I wrote about time after she passed, especially that first year or so. The fact is that time continued its ever present trek forward no matter how much we’d rather have had it go backward for either more time with our little girl or for us to somehow change the outcome. Yet, we all know that’s not … [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...]
