I’ve been working on a new proposal. Same heart of the story I’ve been dreaming about, but transplanted into a different body. The character sketches came together quickly. The names are a little hokey, but then character names often change several times during the course of writing a story. As I write, the characters begin …
I’m scrapping my proposal and prologue today. Shredding it is a better idea. I’ve been thinking/working over a story idea for months! I dream about this “thing”, whatever it is. It’s been like living in a rabbit warren and the rabbits keep producing more rabbits. In this case, ideas are reproducing ideas. I’m living in …
Writing isn’t about making friends with my characters, but trying to understand them. It’s a process. What I write in a “book proposal” is a faint shadow of who the characters are and what they will do. I don’t even know any of that yet. What is important is what these new people in my …
I am told by those close to me that I always go through the same process when I’m writing a new book. It always starts with doubt and fear. Whatever made me think I could write anything, let alone a novel? I know I’m not alone in this. Other writer friends feel the same way. …
Does anyone else out there have a problem with having their picture taken? If I was Angelina Jolie, I’d be smiling at the paparazzi, too – or Betty White before she gets hit by the football player. I’m not either, and I’d rather be behind the camera than in front of it. I confess. The …
Our church women gathered on Saturday to take classes in “the lost arts”: tie dye, knitting, quilting, ornament making, cooking (raviolis and bread – from scratch!), make up, picture framing, pressed-flower cards. I took knitting. We have several experts in our congregation who make everything from blankets to sweaters, baby booties to stylish hats and …
My husband had knee replacement surgery on January 3. I moved into a small hotel within six blocks of the hospital so that I could walk there and spend time with him every day. The surgery was on schedule and went well. The nurses had him up and walking the first day. The physical therapist …
Rick always knows when I’m getting antsy to begin writing again. He can sense the inner tension in me, the restlessness. Maybe I get a twitch or something. Maybe I grind my teeth. Sometimes I drum my fingers on the counter, as though there is an invisible keyboard. Not that anything I would write at …
I started reading the One Year Bible this morning. Last year, I studied several books from the Old Testament, but I missed the continuity of Old and New. And then this morning, I felt as though I had come home to the richness and fullness of God’s Word. From day one, the Word of God …
I have all kinds of reasons why I love the Christmas season, the most important of which is celebrating the birth of my Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. But one of the things I anticipate with great delight is the arrival of yearly newsy letters from relatives and friends who only write once a year. …