I decided to take a week to writer and pray in Kansas City at the International House of Prayer. I have some friends here and thought a change of pace and setting would be inspiring. Plus. I wanted to be in an atmosphere where people prayed 24×7. Church, we do not pray enough. Seriously. I’ll be first in line to say, “I need to pray more.” I wanted to accomplish a good bit of writing and have learned some lessons about get-a-way writing retreats. More on that later. Wednesday, I was stuck. So stuck, I was starting to be worried and bothered. My last two books, I managed NOT to lose any sleep and was believing I’d broken through into a new place of confidence in my writing. But, when […]
Read the RestArchive | October, 2009
Butt in Chair
Martha, Rachel Hauck said “butt.” Okay now that we got that out of the way. . . Writing is very hard work. Fun. Exciting. There’s nothing like holding your hard work, in hand, printed and bound. But, the labor is much like giving birth. Being creative is fun. Dreaming up ideas and imagining scenarios, talking with our potential characters. Then comes the hard work. Writing. As I talked about last week, it’s a lot like dating on e-Harmony. The person on the other end of the phone or computer is not the person sitting across from you at dinner. Same with characters. Your heroine was so lively and fun in your head, but on the page she’s snippy, snide and unlikable. Here’s the biggest writing tip you’ll ever get. Ready? […]
Read the RestMeet the Voices: Keri Norton
This week’s featured Voice is Keri Norton. She is a northern MN girl with two adopted boys who keep her busy as well as remind her of God’s blessings daily. She graduated in 1995 from Pillsbury Baptist Bible College in Owatonna, MN with a major in Bible and minors in both church ministries and English (with an emphasis on creative writing). She worked one year as a journalist for the local paper, but decided that was not the direction she wanted to take her writing. Her husband is very supportive of her writing dreams and is also her encourage to continue on when she gets lazy on her WIP. Both her boys (Kody-10, and Jaxson-almost 3) have special needs, so she has a very soft heart for people with special […]
Read the RestWriting is like dating on e-Harmony
I spend a lot of time “dating” my characters. I ask questions, delve into their back story. I write bios, dream up their greatest fears and secret dreams. I consider the lies they believe about themselves, life and God. I figure out eye and hair color, height and fashion sense. What car do they drive and why? Where do they live? Alone? With a friend? With family? Whose died? How many broken hearts? Any major disasters that still drills holes in their hearts? With Susie May, I figure out the characters’ basic story journey. We answer story questions. I send them to college, give them a career. Sighing with satisfaction, I begin writing. “This story rocks” Half way into page one, I’m bogged down in story sludge.”This story stinks!” I’ve […]
Read the Rest
