Which Way is Up????

I'm having one of those weeks that is leaving me feeling as if I'm drowning just a bit. I'm swamped with work, which is always a good thing I suppose. I do have to admit, I procrastinated on this project for no particular or good reason and now I'm having to play catch-up. The reality is, I am enjoying the project. It's a full blown book job from the transcription of a very old manuscript to editing the piece word by word to transferring it to the proper format for printing to creating the cover. It's a good book, well written, and I'm so very pleased to be a part of bringing it to "life" so that we may present it to the world.

Still, that doesn't make it any less overwhelming when I sit in front of my computer and realize I have two days to complete two weeks worth of work! On top of that...I'm in one of my no-sleep modes where I wake during the night with stories whirling through my head. Yesterday as I sat at a stop light on my way to pick part of my crew up from school a new story began to form in my head. "No!" I told it. I'm already working on two with a third in the notes phase. No use. An hour later as I sat with my children at McDonalds while my flat tire from Saturday got put back on my van, I had the main characters named and the opening scene fleshed out. I wrote in my head off and on all night! Ugh. When I have one of those nights...which is quite often...I am reminded of an old commercial where the children get the parents up early on the weekend. Perhaps it was a crying baby and the commercial says something about sleep being overrated. One of my sisters once told me after I had children that I would find myself operating best on 6 hours of sleep. I think that is just enough to function yet little enough to dull the senses so you just kind of float through life... I'd really just enjoy six good hours in a row!!!

Alas, the cats agree with my sister and the commercial. Of course they cat nap at my side as I work so what difference does it make to them? They do love it when I write in the wee hours of the night and they sneak onto the kitchen table to "help" by rearranging my papers into a nice bed. They keep me company, I suppose; championing me on as word by word I continue with my work knowing soon, very soon this book will be printed and shipped and into the hands of the author who, for the first time, will see his name on a cover. Inside he will find the words that he labored over and characters that he breathed life into. For those of us who write, it's a feeling without compare. It's also what keeps me going...the thought of that look upon his face when he opens the package containing his book. For that, I would gladly trade a little sleep and ignore my laundry...for a few days anyway.

Have I learned my lesson on procrastination? Probably not! Will I ever not take on more than one person should? No! Life is short and grace is given. We rise to the occasion and, just as we feel we truly are drowning, light shines and we know exactly which way is up.

For those of you who have pitched in and taken up the slack as I wade through....THANK YOU! Your support means more to me than you can imagine. The favor will be returned....after I finish this project :) Or maybe after the next one.....

No lack of ideas here…

I have been inundated with ideas. That’s a good thing, right? Well, yes and no. I remember when I wrote my first novel…as yet unpublished (as well as still mostly in handwritten form secured within the folds of one of my notebooks). I wrote the whole thing over Christmas break. That’s right! A whole novel in a two week time period. Is it any good? I don’t know. At the time I thought it was the best thing I’d ever done. Pride gushed from every pore of my body. Again, I don’t know if it’s any good. It’s about the Phantom of the Opera of all things! But, the important thing about that novel was that it revived a dream within me; one I’d buried many years ago. I LOVED the process from conception of the idea to the writing and rewriting. I practically worked day and night on the thing. Obsessed, I would say.

As I wrote I thought “this is what I want to do when I grow up.” Keep in mind I was just a few months shy of my 45th birthday! Nearing completion I began to consider a “career” change. I’ve done many things though the last 15 years have been devoted to being a mother and wife as well as volunteering with my local no-kill animal shelter. I also became card maker extraordinaire and designed custom specialty greeting cards. Awesome Cards for Awesome People was my slogan. I loved doing that too, although it barely paid for itself. I actually still do cards by request and have my “regulars” who email or call…regularly!

But, my youngest was getting ready to start school. I realized I would be alone for 5 whole hours every single day. What did I most want to do with that 5 hour time span? I knew. I wanted to write. And, as with anything we undertake…or at least it is this way for me…I began to doubt myself. What if I couldn’t think of anything else to write about? What if I wrote one or two books and then…nothing!

That didn’t happen. In fact, it has been quite the reverse for me. I have idea upon idea and each new story brings with it a whole slew of new ideas…so if you’re lacking, let me know!  Before I finish one, a new one is waiting (and usually I begin before the other is finished). That’s happening as I write A Marriage of Necessity. I have two ideas, in fact. Surprisingly they are both a bit different from anything I’ve done before. One was inspired by this flash of a vision I keep getting every time I walk out into the garage and get into my vehicle. It’s a bit frightening. The other inspiration came from the profile picture of a FaceBook Fan. I then read her story and knew why that picture was calling me.

It’s exciting to know the ideas are forthcoming. I could run out of them today and have enough in my file cabinet to support my writing efforts for the rest of my life. At the same time, it’s a bit frustrating because I want to share them NOW! I also have a job to do as I edit and format and help others achieve their writing dreams through my www.OneStopPublisher.com.

On a positive note….I have finally handed over some of my handwritten manuscripts for transcription. The day I watched the first one walk out the door I thought I would cry. I had to remind myself that she’d come back to me in a format ready to share with the world. Let her go! It’s the only way to do what I want to do…share NOW. And may the ideas be forever forthcoming….

Helping others through One Stop Publisher

This has been a really great day. I can't really pinpoint why. Do you ever have those days? I feel as if I made a lot of connects and was asked to do a blog interview surrounding my collection of faith-based short stories, Becoming... I said yes, of course! I realized too that there are a lot of people out there just like me with the dream of a hold-in-your-hand book. That realization made me even more glad that I began my One Stop Publisher company. I've occasionally had second thoughts about it. I'd love to be able to do nothing but write. However, that's not really reasonable PLUS part of my dream has always been to help others with their dream.

I think the day I helped an 8 year old girl publish her first book I knew I'd continue. We still have some revisions before she "goes public" with it but, she has a proof in hand, and is so proud. I remember the day I held my first book with my name on the cover in my hands. Talk about Cloud 9 (or would that be Cloud 8, Dina?!). It hasn't been a huge seller, though I have sold 2 this week. But, it opened the door and it was practically painless. It gave me the confidence I needed to continue. I'm not so sure a room full of rejection letters would do that. Plus, I still have options. I maintain all rights to my work and can pursue other avenues at any time.

So, does that mean I will continue on the self-publishing path? I don't know. For now, it's working for me and I'm meeting a lot of others who have had success as well. Some of us are teaming up to help others through my One Stop Publisher and links to their sites. It's exciting! I also set my own hours and can change my mind about my projects!!! That is even more exciting and I have exercised that right several times (if you look at my What's She Up To page of my author website, you will see that I recently had a change of heart). And with that, I'm going to change directions and take myself to bed. It's 1:30ish a.m. and I'll be sitting at a tennis tournament all day tomorrow....between running kids to school and other activities. At least it's supposed to be warm-ish--I think.

So, I think I'll leave you with a couple of links:
The Shelf Life of Linda Boulanger on FaceBook
One Stop Publisher on FaceBook
Coffee's Hot -- great networking site
If you get bored....check out the blogs I follow and do some reading. There are some really talented writers there with fun and interesting and insightful things to say. (You can get there from my profile, I believe).

WRITING IS FANTASTIC!

Author Melinda Richarz Lyons creatively explains why she thinks writing is
F-A-N-T-A-S-T-I-C as she shares some of the things she thinks are important when it comes to writing using her latest book—a young readers book entitled Murder at the Oaklands Mansion --as an example.

F—The “F” in fantastic stands for fun! Writing is fun! When you write fiction—just think about it. It is the only time in your life that you can make things up and get away with it. You can make up a story that is not true when you write fiction. Now it is important to remember even if you make a story up you still need to write about what you know. Like the murder in my story is made up, but the facts concerning the Civil War that are in the book are true and the things about Murfreesboro, where the story takes place, are true. Because first of all, I lived in Murfreesboro, and second, I did a lot of research on the Civil War before writing the book. So write about what or where you know and then do research if you need to. Your story can be made up but your background information has to be believable. It is also fun to create characters out of thin air. Like in my book, I needed a bad character and thought, “what do I want him to be like? How do I want him to look?” So I just made up a name and started creating this murderer. I decided to make him older. Then I decided to make him an aging hippie and decided he would have a long gray ponytail and he would drive an old flowered bus. I pictured him as scruffy and it was fun to dress him and put words into his mouth that made him sound mean. So remember, writing is fun because you get to use your imagination.

A—The “A” in fantastic stands for action and activity. Nobody wants to read something boring. Think about the books you like to read. They have action in them, don’t they? And you have to create action and activity. Let me give you an example. In my book, I have the main character, Brooks, witness a murder. Okay—I could have just written something like “Brooks heard a loud noise that sounded like a gunshot. Then somebody fell down.” That tells what happened but it isn’t very exciting. So instead I wrote, “Brooks heard several loud crackles and then he felt something fall against him. It was the man who had been standing right next to him. The man was just lying there on the ground bleeding! Brooks stood there frozen and then he heard someone scream, “Call 911!” Both those passages basically say the same thing, but the second one adds a lot more action and activity. Don’t just tell your reader what is happening. Make your reader hear the gun, see the man fall, and use details. It is a lot more effective to say the man was bleeding. That makes you see the fact that he really is hurt. So make your writing have that A in it for action and activity.

N—The N in fantastic stands for never. You never need anything but your mind and your English skills to write. You can write anywhere anytime and it doesn’t cost anything. You can use a computer or just a pencil and a piece of paper. Writing never has a time limit, either. You can write for fifteen minutes or you can write for five hours. That is one of the things I love about writing. Like with my book, I would think of something I wanted to add to it or change, and I would sit down and write. I never had to write in a certain time period or in a certain place. And you almost never have any limits on your writing. By that I mean you can go wild with your imagination. You can create a character and a situation right out of your head. And think about this--you are almost never too old or too young too write. I was 11-years-old, the first time I got paid for my writing. So remember, the N stands for never.

T—The first T in fantastic stands for teach because writing teaches you so much. You know when I was talking about the fact that you need to try to stick with what you know, even if you write fiction so your background information will be accurate. Like with my book, I started with what I knew—my town of Murfreesboro, TN, and I did know quite a bit about the Civil War. But I wanted to make sure all my facts were correct, so I did a lot of research at the library and on the internet. Doing the research took a lot of time but it was really fun. And just think how much that research taught me. I learned all kinds of things about the Civil War. Also each time you write, it teaches you to be a better writer. Remember when you learned how to swim or skate, or ride a bicycle. At first you weren’t very good. You feel off your bicycle a lot. But then with practice you got better and better. Writing is like that. The more you write, the better you get. So the T stands for teach as writing teaches a lot of different things.

A—The A in fantastic is for accomplishment. When you finish writing something, you feel like you have really accomplished something. Your words are on paper. What was in your head is there for anyone to read. There is no better feeling than when you write something and it touches someone else. Like if you write a poem for your Mom and she reads it and cries. How great is that? Writing is very powerful. You can make people cry or laugh or get angry—just with your words. One time I wrote something and a woman who read it sent me flowers. I felt so very accomplished. Like I had done something important and touched someone with my words. What I wrote meant something to someone else. So the A stands for the accomplishment you feel when you put your words down on paper. It feels like you have done something important and you have!

S—The S in fantastic stands for success. But becoming a successful writing involves a lot. First, writing is very hard work and takes a lot of time. I often say that the word writing may be spelled with one r and no e’s. But actually when you think about it writing has two r’s and by that I mean writing involves rewriting or revision and rejection. You don’t just jot something down and you are done with it. Like with my book, I spent more time on the rewriting and revision than I did actually writing the book. I think many authors spend a lot of time making their writing as good as it can be. Now the other r that is involved in writing is rejection. If you write much at all, at some point you will face rejection. I have enough rejection letters from publishers to paper a room. Honestly! But what you have to do is take rejection as part of writing and try to learn from it. Just like when you teacher corrects something on your paper. Most of the time, if you change it, your paper will be better. And the e’s that are actually part of the word writing go along with this—edit and effort. You have to spend a lot of time on those revisions and rewriting. You have to edit your work and then it will be edited by others, like your publisher. It takes a lot of effort to be a writer. But to be a success at anything in life, you have to work hard. Now if you decide that writing is what you want to do for a living, there are many different ways you can do that. You can write fiction or non fiction books, or be a journalist. You can work for a newspaper, a magazine, or a tv or radio station as a writer. You can also find success writing speeches for a congressman, or writing commercials for an advertising agency. Or you can teach writing! So remember, S is for success and that takes a lot of time, rewriting, revision, rejection, editing and effort.

T—The second t in fantastic stands for tools. This is very important. You have to have the right tools to write! Learning grammar is vital. Proper use of the English language is very necessary for any writer. I know sometimes that seems kind of boring, but if you don’t have the basic tools, your reader might not understand what you are trying to say. Writing is about communication, and without the basics you can’t communicate your thoughts on paper to anyone else. It is just like building a house. You couldn’t just start building a house, without having some education about how to do it. And you would have to have the proper tools to build your house. You couldn’t even put up a wall if you didn’t know how to use a hammer. So you have to learn basic rules about grammar and sentence structure and things like that, to be able to write. And it doesn’t matter if you ever want to make your living as a writer. Everyone needs to know how to write because good communication skills are the key to success in any job or career. No matter what you do, you need to be able to communicate. And that takes education and tools. So remember your T is for tools.

I—Inspiration. I am often asked where I get my inspiration. The answer is simple. All around me! I see someone who looks or acts interesting and I think about how I could use that to build a character. Or I see something happen and it inspires me to write. Sit outside some day and just look around. Do you see an old man walking across the street? What do you think he is like? What if you made up a story about him? What would it be? Imagine a story built around something you see right in front of you. For my book, I got my inspiration from a real situation. My neighbor across the street had a little boy. He and I started doing things together and that is where I came up with the idea for the book. I decided that the little boy could be the main character in Murder at the Oaklands Mansion. Then I made the woman across the street from him his aunt. Then I took some of the things we really did do and put them in the book. For example, we really did go see the ice sculptures at the Opryland Hotel and we really did go to a movie audition. And—we really did go visit the Oaklands Mansion. I started with those things and then I thought, well that wouldn’t be very interesting. What could I have these characters do that would be interesting? Oh—how about getting them involved in a murder? So you can get inspiration from things all around you and again—it sometimes goes back to what you know. Your inspiration is often right in your own backyard. Sometimes writers can get inspiration from an event. Like in the movie “The Perfect Storm” that was about a boat sinking. The storm really did happen and the boat really did sink, but the writer who wrote the book made up the things that happened at the end. He wasn’t on the boat and everyone went down with the ship, so he really had to make up what they said and did right before the boat sank. So he was inspired by a real event. Or sometimes a writer is inspired by something that he feels strongly about or is upset about. Or a writer can even be inspired by another person. That is how biographies get written. So the I in fantastic stands for inspiration.

C—The C in fantastic—our last letter—stands for construction in creation. It is important to have a plan when you write, just like when I was talking about having the proper tools. Think of it like building a house again. You have to have the proper tools and education to build a house, but you also would not start building a house without a plan or a blueprint. Writing is the same. Most writers, including me, start by brainstorming. Before you can create, you have to construct. That is what brainstorming is all about. I sit down and think about what I want to say. What is this book or story about? Where I want to start and how I want to end my story? What kind of characters do I want? How do I want to develop them as I go along? You can always change things when you rewrite. But you have to have a basic plan about what your goals are with each piece of writing. For example, what is your purpose? Like with my book, I first wanted to write a book that kids would enjoy reading. I wanted it to have some funny things in it, some action, some suspense and some mystery. I also wanted it to be informative about the Civil War. I always thought history was boring, because when I was growing up, history in school was just memorizing dates and names. History is much more than that and I wanted to make it exciting to learn about the history of the civil war. So I tried to include as many interesting and sometimes scary or even funny things about the civil war in my book. As I went along, I did change some of my original plans as I was writing the book. But I started with a basic construction plan so that I could create. So C is for construction in creation.


Melinda Richarz Lyons, an amazing author and individual, earned a B.A. in Journalism from the University of North Texas, and has been a free lance writer for over forty years. Her work has appeared in many publications, including True West, Cats Magazine, Nashville Parent, Frontier Times, Cincinnati Family Magazine, Kids, Etc. and The Fort Worth Star-Telegram. She is a co-author of WOOF: Women Only Over Fifty (Echelon Press). Ms. Lyons’ story “Twice in a Lifetime” was published in Chicken Soup for the Soul: True Love (2009). Her current book is Murder at the Oaklands Mansion. For more about the author and her writing: http://www.melindalyons.com/

Slipping Between Life Phases

I was reading a post by Dorothy Sander on her Aging Abundantly blog titled Midlife Shadows. She talks about Midlife being a time when we become who we are meant to be. I like that. It reminded me of a conversation I'd had with Mr. Tom Murphy, former Drama teacher at Kenai Central High School in Kenai, AK. I did not have the honor of being taught by Mr Murphy, however, we are now FaceBook friends and I do enjoy that greatly.

In one of our first connects I commented to him that I was now entering into the complexities of "the aging woman" and attempting to do whatever it was I needed to do to leave my mark on the world. He informed me that in a few years I would be "a woman of a certain age" and I would find that a good thing. He told me "When you get to be of a certain age, man or woman, you can do whatever you think you should do, and woe to those who say you nay! As "the aging woman" you still have responsibilities that will have vanished when you get to be "of a certain age". I know this because I have been "of a certain age" for years now."

I liked that as much as I did Dorothy's post. In fact, Mr. Murphy's comment led to a story. I'd like to share it with you now.....

A Woman of a Certain Age by Linda Boulanger

When I was a child, I spoke as a child…then it came time to put away those childish things. As I packed them away, slowly over many years, I tried to figure out who I was. I became the teenager who thought she was all that; though underneath she really wasn’t sure at all. She was followed by the young lady who tried to be all things to all people and never really succeeded at being any one of them.

I finally settled into the mature woman and was becoming pretty comfortable with her only to find I was moving into yet another phase; the aging woman. I wasn’t so sure about her. She didn’t look familiar or feel familiar. She tormented me so with her aches and pains and sags and dimples. She developed laugh lines and wrinkles around the eyes. She was no longer confident that her tilted head, crinkled nose, and award-winning smile would get her what she wanted. She bought pretty little bras that could cinch things back into place with just the slightest twinge of pain but only when she breathed, and pants long enough to cover those nasty little spider veins that appeared more prevalent on a daily basis. Yes, I called it fashion; said whatever it took to make myself feel better. But I didn’t like her.

And then a wonderful thing happened. I became a woman of a certain age. Oh that was a glorious day because on that day, I finally became the woman I was meant to be. I arrived.

I can’t tell you how it happened. It simply did. I awakened one day, my nest was empty, and the only work I had to do was that which I desired. I got out of bed with my head held higher on my wrinkled neck, ran my hands through my graying hair and decided I would not color that day as I’d planned. I rather liked the fringed look even if the color did knock a few years off. Who was I kidding? The only person who cared about seeing those years disappear was me! My friends had all let theirs go years before and they were all happy, so it seemed. Much more so than I had been!

I turned to spread up the covers and decided not to. I’d be crawling back into them in a few hours anyway because I’d already planned a luxurious afternoon nap followed by a late night indulgence of eating popcorn in bed and watching movies I’d missed over the years. I’d been told that the fact that I hadn’t seen Beaches made me borderline criminal and an affront to womankind. I didn’t care about that but I did want to see the movie just the same. I made a list so I could run to the video store later. I hadn’t been since my kids were home. I wondered if I still had a membership. Well, they could jolly well set me back up if not!

With a smile, I realized I could do whatever I thought I should do and woe to those who said any different because I was now a woman of a certain age. She was strong, stood for what she believed was so, and no longer did only for others. In fact she didn’t ponder so much on what others thought. Oh I really liked her. I felt as if I had grown up at last.

I’d been told one time that some people are ready for different adventures at different times in their lives. I believed that now and, as a woman of a certain age, I could respect that; enjoy it actually.

I dressed, choosing my gardening bra; used for maximum breathing ability as I crawled among the foliage. It really didn’t look all that bad. I wondered what my kids would think of their mother in a pair of bike shorts. The grandchildren would love it. It made me laugh.

I entered the world that day seeing through eyes that were far younger than they had been for many years. I was thankful for this transformation to a woman of a certain age. I would enjoy her for as long as I could. I also realized, as her, I was no longer fearful of the phase yet to come: the old woman. She was the one who would teach me to enjoy where we had been. As her, I would truly cherish my life.

That story makes me smile. It's a great reminder of where we've been and where we have yet to go. It also won a second place in the FaithWriter's Challenge! I was happy...happy enough to include it in my collection of faith-based short stories: Becoming... Thanks Dorothy for a lovely post and thank you, Mr. Murphy for helping to ease the pain of slipping from phase to phase. You always bring about your own special blend of perspective.

Absolutely Positive -- Writing as Therapy

My dear friend author/illustrator/blogger Chris Janzen has written a wonderful piece on Writing as a form of therapy in her blog. I'd like to encourage you to hop over there, read the post, comment as desired, and become a follower. You'll be glad you did. Chris created ABSOLUTELY POSITIVE as a place to get away from the chaos that has become our lives. It is a place where you will find articles, opinions, and ideas for simplifying and enjoying life more.

In the post titled "Writing The Storm Out", Chris says "Writing can be a wonderful form of therapy. It is no secret that keeping a journal is a tried and true method for getting your thoughts and feelings on paper so you can sort them out. When you write things down in the middle of whatever cruddy thing you are going through, you can look back later, with a healthier perspective and gain a depth of understanding. Writing is a valuable tool." She discusses the use of social media and other outlets as well as journals as forms of therapeutic writing. It's a worthwhile read. Jump over....http://absolutely--positive.blogspot.com/

Link over to A Place For Writers

I have stumbled upon a fantastic blog that will make my need for further postings unnecessary. I won't stop, of course, but I would like to encourage all of you to link over and read the posts at http://aplaceforwriters.wordpress.com/. The first couple actually hit upon topics I've discussed and I commented to her that I wish they'd been up when I wrote my articles. They weren't. We simply weren't synced and I have no idea why! Oh, yes. Because I just discovered the blog today. Still, I will say again....jump over and read them. I think you'll find them very worthwhile.

A Writer Simply MUST Write

I am a Fan of Wheatmark on FaceBook. Wheatmark is “a team of publishing and marketing professionals who teach authors about achieving publishing success.” (quoted directly from their FaceBook Page). I also follow Wheatmark on Twitter and peruse their website from time to time. They offer some great information.

An individual on Wheatmark’s FaceBook page posted a thought provoking comment after a posting from Wheatmark on a note titled Why Did You Write A Book? This individual more or less said you don’t become an author and that you can’t be stopped in your quest to write if you are. Wheatmark asked for clarification which was not given so I felt inclined to post (of course I did). I said perhaps the individual was saying that an author “is” and you don’t become one. You might recall my post on What is An Author from not so long ago.

Still, the commenter’s statement stuck in my head. It’s definitely one to ponder and Wheatmark reminds us to remember why we’re writing or wrote the book as much as how to market it and such. I thought it was a great reminder and one I needed to hear considering I've been making myself crazy with all the research on marketing.

I took a few days off….sort of. I pondered questions such as the one from the Wheatmark commenter and I still wrote because that’s what I do. I also played on the computer which is partially social marketing. And, drum roll please, I went to a movie! Yep! 15 years and only twice have I been inside a theater…..not for not wanting mind you. Life simply kept getting in the way. Well, I sucked it up, begged my husband to watch 3 of our 4 children, paid my $6.75 ticket price and bought the world’s largest coke for another $4.50 (I had birthday money in my pocket! – notice I said “had”). The movie was Dear John. I loved it. Of course I did….was it not a love story right up my alley with the twists and unexpecteds resolved into a happy ending? It was a perfect me movie and I thank my 12-year-old for dragging me along.

But what I loved most about it was the sense of hope it brought forth within me. Not the inspiration to be a better person because the female main character truly was good. I didn’t get the urge to join the army or collect coins or help people with autism. All great things….but for me, personally it was an inspirational revelation because of where the idea for the movie came from. It came from a novel! A novel by Nicholas Sparks….just one of many novels written by Nicholas Sparks and made into movies…..and basically, his novels are about everyday life and not so different from mine. Okay, they are different because his are actually typed in and turned into real hold-in-your-hand books instead of handwritten in notebooks (but that is changing!) and he is a multimillionaire because of them but overall, not so very different story-wise.

I came home intrigued and began to research Nicholas Sparks. He’s got a FaceBook Fan page that I’m pretty sure someone else mans. He has a website that’s very professionally done although it appears he wrote much of the content. I found out his first two novels went unpublished and he worked a string of odd jobs while writing The Notebook in his spare time. It was picked up from the slush pile of a new-to-the-business literary agent; a find that garnered him a million dollar advance and the book made the New York Times bestseller list in its first week of release.

I wanted to find something magical that told me why Nicholas Sparks and his books about everyday life were such a phenomenal success. Why is it they’re being made into successful movies at every turn? Why was he able to donate close to $10 million to help fund the start-up of a private Christian school? Why was he offered a million dollar advance for his first book? I didn’t find a magic formula except….to be a writer, you have to write. He has a section for writers on his website (NicholasSparks.com) where he pretty much says you can’t be a writer if you don’t write which might appear to be in contrast to the Wheatmark statement that authors “are” and don’t become. I’m thinking they’re actually saying the same thing but you decide that for yourself.

The main point is Nicholas Sparks never stopped. He didn’t give up when his first books weren’t published (I’m not actually sure he even tried with them but he kept writing….because he “had” to because writers write, perhaps?). He has a gift and he had a dream and he continued to write. I hate to admit it but I don’t think there’s a magic formula. I think there are a lot of Mr. Sparks out there who write fantastic books; myself included (okay, so I’d be a Mrs. and not a Sparks but you get the idea). We write because that’s what we do, whether we have an audience awaiting the latest release of our novel turned into a movie or not. We dream of life for our characters beyond the confines of our heads and, like Nicholas Sparks, we don’t give up on the dream that someday, just maybe, our books will be the chosen ones…..provided we continue to write.

Words of Encouragement -- Make Them Real

I realize this came from my mom but I found it better than a nice hug or a washcloth on your forehead when you're sick....well, almost as good. The words were very encouraging at any rate and I'd like to share them with you. Keep in mind that I have a couple of people reading the A Marriage of Necessity story as it unfolds and I send it to them a bit at a time as I complete the typing in. In an email from Mom, she wrote: I finished the last part you sent me and can hardly wait for more. I hope I am not rushing you. You know that I read a lot and not too many books move me like this one does. My friend and fellow author/illustrator Christina Janzen is also reading as I go and has been encouraging with a hand to the back (or maybe that's the crack of a whip I feel!). I chose these two as readers because I knew they would shoot me straight, tell me if it wasn't good.

...and that brings me to the point of this post... Always, always, always - no matter how much you think it might hurt the feelings of the author - always tell them the truth about their writing. Granted, they can agree to disagree with you and the rest of the world may agree with them that it is great and wonderful. We all have differing tastes. However, if it simply isn't working for you or it's confusing or just flat out stinky, you need to find a nice way and tell them. Co-writer Patrick Sipperly, Chris(tina) Janzen, and I have been part of the FaithWriters.com weekly challenge for some time now. Although we don't always submit, when we do, we usually zip our stories off to one another and ask for opinions/edits. My story Unwanted (included in my book Becoming...) ended up as an Editors Choice story and I have to give credit to a suggestion made by Pat that lead to a change in the first paragraph. His comment to me was something like this isn't doing it for me, how about blah, blah, blah. I took his comments to heart, made some changes and it is a very emotion-packed and compelling story. If you want to read that story, you can link from here: http://www.faithwriters.com/member-profile.php?id=42582 It's the 6th story from the bottom of my Challenge Articles.

Other times Pat or Chris will give suggestions and I will disagree. That's okay too. I'm sure they don't take everything I say and incorporate it. Still, these critiques and venues of constructive criticism are important, especially if you know those you have chosen into your critique circle are telling you the truth. Keep it real and it will not only be more helpful and appreciated but you'll probably find yourself on the inside scoop side of getting to read the author's work before anyone else.

Developing a group of writing/reading friends is a great way to have your work critiqued. There are also author's sites and groups where you can submit your work. Chris has used the critique circles of the FaithWriters.com site to have her work critiqued by others. WritersCritique.com (http://www.writerscritique.com/) is a site dedicated to helping authors find a secure way of having their work critiqued. They claim that, unlike other forums that offer public critiquing, they offer a more private and intimate service for members. I haven't used them but did find some additional interesting information on their site.

Writing.com, an online community for readers and writers, offers writers the ability to get a feel as to how readers will react to their work with a rating system. You may also showcase your work on Writing.com without receiving feedback, however, they feel that the constant exposure to opinion and constructive criticism can increase the quality of an author’s writing. They also state that an author may find reading and reviewing other members' items to further their own writing with new ideas, writing styles and topics.

OnceWritten.com offers a place to post short stories and poetry where others may comment/critique. One author also posted the following as places to put your work, though I have not checked them out: Scribd.com, Fictionpress.com, Booksie.com, Quizilla.com. Many of these places allow you to become a member for free.

So, whether you get feedback from friends and family or you desire the kudos of fellow authors, there are options. Just remember, turnabout is fair play and you should offer critiques in return but always make your words of encouragement real.