Pull up a chair and a fork. I’m having dessert and a chat with my cyber friends about treats and troubles. I’m also raffling a lovely prize. Details in the video. You don’t want to miss this one!
23 Aug
Author throwdown…weird animals,and embarassing junk food choices.
Hey, all. So thrilled to be discussing the nutty world of fiction writing with fellow Harvest House author Virginia Smith! Take a look at our rockstar YouTube video. Like or comment on the video for a chance to win one of our books. Subscribe to my YouTube channel to enter the August prize pack giveaway. God bless!
8 Aug
Research field trips? Who needs ’em?
Why bother going on a fiction writing research field trip anyway? In today’s techno world, you can sniff out any detail on the Internet, everything from facts to pictures to interviews, so why venture out? For me, it’s the smell of a place, the pace of life and the seemingly unimportant details that jump out to me that make the trip worthwhile. For instance, on the last research adventure to California’s Gold Country, we arrived at the end of summer and the rolling hills were covered by dry, golden grass. It has a certain smell, in the morning, in the afternoon, and in the evening as the ground cools down. That smell is important and it will help add descriptive dimension and give my novel an authentic feel, I hope. Below is a quick clip from a recent research trip. We’re doing a little August prize pack contest for those who subscribe to my YouTube channel. (A gift tote and books/or an Amazon ecard for those outside the U.S.)
Have you read a book recently that made you feel like you were there in the fictional setting? Do share!
3 Aug
Top three annoying writer traits!
It’s sad, but true. Sometimes writers can be extremely irritating! Exploring this topic on the Suspense Sisters blog today and doing a little giveaway. Click the link below and take a look!
Top Three Annoying Writer Qualities
25 Jul
Why not write on Sundays?
Hello, all. I’ve been chit chatting about the writing biz a lot lately and one of the questions that always comes up is, “How do you balance two jobs, family, church, etc?” Everyone has the old balancing problem to solve, don’t they? We only have so much time in the day, right? I made the choice early on in my writing career not to write on Sundays, but perhaps not for the reasons you might think. I don’t write on Sundays because….
1. Writing is a blessing that can easily become an obsession. I have a passion to write that can become a monster, if I let it. Since my writing is also a business, that makes the tendency to obsess even greater. Three books a year, short stories, online presence, writing one book while creating a proposal for the next, the endless promotional efforts, all those things are requirements which can fill up the available hours if I let them. Sunday is the day I let those demands fall away, and come up for a much needed breath.
2. Writing does not belong in the center of my wheel. I never really stop writing. Even when I am not sitting at a keyboard I can’t really shut my mind off. I’m inventing scenes, rolling through dialogue, wondering what would happen if so and so said this instead of that, constantly asking “what would happen if…?” It’s good and bad, believe me. I have an attention deficit, so I can appear to be completely engaged in a conversation when my mind is sometwhere else entirely. I will not go into how many problems that has caused! My decision not to write on Sundays is my effort to refocus on the important things, God, my family, church, pen pal letters, all the rich blessings God has showered down on me. God blessed me with the ability/opportunity to write, but He belongs in the center of the wheel.
Do you do something special on Sunday that refreshes your spirit? I would love to hear about it!
All that stands between Stephanie Pink and her dream is 100 pounds of trouble!
Fetching Sweetness, available now!
18 Jul
Dreaming up a new fiction series…gulp!
