Contests, Contests, Contests!!

So, I entered my first writing contest!! ACFW rocks, by the way. It is such an amazing writing organization that brings published writers and aspiring authors together. I was so nervous about entering my book in their Genesis contest, but now that it’s done I feel a lot more relaxed…sort of.

When I was first writing this particular book I was so scared about sending it in to the Genesis contest. I had a feeling when I first started it that this would be the one to send in. I truly loved my story and my characters, more than I’d ever loved one of my books before. So I knew this was the one I would take a chance on. I will say I’m still nervous, of course. Who wouldn’t be? Putting your work out there is hard to do, especially if you’re the type who is afraid of rejection. And I am definitely one of those people. Especially since I do love this story so much.

But one of the things I’ve been learning from the authors I’ve interacted with on ACFW and even on Facebook ( ) it’s that the only way you’ll ever get published is to put your name out there. One of these days, someone is going to recognize your name, someone is going to notice you and if you just keep trying and keep putting your work out there, someone is bound to like what you’ve written. Contests are definitely the best way to do that.

One of the greatest things to have when you’re writing is confidence. Never lose confidence in yourself, or else your writing won’t be all it could be. And part of having confidence is sharing your work with others. It’s taken me a long time to learn that. Only recently did I start letting my own sister read my books. It’s a big step, going from handing your book to a relative to handing it to a complete stranger. But just think of all the benefits.

So, if you want to improve your writing, if you want to get better at the thing you love to do, then don’t hesitate to send your work into a contest and accept the feedback you get, negative or positive. You won’t regret it.

Book Review!

 I absolutely love Julie Lessman’s books and decided to put up reviews of all five of her books. Hope you enjoy them!

A Passion Most Pure:

A Passion Most Pure is probably my favorite of the Daughters of Boston series. Faith and Collin are two of my most favorite characters! They’re two people so different, yet so alike because when they believe in something they believe in it with their whole hearts. Faith’s love for Collin causes her grief and pain, but she knows that she can’t change him, only God can and that was the most beautiful lesson of the book. That only God can change a heart, and if we follow His path, we WILL get the desires of our hearts. Julie Lessman is an amazing writer!!! This is most definitely a must-read!

A Passion Redeemed:

 I can’t decide which is my favorite of the Daughters of Boston series. A Passion Most Pure, A Passion Redeemed or A Passion Denied. They were all amazing, the whole series captured my heart and if I were to choose favorite characters…well I couldn’t because they each took a piece of my heart from each member of the O’Connor fa…mily to the best friends of the family like Emma. This book was meant to capture hearts, and the first and third book accomplished the same. This series wasn’t supposed to be your typical boy meets girl, fall in love and live happily ever after that leaves you feeling somewhat indifferent, not really caring what happens to the characters. This series was meant to make you care. This series was supposed to make you love the characters. And that’s what Julie Lessman accomplished, along with a beautiful story of faith and love that rings true, with God always at the center. That’s what true passion is. That’s what true LOVE is. God at the center.

 

A Passion Denied:

Lizzie and Brady’s rocky road to love was a story that I will forever adore. Lizzie is one of my most favorite characters and I think that’s because of her faith in true love. Yes, she’s quite the bookworm–like me –and I know that life doesn’t always turn out like the love stories, but that’s a lesson that’s learned over time and that’s the lesson that Lizzie learns. She discovers that no love story is perfect, that no man, including John Brady, is perfect, but that with God on her side she can have faith, forgive and love.

 

 

 A Hope Undaunted:This book was incredible. I cried SEVERAL times! Julie Lessman’s books are officially at the top of my list of favorites. I absolutely loved Katie and Luke’s story and I love the O’Connor family. One of the best things about Julie Lessman’s books is how close she makes you feel to the characters. So close that you tear up at the thought of the series coming to an end. This book was simply phenomenal and most definitely deserves the title of ‘epic romance’.

A Heart Revealed:

Another epic romance from Julie Lessman!! Once again she has proven just how brilliant a writer she is! A Heart Revealed was everything I had hoped it would be, and more. From Sean’s determination never to get married because of a tragedy during the war, to Emma’s resolve to stay away from men because of a vow she took before God to a man who abused her mercilessly, this book takes you on a journe…y of love, loss, but most importantly, faith. Julie Lessman took two of my most favorite characters from her O’Connor series and brought them together. I absolutely loved this book, mostly because of my love for Emma and Sean. This is a series that’s about family, and you become a part of that family from the moment you open A Passion Most Pure to the minute you close A Heart Revealed. Keep writing Julie!! I can hardly wait for the final book of the Winds of Change series!!

 

Write Realistically, It’s the Only Way to Write

Have you ever read a book where you’re examining a character and notice that they’re one of those perfect, holier than thou, types? Yep, I’ve read a few of those. The characters never make mistakes, they’re so faithful, so flawless, so sinless…it’s just not convincing. The point is that people need to be real, especially in books. When you write a book, you need to make sure you’re writing according to the times and create your characters accordingly.

For example. Let’s say you’re writing in the early 1910s-1920s. Your female character is a Christian, beautiful, intelligent, stubborn and vivacious. She stands out in a crowd. More than likely, a girl with this type of personality was not only an incredible Christian, but she was a suffragette, fighting for her right to vote because she is intelligent, because she does have a brain. Not necessarily fighting for her freedom from men, but for her right to be acknowledged as a person who can think for herself. Now, let’s also add one more thing that might actually surprise you.

Let’s say that your female character is all of these things…but she’s also Irish and living in Boston. Surprise! You now most likely have an Irish Catholic girl. And you know what? Even if you’re not Catholic, that’s ok. The point is that you’re making your character believable. There were a lot of Irish catholics back then, and it’s more realistic if your character goes to Mass instead of to a Protestant church. Now, of course that’s up to you. I’m sure there were Irish Protestants as well. But if you dig deep into the times, then you’re going to want to make it as realistic as possible.

Sometimes in order to make your book real to the reader, you need to take some steps that you might not have been planning on taking. I know I have. Sometimes I’m writing and I look at the page and think ‘that is totally unrealistic’ so I go back and make some changes. Your book has to be real to the reader. That means writing some things that you might not have planned. It especially means that your characters aren’t perfect. They sin. They lie. They make mistakes. If your characters are going to be real people to the readers, they need to make mistakes.

What would you do to make your characters realistic? How would you change them? What kind of mistakes would they make? How would you adjust your characters according to the historical time period you place them in? Looking forward to hearing what everyone has to say.

I’m Back!!!

After a much too long break, I have returned! Pen to Paper is no longer dead!

Hi everyone. So glad to be back. I’ve been in a bit of a writing slump lately and both my blogs have suffered because of it. But not to worry, hopefully this will be the start of more regular blogging. I have certainly missed blogging about my writing, and about my favorite books, so I hope you’ll all continue to enjoy hearing from me. And please hop on over to my other blog By the Book: Diary of a Bookaholic. I just posted a new review on one of my favorite books To Win Her Heart by Karen Witemeyer!

So, last time we talked about taking things slow and not rushing. What a great point that is! Sometimes writers just need a break to clear their heads in order to keep the story moving. Too much too fast can make for a really bad story. And rushing can also cause you to write a much shorter book than you’d first intended.

Has that ever happened to you? Have you ever had one of those moments where you ‘finish’ a book and are staring at the page number thinking ‘I wanted this to be so much longer! After all, it’s supposed to span over nearly two years!!’ ? I have had those moments more than once and let me tell you, it’s frustrating. That’s why I always end up going back and either starting over, or adding chapters in somewhere in the middle. If you just take your time, you discover that there’s so much more you can say, so many more plot twists you can add that make the story even better than it was when you first started.

Writing is an art. It takes time, patience and love to create that perfect picture. That perfect plot. The perfect ending. And if you do it right, you might end up with a bestseller in your hands.

Busy, Busy, Busy!!!!!!

So, I haven’t posted in a REALLY long time and I am SO sorry!! Here’s what’s been happening:

1. I joined ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers)
2. Because I joined ACFW I’ve been super busy and occupied with their e-loops. I spend a lot of time on my e-mail now, and I’m enjoying every minute of it!
3. I’ve plunged back into writing a brand new novel and my head’s been spinning with so many ideas as I work hard to make it as big a success as I can. You know how this works. You get a new idea and you can’t do anything else until you’ve at least gotten it started.
4. And last, but never least, I’ve been searching for new books to read. My reading list is getting short, and you know me. I can’t go for very long without having a new book to read.

So, that about covers it. I’m hoping to get back to posting more regularly real soon!!

Don’t Rush, Take It Slow

One thing that I’ve always had a tendency to do while writing is to rush. I have a set plan for the beginning and ending and I want to get to them right away! The only problem with this is inconsistency, poor descriptions and lack of introduction to our characters.

After writing for about an hour, I go back and review what I’ve written. And more often than not, I end up adding things that not only make the story more interesting, but it gives the reader a better view of the characters and setting. One thing that you want to strive to do while writing fiction, is let your reader know exactly who the characters are.

Example: Is your lead female character a sweet, quiet person who does whatever she’s told? Or is she stubborn and bold, going against everything and everyone who try to control her, including her own emotions? Is she an orphan or does she have parents somewhere? Any siblings? All this needs to come about somewhere, and yes a sense of mystery is good for awhile, but you do want to bring some things to light right away so that the story makes sense as it goes along.

Example #2: Is your lead male character the roguish type? Or is he a perfect gentleman? How does he know your main female character? Or do they not know each other when the book begins? What does he think of her, and what does she think of him?

You have to lay it all out there, and that’s something that I sometimes forget to do. I realize, after going back, that my readers need to know a little bit more about my characters in the beginning. Springing certain details on them later on just doesn’t let the story flow. You don’t necessarily want the reader to go ‘whoa, where did that come from?’ You want to at least bring to light the fact that there is a mystery, and get the reader curious as to what it is so that when you do spring it on them, you’ve brought them to the climax.

There’s also something to be said for description. This is my weakest point. I have trouble describing people and places without it sounding dull and unprofessional. My descriptions are often brief and much too simple, especially if I’m trying to express how glorious a room looks or how bright the day is. That’s where the use of good words and catchy phrases can definitely help you. It’s still a struggle for me sometimes though.

And remember, don’t rush it. Take it slow. If you’re like me and have trouble getting everything down without making the book seem hurried, then slow yourself down. Read your chapters over a couple of times and make some changes. It can only improve the book in the end.

So, how do you handle descriptions? How do you develop your characters? Do you develop them over time or lay all their secrets out on the very first pages so that there are no surprises? How do you express their personalities?

Reading A Good Book…

One of the most common things I do when I get stuck in my writing is sit down and read a good book. It helps me to forget my problem and open my mind to a new story. And one of the best things about reading a good book, is that I get to see what that author did to keep their story moving and interesting.

Having just finished The Girl in the Gatehouse by Julie Klassen, I was once again struck by her amazing ability to draw you into the story and make you know the characters. The connection I felt to Miss Mariah Aubrey and Captain Matthew Bryant was amazing! I felt as if I was in the pages with them, struggling with them as they made their way through difficult times.

The story was intricately woven and throughout I found myself thinking, ‘Hey!  That reminds me of Persuasion! And that reminds me of Mansfield Park!” etc. Even the theme of Mariah’s past reminded me of a book by Tamera Alexander called Beyond This Moment, about a woman who made the same mistake Mariah did and paid the consequences.

I watched Julie Klassen weave a beautiful story with so many basic themes. It was a great book! I even noted that the style of writing and the structure of the story was a little different from her previous novels. Something had changed in the way she wrote this one and I can’t even put into words how. It just did and it gave the story a whole new flavor I guess you could say.

Books have a great influence over my own writing. And after reading a good one like that, it encourages me to write even better than I was before.

Which is why I’m so anxious to start reading A Hope Undaunted, by Julie Lessman. It looks like it’s going to be outstanding!