Writing - A Love Hate Relationship by Terri Weldon

Terri Weldon

Over the weekend I looked back on my writing journey. By traditional standards I’ve not been successful. I’ve had one book published and countless rejections. There were times the rejections made me want to quit writing. Last year was an especially trying year for me. I reached a point where I wondered if I’d ever see another book published. I just wanted to give up. Thankfully, with the help of a few good friends I made it past that hurdle.

Oh, I still haven’t gotten another book contract, but I’ve made good strides and I have a different mindset now. Plus, I’ve had some good feedback on my writing. I placed well with two manuscripts I entered in a contest and I had a request for a full on a different manuscript from a publisher. Now all those things may lead to nothing and while they were nice affirmations I’d like to think I’d grown as a Christian and a writer. Maybe if I ignore the pity party I threw when I failed to get a request from a publisher and agent I REALLY REALLY wanted I can say I have. Let me tell you, that was quite a party. Bet you’ve never seen such an awesome pity fest. LOL.

On a whole the part of writing that made me hate it was when my middle sagged so bad it dragged the ground. Or when I was halfway through the book and all out of plot. Or when I needed to write 60 thousand words and the end came at 50 thousand. And let’s not even talk about the critiques that said your heroine is so mean she’d kick a puppy. Ouch! These are the times that make me want to bang my head against the keyboard. Let me interject a quick note here, I’ve worked hard to soften my heroines. They are no longer so mean.

But there are times I love writing! That moment when a new idea zings into my mind or when the research for a series becomes fun and exciting. When the middle of the book doesn’t sag and the glorious moment when I type THE END! Those are moments I love, but nothing is better than when I’ve typed a scene and I go back and reread it later and those are God’s words, not mine. Because I see His mercy in that line, an understanding He can offer, not me.

So while I still have my love hate relationship with writing, I’d have to say these days I love it far more than I hate it.

How about you? Do you have a love hate relationship with writing? What drives you to hate to write? And if you’ve managed to overcome the hate side and it is all love please share how you did it. I’d love to hear your responses so please leave a comment about your experiences.

****

Purchase Link

Misty Winslow is determined to find her prince, and she meets the man of her dreams through an Internet dating service. Or is he, because the new dentist in town also sets her heart aflutter.

It's love at first sight for Tyler Davenport, but before he can finish his first root canal, Misty is involved in an exclusive online romance with Wes99—Tyler’s online persona. How can he tell her he’s the man she’s been waiting to meet, and how rational is it for him to be jealous of Wes99! Soon Tyler's pulling out all the stops to woo Misty.

As Christmas approaches, Wes99 and Tyler both ask her to meet them under the mistletoe. Which man will she choose?

Terri is a lead analyst by day and an author by night. She enjoys gardening, reading, and playing in the hand bell choir. One of her favorite pastimes is volunteering as the librarian at her church. It allows her to shop for books and spend someone else’s money! Plus, she has the great joy of introducing people to Christian fiction.

She lives with her family in Oklahoma. Terri has three dogs – a lovable mutt and two adorable Westies.

Terri is a member of ACFW and OCFW, a local chapter of ACFW. Her dream of becoming a published novelist came true in November 2013 when Mistletoe Magic, released from White Rose Publishing. To learn more about Terri visit her website at www.TerriWeldon.com.

Advice for that Sagging Middle by Rachel Hauck

Rachel Hauck

Hey everyone, Annette here. With NaNo behind us (raise your hand if you participated), we've got some editing to do. Or perhaps you're plotting and need some advice for that pesky Act II. Thankfully, seasoned author and writing coach, Rachel Hauck, is here today to help us keep the middle of our novel from sagging. Read on!

Advice for that Sagging Middle

by Rachel Hauck

Tony Horton is the king of getting a body into shape. His methods work. His Ab Ripper X routine is fifteen minutes of 339 core moves. Halfway into the routine, you want to quit. But you know you can’t, so you cheat. Instead of doing all the reps in a series, you do it halfheartedly or only half the moves.

Fine. As long as you keep going and work harder the next time. That’s the way you build up endurance. The way you build your abs. Doing all of the reps all of the time.

It’s the same with writing the middle of your novel.

You have to “work out” the middle of you book. Rip it! Get it lean and mean. A lot of times, the middle of a book gets fat and fluffy with nothing more than a rehash of what was set up in the beginning of the book.

The middle of the book is the character journey. It’s where everything goes wrong, gets dark, scary, and ugly. Where all hopes and dreams are crushed! You have to up the stakes, advance the plot so it becomes darker and darker—worse and worse until you arrive at the Black Moment.

This is probably the hardest part of writing a novel.

Authors can easily plan a perfect opening with an exciting Inciting Incident, and determine the Black Moment then wind it all up with a Happily Ever After, but boy, how do you get the middle of the novel to hold strong?

1. Do your homework up front. What is the story about?

2. Once you’ve determined what the story is about, build those internal and external conflicts. A lot of time when I read a book where the middle is soft and fluffy with no real tension it’s because the internal and external obstacles are not high or dark enough.

3. Turn the story inside out and upside down. What does your protagonist want? What’s this story about? Now, create all kinds of obstacles that keep them from that goal. The middle is about overcoming those obstacles.

4. Resist the urge to solve every problem. Resist the urge to have folks get along. Bring a problem from chapter two or three front and center in chapter one.

5. Drop the bomb. It’s easy to hold off too long on the big reveal— the wow moment that blows up everything for the protagonist. We often plan this as the Black Moment but many times that bomb can be dropped into the middle of the book! Once you see where the story shrapnel lands, you can develop a new and even better Black Moment.

If you hold off on a reveal, the middle of the book can become muddy and the writing circular by rehashing the same issues with the protagonist. 

Keep the tension taut with dialog, and don’t let that middle sag.

~~~~~

Learn more about best-selling and award-winning author, Rachel Hauck at her website. 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rachelhauck

Twitter: @RachelHauck 

 

~~~~~

 

A Brush with Love

Revealing the beauty in other women might be Ginger Winters’s specialty—but it will take an unexpected kind of love to help Ginger see the beauty in herself.

Ginger Winters drapes her hair over her right shoulder and adjusts the scarf around her neck to cover her scarred, withered skin. She’s had the scars since she was twelve, but she’ll never get used to the ugliness. 

The fire changed Ginger’s life, but out of the pain and humiliation of her own disfigurement, one quality unexpectedly emerged: a gift for bringing out the beauty in other women. In a twelve-year ascent from top salon jobs in New York, Atlanta, and Nashville, Ginger traveled the world as personal stylist to country music sensation Tracie Blue. The success was almost enough to make her forget her own appearance. 

Almost. Now that she’s opened her own salon in Rosebud after a dozen years away, the truth is staring Ginger in the face again: she’s still that girl, ugly and scarred, forever on the outside looking in. And this weekend she’ll be looking in as “beauty-maker” for the Alabama society wedding of the decade.

But when high-school crush Tom Wells shows up looking for a haircut, Ginger’s thinly veiled insecurities threaten to keep her from love once again . . . despite Tom’s best efforts. Can this professional beauty-maker manage to recognize the beauty in herself, or are some scars too deep to powder over?

Syrupy Beginnings, Sagging Middles, and Soggy Endings by Donna B. Snow

Donna B. Snow

What does it take to make a good story great?

Imagine this. Your story is a Ferris wheel. Have you ever ridden on a Ferris wheel? Do you like when it continually goes around and you get to enjoy the sights and the cool breeze – a nice smooth ride? How do you like when it stops and starts and stops and starts? Well, if you’re like me, you don’t want that ride to stop until it’s time for you to get off. This is how the reader wants to be treated. Give them a ride that doesn’t stop, that they will enjoy from the time they get on until it’s done. That takes special attention to how you build your story.

Now a slow start is a great thing if you’re talking about a roller coaster ride…but not a story. If you make your reader feel like they’re slogging through mud, or being jerked up that hill at a torturously slow rate they may never reach the top of the hill where the fun begins.

And don’t forget, everybody is a reviewer these days and they’re ready to tell the world how good or bad your story is. So start with a hook that pulls them in right from the start. Let them get to know your characters. If the reader is invested in your characters then you’re more than halfway there.

So, no syrupy beginnings, but as the story goes on, if it’s starting to sag in the middle then it’s time to grab hold of the reins and guide that story where it has to go, and reorganize as needed. A big part of what sagging middles need is a good hard proofread/edit. This is the time to get out that proverbial red pen (or highlight and delete…but you might want to save these portions in a separate file – just in case) and get rid of all the pointless meandering that’s going on.

So you got lost in the Fun House, well, it’s time to find your way out! This is the time when you have to keep the end zone in sight. You know where this story has to get to and it’s time for you to direct its course. Maybe you’re like me and you write by the seat of your pants and let the story lead you. Well, that’s fine as long as the story isn’t just wandering and weaving all around. So, if the story seems to be going around in circles, redirect it toward the end and keep that in sight. Remember, edit, edit, edit!

Do not write a single pointless scene! No soggy endings here! Think of your words as a path. You know where you’re leading your reader, so make every word count. And when the end is in sight, wrap it up clean and tight and voila! One great story.

Dora here. What about you? Beginning, Middle or End...Which do you find the most challenging?

A Piece of Heaven
Purchase Link

Trina Wembly dreamt of owning a Christian coffee house for years –a Godly place where people could enjoy a good meal, and entertainment that wasn’t offensive. A Piece of Heaven is that dream. 

Jared Larou, the construction foreman who helps design and build the coffee house, is a wounded soul with a soft heart.

Once the coffee house opens, Trina and her partner, Laura, work day and night. From coffee in the morning, to gourmet dinners in the evenings, it’s a heavy load. Plus Trina performs most nights as the entertainer at the coffee house.

Trina longs to be more than just friends with Jared, she just hopes that’s what God wants for her too.

Donna B. Snow is a native New Englander and has lived there all her life except for a year in northern California (which reminded her of home). She loves the change of seasons and the beauty each one brings. and says there is no place else that will ever feel like home. 

She's been married for 20 years and has one teenage daughter who will be going to college next year. An active member in her church, she is a member of the choir (along with her daughter), and she writes not just stories, but her own music as well (that she hopes to get published also).