I
have a confession to make. Whenever I’m asked to write a column, a
blog, or speak about writing, I never know what to say. My thoughts
usually go like this: “What do I know about the writing process?”
“There’s no way I’d write a historical
novel. There’s just too much research involved compared to
contemporaries.”
I can’t count the number of times I’ve heard this comment. And each
time I’ve heard it, I’ve explained that I believe this statement is a
misconception.
Last
month we discussed the dynamics of emotion and how it’s like an engine
additive to our novels. A few years ago, I attended Donald Maass’s
workshop on writing powerful emotions. My writing was forever changed.
His book The Fire in Fiction incorporates those
techniques. I urge you to pick up a copy and study it.
Our lives are stories penned by the
Master Author. Tales of
adventure, heartbreak, battles, hope, tragedy, love, and even the
mundane moments of the everyday end up as part of who we are: our
stories. Whether we’re a novella or a trilogy, our lives are tales of
God’s work in the epic narrative of His redemption.
I recently returned from the Amish
Country Holiday Book Tour, during which I traveled with two other
authors, Shelley Shepard Gray and Vannetta Chapman. During our nine-day
adventure, we traveled from Shipshewana, Indiana, through Holmes
County, Ohio, and ended in Bird-in-Hand, Pennsylvania.
