beautiful chaos

a little time off

2009-11-10T15:04:00.001-07:00

as i wait for a few more interviews, i'm taking a few days off from blogging.

Rebecca Bruner

2009-11-10T06:00:00.002-07:00

Rebecca is another friend I met through my local ACFW group. We both enjoy writing fantasy/spec fiction and have exchanged stories via email for editing and critiquing. I appreciate her thought provoking questions and comments.

Here are links to some of Rebecca’s projects:
The Red Unicorn
Haley’s Horrible Day

Read her interview here: Rebecca Bruner.

Michelle McLean

2009-11-09T06:00:00.001-07:00

About a month ago, one of my writing friends suggested starting an online critique group. I half-heartedly agreed and now I'm glad I did. Michelle McLean is one of the ladies in the group and I’ve really enjoyed reading her novel in progress. I get so caught up in her story that I almost forget to edit or make comments.

You can find Michelle at her various websites:
Writer's Ramblings
How To Write Papers, Prose and Poetry
Author Michelle McLean

Read her interview here: Michelle McLean.

Dhyana Shipley

2009-11-08T06:00:00.001-07:00

I met Dhyana at my local writer's group. We had an instant connection. Over the course of the next few weeks, we started emailing each other about writing and my novel. She lives about an hour away, but she's driven my direction for coffee (twice) and I've driven her direction once. She’s one of my chief encouragers and my horse expert (which comes in very handy since I’m writing fantasy). She’s the only person I know who made up her own name.

You can find Dhyana at Circle S Australian Shepherds.

Read her interview here: Dhyana Shipley

coming to my defense

2009-11-07T09:33:00.003-07:00

i was perusing blogs (as i usually do to wake up in the morning) and came across this quote at Michelle McLean's Writer Ramblings:

"Your manuscript is both good and original, but the part that is good is not original, and the part that is original is not good." - Samuel Johnson

when i read it out loud, my eldest son thought it was funny, but then he said, "Did someone say that about your book?"

"No."

"Good, because if they did, I'm going to have to find them and pummel them."

of course, he's the one who said he would go see a movie of my book, and reminded me that i'm a story person.

Pam Halter

2009-11-07T06:00:00.002-07:00

Pam Halter was a home-schooling mom for nine years and has been a children’s book author since 1995. She has published picture books, articles and devotions. She is a panelist on The Writer’s View 2, on staff for the Philadelphia Writer’s Conference, a member of SCBWI and three writer’s groups and hosts a blog about writing fantasy. Pam lives in New Jersey with her husband, two daughters and three cats.

I met Pam at The Mount Hermon ChristianWriter’s Conference in 2008. She was one of my roommates. I remember being there when she told me that an agent had picked up her story. What a thrilling moment to share with an up and coming author.

You can find Pam at her website and her Fantasy and Faith Blog.

Read her interview here: Pam Halter

Inkygirl does nano

2009-11-06T08:42:00.004-07:00

Debbie Ohi (aka Inkygirl) has been posting some great cartoons to go along with NanoWrimo. I'd post one here, but the code distorts the picture for some reason. You'll have to go to her website instead (but that's ok because she has some really great cartoons for writers).

Inkygirl comics

Michelle Van Loon

2009-11-06T06:00:00.002-07:00

I met Michelle Van Loon at The Mount Hermon Writers’ Conference in 2008. I think we’d connected online before the conference and found each other during one of the meals.

Michelle is a spiritual seeker wandering through the landscape of modern culture. She brings a mix of secular Jewish heritage, thoughtful Biblical study and hair-raising church leadership experiences to her intensely honest writing. She lives near Chicago, IL and has been married to husband Bill for 28 years. They're parents of three and grandparents of one.

Read her interview here: Michelle Van Loon

Michelle Sutton

2009-11-05T06:00:00.001-07:00

I first found Michelle Sutton online while I was researching writing groups in Arizona. I think we emailed back and forth a few times. I've since been able to meet her. She's a very enthusiastic lady.

Michelle is the author of numerous contemporary fiction titles, the former Editor-in-Chief for Christian Fiction Online Magazine, a member of ACFW, an edgy fiction writer, a book reviewer, an avid blogger/alliance member, CWOW blog mistress, mother of two teenagers, wife, pet owner, social worker by trade, and follower of Jesus Christ.

Read her interview here: Michelle Sutton.

KM Wilsher

2009-11-04T06:00:00.001-07:00

I think I met KM at the same meeting where I met Lynn Rush. Seeing that we both write fantasy, we started e-mailing stories to each other for comments, editing, etc. KM is a good writing friend and I’m glad to know her. She’s another one of those really upbeat people. We don’t see each other often, but when we do, it’s a lot of fun.

Pen Name: KM Wilsher
KM Wilsher blog
MY Face book Fan page

Read the interview here: KM Wilsher.

Nikole Hahn

2009-11-03T06:00:00.001-07:00

I met Nikole in March, 2009. She had invited members of my writing group to a writer’s tea in northern Arizona. After getting lost, we finally found her and had a wonderful visit. On a strange side note, she'd won a copy of my novel in a giveaway on another blog. It was nice to be able to give it to her personally. She was kind enough to review it and I was pleased with her review.

You can find Nikole at The Hahn Hunting Lodge. She’s also participating in NanoWrimo under the user name NikoleHahn.

Read her interview here: Nikole Hahn.

up and coming writer, Anna G.

2009-11-02T10:49:00.003-07:00

my daughter, seasoned writer that she is, has posted a new entry on her blog. It's called The Ankle. since i'm interviewing authors, i thought i would take this opportunity to interview her. she has graciously agreed. :)

MG: How long have you been writing?

A: I've been writing since I was really, really young, probably 4.

MG: How do you know when you want to write?

A: I write when my head says, "I've got a new story, so let's write it, publish it and share it."

MG: What kind of stories do you tell?

A: Right now, I'm working on a book called Dogwood, where all types of dogs, big and small, roamed a long time ago. When I said long, I meant it. I've also been writing a book called Cookie Crumbs. I got the name from one of my Littlest Pet Shop Pets. She is a pink mouse.

MG: What’s your favorite thing about writing?

A: When I write books, I feel like I'm there, but also, pictures that I draw make me feel like I'm there too.

MG: What are some of your favorite books?

A: Well, one of my favorites is Comet's Nine Lives by Jan Brett, and The Mitten by Jan Brett, Coming Home by Max Lucado, and You Are Special, also by Max Lucado. But my favorite is The Crippled Lamb, also by Max.

MG: What else do you do besides writing?

A: Usually, if I'm really bored, like a boring day that I really call Tuesday, I decide to read or play outside. I haven't gotten to do that often - cold weather. I draw and spend time with our dogs and I bead. You could call those things my hobbies.

MG: Thanks, Anna.

Siri Mitchell

2009-11-02T05:00:00.002-07:00

A couple of years ago, I read Kissing Adrien. I’d never heard of Siri Mitchell, but once I was finished with that first book, I became an instant fan. I knew I’d found an author who understood what it meant to live in our freedom in Christ. I immediately emailed her and let her know how much I enjoyed the book. I was surprised when she emailed back and asked me if I would review it on Amazon. I told her I would be happy to. (My review is here: Kissing Adrien.

Every once in a while I would send another email just to encourage her or tell her I’d enjoyed another of her books. Though I don’t really know her, I can tell from her emails and writing that she has a beautiful soul. She has graciously given some of her time to answer the questions in my author interview. I am honored and grateful.

Read her interview here: Siri Mitchell.

so easy to do...

2009-11-01T22:52:00.000-07:00

Inkygirl comics.

Lynn Rush

2009-10-31T22:00:00.001-07:00

In honor of National Novel Writing Month, I will be interviewing authors and writing friends who I’ve met in my writing journey. Some of them have been published for a while, some of are newly published authors, and some are still seeking publication. I hope you enjoy my strange little project.

My first interview is with Lynn Rush. I met Lynn a year ago at my local chapter of ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers). She’s one of the most upbeat and enthusiastic people I’ve ever met.

Read the interview here: Lynn Rush

National Novel Writing Month

2009-10-31T06:00:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow, if you open your window and listen carefully, you might hear an unusual sound. It could be coming from your neighbor’s apartment or from the high school in your neighborhood or from as far away as Australia.

You walk to your computer, pondering on the strange noise, and as you start to answer your email, you realize where you’ve heard that sound before; it’s coming from a computer keyboard. But the clicking has a frantic quality to it and now you want to know why so many people are typing at such a frenzied pace.

If you knew what these typists were doing, you might think they had lost their minds. All 100,000 of them are going to attempt to write 50,000 words in 30 days for an annual writing contest known as National Novel Writing Month. Some of them are teenagers, writing their very first stories. Many are moms who care for young children, mothers who work, fathers, grandmothers, and grandfathers.

Why, you ask, would anyone attempt to write 1700 words each day for 30 days, most likely risking carpal tunnel, knotted shoulders, cramped fingers, and bleary eyes? Why would someone choose to neglect their family and friends for the sake of an impossible goal?

Maybe you should ask me. I was one of them four years ago.

Nano participants have stories that have to be heard, and they know that the only way to tell their stories is to type them so quickly that their internal editors won’t be able to interfere. They can let their fingers play all over the keyboard, because their only goal is to tell a story that, as Chris Baty – the founder of National Novel Writing Month – puts it, “won’t make someone throw up.”

You could join them – unless you think you couldn’t possibly cut every extra thing out of your life for thirty days to write the story that’s been nagging at you for longer than you can remember. Or maybe you think that what you have to say isn’t worth saying, or it’s been said before, or you just don’t think you can do it.

As one who used all of those excuses and overcame them, I know that none of them are true. 100,000 people agree with me. Why don’t you sign up at NaNoWriMo.org and make it 100,001?

I wish I could be one of them. Maybe next year.

a changed life

2009-10-30T06:00:00.003-07:00

National Novel Writing Month changed my life.

Ok, I know I sound overly dramatic, but it’s true. It really did change my life.

Before I signed up for nanowrimo, I was a writer who didn’t write. I read about writing. I journaled about “should I write?” and if I did “what would I write about?” I told stories in my scrapbooks. I told the kids stories about all the ways God had taken care of us. I dabbled with writing poetry. I suppose that was all warm-up for what I’d really wanted to do all along.

Four years ago, I started a novel with the words “It was a dark and stormy night.” It was the hardest project I’d ever started. More times than I can count, I was ready to hit the delete key and go back to being a non-writer. Why go through that kind of headache for a story no one would care about, let alone read?

My husband and children and friends urged me on. In the end, I had a story I was proud of. In the middle of it all, I discovered that I’m a story person (as my then eleven-year-old son called me). I have more stories in me than I can keep track of. I don’t know if I’ll ever write all of them, but I’m sure going to try.

There are still days when I wish I weren’t a writer. As Shirley Hazzard said, "It's nervous work. The state you need to write in is the state that others are paying large sums to get rid of." My husband and children would agree. When I have writer’s block, it’s not a pretty sight. But I persevere, and when I’ve written my fingers off for the day, I’m pretty pleased with the result.

I once wondered what my purpose in life was. What did God want me to do? What did the world need from Michelle Gregory? I found this quote and had my answer: “Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive and then do that because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” - Howard Thurman

It’s been a difficult, yet freeing journey. Writing has helped me find more life than I ever thought was possible. As I walk in who I am, my children and friends are finding courage to try things they’ve always wanted to try. I'm bringing life to the people around me. That would never have happened if I'd ignored my desire to write.

So I'm here to say, that published or unpublished, understood or misunderstood, I'm a WRITER and always will be.

L.L. Barkat

2009-10-29T04:00:00.008-07:00

Yes, I'm a couple of days early with my November author interviews, but my writing friend L.L. Barkat's book Stone Crossings is being reviewed at InCourageme. There's also doing a giveaway of the book there. You can read the review here: Review at InCourageme.

L.L. Barkat is the author of Stone Crossings: Finding Grace in Hard and Hidden Places, a spiritual memoir/Christian living book (InterVarsity Press). Says author Don Everts, “Barkat’s courageous, unblinking honesty is a gift.” And theologian Scot McKnight has said, “The only writer I know quite like Barkat is Eugene Peterson.” She is Managing Editor and culture columnist for HighCallingBlogs, Staff Writer for International Arts Movement’s Curator Magazine, and is currently engaged in an art pilgrimage of sorts. She blogs at Seedlings in Stone. You can follow her on Twitter at @llbarkat.

I met L.L. through a blog I read several years ago. Sadly, I don't remember which one, but I was drawn to L.L.'s blog and began to read it avidly. When I knew I would be attending Mt. Hermon in 2008, I discovered she would be doing one of the classes and I was finally able to meet her. What a special lady.

Read her interview here: L. L. Barkat.

a prayer for me and my writing friends

2009-10-28T06:00:00.001-07:00

Dear Father,

I love to write. There aren’t many moments when I’m not thinking about a current story or a future story or how to tweak a past story. I think I’ve finally accepted the fact that I'm a writer. That doesn’t mean I would have asked for this.

I don’t think anyone who knows what the process is would knowingly say, “God, please make me a writer.” They’d have to be crazy to subject themselves to this kind of life. Always looking for stories. Always having pretend conversations in their head. Getting woken up by characters who demand their attention. It’s a crazy way to live.

But it’s how I live. And since You’ve seen fit to give it to me, help me use it for your glory.

encouragement from me

2009-10-27T06:00:00.000-07:00

some quotes God has used along the way to keep me writing. i hope one of them helps you, in whatever endeavor you happen to pursue.

"This task has been appointed to you, and if you don't find a way to do it, no one will." (Loosely quoted from Lord of the Rings movie #1)

“You have a story—a very important story, a story that rests at the core of your being—to tell. It is a story that has torn your heart into pieces, and it is a story of beauty because your heart couldn’t have been torn without your having first loved and somehow lost something that you loved.” ~ Susan Zimmermann, Writing to Heal the Soul

“Risk being unliked. Tell the truth as you understand it. If you’re a writer, you have a moral obligation to do this. And it is a revolutionary act–truth is always subversive.” — Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life

“Search for the reason that bids you to write; find out whether it is spreading out its roots in the deepest places of your heart, acknowledge to yourself whether you would have to die if it were denied you to write.” — Rainer Maria Rilke, Letters to a Young Poet

“Successful writers are not the ones who write the best sentences. They are the ones who keep writing. They are the ones who discover what is most important and strangest and most pleasurable in themselves, and keep believing in the value of their work, despite the difficulties.” - Bonnie Friedman

“Should we feel at times disheartened and discouraged, a simple movement of heart toward God will renew our powers. Whatever he may demand of us, he will give us at the moment the strength and courage that we need.” — François Fénelon

Do not follow where the path may lead. Go, instead, where there is no path and leave a trail. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Those who want to sing will always find a song. ~Norwegian Proverb

And now, my favorite quote from Marianne Williamson ----

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?

Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. ***Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you.*** We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.

It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

encouragement from a friend

2009-10-25T22:00:00.000-07:00

a few years ago, my dear friend Donetta gave me this poem. i appreciate her encouragement. this is my writing journey down to a tee.

She Who Believes in Herself

Trusting her instincts was the hardest thing she ever did.
There was that wimpy little voice inside her,
Cautioning her not to take the risk.
There were times along the way
When she was so scared she almost quit.

But she listened to the whisperings of her heart.

She pushed forth with faith.
Faith in her skills
Faith in her work ethic
And faith in her knowledge that she could succeed.

And she did!
In the end, trusting her heart
Was the smartest thing she ever did!

© Suzy Toronto

encouragement from a rat

2009-10-25T06:00:00.000-07:00

You never know how God is going to speak. One night I was watching Ratatouille with my kids and I heard Chef Gusteau say something about cooking.

"Great cooking is not for the faint of heart – you must be imaginative,strong-hearted. You must try things that may not work. You must not let anyone define your limits because of where you come from. Your only limit is your soul. It is true that anyone can cook – only the fearless can be great."

"Food always comes to those who cook."

So when I write, I want to remember to be strong-hearted. I will try things that may not work. I will not let anyone define me because of where I've come from or because of my lack of experience or published works. If I want to be a great writer, I will look to God to make me fearless.

And when I can't find the words, I will try to remember that words will always come to those who write.

the "joy" of being a writer

2009-10-24T06:00:00.000-07:00

tell me this has happened to you. i don't want to be alone in my madness.

the words, the story...
they're screaming to come out of me.
they invade my thoughts.
they wake me up at night,
demanding to be written down,
insisting that i can't wait
until later in the day
because i might forget them.
(heaven forbid i would forget them!)
if i refuse
they dance around in my head,
pestering me like impatient children,
until i finally give in.

i must be out of my freaking mind...

2009-10-23T16:16:00.002-07:00

For some strange reason that I still don't understand, I decided to post Eldala's first draft - I mean the very first draft that I wrote for nanowrimo, the draft that started it all, the draft that led to this insane life I call the writing life...

And now I'm crazy enough to actually tell my blog readers about it. I suppose I've officially lost it. Either that, or I'm putting off working on that pesky 2nd draft. Maybe a little of both.

trying to talk myself into nanowrimo 2005

2009-10-23T06:00:00.003-07:00

i wrote this Oct. 8, 2005. i will not be participating this year.

how does one prepare for nanowrimo? probably by writing. i'll go over what i copied from Bird by Bird (Anne Lamott) and my notes from Poem Crazy and Writing Down the Bones. do some descriptive writing and practise. just make messes on paper. that's all this is. this will be a big, wonderful, disorderly mess on paper.

every big job looks like a mess before it's finished - every scrapbook, altered book, paper bag book (i used to do those, btw), housecleaning project. it's bringing order out of all the pieces. first you have to have the pieces before you can rearrange them.

the story may be nothing, but it will be mine - my first big story. that will be the achievement. getting it done in a short amount of time. what is it Chris Baty (nanowrimo originator) says? something about the speed with which you write this prevents you from worrying about how good it is and makes you just write it - even if it's awful - as long as it doesn't make someone throw up.

so i need to **really** lower my expectations and just do it - make a huge mess on paper. go for it. just do it. make lots of mistakes and typos and grammatical errors and punctuation errors. my internal editor needs to go for a hike, edit something else - like the newspaper!

i want this to be fun - as much as forcing yourself to write every day can be fun. it will be an exercise in willpower and determination. it will be living by a deadline. it will be hard but i can do it! and maybe i'll end up with something slightly better than crappy!