For Writers...

Welcome to the writing world!

I dreamed of writing horse books for girls since I was in high school; And I wrote 21 of those books. I dreamed of writing romances, and so far I’ve written historical, contemporary and novella forms. There is romance in most of my stories.

I didn’t dream of writing historical anything and God laughed at my “never” and now I love writing historical fiction. I’ve also written three nonfiction books, along with lots of articles and some short stories. 

I tell you all this for two reasons: One: to remind you not to say “never”, it only makes God laugh and go on with his own plans for you. Two: to show you that the writing life is crazy, wonderful, mind boggling, depressing, ornery, fun, and harder work than you ever thought. It pushes you to the outer limits of what you can do.

Perseverance is the most necessary trait a writer can have. That, and developing alligator hide to help you keep going through rejections!

I wish I could chat with you over lunch and tell you more about this writing journey, but unfortunately that’s not possible. I also cannot read unsolicited manuscripts, recommend agents, or provide information on markets. However, I do have some more tips I can offer you:

1.) Attend writing conferences. It’s where you can learn various writing techniques and concepts, not to mention meet other writers, agents and editors. It’s also where I got my start.

2.) Try local events. If you can’t attend the large conferences, maybe something at your community college or library would be a help to you. Or you could attend a class or workshop held by a visiting author. Check out my schedule if you’d like to see where I’ll be teaching in the coming months. 

3.) Join a critique group. Your local bookstore may know of a critique group in your area, or you may even start one of your own.

4.) Make the most of media/online resources. Don’t forget to check out the web sites I have listed here and look up my Readin’ & Writin’ column under the newsletter tab, where I always include a few new writing tips. You can also visit this page to buy some helpful how-to tapes on writing.

Blessings in abundance. I’m off to finish my next novel...

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