At Split Ends

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Tricia is a member of the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance. She also has a blog, It's Real Life and a parenting blog Generation NeXt.

TRICIA GOYER is the author of five novels, two nonfiction books and one children's book. She also was named Mount Hermon Christian Writers Conference Writer of the Year in 2003. In 2005, her novel Night Song, the second title in Tricia’s World War II series, won ACFW's Book of the Year for Best Long Historical Romance. In 2006, her novel Dawn of A Thousand Nights also won book of the Year for Long Historical Romance. Tricia and her husband, John, live with their family in northwestern Montana.


ABOUT THE BOOK:

We are pleased to be able to review her exciting Chronicles of the Spanish Civil War, A Valley Of Betrayal

For reasons beyond her control, Sophie finds herself alone in the war-torn Spanish countryside, searching for her beloved Michael. His work as a news photographer has taken him deep into the country wracked by civil war…

This is the scripture from Christian Women Online today. While I love the poetic feel of the King James Version, I always refer to the New Living Translation when I'm studying (I need that easy read quality the NLT provides).

So I wanted to add to the daily quote from CWO by quoting from the NLT version that I read. I pray this will reach you, in whatever your situation, as it did me. It reminds me of the promise in being faithful to the Lord and is one of my favorite verses . . .

Jeremiah 29:11-14
"For I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me in earnest, you will find me when you seek me. I will be found by you," says the Lord. "I will end your captivity and restore your fortunes. I will gather you out of the nations where I sent you and bring you home again to your own land."

It's driving me crazy, but I can't remember who I read about who advised an author should give a "universal message" when asked what they're writing about instead of giving a detailed explanation of the story. It makes sense. Details can get boring. That's why when you're writing your query letter or pitching to an agent or editor, you give them a quick blurb about your story or the "hook". It's gotta be quick and it's got to grab and hold onto their attention, thus, why we call it a "hook".

This 'universal message" thing really struck a chord with me. And when it struck, everything became clear as if the Lord had turned on a light inside of me. I write about flawed Christians. People who believe, or once believed, and have strayed. Life happens and it is so easy to turn away from God, and faith in His plan, to look at what's going on around us. My stories are about these people, C.U.C's, and how they returned h…

I'm preparing my manuscript to send into a contest. It's only the first couple of chapters, but you'd think my life depended on the judging of this particular entry the way I keep going back over these same chapters.

I'm to a point where the scene I'm writing feels forced. Have you ever experienced that? For me, that's when I know it's not working. If it didn't flow from my pen or through my fingers easily, then it doesn't read well and it can't stay. Unfortunately, it's taken me about a week to realize: It's not working!

So I've changed a supporting character's name. You may wonder what that has to do with anything, but that's a longer story that I won't get into just now. You see, this is a revision I'm working on. So, I'm going to the original draft (which at first I thought wasn't so good, but now I'm thinking it really had something special and its finished!) to pull some scenes from there and rework. I…

Check out the F.A.I.T.H. Blog every day this week and participate in the contest we're running. At the end of the week, Angie will chose a name and will send the winner some very special and yummy Montana chocolates!

Have fun and good luck!

I've been tagged by my friend Lindi to share 6 weird things about me.
(I just hope I can stop at six)

1. I joined Weight Watchers twice and both times, not a day went by that I stuck to the amount of points I was allowed for the day. It was as if I was in jail and I had to break out. The last time I belonged to the program, I gained five pounds the first week! (This is in no way against Weight Watchers - they have a great program, I only wish I had the will to follow it!)

2. If there is anything sweet in my house - that I like - such as holiday chocolates, chocolate chip cookies, brownies, or other goodies like this, I will continue to return to the area they are located -be it baggy or plate - and eat them until they are gone. I am not hungry when I do this, I'm just crazy and am not happy until they're gone.

3. I begin brushing my teeth and then I walk through the house and find stuff to do while brushing my teeth (straighten up the kitchen, get clothes out of the dryer, fil…

I'm back to writing. . . Feeling the sizzle that comes with thinking about the story while cleaning the house or running errands. I love it when I have to stop what I'm doing to jot down some notes so I don't forget it by the time I'm able to sit down at the computer. I'm getting up early and staying up late. I love it when the fever hits and I'm writing, writing, writing.

I used to do my best brainstorming in the car. When I was working the 9-5 job, I had an hour's drive to work. Scenes would come to me as I drove. I'd make note of them and sometimes go back to writing, to elaborate on that a.m. idea, during my lunch break. I guess my mind was stimulated constantly and I've found now that I'm at home, it's harder to get those creative juices flowing. Oh, I can belt out a Barney tune on command while doing the dishes and keeping an eye out for my ever-busy toddler, but dreaming up a good scene for my hero and heroine is proving a little more …