A Novel Creation www.WatersWords.com

Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday. It’s a fairly simple day. Let’s face it. Roasting a turkey is easy and if everyone pitches in, Thanksgiving meals are joyful, relaxing experiences. But for me, Thanksgiving isn’t about the food. It’s about family. It’s a day of rest. I come from a long line of farmers. As a child, I lived on a farm. Thanksgiving marked the end of a season. The crops had been harvested. The canning was done. We could gather as a family at my grandparent’s house and find peace. I have very specific memories of Thanksgiving celebrations during those years. We frequently experienced our first snow around Thanksgiving. It would be light, barely covering the ground. A dusting, really. But with it came a chill in the air and the promise of Christmas. Arriving While the women worked together in the kitchen getting the meal together, the men would go hunting. The men never returned with game. I learned later in life that rabbit hunt...

Let’s face it. Life isn’t sugar and spice and everything nice. Life is full of tension.   A book needs to be filled with tension as well. That’s why we call the good ones “page turners.” We are spurred on in our reading by mounting tension. We are constantly asking ourselves, “What happened next?” I am still working on this. As a writer I can see the “big problems” my characters face, but it's  the smaller lurking questions and conflicts that keep a story moving . It’s hard for me. I am a Pollyanna. I know it. So at the risk of causing myself stress and subsequent heart failure, I decided to step away from my Pollyanna self and focus on tensions in my life for a single day . I wanted to collect, if you will, the conflicts and dilemmas I face. These could be possible sources of tension for my characters. Conflict=Tension I had to make a difficult phone call. My request was reasonable, but past experience taught me that a) the woman I needed ...

My youngest daughter was a high school cheerleader. She couldn’t do a handspring or flip—the only one on her squad who wasn’t a gymnast. So how did she make the team? She had the one thing all cheerleaders need. Spirit. She was (and still is) energetic and engaging. I had lunch with a cheerleader Monday.  I know one when I see one. Susan wasn’t dressed in a short skirt and her hair wasn’t in a ponytail. But she is a cheerleader. One of mine. I appreciate those people in my life who encourage me and applaud my efforts as a writer. I need them. I have my own cheerleading squad. A few who made the team were no-brainers. For example, my mom has been encouraging me in my writing for years. My husband promotes my efforts. He gives me confidence. My children applaud my work. Others made the squad because they are people who love to read and therefore encourage me to write.   They strengthen my writing. They ask me questions. They give me i...

Books are like old friends. I enjoy their company anytime. I can turn to them in the midst of troubling times and find comfort. I have been thinking about the books that have shaped me into the person and writer I have become. I’m not talking about the Bible or self-help books. To me, the Bible is the ultimate life shaper. But no, I have been thinking about fiction. Books I’ve read throughout my life. When I carefully consider why I have such fond memories of these books, I realize the joy I found in them went well beyond the story. If you have been following my blog you know I have a goal to work on two books for children this month. One book I first drafted as a teacher. The second I wrote for my grandchildren. Can I write a book children will enjoy and treasure for a lifetime? To help me answer that question I decided to look at a few of my all time favorite children’s books. What was it that made me appreciate them? What elements do they have in common?...