A Novel Creation www.WatersWords.com

Every writer I know has multiple works in the mill. We are, at the very least, dividing our time between revising one manuscript and drafting a new one. I’m no exception. Don’t misunderstand. I am not describing myself as a multi-tasker. In fact, I’m not convinced those people really exist. I can move from one project to another, but I cannot work on all projects simultaneously. To give you an idea of my current “works in the mill,” check out the following. It is  a glimpse at my typical day. WRITING EXERCISE: My current exercise is an assignment I received from Standard Publishing. I’ve been asked to read a Bible lesson/commentary written by someone else and create discussion questions for the lesson. It is a merging of my education background and writing skills. Trust me, it takes time and effort to produce questions that are not ambiguous and yet not so detailed as to merit a simple yes or no answer. There’s no discussion in those types of questions. The exercise is ho...

Litchfield Book Store  Last week, I was shopping in a little bookstore with a friend in Pawley’s Island, South Carolina. We came across a “Reading Journal.” The entry prompts included obvious categories such as the title of the book, author, date read, and so forth but it also had a series of questions about the writing of the book itself. For example, one of the questions asked, “On a scale of 1-5, with five being excellent, how would you rate the pace of the book? Did it keep you engaged or was it so slow you fell asleep?” There were at least ten questions in this section on the characters, setting, and plot. Each question had the numbers 1 2 3 4 5 following it along with a line for comment. The next question asked, “Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?” The journal was intended to record what you read. It could be used by an individual or with a book club to prepare for a book discussion. I saw this little journal as a great way f...

Human Trafficking is a worldwide evil. In India, girls, some as young as nine-years-old, are coerced, kidnapped, and sold into slavery. They are forced into prostitution and live out their lives in brothels unless someone rescues them. For the girls we met in India, the rescuers had arrived. One. At. A. Time. During our time there, we visited in the homes of young women now 18-25 who are redefining themselves. Some had been rescued at age twelve or thirteen and placed in a government approved facility first. Note: You will see no pictures of the girls on this blog.   Their identity must be protected. It was difficult to look at these beautiful faces and imagine the trauma they had endured. As we worked together, the young women talked of their hopes and dreams. What does their future hold? Many of their families will not have them back. They are forever marked as unclean. It is possible some will marry and have the family they long to have, but it isn’t likely. ...

How far would you go for a story? I went to India. Kendall & I were "Inked" Confession: I didn’t go to India for a story. I went with a group of people to work with young women who have been rescued from human trafficking. More about that next week. While we were there, we divided into teams to pray for the city. Some went to hospitals and others visited neighborhoods. A kitchen in one of the houses we visited. Our team had the opportunity to visit in the homes of Christians living in what we in the States call "the slums." I learned a valuable lesson. One I should have known. Don’t judge what is on the inside by what you see on the outside. Sharing a moment with  a family in their home, As we drove along the interstate, we could see the slums everywhere, rising up like jagged tin roofed mountains. When we visited our new friends in their 10X10 foot homes, we removed our shoes and walked across their clean floors. They w...