A Novel Creation www.WatersWords.com

New house? Yes. New office? Definitely. New book? No. As I shared a couple of weeks ago, the moving process –going through things deciding what to keep and what to pitch energized me to revise Libby’s Cuppa Joe . Keeping the good stuff…tossing the rest. These past two weeks I reintroduced myself to the characters and plot. I like the book but I know it needs work. You cannot lay down a plot and write off the cuff and expect the story to be stellar on the first or even second draft. So what have I done so far? First, I had to reread the entire manuscript to remember all of the nuances I had included. Second, I switched the order of the first two chapters. It is amazing what that simple change did to immediately engage the reader.   Third. My main character, Sonja, is a young woman bent on business success. She has loving parents who did their best in raising her, but Sonja has rejected church with all its trappings. She pretends to be someone she is not whe...

I am so pleased to have a sweet friend of mine share today's post. JP and I are both members of the Ohio Chapter of ACFW. Because JP writes Young Adult (YA)  fiction, I asked if she would share some insights with us, knowing that we are all in this together and we can all learn from each other. Enjoy! After I finished my YA Christian fiction novel and edited it a few hundred times, I looked into publishing it.   All agents and editors gave the same advice, “Know your audience!” It seemed so overwhelming to me, getting to know the reading preferences of thousands of teen readers. But I dove into researching my audience and nearly drowned in discouragement. Most YA Christian fiction is either romance or speculative fiction, which often breaks down into fantasies and dystopian fiction. My novel, set in contemporary West Virginia with crime elements and a male protagonist, seemed to have no place in the current publishing landscape. But I continued my ...

  My husband and I loved to read. We shared books, enjoying a wide variety of genres. When one of us discovered a new author, the other would quickly join in reading. Several years ago we found a suspense writer we both enjoyed. Her books were intriguing and masterfully written. We couldn’t wait for her latest novel to be released. After reading a few of her novels we began to “know her.” Her characters were believable. We decided her husband must be the role model for many of the heroes found within the pages of her offerings. We would say things such as, “She must love New York City. She’s spent a lot of time there.” Her descriptions of places and events and her down-to-earth characters with their quirks and honest dialogue carried the story to another level. Identifying with her made the suspense all the more intense.   We were hooked. Finding her stride, she began releasing two books a year. Then three. As her popularity increased so did her productivity. Th...

  One of the greatest advantages of self-employment as a writer is the flexibility of scheduling your time. One of the greatest disadvantages in the business of writing is the flexibility of scheduling your time –especially if you’re a lenient boss. A productive, successful writer must be diligent and self-disciplined. I’m neither by nature. To a degree, I have to treat my work as a writer the way many think of a job outside the home. Get up, Get Ready for the Day While many authors boast they love their job because they can write in their jammies if they like, I accomplish more if I shower and dress for work. Okay, I’ll admit my work clothes are more casual now than when I was teaching at the university, but getting up and dressed is an important first step. And speaking of steps, don’t forget to put on your shoes. I first learned this lesson from Maria Cilley. You may remember her as “The Fly Lady.” She wrote a home organization book called Sink Reflections sev...