A Novel Creation www.WatersWords.com

I belong to several writing groups. One that meets online via Facebook is called 10 Minute Novelists. When I first joined, I wondered what the notion of a ten-minute novelist meant.  Write a novel in only ten minutes a day? Sure. Use ten-minute intervals or snatches of time every day? Yes.  Or was it for writers like me who can only sit still for ten minutes at a time? Of course. What I found was a  community of writers  trying to fit in their passion for writing into any bit of time they could carve out of an already busy schedule.  I found an honest group of writers  muddling through the process  of writing and publishing and fulfilling their dreams. I found people  willing to share  what they were learning in the process.  I found people who can laugh together as they share an invisible table of snacks via the internet. I found both experienced and inexperienced authors offering words of wisdom. ...

This past week we buried my sweet Aunt Ruby. Aunt Ruby was eighty-nine years old. Her health had been failing but she was determined to make it to ninety. She told her doctor as much a few days before her passing. Her body gave out, but her spirit never gave up.  I was asked to share thoughts about my aunt at the funeral. I decided to share some of those thoughts here as well. I want to honor her and remember her, yes. But in gathering my thoughts on Aunt Ruby, I learned something about myself and the woman I want to be as I walk this life.  When I first began preparing my talk for my aunt’s funeral, several words and phrases came to mind. Words like “trustworthy” and “hospitable”; phrases like “gentle spirit” and “quiet strength.”  A Woman of Noble Character The words that surfaced reminded me of the woman of noble character described in Proverbs 31:              “…she brings her husband go...

Libby's Cuppa Joe is 6  Months  Old This Month!  In celebration of Libby's birthday, I decided to take my readers behind the scenes of  Libby’s Cuppa Joe I’m often asked about where I get the idea for a story. The ideas for me are easy. I look around and imagine the story behind what makes a person think and act the way they do. But crafting a story? Crafting takes research. Come with me behind the scenes in the crafting of  Libby’s Cuppa Joe . The Setting  Libby’s Cuppa Joe   takes place in a coffee shop in Door County, Wisconsin. I had visited Door County as a tourist. To assure accuracy, I researched the Wisconsin peninsula on-line. I gathered information about the calendar of events in the communities there and used a map to think through the places and roads my characters would travel. The Coffee Shop  Running a coffee shop is a bit beyond the skills I acquired with my Mr. Coffee. While I enjoy drinking coffee and love the ambience ...

The Downton Abbey movie is scheduled for release later this month. Some of my friends and I are already planning to go to the theater the minute it opens. In light of recent conversations I’ve had with my friends, it seemed appropriate to share this post. Disclaimer: I first crafted this Downton Abbey post for Karen Wingate’s blog  Grace on Parade  five years ago.   Another Disclaimer: Not Downton Abbey but a church in Budapest. I liked it. Accepting Who You Are….Gracefully (and realizing it’s a blessing) I recently took one of those silly on-line quizzes to find out which Downton Abbey character I would be were I living in that era. Silly, because the quiz asked questions such as “Which color do you prefer?” Easy. Which animal do I like? No problem. Which gift card would I like to receive? Piece of cake.  Some of the questions were a bit harder for me. For example, the quiz put up pictures and titles of movies and music albums and asked me to s...