A Novel Creation www.WatersWords.com

Writers want to grab a reader’s attention. No, let me clarify that. Writers NEED to grab the reader’s attention. Most writers call this the hook . You try to hook your reader so he or she will want to read more. But I’m a southern girl from the waters of Florida. My father-in-law owned a bait and tackle shop. I worked side by side with my husband there from time to time. (Okay, I didn’t really work. I was there to see him. This was when we were dating.) Anyway, I know enough about fishing to know you can’t rely on a mere hook. If you want to reel in your reader, you need to start with some tasty bait. This post offers five possibilities: 1.   Ask a question . Try opening your novel with a question. You need not answer it right away. Use it to make your reader curious. Would Sarah’s nightmare ever end? The question should make you wonder a bit about Sarah and what nightmare is tormenting her. Or try this one: How could John expect the Agent Daniel...

LEGO WRITING My grandsons were working on building with Legos. “I’m not following the instructions,” Jay said. “I’m being creative.” “I’m following the instructions,” replied his four-year-brother responded. “I’m building a tractor.” That’s a switch. Usually, J is careful to follow the directions and Auggie takes the more creative route. “The beauty of it, though,” I told them, “is that you can build it one way now and then take it apart and do something different later. Like when I write. Sometimes I put a story together one way and revise it later.” It’s true. I think writers get stuck in forming a story or even a sentence one way. We need to be able to pull it apart and try it a different way. I’ve done it. I’m currently working on a children’s book. I have enjoyed the process, but I am so close to the story and what I know was in my head when I composed it, I’ve had a hard time pulling it apart and putting it back together in a new way. It is a rhy...

As part of the 2014 Christmas Blog Hop, today's guest is  Tamera Lynn Kraft, author of A Christmas Promise The Legend of Santa Claus By Tamera Lynn Kraft Santa Claus is a legend loved by millions of children throughout the centuries. While the story of Santa Claus is a myth told to illustrate the spirit of giving at Christmastime, there was a real man named Saint Nicholas. Nicholas was born in the third century in the village of Patara. When he was born, Patara was a part of Greece. Now it’s located in Turkey. His parents were rich and raised him to be a Christian, but they died when he was young. He used up his inheritance caring for the needy, the sick, and the suffering. When he was a little still a young man, he was appointed as bishop of Myra and became well known for his generosity to the needy, his love of children, and his care for sailors. One story tells about three dowerless girls. In that time, girls whose fathers were too poor to provide dowries often...

Earl Hamner, Jr. Anyone over fifty has probably watched John Boy on television. He sat at his desk penning words of reflection over the events taking place on Walton’s mountain. The Walton’s, a successful television program of the seventies was based on author, Earl Hamner’s life experiences. Many writers engage in journaling. While a diary often records the day-to-day activity of a person, a journal usually offers more room for the writer to reflect on the events of life. As most of my readers know, I lost my husband the last week of October. Nearly every site I’ve visited about grieving or book I’ve read on the topic suggests journaling is the most effective tool the survivor can use to move through the grieving process. The process. Like meat or cheese. I do feel a bit as though have been ground up and now I’m trying to become whole again. Perhaps that is what journaling does. It makes us feel a bit whole again. How? Journaling tends to capture our emotions in w...