A Novel Creation www.WatersWords.com

First things first. Last week I posed three statements about writing my debut novel, Breathing on Her Own . I told you one statement was a lie while the remaining two were true. ·       Breathing on Her Own took eight months to write. ·       Breathing on Her Own is based on a true story. ·       The original manuscript was 22,000 words longer than the final version. The lie? Breathing on Her Own is based on a true story. Thank you to all who entered and for those of you who emailed me your responses when the site acted up! The winner of the book is Deanna Stevens. Be sure to email me or message me with your contact info, Deanna. “Is this a true story?” is the question I am most often asked. And it is quickly followed by, “So where did you get your idea?” and then “How did you learn so much about rehab and such?” I consider it a compliment that readers see truth in my characters and the emoti...

This week marks the one-year anniversary of the release of Breathing on Her Own . Wow! As many of my readers know, it has been a roller coaster year for me. My precious husband died in October. He was my biggest cheerleader –A true advocate for me in my writing endeavors. So today, I enter this celebration with mixed emotions. The Book Cover Tom and I recreate the book cover at Howard Park in Tarpon Springs Stick with me to the end. I’ll be giving away a signed copy of the book. Here is a bit of the year –in terms of the novel… Thank you, Sue for taking the picture at Howard Park.  The Dedication: For my mother who shared three precious gifts with me: Life, a love for the Lord, and a love for books. This is a picture of me with my momma when she first read the dedication. My sweet husband worked hard to make the book launch a success! And then throughout the year there were more events... Book signings Par...

My guest today is Cindy Huff, president of the Aurora, Illinois Chapter of Word Weavers. I asked her to share a bit about the organization. So here's Cindy! Thank you Becky for asking me to come and share about something I am very passionate about. I love to encourage writers and the one area I can’t emphasize enough is critiquing. For some this becomes a fellow-writer that you click with and help each other. For some it’s a group. I want to share with you about a wonderful group you might want to check out in your search for way to improve your writing. Word Weavers has been in existence for almost two decades. It started in Orlando, Florida and spread around the state. In recent years it has expanded across the nation and into Canada. With its online groups, it is available internationally. Word Weavers has a specific format for the pages you share in critique groups. Each individual brings six copies of a piece they want critiques. You will never receive more th...

Last week I had the opportunity to attend a writing webinar led by Beth Vogt, author of Catch a Falling Star . The webinar was sponsored by American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW). I appreciate these opportunities because through them I learn more about the craft of writing. The topic for this webinar was about building the story question . I want share with you what I learned by trying to apply it to my newest work in progress. Beth shared that the three big questions every author should be able to answer about a manuscript include: 1. What is your story about? 2. Why should anyone pick up your novel and read it? 3. What is your story question? I can vouch for the validity of the first two. If you sit down with an agent, publisher, or editor, you need to grab their attention with a well-crafted answer as to what the story is about and why anyone cares! The third question separates the novice from the novelist. This is question I want to examine today. To g...