Thanksgiving – An Attitude of the Heart
Posted on November 27, 2014 4 Comments
What are you thankful for? Your home, your job, your family, your health? Those are all things to be thankful for. Are you thankful for your family Thanksgiving traditions? Do you gather around the table with extended family on this day of giving thanks? Do you have turkey and all the fixin’s?
As I get older, my family shrinks and now it’s just my husband and me for Thanksgiving. He’s going to help a friend with a 5K race in the morning. We’ll be together, and we’re going out – depending on the weather. Last year, we helped serve at a community Thanksgiving meal, because we’d talked about doing that for a couple of years, but we waited until after my father-in-law passed. Last year was our first Thanksgiving without any family close by, so we did that. This year, we’re doing something different. Read More
Things to be Thankful For – Family
Posted on November 26, 2014 2 Comments
Since Thanksgiving is tomorrow, I’ve begun to reflect on what I’m thankful for. The next three days, I’ll be posting on Thanksgiving, since it is a national holiday here in America.
Throwback to childhood
Today – I’m focusing on Family. I came from a family of four…Mom, Dad, my brother Duane, and myself. Here’s a retro picture of me and my brother when we were kids.
I think this picture was originally a slide. I look like I’m around three years old there, making Duane eight. We’re both of the Baby Boomer generation. This picture would have been taken at the house on Harrison Street we lived in for the first five years of my life.
Keep on Keeping On – Endurance
Posted on November 21, 2014 Leave a Comment
My hubby running Boston 1987
I’ve heard it said that life is not a dress rehearsal, and it’s not a sprint. It’s a marathon. To me, that means, we need endurance, to run the race that’s in front of us. The apostle Paul talked about that, when he was close to finishing his race – his life’s race.
That’s my precious hubby, Kirby, running the Boston. I picked this picture because it was a crowning achievement, a dream fulfilled – 27 years ago. He still runs races when he can. I was so proud of him that day. We weren’t married yet, but we were secretly engaged in April of 1987. Kirby trained for months and months to run the 1987 Boston Marathon. He had to qualify by running an earlier marathon, which he did in the fall of 1986 – the Harrisburg (PA) Marathon. A marathon is 26.2 miles. Read More
Writing Emotions – Love
Posted on November 20, 2014 Leave a Comment
Less is more, in my opinion. A kiss, using non-gory, but eloquent terms, can say much more than a description that focuses on a sordid way to tell about something that’s supposed to be beautiful. Especially, since I’m a Christian writer, I don’t like too much. It cheapens our language and I believe the author as well.
There are different kinds of love. There’s parental love for a child, and a child’s love of their parents. There’s a brotherly-sisterly love between siblings. There’s affectionate love of friends who are close to us. There’s romantic love, which is mainly what I’m talking about here. Read More
What Do You Fear – Face Up
Posted on November 19, 2014 Leave a Comment
The face of fear
President Franklin D. Roosevelt, in his first inaugural address stated, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” I never used to think of myself as a fearful person, but in the last few years, I’ve discovered I fear more than I thought. Of course, rejection is my biggest fear, and I’ve had it so long. I’m in a spiritual development school through my church, and one of our recent classes taught us how to identify things that have hindered our personal growth. It brought to mind things I hadn’t thought of in many years – remembering so I could release the pain associated with them, and receive emotional healing. Read More
Self-Publishing Tips – Part 2
Posted on November 14, 2014 4 Comments
A couple months ago, I put in a few tips about self-publishing. As I contemplate the future of Meghan’s Choice, and other stories I’m writing, I want to make sure I do what’s right for each project.
Because aren’t our projects our – baby? And as such, we want what’s best for them. Even if traditional publishing can still be achieved, although difficult, self-publishing is sometimes still the best option. I’m still trying to get Meghan’s Choice published traditionally. Two royalty publishers are looking at it. I’m still hoping one of them will want it. OR that one of the two contests it’s entered into will pick it.
I’ve done some research on self-publishing packages. I’ll outline some of them here. Be advised that most of these are from a Christian publishing perspective. I’ll mention another publisher who’s good for famous people biographies. And lastly, I’ll mention the writer’s guides, that are the “go-to” resources for every writer.
What I saw more than anything else when I googled “self publishing” is that you can pick any website and go there and find out how to get more information. Some of them have PDF files of the publishing packages you can download. Sometimes they ask you for your name and email before you can download their publishing guides. Read More
Whose Story is It Anyway?
Posted on November 13, 2014 2 Comments
I talked about this before, when I had “dueling” editors/mentors, but most of all, it comes down to you, the author, to decide what story you want to tell. Editors, friends and others will always have an opinion about what your story should say, and how you should say it.
Recently, I put this to the test. I joined a genre writer’s group. I was testing my premise to see if it had enough hook and would hold water, so to speak. I failed to mention that I had already written the whole book.
I got some pretty wild answers. My premise for Meghan’s Choice is that a young woman in 1871 gets an unusual ultimatum from her father to work for a year, so she accepts the first job offered and it takes her to a wild Kansas railroad town. Read More
What Fuels YOUR Ideas?
Posted on November 12, 2014 4 Comments
Where do you get your inspiration? For me, it can something as simple as a “what if” question to change a story that’s already been written. OR, my mind thinks about an update.
As a mental exercise, I’ve done two updates. I’ve not written these down, and who knows if I’ll ever do them or not?
Tomorrow’s Newspaper Today
I’ve often wondered what the modern version of television’s Early Edition would be like today? That show ran from 1996-2000. The premise: divorced stock broker Gary Hobson gets tomorrow’s newspaper, in this case, The Chicago Sun Times, today. I loved that show, and often wondered how technology would change it. The last episode showed how Gary was chosen to receive the newspaper, and how he chose who would get the newspaper next.
Writing Emotions – Part 2
Posted on November 6, 2014 Leave a Comment
Writing emotional pain is challenging. A couple of weeks ago, I wrote while my latest rejection was fresh and raw. This week, I thought I’d try something different. How would you write about your greatest joy? How would I? Hmmmm. I think I’ll have to think about that. And give it a try.
Can you feel it?
My greatest joy is knowing Jesus. I won’t get all preachy on you. But when I feel God’s presence like a blanket of love surrounding me, tears come to my eyes. That’s how I first felt Him. I was reading a book and I was actually reading about someone’s experience at giving God their life, when all of a sudden, I started to cry. I knew it was happening to me. I had no grid for this. I was raised in a United Methodist Church, and I had no real teaching about a salvation experience. It was more of a decision, made with the will. I’m writing about emotion. I don’t think I’d ever cried for joy before that. I’d only ever cried when something hurt, but this was different.
My Next Step – Part 2
Posted on November 5, 2014 Leave a Comment
Options
I’m moving on. Meghan’s Choice is in the hands of two publishers and is entered into two contests. I have been advised to let her go for awhile and move on. What are my options? Let’s look at them.
I could start the sequel, Rose’s Redemption. But I really feel like that’s putting the cart before the horse. I hadn’t intended to start that book until Meghan’s Choice was in publishing queue. I still feel that way. I have plotted it out, the way I plot – bullet points of what I want to happen. Not exactly an outline.
Donna L.H. Smith 