My book, Sister, is available on Amazon. It is a fairy-tale retelling of the Six Swans. I first wrote a scene for this book for a writing contest in 2012 and wrote the rough draft in 2014. Ten years later after seventy-times-seven revisions, I self-published my first novel. I am currently drafting and revising the second and third books in the series.
I am a mother of five amazing children, a grandmother to six-almost seven remarkable grandchildren, a wife to a kind and courageous man, a daughter to steadfast and loving parents, and the oldest sister of five successful men. Those are my family relationships, and they define much of me. I also have my own dreams, aspirations, and abilities. I love to read, write, and organize. I need to be active and maintain strong friendships which I do as a member of a consistent and faithful running group and a writing group which I've attended for twenty-five years. I'm also a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day-Saints. My faith in Jesus Christ increases through my regular scripture study, constant prayer, consistent temple attendance, weekly church attendance, and frequent service. I strive to live a life filled with joy.
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My thoughts
I have been writing and submitting since 1996. That's twenty-six years. And I just received my 168th rejection. So I've decided to self publish or indie publish. To begin my indie publishing career, I purchased three e-books on Amazon. Two were in the genre I want to publish, fairy tale retelling, and one was a clean romance. The first one had a lot of plot or action, but not much character growth and the second one was pretty good. The clean romance, While You Were Speaking by Maria Hoagland, was well done and fun. Then I read through my book again and discovered that it was a lot like the first e-book I purchased, lots of plot but little connection to the characters.
At my writing group last night, Neysa Jensen shared from Jane Friedman's website that plot is the external events and story is the internal transformation. We care about the character and the story through that internal transformation.
Today I read about Job from the Old Testament and his trials in D. Todd Christofferson's talk, Our Relationship with God. I used to think that we study the scriptures for examples of people who always do what is right and try to emulate them. But Job cried out against God, saying that he'd been wronged. God chastises Job, and Job admits his sins and is humble before God. I can relate to Job. I can appreciate his story. His flaw, his despair, his abandonment. In our Come Follow Me study we've learned about Moses and the Israelites. They were a people who murmured and sinned again and again, but God refined them and prepared them for the promised land. They grew and progressed like Job, and that's the story I can understand. The story isn't about perfection. The story is about turning to Jesus Christ and allowing Him to teach and shape us.
I am fearful of this next step in writing. There's so much I don't know. My current manuscript is not as good as I originally thought. But I have a deep need, a desire, and a push from the Spirit that this is what I should be doing. I need to let my story be one of growth. Growth is painful. If expressing yourself through writing is not your thing, you may not understand this creative need I have. This trial may seem silly compared to yours, but there is probably something that is unfulfilled in your life for which God can do miracles if you let him. President Russell M. Nelson urged us to "seek and expect miracles."
I'm committing to my characters' growth. I'm committing to my own growth. I'm committing to story and miracles.
At my writing group last night, Neysa Jensen shared from Jane Friedman's website that plot is the external events and story is the internal transformation. We care about the character and the story through that internal transformation.
Today I read about Job from the Old Testament and his trials in D. Todd Christofferson's talk, Our Relationship with God. I used to think that we study the scriptures for examples of people who always do what is right and try to emulate them. But Job cried out against God, saying that he'd been wronged. God chastises Job, and Job admits his sins and is humble before God. I can relate to Job. I can appreciate his story. His flaw, his despair, his abandonment. In our Come Follow Me study we've learned about Moses and the Israelites. They were a people who murmured and sinned again and again, but God refined them and prepared them for the promised land. They grew and progressed like Job, and that's the story I can understand. The story isn't about perfection. The story is about turning to Jesus Christ and allowing Him to teach and shape us.
I am fearful of this next step in writing. There's so much I don't know. My current manuscript is not as good as I originally thought. But I have a deep need, a desire, and a push from the Spirit that this is what I should be doing. I need to let my story be one of growth. Growth is painful. If expressing yourself through writing is not your thing, you may not understand this creative need I have. This trial may seem silly compared to yours, but there is probably something that is unfulfilled in your life for which God can do miracles if you let him. President Russell M. Nelson urged us to "seek and expect miracles."
I'm committing to my characters' growth. I'm committing to my own growth. I'm committing to story and miracles.
