Wednesday Writing

My writing seems to have slowed down lately. There have been a lot of interruptions, as well as chores that need done around the house. I'm blaming some of my lack of production on the oppressive heat. We are having the sort of temperatures that we usually have in August! Guess summer decided to start off with a blaze!

The main WIP that I've been trying to complete is over three quarters finished~so I should be able to wrap it up in another month. If I get with it and actually do some writing! I have another WIP that I started in first person, but now I'm debating on changing it to third. I'm not very experienced in first person and I spend a lot of time worrying about using past, present, and future tense.

Is first person a problem for any of you? Do you know of any easy 'tricks' to keeping yourself in the correct tense?

Looking through my small 'how to write' library, I realize that I don't have as many books about the craft of writing as I had thought. There is a small assortment of very out of date books from the early 1980s that I probably need to get rid of. I'm sure that Christian publishing has gone through some changes since then.

I think that my favorite, the one I go to over and over again is, Writing the Christian Romance, by Gail Gaymer Martin. I've seen many reviews for this book, all of them positive and I could see why after my first glance.

Have any of you purchased the The Complete Idiot's Guide to Writing Christian Fiction, by Ron Benrey? I've been considering it, but I don't know anyone else that has read it.

What other books would any of you recommend as important for your Christian writing library?

Wednesday

The summer has brought a lot of projects other than writing for me. I've been catching up on some painting in the house, gardening, and just general trying to get some things organized. Nevertheless, I am trying to get in some writing each day.

A few months ago, I mentioned that my daughter and I were entering the ACFW Genesis contest. We were anxious to get our scores back, and a little bit nervous when they arrived!

First, let me say congratulations to all the winners and finalist. Although we did not final in the Contemporary Fiction category, it was an interesting experience for both of us.

Like many others that I've read about, our scores were certainly a 'mixed bag' of results. We had one rather high score, a medium score, and a low score.

Only one of our judges gave any sort of identity--free lance editor. The other two were silent on their qualifications.

The high score we received is nice. We love it. But, I also wonder if that judge gave mostly high scores. The comments were rather sparse and mostly complimentary.

The low score? Well, I don't think that judge really 'got' the story. He/she suggested that our characters needed more quirkiness. Maybe this judge thought we were trying to write chic lit, or comedy. Then again, maybe that is what readers want today. Quirky characters are okay, but personally, I don't want them in all the books that I read or write.

The middle score is the one that we've taken the most notice of. He/she gave us compliments on our writing style and advice on how to 'tighten' up our story. This judge took the time to mark lines and areas of the partial manuscript. We felt like he/she really read what we wrote and understood what we were writing. We feel like this judge's comments alone made our entry worthwhile and we are already talking about entering again next year.

How have most of you felt about the scores you've received from writing contests? Do you think they are fair, do the judges 'get' what you story is about in the sparse amount of pages you send in?

Congratulations!

I wanted to be sure and say "congratulations" to Janet. Her short story, The Old Santa Hat will be published in the Christmas Traditions book. It will be out in September. Good job, Janet!

Still Writing

Hi Friends~I hope all of you are doing well. I've been absent from this blog for a few months. I haven't meant to let it go so long--but spring has managed to get in the way!

We have been working on our square foot gardening, as well as trying to keep up with the rapidly growing grass. We have had a 'well-watered' spring, so far, and all the green stuff appreciates it.

I had some good news today~another publisher requested to look at the first book that my daughter and I wrote together. We're a little excited about it! I still have another one out with another publisher, so I'm hopeful for that one, as well.

I trust all of you are having a wonderful spring!

Writing, Writing. . .

I have been doing quite a bit of writing lately, as well as some research. I'm still working on two projects for contests. My youngest daughter is co-writing one of the projects with me, which makes things go a little faster!

I've noticed that several magazines have gone out of business lately, and I'm wondering if the book publishing world is suffering any consequences of this bad economy. Have any of you heard anything?

Happy Writing!

Projects

I have a lot of unfinished projects in my life. Some have to do with decorating my home, some are paper projects, such as getting pictures in albums or scrapbooks, and some are writing projects.

Right now, I feel like I have too many projects in the works. My 'polishing' on my manuscript is almost done, so it will be in the mail next week. After that, I will feel a little more relaxed--maybe!

Last year, I planned to enter the Hillerman writing contest, but never finished. This year, I hope to get my manuscript off to the judges a month earlier than the deadline.

What about you? Do you juggle a lot of projects at one time, or do you mostly stick to one until it is finished?