writing inspiration

Write Stuff Wednesday with Hope Toler Dougherty

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Today’s Write Stuff Wednesday guest is Hope Toler Dougherty. I ask each guest to share a favorite writing quote. I love Hope’s response and the quotes she shares. I hope you do too!

I’m sorry, Heather. I couldn’t choose just one quotation about writing, so I’ve highlighted a few of my favorites along with some reading ones, too.

“A book is like a garden carried in the pocket.” Chinese proverb

I think this is a beautiful quotation. It always makes me smile.

“Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body.” Sir Richard Steele

If this quotation is true, then my mind is much more toned than my body is!

“Where is human nature so weak as in the bookstore?” Henry Ward Beecher

Isn’t it interesting that Beecher, a prominent clergyman in the nineteenth century, felt so strongly about books? Here’s a true story: I love bookstores. I was in my favorite bookstore in Pittsburgh last summer. One of the beautiful displays was a whole table devoted to bees. I come from a long line of bee keepers and love bees. I bought two books from that display without even reading the back. If I had, I may not have bought one of them which turned out to be part science fiction/part dystopian novel—not my favorite genres! But it’s a gorgeous book, and I was in my happy place…

“The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who can’t read them.” Mark Twain

I have a t-shirt with this in-your-face quotation on it. I’ve had people want to debate the thought when I wore the shirt.

“To me, nothing is more important than giving children books.” Fran Lebowitz

I can think of a few things that are more important, but I get the spirit of this quotation. Children need to be read to. Children need books around them, on the floor, in their beds, sticky and chewed on and used. Just this week, xxx said no screen time for under two-year-olds. I couldn’t believe this made news. I couldn’t believe people needed to be told.

“A professional writer is an amateur who didn’t quit.” Richard Bach

This quotation is a great reminder to all of us writers. Keep going. Keep writing. Keep trying.

I’ll close out this post with a thought from someone who always makes me laugh out loud.

“I think I did pretty well considering I started out with nothing but a bunch of blank paper.” Steve Martin

Now I’d like to give you the opportunity to get to know Hope a little better. Keep reading for her bio and information on her books.

irishIrish Encounter: After almost three years of living under a fog of grief, Ellen Shepherd is ready for the next chapter in her life. Perhaps she’ll find adventure during a visit to Galway. Her idea of excitement consists of exploring Ireland for yarn to feature in her shop back home, but the adventure awaiting her includes an edgy stranger who disrupts her tea time, challenges her belief system, and stirs up feelings she thought she’d buried with her husband. 

 

After years of ignoring God, nursing anger, and stifling his grief, Payne Anderson isn’t ready for the feelings a chance encounter with an enchanting stranger evokes. Though avoiding women and small talk has been his pattern, something about Ellen makes him want to seek her—and God again. 

 

Can Ellen accept a new life different than the one she planned? Can Payne release his guilt and accept the peace he’s longed for? Can they surrender their past pain and embrace healing together, or will fear and doubt ruin their second chance at happiness?

 

Hope’s Bio:

10479746_918926531455910_6824469307174309015_nHope holds a Master’s degree and taught at East Carolina University and York Technical College. Her novels include Irish Encounter and Mars…With Venus Rising. A member of ACFW, RWA, SinC, she writes for SeriousWriter.com. Residing in North Carolina, she and her husband enjoy visits with their daughters and twin sons.

Here are Hope’s social media links:

http://hopetolerdougherty.com/

https://www.facebook.com/AUTHORHOPETOLERDOUGHERTY/

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13941031.Hope_Dougherty

https://www.pinterest.com/hopetdougherty/

https://twitter.com/HopeTDougherty

https://www.instagram.com/hopetolerdougherty/

Write Stuff Wednesday – Cynthia Roemer

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Newspaper photo Book 2 - Copy (2)Cynthia Roemer, today’s guest on Write Stuff Wednesday, shares a quote from one of my favorite children’s book series. Of course, I really don’t think this series is only for children! Thank you for sharing Cynthia.

It comes from C. S. Lewis’ The Magician’s Nephew.
“For what you see and hear depends a good deal on where you are standing. It also depends on what sort of person you are.”
~ Why I like this: As a writer, perspective is everything. I hope to make readers experience what my characters are experiencing, hopefully in an intriguing sort of way. As a person, it’s my prayer that I will look for the good and not the bad in situations and others.
Here’s a little more about Cynthia:

Book cover - finalBook Cover _ Under Prairie Skies (Final)

 

AUTHOR BIO: 

Cynthia Roemer is an award-winning inspirational writer with a heart for scattering seeds of hope into the lives of readers. Raised in the cornfields of rural Illinois, Cynthia enjoys spinning tales set in the backdrop of the 1800s prairie. She writes from her family farm in central Illinois where she resides with her husband and their two college-aged sons. Her Prairie Sky Series consists of Book One: Under This Same Sky and Book Two: Under Prairie Skies. She is currently writing Book Three in the series, Under Moonlit Skies due to release in September, 2019.

 Contact Info:

Website:  http://cynthiaroemer.com/

Twitter:  https://twitter.com@cynthiaroemer

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorCynthiaRoemer/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16785237.Cynthia_Roemer

Author Newsletter Sign-up: http://cynthiaroemer.com/

 

Purchase Links:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=cynthia+roemer

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/under-prairie-skies-cynthia-roemer/1128471176?ean=9781945094446

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/cynthia-roemer

 

Write Stuff Wednesday With Jessica White

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jessica

Help me welcome today’s guest, Jessica White, on Write Stuff Wednesday. I enjoyed hearing Jessica’s inspiring quote and finding out a little more about her passion for writing.

“When readers feel strongly, their hearts open. Your stories can not only reach them for a moment, but they can change them forever. I don’t care about what you write, how you write it, your choices in publishing, or what you want out of your career. What I want is to feel deeply as I read your work. I want to feel connected to you and your characters in the way I do to the most memorable classics and the most stunning new titles I’ll read this year.”  ― Donald Maass, The Emotional Craft of Fiction

I’ve had the privilege of spending over eleven hours of conference learning from literary agent Donald Maass. Each time I read his books or listen to him speak, I want to be a better writer. His latest book, The Emotional Craft of Fiction, finally put into words my desire to write books that aren’t just satisfying reads, but stories that resonate and reach into the soul, creating space for God to work.

To write books that move people equates to books folks will want on their shelves and will lend or buy for their friends. I see too many writers write for the market. They write stories with characters that I find interesting for the moment and forget the moment I pick up another book. I walk away from the story the same person, I started as.

The rare occasion I get a book hangover, I often find myself staring at the ceiling talking to God about how I need to change or how I want to be more like, or less like, some character. How I wish the fictional people were real because I could use a friend or mentor like them.

As Maass says, to deepen the emotional experience of the reader isn’t to tell them how the character feels, it’s putting the reader so deeply in their shoes that they experience the emotions themselves. And no two readers will have the same take away, because their own life experiences and situations will color in the details.

This is what separates good writers from great writers. This is why folks still read the classics. Jane Austen’s fan club still exists because her characters, not the style of her writing, still resonate with readers. We all want to fall in love. We all know how it feels to be invisible to the person we have affections for or the focus of unwanted attention by someone we can’t stand. Thus despite the antiquated writing the story still resonates.

So my advice to all writers is stop worrying about riding the trends. Give readers those life-changing experiences. If you write romantic comedy, make them want to be a better lover. If you write science-fiction, make them want to make this world a better place. If you write fantasy, make them grow in courage to face their dragons or to see the difficult road often holds the most adventure.  And we’ll make the world a better place one book at a time.

 

Jessica White is a prayer warrior who loves to encourage and teach others how to create safe spaces for the hurting and lost. In 2014, she graduated from Western Governor’s University with a B.A. in Educational Studies and published her first book, Surviving the Stillness. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers. She also is an admin and contributor for 10 Minute Novelists. She created and manages their annual 365 Writing Challenge, which encourages writers to develop the habit of writing daily. You can find out more about her and her books at authorjessicawhite.wordpress.com

Write Stuff Wednesday with Micki Clark

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Welcome Micki Clark to Write Stuff Wednesday. I had the opportunity to read Micki’s book, Don’t Ask Me to Leave. I’ve reviewed it, and you can find that review in my archives. I thoroughly enjoyed the story, and I even bought it for my mother-in-law for her birthday. (Who later told me she really enjoyed it too.) Here’s what Micki Clark has to say about a quote that’s inspired her in her writing journey:

MRP-Micki-Clark-Dont-Ask-Me-to-Leave-360x570 Ernest Hemingway once said, “There’s nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.”

            I think for many writers that’s absolutely true. I can still remember when I first wanted to be a writer. It was more of wanting to be a journalist, you see, than a creative writer. I would make up these fantastical newspapers and sell them to people at my church. One of my best “clients” was a blind man and his wife who paid me a quarter for all the best news.

            In elementary school, I wanted to be a teacher. I would get old teacher’s edition textbooks from the school where my mother worked and give my poor little brother lessons in our playroom (however, you can all thank me now that he’s such a brilliant computer scientist, ha ha).

            I’m not sure when it was exactly that I first decided I wanted to be an author. I think it was more of a vague dream than a concrete belief, mostly because I realized that it was a lot more difficult than most people said it was. First there was the fact that you had to have an idea (ugh) and then be able to say three hundred pages’ worth of things about it. And then, horror of horrors, you had to find someone ELSE willing to read those three hundred pages and say they liked it!

            As I write this, it’s been two years to the day since the cover of my debut novel, Don’t Ask Me to Leave was written. I’m still at times in shock that it happened, but I’d love to share with you the story of how (and why) that book came to be.

            Several years ago, in 2012, a friend of mine and I challenged each other to participate in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) in November. I had this nugget of an idea to write a story based on Ruth and Naomi, since my husband and I had used their words as our wedding vows in 2002. I faithfully sat down at the keyboard and banged out a manuscript.

            When I finished, I felt a sense of release–I mean, it was done, after all–but not a sense of accomplishment.

            And that’s where I realized that I had misunderstood Hemingway.

            In 2012, I had “bled” out my manuscript in the sense that I spent hours working on it. But I hadn’t really poured out my soul. When I went back five years later and revised the manuscript, I realized that was the thing that was missing–soul.

            I’ll also admit that soul is why I haven’t thrown myself into a second writing project. I’m too busy in my professional and personal life to give something that passion again at the moment. However, I can’t wait until that day, one day soon hopefully, when I’m able to sit down at the keyboard and bleed.

—

Micki Clark is the author of Don’t Ask Me to Leave (2017), published by Mantle Rock Publishing. She lives in western Kentucky with her husband and three children, and she teaches high school English.

Don’t Ask Me to Leave is available from Amazon and other major booksellers. (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06X6J7QLZ)