Wholehearted Focus

As the months of my final homeschooling year are winding down, I feel God is calling me to have a wholehearted focus on His call on my life to write. At the moment it means turning down some things I enjoy doing, in order to focus on what is best. For now, it's enough to balance spending time with my son in his final year of schooling, and also focusing on my emerging career as a writer.

I continue the path to publication through entering various contests along the way. I pray each will bring me one step closer to being the writer God wants me to be. I'll be working on edits with my lighthouse book, while also researching and eventually beginning writing on a new book. Over the next three months I'll complete my writing course with Jerry B. Jenkins Christian Writers Guild.

With choosing to say 'no' to some good activities, I have more freedom and time to spend with my son. I don't want to miss out on his final time in the nest. I praise God for this opportunity and also where He is leading me. May His name be praised.

Moving Forward

At a women's retreat this past Saturday the speaker (Sherilyn Jameson) said in order to receive God's blessings we need to be moving forward. So with that in mind, I am moving forward with my writing. I continue to plug away on my writing lessons with Jerry B. Jenkins Christian Writers Guild Apprentice course. I am moving forward with learning how to write query letters, and synopsis, and book proposals. I will continue to enter book contests, and seek God's will in regards to my  novel.

While I continue to follow God's light in regard to what I've already written, I will also work on the new idea He has given me. This year I will learn more about the craft of writing and how to be a better writer. I am anxious to see where God will lead me in 2012.

Update

It's been quite a while since I've written an update on where I am with my various writing projects. I completed my novel last year and entered two different contests. They both were a learning experience that hopefully will one day bring me closer to actually seeing this book in print. Since then I have continued to work on my Apprentice writing lessons with Christian Writer's Guild. It's hard to believe I will complete this two-year course at the end of May. I only have eight lessons remaining. I also continue to write a column for the bi-monthly magazine Home School Enrichment. Some of my previous articles are even available on the website www.crosswalk.com.

What's new on the horizon is a different book I'm researching and plotting, about a feisty gal who marries by proxy to a minister. His mail-order bride isn't the demure and submissive woman he desired, but a gun-toting one with ties to the Texas Rangers. Many sparks will fly as these two learn to settle their differences.

The more that I write and research, I find how much I truly enjoy this business of writing. It's the call God has placed on my life, and I'm so privileged to get to do something I love. :)

The Power of a Story

I've been to the movies a few times lately. I was blessed to watch Courageous twice. I also watched Dolphin Tale and Soul Surfer. As I watch each story unfold on the screen, I continue to be struck by the power of story God builds into each of our lives. We desire to watch and hear a good story. We like to see good triumph over evil, or witness a happy ending. I feel it is something God has built into each one of us. We experience it in different ways. For me, the power of story calls me to be a writer. It's part of who I am and how God made me. It won't be long before a new story will be clamoring to be told through my keyboard. :)

Lighthouse Saga

It's been quite a while since I've taken the opportunity to blog. My time has been comsumed with finalizing my historical romance I've been working on for almost a year and a half. I spent about 4-5 months researching, and about six months of writing the novel. Then I had a couple months break while I recovered from shoulder surgery. Next was two and a half months of editing. My goal was to be completed before September 15th because I wanted to enter some writing contests. Each of the ones I entered provide feedback from the judges.

My story is set near Camden Maine during 1878 in a lighthouse which is currently called Curtis Island light. At the time period I wrote, it was then known as Negro Island light. It's about a seventeen-year-old girl who longs to follow her dying mother's bidding to be a keeper of the light. Problem is, her brother's best friend has the same ambition - to be a lighthouse keeper and he's old enough to be considered. Hopefully one day soon you'll be able to read the tale of Abi and Jacob.

Getting Close

Well, I'm about at the point where I'm sick of seeing my manuscript. I'm going through my novel with a fine tooth comb to pick up words that need changing, typos, etc. It's quite tedious. I'm also comparing notes from about four women who critiqued my manuscript for me. It's quite time consuming, so much so, that I'm delaying the start of homeschool until I complete my edits. Once I get through this series of edits I plan to do one final read through. Then on to writing the dreaded synopsis. I pray it will flow smoothly when I sit down to write it. The synopsis is condensing my 300+ page novel down to no more than three pages. Whew!

In the midst of trying to do all this, our monitor went out, which means I'm working off an old one that isn't real clear, and is hard on the eyes. Praise God, our new monitor should be arriving today.

Edits and Synopsis

The month of July has zoomed by, as well as half of August. I had hoped to get a lot of things accomplished.... Well, one thing I have been consistent with working on, is editing my historical fiction novel. The main bulk of edits is accomplished at this point. There still is some fine tuning to do. Sometimes I wonder if I'll ever be finished. I can always find a word to change or improve upon. At some point I'll have to stop and say, "It's as good as I'm going to get it." :) I've heard back from my critique group and they have enjoyed my story. Always good to hear! :) Now I need to go through all the specifics of the things they suggested to improve upon.

In the next few weeks I need to come up with a synopsis of said manuscript. In other words, condense my novel down to no more than three pages. Whew! I think my work is cut out for me! :) Oh, and then there's the thing of working on lesson plans for my son's final homeschool senior year. At some point we need to start school too. So I'm praying for strength and wisdom in the next several weeks as I finalize my novel and eventually start homeschool.