Let It Stand: Editing a Novel
Writers differ on what they like least about the process of turning an idea into a novel on bookstore shelves. A fair number of my colleagues hate writing a synopsis because they don’t know ahead of time what’s going to happen. They want to be surprised and they don’t want to do the plotting up front. In case you…
Read MoreSunday Inspiration: What’s Important?
Last Sunday I encouraged you (and me) to block out time in the coming year for what’s important. But first we have to answer this question: What’s important? This is the perfect story to help do that. A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began,…
Read MoreHoliday Hangover
What do you get when you cross the holiday season with a root canal? Actually, the answer is pretty pedestrian. You get a writer with a proposal to finish, edits to check, and too many fretful nights. So tune in next week when I suspect that writer (me) will be fresher and more alert. (And don’t worry,…
Read MoreSunday Inspiration: Block it Out!
So how are those New Year’s resolutions coming on Day 3? I shared my writing resolutions for the new year here at my blog on Wednesday. The problem with resolutions in my mind is that they are too abstract, idealistic, and impractical. My philosophy when it comes to resolutions is the same I have for…
Read MoreThe Writing Process 2015: Resolutions For the New Writing Year.
If you’re new to The Writing Process 2015, these posts are a chance to share my journey through my latest novel, starting at ground zero. 2015 will be over soon, and so will this category of Southern Exposure. I’ve so much enjoyed recounting a year of work on When We Were Sisters with you. Since…
Read MoreHoliday Inspiration: The Wise-Man Star
Every once in a while I share this reading at Christmas. The excerpt comes from my novel Fugitive, which was released as part of a romance trilogy from Silhouette Books in the 1990s. I’m hoping to re-release all three of these novels again in the near future. Tate, the heroine, has moved to a cabin on land in the…
Read MoreThe Christmas Wedding Quilt Giveaway Winners
My Christmas blog will appear on Friday, but today, as promised, I’m announcing the randomly drawn names of the ten winners of copies of The Christmas Wedding Quilt. The question? What is the most special gift you’re giving this holiday? The answers were wonderful, both in the emails to enter the giveaway and in comments on the giveaway…
Read MoreSunday Inspiration: A Special Christmas for Lexi
If you liked last week’s story about the young deaf man in Turkey whose friends came to his aid, you’ll love this Christmas story about 12 year-old Lexi Brown’s Christmas surprise. The best stories are real ones, aren’t they? But did you expect the angels to be members of a college fraternity? Lexi was in…
Read MoreThe Christmas Wedding Quilt Giveaway
This past week I mailed out more than 8,000 newsletters with links to a new Shenandoah Album Christmas story, Nine Patch Christmas. If you received one of them, I hope you enjoyed the story. I loved catching up with Helen, family and friends. If you didn’t receive it, it’s not too late to sign up…
Read MoreSunday Inspiration: Hearing Hands
‘Tis the season to respect and love our fellow human beings and to hear inspiring stories of kindness and compassion. Right? As opposed to what we’re hearing from some politicians. This story reminded me of my travels to Turkey with a Muslim group that promotes interfaith respect and cooperation. We had Orthodox Jews, a Catholic…
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