Sometimes all I need is a little treat to tide me over until the next meal. This “little carrot cupcake with cream cheese icing” photo was hiding in my photo archive. If I had one of these right now, it would only take me a moment to gobble it up. Then I could get back to writing my post without feeling guilty.
But I have a confession to make. If I had some of these little cakes in the pantry, and nobody to share with, I would probably eat them all. Of course, I would make myself walk to and from the kitchen for each one. That would remind me that I was being distracted from the tasks that I have on my today list. And if that didn’t work, then I would set myself a longer walk, and maybe even allocate a household task to complete on the way.
January 2019 site specific weaving, Blue Lagoon Conference Centre, Dodges Ferry, Tasmania, Australia. Recycled knitting yarn and balcony structure.
If I am left to myself, I can sit at the computer for hours without moving – except to eat. I’ve been trying this walk-to-eat strategy for a few years. I even used it for my final university art project in 2017. Visit my artist page here.
Finding the right balance between writing and researching how I’m supposed to do all the other things on this writing journey is a challenge. Sometimes, I get so involved in writing that I fall behind with my publishing schedule. At other times, it feels as if I’ve gone too far the other way… This is a different kind of weaving, the meandering to and fro while still keeping my eyes on the final direction.
And then there are the knots! Those little intersections of time and opportunity where everything seems to converge and I come to a standstill.
It is times like these that I return to Scripture. I believe that there will always be an answer to whatever is worrying me. Here is one of my favourites: Psalm 23:1 The Lord is my Shepherd. How does this apply to my situation? He leads and I follow. Like all “good sheep”, sometimes I get distracted, but He’s ready to call me back. If I get into trouble, He has a big shepherd’s crook to bring me out of the tangled mess I’m in. There are even a few times when He has to carry me. But my favourite times are when He runs along beside me, helping me discover the fun in this adventure.
DO you have a favourite Scripture to help bring balance into your situation? Please share.
I am writing a day late this week. There were so many possible topics running around in my head yesterday, I couldn’t catch any of them long enough to write them down!
This morning, it has been a lot easier to take up a thread and run with it all the way to the lesson to be learned )i(
Three decades ago I participated in a detailed survey designed to identify my Spiritual Giftings. Wisdom was not one of mine, and there have been countless times since when I have wished that it had been.
There have been many times when I have made foolish mistakes. Everything always turns out alright in the end, but the journey of discovery that follows such a mistake can be challenging.
Most of my waking moments this week have been spent either writing the first draft of my current manuscript (Book 3 untitled) and watching the Australian Open Tennis on television. My favourite athlete has been eliminated, making it easier to tear myself away as the competition heads to the finals.
I am happy to report that I have only six more chapters to write for Book 3, but the hard work starts after that as I edit and review. Watch this space for a further update.
This bear never says a word… perhaps that is the secret to his wisdom. Often I come away from a moment of quiet reflection to discover that I already have what I need to deal with the current problem
Ezra’s Words of Wisdom #1: Remember to take time to read, reflect and pray. Wait for God to point you in the right direction. Only then is it okay to run off on an adventure…
“God’s laws covered concerns from sacrifices to sexuality, crops to cleanliness, building a house to taking a bath, religious rituals to raising children, sowing a field to sewing a garment. Wisdom is no ethereal, other-worldly quality, but is down to earth and pragmatic, with something to say about mundane details of everyday living, even walking along the road (10:3). Wisdom is viewing life from its Creator’s perspective and living life according to its Designer’s principles. The outcome isn’t simply righteous living, but a smoother, safer, more successful navigation of life’s uncertainties.” ( Tanya Ferdinandusz, from Whispering Wisdom, WordLive 10/1/2019, accessed from https://www.wordlive.org/Session/Classic/2019-01-10/Whispering-wisdom
Ezra’s Words of Wisdom #2: Sometimes, you have to take a little break before you can let the creative writing flow freely
Here is a video that gives some clues about how another writer comes up with creative ideas.
“Basically… he took the mundane and he turned it into the miraculous.” 2:56 TEDx Talks. 2014. “A writer’s secrets to catching creative ideas/ Brad Herzog / TEDxMonterey.” YouTube video, 10 May 2014, 15:36, https://youtu.be/Ln1ggxYoh2g
I only realised when I was putting this post in some kind of order that the word ‘mundane’ is included in both the Tanya Ferdinandusz quote and the snippet I saved from the video. The first one was fresh, but the second had been sitting here in my helpful resources file since 2018.
My creative philosophy is built on the expectation that every little detail has the potential to be extraordinary. The routine, seemingly unimportant, trivial, everyday ordinary things – the ‘mundane’. In the hands of my Creative God, the mundane is transformed into my greatest treasure. He is creating a masterpiece out of things that the world considers worthless. This brings me the greatest joy )i(
A white rose…
Thanks to those who gave me feedback on my draft book blurb for White Rose of Promise. I shared it in a number of forums and have made a few subtle changes. Here it is now:
A prophetic dream she can’t remember. A shameful past she can’t forget. An impossible future she dare not cherish.
Ria Fontana comes home from twenty years in exile. She is looking for reconciliation but her family refuse to acknowledge the secret that keeps them apart. They cannot accept that the lost years have changed her forever. Her hope for a new beginning fades.
Sebastian Romano has no time for women and abhors weakness. The wealthy businessman is uncertain why he offers Ria a way out of her dilemma, but it is too late to change his mind. If only he had understood the risk.
Ria’s innocence turns his orderly world upside down. Her faith challenges his values as she steps into her destiny. He thought he was done with his violent past, but his enemies have found her. Romano watches helplessly as the prophecy unfolds…
Red Ochre Beach, Dodges Ferry, Tasmania, Australia Photo Credit Samuel Whittle
January here in the Southern Hemisphere heralds warmer weather.
It brings the opportunity to rest and reflect on the previous year and to plan for the new one.
It is also the time that I volunteer on the team for Scripture Union Tasmania Family Camp South, and my first beach visit for 2019.
Here I am on a child-friendly beach. The water was still too cold for me to take a swim )i(
There is something very special about living in a small community, away from the ordinary, everyday normal life. It opens up new opportunities to make discoveries.
This year, the theme for camp was Art/Artists, and in my spare time, I took over one section of the balcony and created an installation. Here is the link to my Facebook album
Christine O’Malley, Shimmering Skies (installation view), 2019. Site-specific mixed media artwork, Blue Lagoon Christian Convention Centre, Dodges Ferry, Tasmania, Australia. Photo: Christine O’Malley
This was the first one where I was the only participant, and also the only time I have had an outdoor artwork remain open to the elements for more than a few hours. I am happy to report, after five days, and a few stormy nights, the delicate strands remained exactly where I left them. My only regret was not having enough wind to make the severed ends fly when it was time to start disassembling the weaving.
Christine O’Malley, Shimmering Skies (installation view), 2019. Site-specific mixed media artwork, Blue Lagoon Christian Convention Centre, Dodges Ferry, Tasmania, Australia. Photo: Christine O’Malley
Meanwhile, my writing projects had a holiday of their own. Book 1: White Rose of Promise – the cover design has been chosen and I am waiting for the designer to send me the latest version. The blurb (that brief introduction that hides on the back of the book) has been drafted. The manuscript is with the Proofreader and been received favourably, with only a few errors – mainly Capitalisation of keywords to match the rest of the document. Book 2: When Promises Are Broken – the cover design elements have been selected. The manuscript is with the beta-readers and has been favourably received. Those who have sent me their reports are already asking for the next book… Book 3: (Still no title). I reached a critical point in Chapter 15 and then left my poor hero in limbo to deal with his troubles on his own (while I was at camp).
Help wanted:
As the first of my potential readers, I am inviting you to tell me what you think of my blurb for Book 1.
Ria Fontana is home from twenty years in exile.
She has changed – her name, her appearance, her personality. Her family barely recognise her. What happened to their carefree Maria? What secrets is she hiding? Ria’s dream for a new beginning fades.
Why has God asked her to risk everything for a promise?
Wealthy businessman Sebastian Romano has a heated argument with Ria at his favourite restaurant. The unhappy waitress knows nothing of his past, and no-one dares to warn her. Without family ties and few friends, this woman-hater is the last person she should turn to for help.
Her innocent presence draws out his enemies. Now Ria is in a battle for more than her dream – a fight for her life.
December 31 2016 Two years ago my vision for the future had diminished to a network of textile fibre threads weaving within my domestic space. My feet moved, my hands wrapped the threads that stretched out behind me around the anchor points I had chosen, and I listened to how my heart was responding.
What had begun as an experiment for a Visual Culture unit on identity was about to transform the final Fine Arts project that would bring me to the end of my double major degree. The experiment involved finding a way to express my presence within my domestic space, a self-portrait without any human representation. Meanwhile, my major project was about finding a way to overcome the emotional blues. As I lost myself to the experiment, my heart recognised the significance of what I was experiencing.
I had worked with textiles for as long as I could remember. I had even used yarn to explain to groups of children the connections that each of us makes when we engage in social activities. But the jump from a craft material to a form of visual expression for contemporary art changed the way I see the world.
My research had taught me that successful recovery from depression required the sufferer to find a way to reconnect to the ordinary everyday world. To learn how to take something mundane and discover the beauty and wonder that would transform their worldview.
December 31st 2017 I was emotionally and creatively exhausted. The months since I had submitted my final university assignment had been filled with indecision and idleness. My Blue Skies: Chasing Away The Blues Exhibition was fading to a memory and I was waiting for God to show me what would follow.
Now my days were spent wondering when my Graduation Certificate and Year Book would arrive in the mail, and daydreaming about possibilities. I made a beginning on archiving all my study assignments, and I put my cameras and the vast collection of assembled materials into hidden corners.
December 31st 2018 This morning I was reading one of my online devotions and a familiar Scripture leapt off the page at me. This same Scripture had a dramatic effect on me before, a few years before God moved me from the rural community where I had established deep roots and thought I would live forever.
At that time, I had been satisfied that I was ministering and working at maximum capacity, and the revelation that God had something bigger in store shook the foundations of my busy world.
Isaiah 54:2 (WEB) Enlarge the place of your tent, and let them stretch out the curtains of your habitations; don’t spare: lengthen your cords, and strengthen your stakes.
As I look ahead to a new year, I have the threads of my recent endeavours trailing out behind me. Into the idleness of waiting, God had unlocked a hidden door, the dream to be a published author, long abandoned and almost forgotten. Unexpected. Unfamiliar. More than a little bit terrifying.
I have sat and listened as God has given me new story threads to add to my already complex weaving, and I have learned a lot more about who I am and the trace of my presence that I leave behind me in the world.
In 2018, I have engaged in three large textile weavings with children as enthusiastic participants, started this blog, written many words and gained new friends.
In 2019, I hope to self-publish White Rose of Promise and to have the sequel When Promises Are Broken follow the same journey. I have the outlines for another five stories hidden away and am working on the third manuscript now. There are a few obstacles to overcome: my fear and my limited resources (time and money).
In preparation, God is asking me to stretch my understanding of who I am so that I am ready to receive whatever 2019 brings to me )i(
It is my prayer that you, my readers, will have the door of opportunity open for you in the coming days, weeks and months. That you will take hold of the threads that you carry forward from 2018 and continue to weave your own marvellous tapestry.
Matthew 7:1 (WEB) [Jesus said,] “Don’t judge, so that you won’t be judged”.
Before you start thinking I am making an announcement OR write to tell me that this cover is terrible, I am going to say that the image is ‘just a test’.
For me, the word ‘test’ refers here to the process of putting one of my hundreds of ideas for the cover into a visual format and then sharing them with others to see how I respond to the feedback. The end result is that I should have a better idea of what works and doesn’t work from this cover design. How I respond to this test becomes my testimony.
1 Thessalonians 5:21 (WEB) Test all things, and hold firmly that which is good.
Luke 21:13 (WEB) It will turn out as a testimony for you.
Another test, same roses. no text Comments please?
If I had known the mountain ahead of me was so great, I might never have typed the first paragraphs for my manuscript White Rose of Promise. Then if I had realised that finishing the story was only the beginning of a much longer journey, I might have kept my creative writing to myself.
But God seems to have a bigger vision for me than I ever imagined for myself. Here I am writing a weekly blog for an unknown readership, people who will somehow find White Rose of Promise and come searching for more. It takes a small dose of courage to write a blog for friends, and I have been doing that with my Butterfly Prayer House Facebook page for a few years. My circulation is tiny in the scale of internet fame, and my followers are mostly silent. Very few of them even click ‘Like’ and even fewer send me a response.
Another test, aiming to make the rose look like a tattoo design. Have I managed that?
It takes more courage to share my creative writing with acquaintances, people who have some direct association with me, my family and my wider social network.
But I have been doing that for a few years, first when I joined some art groups while I was studying for my degree (Fine Arts and Visual Culture, I’m still very excited about that – does it show?), and now as I join creative writing groups.
At first, I chose carefully groups where I could predict a sympathetic audience. People who had more than creative writing in common with me. But lately, I have joined some broader groups.
The first time I posted in one group (for advice on medical trauma in fiction) the experience left me with my own trauma to deal with. The comments were neither kind nor helpful. I did the polite ‘thanks for your opinion, here is some clarifying information that may better explain why I am asking’ thing. I know I have perfected this ‘thing’ – an ability to shut down my emotional response and address the content dispassionately.
I had to learn how to achieve that for study. The steps are simple, be polite, be on topic, seek clarification… and then run off to one of the safe groups and seek comfort.
I said I had tested hundreds… this is closest to my original hand drawn sketch )i(
Naive would be a good way to describe me. This week, I shared the opening test design (white rose heart, red title) to a different group (one for people like me, trying to work out how to do a cover). I expected a better experience than the previous one I have mentioned.
Wrong.
Within a few minutes, a storm of comment notifications had me turning to the page eagerly. The first comment began with a blunt insult but by the time the responses had stopped, I realised that at least the person ended with a smiley face and a few words or encouragement.
Here is a summary of their comments: It was obvious that I didn’t know what I was doing. (True) I didn’t know what genre I was aiming for. (It was a mistake to include Romantic Suspense in my description, but I was wise in not adding the word Christian.) Where was the blood, the gun, the knife, the darkness, the dangerous man? And why did I have a rose?
One of many colour tests for one of my favourite ideas )i(
But the experience has taught me SO MUCH. The primary lesson was discovering my own resilience. God took my hurt feelings (I didn’t sleep well after reading some comments) and showed me the treasure that was hidden behind my responders’ passion. I found myself filled with joy that I had managed to elicit such powerful responses, and I sat down with laughter to write my ‘thank you’ comments. I was both surprised and delighted that I got replies.
If I was really brave, there are a few people who I would invite onto my team, because once I got past the criticism, we were able to have a helpful discussion.
Excuse the pixelation This was a VERY quick test
If you would like to be part of my closed facebook group for my creative writing project, start a conversation with me.
For my newest writing project, manuscript 3, I have been investigating lots of D words. Disappointment is one of those I am most familiar with. It comes with a big emotional back catalogue to give me plenty of personal references.
Usually, I am disappointed in myself, in my imperfection, and in the way that I struggle to remain true to the impossible goals that I have set.
The opposite of dis-appointment is appointment. I need to remind myself that I was created for a purpose (1 Peter 2:9), and that the Creator of the Universe has a much bigger plan (Jeremiah 29:11). While I am struggling with this teeny little corner of the wider artwork that is my life, He is making something amazing (1 Corinthians 13:12).
I selected the featured image for this post because it presents a good visual example. The foundation was a small section of an ink on paper drawing that I really liked, so I scanned it and played with it. It was only when I tried to use it that I realised it had been such a tiny segment that the pixelations (those little ‘invisible’ squares that make up a digital image) were obvious.
Now I must confess that I am growing to like the awkward feelings that arise within me when something morphs into one of these less-than-perfect images. It helps remind me of all the hidden things that lurk beneath the surface, and are only available when something brings the whole image into full focus.
For the past few years, I have been spending a lot of time sitting in front of the computer screen. After four years of study, I believed God was telling me to write a fiction novel. At this moment, White Rose of Promise is in the final Copy-editing stages, When Promises are Broken is almost ready to release to the beta reader volunteers, and Book 3 is underway (I am still waiting for a title to emerge).
I have two computers available to me: a custom-built PC that is long overdue for a check-up and my portable laptop. I have two options for internet connection, one that is unlimited broadband, but the modem is too far away for me to have maximum benefit; and a portable one that is really handy, but has to be recharged at regular intervals.
Today, I am typing this text on my laptop (the PC had a hissy-fit – a highly technical term where the frustrated user is tempted to throw it out the window). After three failed restarts, I realise it will be off to the computer-doctor later today. I am also using my portable modem because the ‘fast’ broadband is too slow to open anything other than my emails today )i(.
Which brings me to here. I often find my inspiration among the many online subscriptions that send themselves helpfully to my email account. The word ‘disappointment’ jumped off the screen and the creative inspiration had me rushing to start capturing my thoughts. Here is the quote that started it all today:
“If we’re honest with ourselves, disappointments can leave wounds that take time to heal.” Wendy Parker, thebigvoiceonline.com, Blog November 28, “Your Third Day – Dealing with disappointment” Click here for the full text
As I was setting up both my backup technology options, my husband remarked that it wasn’t a convenient day to have both these problems. Even he now knows that Thursday morning is my dedicated writing time. First I read all my online subscriptions and log into my daily devotions. Then I sit down and write something – usually, it is for my Butterfly Prayer House Facebook blog, but sometimes, I find myself disappointed by technology or my own ability to pay attention.
Disappointment comes crashing in like a wave, trying to knock me off my feet. If I allow disappointment to influence me, then I will either drown in the negative emotions. Or I will leave the water, too frightened to learn how to overcome it.
Today, I discovered that I have greater resilience than I imagined. Despite lots of disappointment-inspiring difficulties, I have accomplished my main goal for the morning.
I even managed to find an alternative image when the one I REALLY wanted was on the PC. I am thankful that I have options, and that if one door of opportunity closes, instead of retreating from the arena, I need to open my eyes and look for another one. Often people question why I have such a positive approach to life – they don’t see what I am revealing to my readers. They don’t realise that God picks me up and turns my attention to the next adventure and that by His appointment, I expect everything to end in victory.
Today’s inspiration comes from another long-term project. A few years ago, I set myself a task to create images to go with my Butterfly Prayer Housedaily blog, with the ambitious goal of one day having designed an image for a verse from every chapter in the Bible. As there are many great inspirational texts, it will take me the rest of my life to fulfil this goal.
Today, I went through my collection and selected some images taken at Dodges Ferry, Tasmania, Australia. I love going to the beach, but not on my own.
I have added a caption below each image to explain the relevance that these Scriptures brought me today as I prepared for my day of writing )i(
Writing a book takes a long time. I like to swap out the word ‘temple’ in the final line of this text and replace it with my current project.
This is a good Scripture to describe what happens when writing the manuscript is done, and the revision and editing stage begins. I have discovered that it is easier to write the story than to reach the end of the process of editing. But the end result is worth the extra effort.
There comes a time in the writing process where taking time to rest and recover is the best way to keep moving forward.
There also comes a time when I sit and call out to God for help. There are moments when I know where my characters need to get to but I have trouble writing their journey.
Always God answers my prayer for guidance. Not always when I expect Him to, and not often within my time frame, but when I wait patiently, He brings me through the desert to the place where the words flow from me like water from a spring.
My stories are about justice, with lots of internal conflict and more than a little bit of trouble for my characters. I am working on my third manuscript in the River Wild Series, and so far the stream of inspiration hasn’t failed me.
I remember sending off my first manuscript White Rose of Promise (WRoP) for Copy Editing, and my editor told me to get to work on my second manuscript. The first one (WRoP) is still fully engaged in that process, and my second manuscript When Promises Are Broken (WPaB) is away with my alpha readers. Meanwhile, I am up to chapter 5 of book three…
I have chosen water themes to join together the books in my River Wild Series. When I trusted God to give me a clear direction for my writing, I was expecting to come to a satisfactory conclusion to my first story, and then wait on Him for inspiration. I never expected Him to take my characters and build a new story around them, so that I started writing the next episode with all the hard work already done.
When I take the time, I can find inspiration from wherever God has placed, me, but sometimes it takes me some intentional sitting and waiting before I find the key to what God wants to say.
Do you have a favourite beach or water photo? Or do you get your inspiration from another natural feature?
The past week has been a mixture of good experiences and bad. I have made some good progress on my second manuscript but also endured disappointment after losing a computer file that contained hours of research. I have needed to go back and start again, and some online references have proven elusive. The worldwide web continues to expand and even an hour can change the search engine results, especially if the right combination of keywords cannot be remembered…
This untitled digital drawing captures the emotional complexity of my feelings. How many different shapes can you find? I can see a raven, a bear, an owl and a butterfly when I focus on the orange markings.
Matthew 7:7-8 (NIV) “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”
These two verses from Matthew 7 are powerful influences in my life. I used them as the foundation for my research approach when I was working on my year-long Fine Arts project that concluded in 2017. In the beginning, I thought I was going to make a series of still life paintings based on a collection of found objects, and set up a strict finding protocol. I could only spend $10 in a single visit to a shop, and each individual object could cost no more than $2.
My weekly visits to the local charity shops were profoundly rewarding, and the volunteers came to know me well and would ask how my blue collection was growing.
While I was collecting objects and taking hundreds of photographs looking for some new way of expressing a still life arrangement with my collected objects, I searched the internet for contemporary artists who were doing similar things. While I found very few who were painting still life arrangements, I stumbled upon a greater number of artists who were transforming everyday ordinary objects into works of art in diverse ways. That became the foundation for the multi-media performance installation that became my final outcome.
The same kinds of skills are necessary for me to write a convincing story. I am confident with character development, but my heroes and heroines need to inhabit an interesting world and have a diversity of experiences to keep me engaged. My second manuscript takes my heroine overseas, and once again I am ‘surfing the internet’ looking for inspiration…
Another of my experiments for an art project. This one is entitled “Wounded Paper” It is amazing where inspiration can come from )i(
Research takes up almost as much time as writing at the moment. The topics are diverse, and I am starting to build up a strong collection of helpful reference texts about the process of writing too. I will share a small sample here today. The first one is about punctuation in dialogue.
Here is an excellent prayer that I found while I was working my way through my subscription emails. As I try to find the right steps along the writing journey I am turning more and more to the words of others who have gone this way before )i(
The third and final one is about an art theory. The abstract images I have selected for today come from my interest in finding shapes in seemingly random markings. Have you looked up at the clouds and recognised shapes. That is Gestalt.
When I told my friends God had asked me to sit down and start writing fiction, some of them were surprised. They couldn’t see the natural connections between the research and development skills that I had been perfecting during four years of university study. Neither could I. Yet week by week, I am taken back to the art journey in my private prayer and reflections, and I am seeing more and more relevance with each passing day.
This is the unedited image of one of my favourite found objects for my Blue Skies:Chasing Away The Blues research project
To conclude my post for the week I will include some of the inspirational images I have created using variations of the two art experiments and the found object. It is my prayer that my readers will have success in all their seeking and finding and make good progress on their own onward journey of discovery )i(
My first manuscript, White Rose of Promise (WRoP) is away at the Copy Editor, but there seems to be a growing a mountain of tasks to continue with.
One of the first challenges seems to be the contemporary trend to constantly update and improve everything. Last week, I managed to combine text and images on this Blog without too many problems. Today, I come to my page to discover that I am ‘trialling’ new software. It has taken me a few attempts just to work out how to get started (again).
Time to add a peaceful little image here to restore my peace, which is accompanied by some quiet prayer.
I wanted a small image, with text beside it, like I did last week, but this is the best I can manage )i(
Now that I have had my little panic for the day, I will get to the reason I am writing. I am currently halfway through writing the second book in the series. This one picks up the story of a Secondary Character from the first book and there is some overlap in the timeline. It has been a reasonably easy task to make sure that the concurrent events match up.
But as I already know some of the following unwritten stories will overlap both White Rose of Promise and When Promises Are Broken I begin to see the complicated web I am weaving for myself.
Blue Skies: Chasing Away The Blues Exhibition 2017. Mixed media, site-specific installation. Photo credit Bookworms To Butterflies.
This immediately reminds me of the artistic process involved in creating my mixed media artwork. For my final Fine Arts university project, I invited participants to make a room weaving installation as the central performance piece. At first, it was easy to see how each of the participants wove their way around the community hall where the performance took place. But after a few hours, the tangle of connections was almost impossible to follow.
Three days later, and the tangled web had become a canopy and the child participants took up habitation for creative play.
In a similar way, my characters are weaving themselves a creative world where their adventures are played out. I started with a simple story, a tale of a lonely woman in search of family and love. As she navigated the challenges before her, she drew other people into her story. Her life became entangled with theirs in such a way that I found myself wanting to give them a story too.
My creative writing time has been devoted to placing the major events from White Rose of Promise into a timeline so that each character, as they come to tell their story, has a connection with all the other characters. This has raised some important questions about how much detail my readers will need in each story about what has happened before.
Another important task in becoming a published writer is to seek out advice from people who have already walked this journey. This includes subscribing to newsletters and following other writers’ Blog posts. I have been praying for specific direction, and this treasure appeared in my inbox this morning.
Thanks for taking the time to read my post. I pray you will move forward with your own social connections, weaving strength and success as you make your way forward )i( Happy reading (and writing)
