Do it for Terrie

I never would have started writing professionally if it weren't for Terrie Lynn Bittner. She is my mentor, my hero, and my friend.

I met Terrie when she moved to NJ some ten years ago. She and I served in church together in Primary, the children's organization. We quickly bonded as we got to know each other. She had a terrific way with little children. She made the gospel fun and easy to understand.

One week she handed me a stack of bookmarks. She had the five-year-olds draw on them with crayons. Each one was titled with the child's name followed by the words "loves me". Christian loves me. Tori loves me. Jackson loves me. Nathaniel loves me. I hadn't told her how my heart had ached for a child to love me--I had been going through fertility treatments that proved unsuccessful. But now, my scriptures are filled with the aroma of crayon and the heart-felt message from a class of youngsters that love me.

Another time after church, Terrie handed me a page of sheet music, mounted on construction paper. The notes were circles and stems drawn on the staff in magic-marker, various shapes, sizes, and colors. I was the Primary chorister at the time. She told me her five-year-olds loved music-time so much, they wanted to write me a song. She provided the paper and the markers, and they did the writing. She said, "I'm not sure how it sounds, but they were excited to write it!" It sounded adorable, as you can imagine--not because of any musical expertise, but because of the love behind the effort.

That's who Terrie is. She teaches with love, and she teaches how to love. I'm sure her class performed acts of kindness to many others, not just me. This is what Terrie does, naturally. She oozed gospel goodness. Anyone within a stone's throw was touched by it.

Terrie is a professional writer, the author of two homeschooling books, and works as an online manager for professional websites. I opened up to her about my desire to become a writer, and she encouraged me to do so. I told her about my fantasy novel when it was in its infancy stage. It was Terrie who encouraged me to pursue it. Whenever I felt discouraged I would get a call or an email from her, asking how I was doing. Whatever I struggled with, she had the answer. She found me several LDS-based writer's groups. She offered me the position at LDS Blogs to be a weekly contributor. She recommended workshops, writing manuals and online tips, she found me an editor, publishers, and opened up my world of writing in ways no one else ever could.

I owe so much to Terrie. I would not be writing this blog, or any blog, if it weren't for Terrie.

Right now Terrie is fighting for her life. She's battling a brain tumor. The situation is serious. The next few days are critical for her. I pray that if you read this, if you know Terrie, please say an extra prayer for her. If anyone deserves a miracle, she does.

My Daily Writer's Retreat

 


 Michael and I moved to Bethel Pennsylvania a week before Thanksgiving last year. This is our log cabin home. It comes complete with two wood burning stoves, all wood interior, and lots of open space! I have never been happier in a home before. It is our dream come true. Truly a writer's haven. We chose this home because it is located down the road from the Golden Age Air Museum where Michael spends many happy hours flying and working on old airplanes. A win win for both of us!


Once we pick up some of Michael's aviation artwork that has been on display in New Jersey, and once we find a place to hang it, I'll get some pictures of the interior up for display here. The house is all wood and has a rustic feel. Kind of like Montana, but with smaller mountains...

When something is right in your life, you feel it. Everything falls into place. Everything about this move has been perfect--the church community, the friends and neighbors at the  museum, and especially the beautiful spirit we both feel here in this restful town. I'm happy to post that in the two months we've been here, my writing has really taken off! Must be something in the air.

January's IWSG post

So here is my monthly post, thanks to the Insecure Writer's Support Group
I can't believe it's 2015. My stomach is doing flip-flops over it! Part of me is really excited, but the rest of me is paralyzed with fear. Why, you may ask? Because I declared this to be the year that something happens with my story. Here's why:

Last November I completed a major overhaul of my manuscript. Then during the month of December I went back with fine-tuning it. I combined two scenes, gave some secondary characters more humor, tightened up some suspense, and tied up plot holes that needed it. My target was to finish by the new year and I sort of did: January 3rd. Now I have a draft that is ready for critiquing again. That's exciting and scary!

I'm looking for the push I need to get this thing rolling, and I think I found it. The American Night Writer's Association is a group of LDS women who write. I recently joined up with them and suddenly found myself as secretary for my local chapter. What a great way to get involved! Tomorrow is our first online meeting for the year, and I'm excited to be a part of it. New writing friends and new energy to start a new year.  Things are looking up.

My 2015 goals: If I declare them, then I must make them so!

1. Get Doorway Back to Forever: Believe critiqued, edited, and published. Wow. I said it.
2. Outline DBF: Trust, bang out the first draft in February (my self-proclaimed NaNoWriMo), revise and revise till I can get it critiqued.
3. Outline the rest of the series.
4. Go to a writer's conference...somewhere...!
5. Get online active with exposure
6. Keep myself from going insane!

It will be wonderful to see how many of these I can accomplish. Time will tell. Thanks for reading.

 

December's IWSG post

It's taken me ten months, but I am finished with the major overhaul of A Doorway Back to Forever: Believe. I had the sister missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints over for lunch, and I told them all about it. That's a HUGE DEAL for me. After moving last month to a new state, a new ward (church congregation) and a new life, I need to step out and make myself known. Today was great. I feel like everything is falling into place.

The Insecure Write's Support Group has given me confidence beyond my own. Funny, I joined the group to feel safe in listing my insecurities about writing, but instead, it's given me the strength to overcome them when I thought I had none.

That reminds me of a moment when I was a child. My football-player-sized brother was lifting weights in the basement and none of his buddies could come over to spot for him (help with lifting the bar if it got too heavy for him). So he dragged my scrawny self downstairs and told me to stand over the press while he lifted five hundred pounds. He heaved, sweated, grunted, pushed, and when he got shaky it was my job to reach down and pull on the bar. A couple of times I did, and I was amazed at what happened. I didn't even make it budge. But the image of someone above him, helping him when he was about to give up, was all my brother needed to gain the strength to continue. I felt great for helping (even if it was only psychological) and I learned a lot about the buddy system. IWSG, thank you for spotting me!

We believe the Bible to be the word of God

We Believe the Bible to be the word of God

I just read an inspired and informative article about why Latter-day Saints believe the Bible. I’m linking to it here, but here are the highlights that touched my heart:

1.      Latter-day Saints don’t just believe in the Bible, we believe the Bible. We believe the people and prophets are real, the history it describes is authentic, and the testimonies it provides of Jesus Christ are true.

2.      We believe the Bible remains a religious document.

3.      We also believe that the Bible teaches the covenants and ordinances essential for eternal life, illuminates the strait and narrow path leading to exaltation in God’s presence, and gives hope for a better world and a place at the right hand of God, to all who bear burdens and feel they are forever coming short of the glory of God.

4.      As the Savior declared several times during his mortal ministry, those who believe the Bible and teach its truths to others will receive eternal blessings: “Whosoever shall do and teach these commandments of the law until it be fulfilled, the same shall be called great, and shall be saved in the kingdom of heaven” (see KJV Matthew 5:19 and the JST of that verse as cited here from JST Matthew 5:21).

5.      The Bible contains the words of God and the words of many others. More important than the words, are the doctrines that are contained in the Bible.

6.      The Bible contains a cosmology of all mankind and of mankind’s eternal journey—capturing the depth and breadth of the human experience. It illustrates God’s dealings with His children throughout history, and the cosmic battle between good and evil, waged in the pre-mortal world, which now continues here in mortality.

7.      But even more, the Bible testifies that God has always been in control and that in the end, evil will be totally overcome (see Revelation 20-21), the Savior will return, and the earth will enjoy His presence for a thousand year Garden-of-Eden-like experience.

8.      The numerous journeys in the Bible serve as a reminder that we’re all on a cosmic journey to get back into God’s presence. For those with eyes to see and minds to understand, the Bible is rich with symbolism that can assist us in this journey.

Jeffery Marsh also gives the history of the coming forth of the Bible including its translation into English and why we use the King James Version as our standard today. My heart always breaks a little when I’m reminded of the story of William Tyndale, who was burned at the stake for creating the first English translation from the original Greek and Hebrew so that all the people, no matter their means or circumstances, could learn the true word of God and develop a personal relationship with Him.

My favorite scriptures in the Bible are the ones that testify of Christ, his divinity, and the pure doctrine of salvation. I love the parables and stories of the New Testament. I love the many instances that testify of Jesus Christ praying to our Father in Heaven. I love when Christ teaches his disciples that there are other sheep that are not of this fold whom he must teach (Joh 10:16, referring to the people in the American continent) And I especially love the scripture in First Corinthians 15:29 where Paul speaks about the principle of baptism for the dead—why else would we be baptized for the dead if the dead do not rise? A lost truth—the practice of saving those who died without the ordinance of baptism—was a common practice in Paul’s day.

Nuggets of truth that have been missing for centuries are now restored through Joseph Smith the Prophet in this last dispensation of time. They can be found in the Bible, if we read it ourselves, rather than rely on those who act more righteous and more learned than we to interpret it for us. God loves all of us equally. He will testify to the least-educated as quickly and as assuredly as he would the scholar. But it is the humble in heart that will hear Him clearly. I know this to be true because I have witnessed it many times and in many ways. Because of this, I know the Bible is of profound value in the redemption of the human soul.

Logline Success--Save the Cat saved my life!

Insecure Writer's Support Group

So this is huge for me! I think I actually signed up for the IWSG! Yay! If the logo appears in this blog, then I was successful. Yay! (if not I'll try again next month).

So onto my insecure entry: Save the Cat saved my life!

I've always known Save the Cat, by Blake Snyder was an awesome book to help with story structure. But I didn't realize how valuable it was in helping a writer focus on the tag line, or logline of your manuscript. Snyder emphasizes so clearly how effect a concise description of your manuscript can be in selling your idea. Sometimes all you have is one shot to sell your idea, and an effective logline makes all the difference. So here is mine:

"Rosie and Katie are twelve-year-old best friends that share everything, except their deepest secret--they both possess Magic-Sense, the ability to see and hear beyond earthly sight and sound."

Here's why I finally like this tagline:
1. it has conflict--best friends should share their deepest secret, but they don't.
2. audience--we know this is middle grade because the girls are twelve years old.
3. mystery--what is Magic-Sense, really? Is it good or bad? You want to read more.
4. flow--it has the flow I've been looking for. With it, I can come up with a one line blurb and I can also use it to develop my back cover synopsis, which I've done and included on my blog page about the book.

Success for me is taking baby steps and getting somewhere, one step at a time!


 

I am an Insecure Writer

The online group, Insecure Writers Support Group, offers an opportunity for writers to post their worries and struggles about their writing endeavors, without fear of reprisal. The day is set aside as the first Wednesday of every month. This is my second entry.

I am still so insecure, that I haven’t yet joined the IWSG. I’m reminding myself that this is okay, because baby steps come in all different sizes. Mine are miniscule. So my post is limited to my blog…for this month…

I’m excited though, for this post—I actually have something to be happy about! September was a very productive month. I attended the iWriteNetwork Retreat in Heber City, Utah. It was so much fun getting to know the people I communicate with online each week. I realized there are people out there just like me—people who have a story to tell and a desire to tell it well. I met people who were willing to help and teach, share and learn. I felt like I was accepted as family and I’m not alone in my endeavor. It gave me great comfort and strength to write on!

Secondly, I finished the first stage of my complete overhaul of my manuscript. I took all the critiques into consideration and decided on a middle-grade novel with two main characters, Rosie and Katie. I bumped up Katie’s role so it would equal Rosie’s and I gave the two girls equal POV. This was a real task as I had about seven POV characters prior to this. This has enhanced the characters of Rosie and Katie, giving the reader more reason to empathize with them. It’s also made the villain more scary and distant and the hero more heroic. I also cleaned up POV issues that I literally could not see as problems the first go around. I chalk that up as an accomplishment—something that will propel me into Book Two when I’m ready for that during NaNoWriMo.

I almost gave up on this over the summer. So very happy I didn’t. We are moving to Pennsylvania in November, and I’m so excited for the change. I know it will jump-start my career, my online presence and my faith in this project. I need it, too—desperately.

My October goals are clear:

1.      Use Scrivener. Period.

2.      Get updated with my online presence, here, Facebook, LinkedIn.

3.      Do more critiques for Pied Piper and Fans of Fantasy

      4.      Study, outline, pack.

Wish me luck!