Autumn 2017 Reading Challenge

by Andrea Renee Cox

Are you a fan of reading challenges?

In the last couple of years, I have become quite an avid fan of them. They are fantastic for discovering new-to-you authors or genres you've never tried before. The thing I really love about them is seeing which of the books in my towers and piles will work for each category.

I've finally decided to design my very first reading challenge, and you're the first to learn the categories here on Writing to Inspire.

And the Winner Is...

by Andrea Renee Cox

Last week, I asked for your help in deciding which story to work on for the rest of June. To recap, here were the choices:

Option #1

A woman wakes up in a hospital unable to remember anything about herself, but the doctor recognizes her immediately – only he doesn’t want to tell her the truth.

Option #2

Several ladies head out on a cross-country road trip, but each one’s secrets cause problems along the way.

Option #3

A former singer hides out with her daughter in a quaint horse town, but a stranded journalist thinks she could be just the story he needs to revive his stalled-out career.

Do you have a favorite in mind?

And the winner is...

Help Me Choose

by Andrea Renee Cox

Sometimes deciding what to write is hard.

I could write an entire catalogue of articles on how many times I’ve struggled with what to write about for my blog articles. But that’s not what I’m talking about here.

How does one choose which story to focus on when there are a dozen, two dozen, a hundred ideas floating around in one’s mind?

Sometimes it’s really hard, and sometimes it really hurts, to have to choose. It hurts because once a writer has invested time and energy and precious brain cells building a particular story world populated by a bunch of intriguing characters that the writer begins to love, it’s really tough when a new idea comes along and begs for attention. Sometimes a writer has multiple projects, all with great settings and problems and characters and pets. The tough choice then gets even tougher, because in order to say yes to one set of characters and their world, the writer inevitably has to say no or not now to all the rest.

For this writer in particular, that’s really painful.

Compassion on the Court

by Andrea Renee Cox

Compassion on the Court

June 1, 2017

There was a moment this morning at the French Open (otherwise known as Roland Garros) that had tears pouring down my face. It was a moment in which tennis, competition, winning, losing, the seeding chart… all of that faded away and failed to matter. In this moment, one man’s heart appeared to be breaking, and the other man offered unparalleled compassion (which is understandable considering that he had been through injuries himself many times before).

Both Juan Martin Del Potro and Nicolas Alamagro were dealing with some discomfort and injuries cropping up in their second-round match today, but then things took a sudden turn. Juan Martin served, but Nicolas found himself unable to move to strike the ball. He then broke down in tears of apparent frustration. I won’t presume to know what was coursing through his mind, but I know playing in the Grand Slams is huge for any tennis player. Having to retire from a match is never easy, I would imagine, especially after pouring so much time and effort into training and fighting for each round of every tournament one competes in.

 

Nicolas Almagro (left) and Juan Martin Del Potro (right)