Preparing for Camp NaNoWriMo

Camp NaNoWriMo is in one month.

One month.

I am not yet ready for this, but I will be. During March, I'll be doing prep work for the first NaNo event of the year.

Character development is a large part of my preparation. If I don't know the characters well enough, writing in their voices becomes practically impossible. So I'm learning all I can about them as I work through a couple of different questionnaires. The loooooong one is only for the two leads, whereas the short form will be for several supporting cast members. I'm diving into their personalities, emotions, and dreams as well as their fears, faults, and sorrows.

One of the neat things I've already learned through the long form is that this particular form gives me insights not only into the leads but also into their friends and relatives. Any important relationships they have get explored through this form, which should, in theory, make the short form for the supporting cast go a lot quicker as I'm already figuring out bits and pieces (and sometimes large chunks!) of who these supporting characters are and how they effect the leads' lives.

The Purpose of Shame - Guest Roseanna M. White (Part Two)

As I told you last week, a couple of articles by Roseanna M. White have touched my heart and inspired me to re-post them (with permission from the author) so that you, my dear readers, may also enjoy them. Here is part two:

The Purpose of Shame

by Roseanna M. White

I'm by no means the first person to tackle this subject, and no doubt others have done it better than me. But last week when I wrote about "Actions, Reactions, and Being Better," I had an anonymous comment accusing me of "woman shaming/blaming." Another of those phrases that has been tossed around and turned into a fad, but which I think is often misunderstood.

But you know what? Part of the goal to #BeBetter is to know what shame is and why sometimes we need it.

First, let's cover where shame is bad and where you will NOT find me doing it.

Actions, Reactions, and Being Better - Guest Roseanna M. White (Part One)

Not too long ago, I read a moving article by Roseanna M. White. This article and its follow-up were important to issues prevalent in today's society. I appreciated Mrs. White's perspective and wanted to share it with you, my dear readers, so I requested permission to re-post these two articles. Thankfully, Mrs. White granted permission. What follows is the first of the two articles. The second is yet to come here on Writing to Inspire, so please revisit the blog again next week.

Actions, Reactions, and Being Better

by Roseanna M. White

One of the reasons I love writing historicals is to show that the heart of humanity has never changed. No matter whether you're talking about ancient Egyptians or modern Americans or anything in between, there are a few things that we will always seek--our dreams, our goals, our pleasures, family, love, escape from the things we fear.

But we think we've changed. Evolved. Graduated out of certain things. I wonder though. I wonder if we have.

Family Ties - a reading challenge

November is a time for family. We Americans gather around our tables the fourth Thursday of the month to celebrate Thanksgiving, during which we appreciate our family perhaps the most of all our blessings. When I was thinking about a reading challenge for this special month, I thought about how we could celebrate family.

What about a reading challenge called Family Ties?

No, not this Family Ties:

Though, I will admit to being addicted to that show when I was growing up. (Reruns were awesome back in the early- to mid-1990s.)

For our Family Ties challenge, our main character's family ties should be featured.

Thinking About...

Here's what I'm thinking about this week:

Borrowed from Google Images.

Grace is something we can receive or give.

Both are tough.

They aren't meant to be easy.

They're intended to stretch our souls and grant us a new type of strength.

Why Not Ask for Patience?

by Andrea Renee Cox

This article began by my reading a guest article on Tricia Goyer’s website. (Stay tuned for a link to that article.)

There was a line in the article that said, “It’s kinda like praying for patience. Never do that either.”

My hackles went up on that one, to be completely honest. Who was this woman to tell me what my faith journey should look like? How could she possibly know what spiritual lesson I need to learn? And why do people keep telling me not to ask for patience?

(The rest of the article was amazing. Amy Matayo had some great points, and I appreciated her insight on faith being hard sometimes. So true!)

Why should I not ask for patience if that’s what I truly need to learn?

Learning to be Patient

by Andrea Renee Cox

In church these recent weeks, we are studying Ecclesiastes. A verse that really leapt off the page at me yesterday morning was the second half of chapter seven, verse eight:

“… The patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.”

Ecclesiastes 7:8b NKJ

Patience is something I’ve been working on a lot in the last many years. I’m nowhere near mastering it, and I’m not sure I ever will accomplish that goal. But I feel I must try.

Why?

Name Reveal + Bringing Maggie Home by Kim Vogel Sawyer

by Andrea Renee Cox


Two things have me really excited today.

1. Character names

2. Kim Vogel Sawyer's newest book

Hang in there with me today, because I've got a lot to say. Hopefully you're just as eager to hear it all as I am to tell you about it.


Let's tackle my own news first.


Last week, I asked for help naming three characters:

Father

tall, elderly, quirky, sense of humor, fading memory

Son

serious, too busy for love, trouble deciding what's best for dad

Stranger

quick wit, optimist, romantic, world traveler

Pick a Name

by Andrea Renee Cox

Remember when I had you help me choose which project to work on? You ended up choosing a really fun story for me to work on. Now that I'm getting deeper into the plot, I've got another opportunity for you to help me out.

How would you like to help me choose some character names?

Prayer Requests

by Andrea Renee Cox

It's late, late, late Sunday night (or way too early Monday morning!)... and I am not yet happy with the article I've been working on for you. So I'm scrapping it for now and will come back to that particular one for another week. For now, though, I leave you with a beautiful verse which has often been a comfort to me.

Be My Guest: Kim Vogel Sawyer (Plus a Giveaway)

by Andrea Renee Cox

Remember when I mentioned that there just might be a giveaway coming your way? Well, I think it just arrived. *wink, wink* But more about that in a minute.

Today my guest, Kim Vogel Sawyer, is sharing a couple of character reviews from her latest novel, Guide Me Home, which I absolutely adored (click to see my review). Y'all, this book impacted my heart with its sweetness, gumption, and treacherous situations. I hope each of you will be able to read it soon!

(Stay tuned until the very end of this article for details on the giveaway.)

Who are the Stars of Guide Me Home?

by Kim Vogel Sawyer

REBEKAH HARDIN

Brief physical description 

REBEKAH HARDIN is tall for a girl, with long brown hair and brown eyes, slender but strong from working in her daddy’s tobacco fields. 

Resembles… my niece Mallea, who appears on the cover of the book!

Swoon Worthy Heroes

by Andrea Renee Cox

What makes a hero swoon worthy?

Is it his dashing good looks? His upstanding moral code? What about his willingness to lay down all in order to fight for what’s right?

A hearty yes! to all, if you ask me.

But is there something that runs a little deeper than all of that?

Favorite Writing Phase

by Andrea Renee Cox

A question I see often in book release parties for other authors is, “What’s your favorite phase of writing a novel?”

My favorite phase is writing the first draft.

Sure, it’s terrible and needs a LOT of editing. The parts of the first draft I fall in love with don’t always make the final cut. Even some characters must say goodbye before the book is finalized, making them unknown at all to readers. Then there are the grammar mistakes that drive me nuts, since I’m a copyeditor.

So why do I like the first draft so much?

Be Imitators of God

by Andrea Renee Cox

Last week I left you with a question: How do we live a life that imitates God?

Let’s just jump right into the Word of God and find out.

Ephesians 5:1-2 (NIV) says, “Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”

Google Images

Be imitators of God. We are to imitate God. What does that mean? The Oxford American Dictionary says imitate means “to copy the behavior of, to take as an example that should be followed.” Isn’t that beautiful? We are to copy the behavior of God. We are to observe and study His behavior and then follow it.

Which leads me to ask: How does God behave?