Writing Road

I'm still pondering on what to put in Thursday's post.
(Please vote in my poll on the sidebar.)

Today, I thought I'd give an update on where I am in my writing journey.



I didn't really know how much I liked writing until the end of my junior year in high school. We were given a choice of projects, and I chose writing a children's book. I wrote two of them! One was of a boy looking for his pet mounse. The other was a picture book about the five senses.
(I wonder where they are now?
I'll have to dig around in the attic.)

Then in my senior year, I had two great teachers, Richard Dyer and Bob Harriman, that set me on my journey. In Mr. Dyer's class, we put together an issue of the Hardscrabbler magazine, and Mr. Harriman showed me how to let my creative thoughts flow. Many times we spent the whole class just writing. It was a good release for mixed-up emotions. It was in that class that the character of Phoebe was born.



I didn't go on to college, but signed up for Norman Rohrer's correspondance course, Christian Writers Guild. There I learned how to control and arrange my creative thoughts into stories and articles.

Then my life, marriage and children, filled my time, but here and there I found snippets of time to continue Phoebe's story. I taught creative writing at Evangel Baptist Academy and coordinated a school paper. While teaching reading/English to the K-6gr. students, I integrated plenty of writing skills-which kept me learning and growing, too.

When my last child neared his graduation from high school, I decided to pour my time into my writing. After thirty years, I finally finished "A Home for Phoebe" and entered it into Operation First Novel contest through Christian Writers Guild.
(now directed by Jerry Jenkins)

It didn't win, but I became a moderator in the Christian Writers Forum and very involved in FaithWriters. I have learned to "tighten" my writing, making every word valuable. I've discovered that I LOVE to write poetry! I've met a huge group of other people, just like me! I never thought I "belonged" until the last couple years. It's so great to have others understand how you think.



Being able to write on a computer (as opposed to pencil and spiral notebooks) has given me a freedom I would have never imagined. I absolutely LOVE "cut n'paste". I can move whole scenes from one page to another. Gone are all my asterisks and arrows! (The only drawback is the unexpected loss of files or other technical difficulties.)

Last year, a missionary friend from Bibles Internationalsought me out and asked me to write simple Bible stories that will be translated into newly written languages (formerly only oral)to be used as primers and study guides. What an honor! I pray the Lord will guide each word to His glory.

I've had a few articles published in magazines and hope to find an agent to represent "A Home for Phoebe" and the sequel "Going Home with Phoebe." I want to write for children, to use my education skills and experiences as a mother and teacher in my writing. I'm excited to see where God is going to do with my writing this year.