Wanna Be a Writer?

"The Ten Commandments of Compelling Writing"

I. Thou shall Accept Criticism

a. Seek input from readers, other writers. Ask, “What works and what doesn’t?”
b. Expect to be “critiqued”

II. Thou shall Be Thyself, while allowing thy characters to reveal themselves

a. Discover your own voice
b. Reveal your characters through dialogue and action (Show, Don’t Tell!)

III. Thou shall Create Conflict (on Paper)

a. No one likes “happy, happy, happy!”
b. Without hardship, there’s no need for your characters to act, or you to write

IV. Thou shall Develop thy writing skills

a. Read books on the writing craft b. Network
c. Join writers’ groups
d. Subscribe to writers’ magazines

V. Thou shall Edit thy work

a. Good writing is good re-writing
b. An eye for detail shall serve you well

VI. Thou shall Feed the “left brain”

a. Allow the creative side of your brain, and your characters, freedom to do the unexpected
b. Play, doodle, or just act silly

VII. Thou shall Gain Wisdom about your genre and publishing house rules

a. Do you focus on plot (e.g. mystery) or character (e.g. romance)?
b. Read publisher’s submission guidelines

VIII. Thou shall Handle Your Tools properly

a. Spelling, grammar and punctuation do count!
b. Love the written word—“Handle with Care!”

IX. Thou shall Impress Editors with Professionalism

a. Be able to pitch your book on one page, along with your qualifications
b. Know the difference between persistence & annoying behavior
c. Honor deadlines and word count requirements
d. Keep your word –
e. Honor the reader & publisher contract-Both have “non-renew options”

X. Thou shall take Joy in Writing with thy mind, thy heart, and thy soul

On Becoming a Published Author

Debut Book: The Father’s Voice (Moody Publishers, Lift Every Voice Imprint, February 2006) details the conflicts of a black female attorney, who realizes that she’s living her deceased father’s dream and not her own. “Ain’t no money in helping folks unless you a doctor or a lawyer.” In addition to exploring the drama that may arise when we follow our passion, the book also explores the issue of cross-class dating. What’s a successful, career woman to do when the man she loves isn’t “white collar or blue collar,” but “no collar”?

Writing Habits: I begin with quiet time and prayer. Sometimes I write short pieces, e.g. devotionals, about finding God in the midst of my everyday life. It requires me to notice the small things around me and at 150 words, to develop the skill of “writing tight.” Time Frame: I actually developed some of the characters about ten years ago. I tried housing them in a mystery novel before moving them into a women’s fiction story. Finally, I found permanent residence for them in inspirational romance.

Secret to Success: Discovering my purpose and being willing to follow my God-given passion. It’s what drives me to hop out of bed at 4 a.m. to write an hour before work, or to stay up past midnight, three hours past my nine o’clock bedtime.

Favorite Book(s): God’s Trombones, by black poet, James Weldon Johnson. Wonderful sermons are captured in verse. Also, I love Ellen Foster, written by Kaye Gibbons. I could spend hours in her character’s heads.

Influences: My mother, who fed my reading passion by borrowing money to buy books for me, and my third grade teacher. She spanked me in front of the entire class for failing to insert a comma behind the close of a letter. She might have ruined me. I recently read a book by a well-known author and found a missing “period” out of 265 pages.

Best Writing Advice: After a best-selling, well-known author wrote 5 pages, single spaced, of what I’d done wrong, I considered taking a break. (Another word for ‘depressed.’) His response was tough, but I’ve kept this now-yellow, dog-eared letter because it contained invaluable advice for aspiring authors. “Stop stewing in the juices of despair and doubt and depression, you will become marinated into paralysis. Just get on your rump and write.”

Future Plans: Complete Becoming a Bodacious Believer within the next few months in time for a fall release.

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Advice: “In writing fiction, determine what your characters want—then deny them. In writing non-fiction, identify a problem- then solve it. If people have what they need, there’s nothing left to write about.”