I finaled in the Frasier

I have to admit it feels a little self-serving to be announcing my own good news. But since it happens so rarely, and I wanted to share, here goes.

The funny thing is, I almost didn't pick up the phone because I was at work and didn't recognize the number. I figured it would be a telemarketer. But it was Susie Warren telling me I had finaled in the Frasier. Wow. After having such a long, dry spell in my writing, this was very welcome news.

Congrats to everyone else who finaled. I'm in great company.

The winner will be announced at the ACFW conference in St. Louis in September. I was already registered to go, but this gives me something else to look forward to.

I'll post a blurb about the book tomorrow. Don't have enough brain cells left tonight.

Congratulations to our 2011 Frasier Finalists!


Jennifer Tiszai "Under Blueberry Skies" (this would be me :) )

Casey Herringshaw "Releasing Yesterday"

Marcie Gribbin "The Town Crier's Daughter"

Debbie Archer "Etched"

Andrea Nell "Saving Savannah"

Shelly Dippel "Flying Light"



And to our distinguished Bronze Medalists!

Pat Trainum

Shannon McNear

Kathleen Anderson

Sarah Ladd

Kimberle Swaak

Ruth Schmeckpeper

Marie Wells Coutu

Christine L. Long

Jennifer Fromke

Cindy Sproles

Rachel Pudelek

Julia Matuska

Elizabeth Schultz

Oh, hero, where art thou? Or what not to put in your online dating profile.

When people find out I'm a writer they often ask where I get my ideas. I have no shortage of ideas. Life has enough craziness in it to supply me with endless plots.

But I also need people to populate my books. This used to be a struggle for me, but then, like with my plots, I started looking around me. Grab a quirk from this person, a character trait from that one and before you know it, I have a living, breathing character.

But as a woman, guys are still a challenge. As many books as I've read about how men think, I still don't get it. But another writer friend and I put our heads together and looked over the shoulder of someone's online dating profile. There are thousands of guys right there just ready to populate somebody's book, um, life.

So we got a few ideas for some characters for future books. And couldn't help but come up with a top ten list of things guys shouldn't put on the their dating profiles. Consider it some insight into the minds of women.

Top Ten Dating Profile Mistakes Men Make


1. Taking your photo in the bathroom mirror. Or worse, the mirror of a public bathroom. The urinal is a dead giveaway.

2. Having ex-girlfriend/wife's arm around you in photo (she's cropped out but she's left a mark on you).*

3. Not wearing a shirt! You may think it's sexy. It's not.

4. Numerous photos of your car. We don't care about your car, we don't want to date it.

5. Showing your trophy kill--dead fish, turkeys, and deer are not relationship makers. Ick.

6. Not using your own words in the profile. "Walking on the beach in the rain" is not original after the fiftieth time I've seen it.

7. Using profile names like DONTBESCARED --that scares me.

8. Not using more than five words about yourself. Really? That's all there is to you?

9. Ranting about your political/religious beliefs is a reason to block you.

10. Not using a current photo. Cut your hair and try not to look like you just came out of cave. Also don't say you're 42 when your photo says you're nowhere near that age.

*2 Please don't put your (or anyone else's) kids' pictures online--makes us concerned about their safety and what kind of dad you would be.

National Authors Day and NaNoWriMo

It's National Authors Day! Do you know where your novel is? Or your favorite writer? Drop him or her a line or post a review saying how much you enjoyed their work. They'd appreciate knowing you value all their hard work.

Speaking of hard work... have you started your novel? It's November 1st which means National Novel Writing Month kicks off. The goal? Throw your inhibitions to the wind and write 50,000 words in the month of November. Check it out here.

Once again I'll be participating. I'll have a word count widget up on my blog shortly. This will be my fifth year. I've never "won" yet, which means writing 50k in November. It just never seems to sync with my writing calendar or my life. But it's such a good incentive to get words down on paper along with lots of other folks, so it feels a lot more like a giant party than writer's block. So join on in. What do you have to lose?

A Milestone in Christian Fiction Celebrated

One of the things I most regretted about missing this year's ACFW conference was getting to see Janette Oke, a writer whose books I devoured as a teen and whose writing inspired me to keep working on my own stories. And I'm sure I'm not alone in that devouring and inspiring.

Here is a link to the Publisher's Weekly article on Janette Oke and her groundbreaking editor at the ACFW conference. Check it out.

Writing: the Hardest Job?

Okay, as a mom I might have to disagree, but it comes a close second. Read John Grisham's OpEd piece for the NY Times here.

Battle Resistance by turning Pro.

Last time I talked about this great book I've been reading, The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles by Steven Pressfield.

We left off talking about Resistance, that great force that keeps us from doing anything better with our lives. I've only touched the surface here. The book gave me a lot to think about. As a creative type, I'm always trying to further understand the creative process and what I can do to help it along and what I need to do to protect it from withering up and blowing away.

I've picked up a couple of other books lately on the subject and I'll share my thoughts about them, too, in another post.

What impressed me most about Pressfield's solution to Resistance is that you best battle it by what we as writers have been told over and over to do: show up. Put your rear in the chair and write. Pressfield calls it turning Pro.

When you pick up on what your particular susceptibility to Resistance is, then you can be aware of it. When you finally figure out what "turning Pro" means to you, then you can fight the battle.

Pressfield has ten items that would characterize most of our income-earning daily jobs. He then says we need to apply those same items to our creative life. Things like showing up every day whether we feel like it or not, staying all day whether we feel inspired or not. These kinds of things seem like no-brainers when we apply them to our income-earning jobs, but why don't we take the same approach to our creative work?

I suspect you'll find some item on the this that will make you go "Duh! Why didn't I think of that?" This part of the book particularly fascinated me. Chip MacGregor talked on his blog recently about being a professional writer and how the turning point came for him when he began treating his writing like a business. Much of his advice lines up with Pressfield's.

Why don't we treat our writing or whatever creative or self-improvement endeavor the same way we do a job? What is it in our minds that makes it different or an exception to the rules that we apply to other kinds of work? These are the questions that I find interesting to ponder.

And if I ponder them too long, become just another path for Resistance to attack.

Next, more books on the process of creativity.

Resistance is Futile. Or is it?

If you've ever tried to do anything with your life and have failed, or if you ever want to improve your life someday, pick up The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles by Steven Pressfield.

I can't remember who recommended the book, but it might have been Michael Hyatt. It's not a long book, only 163 pages and some pages only have one paragraph on them. But it packs a punch in that small amount.

Ever wonder why you can't seem to get any traction when you want to start a diet, get in shape, write a book, get organized, or do anything that might improve your life? Pressfield attributes it to Resistance, that evil, sneaky force that keeps us from reaching our goals. Pressfield says this: "Most of us have two lives. The life we live, and the unlived life within us. Between the two stands Resistance."

See if any of this sounds familiar, my writing friends: "It's not the writing part that's hard. What's hard is sitting down to write. What keeps us from sitting down is Resistance."

Pressfield spends the first third of the book defining Resistance. We've all encountered it, but it's sneaky and so I suspect you will, like I did, have some "Aha!" moments when you realize what you thought was great rationalization, planning, or whatever you want to call it was really Resistance.

I was aware that procrastination and distraction were Resistance, but I didn't know about all of its masks such as family, analysis, self-sabotage, pleasure, trouble, shopping, and the list goes on.

There's some rough language but don't let that stop you from reading something that will change how you view the obstacles in your life and your ability to overcome them.

I'll talk about how you overcome Resistance next.

Here's the next round of blog posts about the ACFW writers conference coming up in September. It's never too early to start planning and getting excited about it. This week many posts are by board members and instructors, so be sure to stop by. Many posts will also be on the ACFW Blog.

• Rick Acker  6-Jun
• Kit Wilkinson  6-Jun
• Randy Ingermanson  7-Jun
• Gayle Roper  7-Jun
• Chip MacGregor  8-Jun
• Robin Miller  8-Jun
• Terri Blackstock  9-Jun
• Trish Perry  9-Jun
• Danica Favorite McDonald  10-Jun
• Susan May Warren  10-Jun
• Colleen Coble  11-Jun
• Erica Vetsch  11-Jun

ACFW Conference Blog Tour

Summer's barely here and we're already looking to September and the ACFW annual writers conference. In anticipation of that ACFW members are going to be blogging about their conference experiences and giving advice on how to make the most out of the experience. This week's bloggers are below. You can find the daily posts on ACFW's blog accessed through ACFW's main page.

Margaret Daley  http://margaretdaley.blogspot.com       1- Jun
Jennifer Slattery http://jenslatterysblog.wordpress.com 1-Jun
Deborah Raney  http://deborahraney.blogspot.com        2-Jun
Melissa Tagg      http://m-tagglines.blogspot.com          2-Jun
Rachel Hauck     http://rachelhayeshauck.blogspot.com 3-Jun
Cynthia Ruchti   http://www.cynthiaruchti.com/blog      3-Jun
Roseanna White http://roseannamwhite.blogspot.com    3-Jun
Cara Putman      http://carasmusings.blogspot.com         4-Jun
Roxanne Rustad http://roxannerustand.blogspot.com     4-Jun

Did you get it?

Writing guru, "snowflake guy," and all around funny dude Randy Ingermanson has sent out his latest edition of the Advanced Fiction Writing E-zine.

If you don't get it, why not? Each issue is packed full of yummy writing goodness. Here's why you should (Randy says it better than I do. He does a lot of things better than I do):

Award-winning novelist Randy Ingermanson, "the Snowflake Guy," publishes the Advanced Fiction Writing E-zine, with more than 20,000 readers, every month. If you want to learn the craft and marketing of fiction, AND make your writing more valuable to editors, AND
have FUN doing it, visit http://www.AdvancedFictionWriting.com.

Download your free Special Report on Tiger Marketing and get a free 5-Day Course in How To Publish a Novel.

No, I don't get anything for passing on valuable info to you. Other than good feelings :)

Interview with Joshilyn Jackson about her latest book

E-zine All Things Girl has a terrific interview with one of my fave authors, Joshilyn Jackson.

What I like about this interview in particular is that Joshilyn gets to share some of her favorite passages from her latest book, Backseat Saints. And she talks about where her desire to write about her main character, Rose, came from, and why she writes about characters and not causes.

A neat peek into the mind of an author.

Everything you wanted to know about marketing your book but...

Literary agent Chip MacGregor is hosting a teleseminar on marketing your book April 8. Details here.

I've sat in on a few of Chip's classes over the years and I read his blog. This man knows his stuff. And he's also funny! So tune in to get some valuable information. And read Chip's blog regularly for valuable advice on the writing world. And get a few laughs in the process.

Something to check out

Fellow ACFWer and web guru Tiff Stockton is interviewing my writing bud and crit partner, Diana Brandmeyer over here. Learn the deep secrets that inspired her latest fiction from Heartsong, Hearts on the Road. Okay, maybe not that deep, but still interesting. Go check it out.

And if you don't have the book yet (and why not?) go get it here:

In case you've ever wondered...

Writers are funny and creative. Just check out this video and see if it doesn't make you want to get writing. And it just happens to include a few of my favorite authors: Kristin Billerbeck, Robin Lee Hatcher, Angela Hunt, Terri Blackstock.



Oh yeah, I'm guilty of most of those procrastination behaviors.

Movin' and Groovin'

So we've moved to Missouri, just south of St. Louis. There's several job opportunities here and some of my closest friends, so we're excited to be here. Excited to be near civilization again (read: malls, Target, Kohls, etc.). But already we're missing the friends we left behind and the rural landscape. Yet there are some amazing things to explore in St. Louis.

Isn't that the way of this journey called life? Bittersweet; good-byes mixed with hellos.

And hopefully I'll be grooving to my keyboard during NaNoWriMo. My progress should be showing up on the widget to the right. I've got some great ideas from the ACFW Denver conference that I want to put to work on my project. So I'm looking forward to that.

Lots of good things in store. I'll keep you posted.

Worry=Imagination?

As a recovering worrier, I found this post by Thomas Nelson CEO Michael Hyatt intriguing. (Thanks to @pegrose for posting on Facebook!)

But it really makes sense. A good part of my worrying, particularly about people I love, is fueled by my crazy imagination. And a part of the way I write plot twists is to imagine what is the worst thing that could happen to my character right now.

I think it was Stephen King who said he takes real life situations and starts with "what if..." What if I dropped my daughter off at school and she never made it inside? What if the squeaky noise in my car is really evidence someone tampered with it?

In fact, a simple tire blow out (is there such a thing?) turned into a great idea for a plot point. I wrote about it here.

Okay, you can see pretty quickly how going down this road can give you an ulcer if you don't rein things in. Though it's definitely made me more cautious about things. Still cold shivers go up my spine when I start dwelling on things that could go wrong.

Great for plots, not so great for moms.

Thoughts on the Final Episode of ER

I watched the final episode of ER last night. I hadn't necessarily planned to, but when it came on instead of the normal Thursday night line up (I was looking forward to watching The Office) I decided to watch.

What struck me the most had to do with the "suspension of disbelief." As writers in any media, the first thing we have to do is draw our audience into our world. Yes, our stories are "just made up," are words on a page or actors on a screen. Our audiences have to willingly suspend their disbelief and enter our world. And those writers who do this most successfully create those stories and characters that don't leave us, that feel as real as our friends and family.

I hadn't watched ER in probably 10 years. I remember watching it regularly from the very beginning back before I had children. In fact, I remember deliberately having to stop watching it so I wouldn't continually get sucked back into the story lines.

So watching the first hour of ER last night was fascinating. Ten years later I still felt an emotional pull toward the characters. I wondered what they'd been up to, I fondly remembered the scenes in the retrospective, and I felt a bit of melancholy when it was all over. I only remember feeling that way about two other series finales: MASH, and Little House on the Prairie (which was more about losing a significant feature of my childhood rather than anything to do with the story line--blowing up the town, absolutely ridiculous!).

Another thing that struck me was how emotional the actors were in discussing the show, many of whom hadn't been on the show in years. Here were the very people who knew they were acting and that it was all "made up" and yet they were tearing up over the scenes they remembered, over the loss of the set. Yes, some of it had to do with the cameraderie that developed between actors who worked together over the years. But over and over again the actors cited the quality of the writing and the story lines as what really drew them in emotionally.

As a writer, I'm always fascinated by good storytelling. I think ER (which will live on through reruns and Hulu.com) is a great case study for that.

So what do you think? Anybody else watch the final episode of ER? Any favorite episodes of shows that have stuck with you over the years? And what do you think makes a good story work?

Back in the Saddle Again

I'm trying to get back into the rhythm of writing again. I've never had to write while working a 40-hour week before, and it's a struggle. There just doesn't seem to be enough hours in the day. If you click over to the right on my Nano progress, you'll see the lack thereof.

However, I believe that if God wants me to do this, He will make a way. I've been trying to write while the kids are doing homework at night. Also, once things settle down a bit at my job and I have my lunches free, I'm hoping to write during lunch when I can too.

I wanted to use Nano as a reminder to try and write each day. I haven't been successful at that but I can try again each day. And this weekend I went to the ACFW Indiana chapter meeting and heard Dennis Hensley speak. Being around other writers and listening to a terrific speaker really helped me feel motivated to write again.

On a sort-of related note, I finished reading Courting Miss Adelaide, a LI Historical, by Janet Dean. It was thoroughly delightful and on top of it, I got to meet Janet at the ACFW Indiana meeting. She is such a sweet lady. So if you love historicals, this is one to get.

So is anyone else out there struggling or is it just me? (Please say it's not just me!) Anyone have any great ideas they want to share?

Bad Blogger Outta Town

Not that you'll miss me since I haven't been posting much (okay, AT ALL) lately. But this time I have a good excuse. I'm actually in Grand Rapids, Michigan at the Calvin Festival of Faith and Writing (not to be confused with my son, AKA Calvin).

Michelle and I got in last night and helped Coach and Kimberly set up the Relief booth then had dinner and a lot of laughs with them.

I've already decided that Michigan has odd driving rules. You can't make left turns at lights, but you make U-turns in the middle of the street. Huh? And when you are waiting to make a left turn on a green arrow, the light flashes red instead of a steady green. Very bizarre.

I've also decided I've stayed at too many motels. At breakfast, I seemed to be the only one who knew you had to turn the self-serve waffle maker over to get it started. I had to help several people. Mostly, it was the incessant beeping of the waffle machine that was driving me nuts and I was trying to stop it. But it appeared that I was being nice.

Not sure when I'll post again, but I'll be sure to update you on my experiences here. With Michelle and I together, who knows what will happen.

"Heart Surgery" up at Mused

My short story, "Heart Surgery" is up at BellaOnline's literary magazine, Mused.

I have to admit, it's pretty cool seeing my name up there. My only regret is that the submissions process stripped the italics out of my work and apparently they didn't make it back in, so I think that makes the time shifts in the story a little more confusing than they need to be. But still, it's pretty awesome to see my story in print and the photo that accompanies the story is just right on.

Check it out if you have some time. I'd love to know what you think.