I began writing as a way to process my thoughts and for the joy of creating. I had no intent to share. Why would I? I didn’t even recognize I was a potential author. Continue reading “For the Potential Christian Fiction Writer”
When a friend asked me why I hadn’t signed up for the American Christian Fiction Writer’s conference yet, I had to stop and consider what had stalled my determination to go for the first time.
Gulp.
Seems it’s one thing to pound away day after day at my computer but quite another to dress up, spend money, and declare to the best in the business that I want to be a professional writer.
Not just that, but all that’s involved with traveling and feeling safe in a new place, trusting my instincts to make good decisions and not to make a fool of myself. Not to mention, wanting to blend in and needing to promote myself. It’s enough to make my stomach hurt.
So, like any decent psychology graduate, I analyzed what was holding me back. I processed my fears. And just as an aspiring author would do, I wrote a story about my anxiety thus creating Lilly. Because not even I could be this big of a mess! Let’s pray none of poor Lilly’s experiences happen to anyone attending the ACFW conference in September.
The first time I wrote fictional dialogue, it was an assignment for my British Literature class at Abilene Christian University. On the day we would receive our scores, I was eager to see if my creativity had paid off.
My professor, Dr. Jack Welch, tall and lanky with gray at his temples, faced our class and grinned, a twinkle in his eyes.
That look, I’d seen it before. I settled back in my desk and prepared to be entertained by his dry humor.
Continue reading “Wasted Time and God’s Blessings: The Writing Dream I Ignored”
Robyn Hook 