What's Your Writing Personality?

Novel Spaces

I'm over at Novel Spaces today talking about your writing personality. After using the Myers Briggs Type Indicator for over 20 years as a career counselor and in team and leadership consulting gigs, I thought it might be fun to see how the inventory applies to writers. Check it out and see what you think!

Keep Writing,

Julie

Be An Insider: Read Jewel of Shaylar by Laura Eno

There is a celebrity gossip website called, The Insider. It's called The Insider because it supposedly has the inside scoop on all the hot Hollywood stars.

I don't read that stuff. In fact, I rarely go to movies or watch regular TV. Commercial references are lost on me. I never watch the news, preferring instead to get my updates online from Huff Post or NPR.

I rarely have the inside track on anything!

But here's one thing I do have the inside scoop on!  

No doubt you have seen this fantastic cover floating around the blog world this week. Laura Eno has just released her book, Jewel of Shaylar.

Let me tell you, this is ONE GOOD READ.  You want to know how I know? C'mon... ask me. Because I'm The Insider (is more effective if read with a Scharzenegger type dialect from now on). I was very honored to be asked to be a reader during Laura's final stages of perfecting the book. I'll be honest, I would have never, left to my own devices, read a fantasy book. I always claim this genre is not my thing. But by the end of page one...page one, people... I was hooked.

The Jewel of Shaylar is a wonderful ride through a creative world with believable characters. Laura expertly weaves a tale with vivid images and characters you cheer on and feel like you really get to know. I just received the final version and can't wait to reread it.

So trust The Insider, Jewel of Shaylar is a book you want to read. But in case you want more information, here's the official blurb:

Archaeologist David Alexander investigates the cave where his father disappeared and hurtles into another world, one filled with magic and bizarre creatures. The mad ravings in his father's journals of icemen and dragons may not be fantasies after all. 

Convinced his father may still be alive, David begins a treacherous journey to find him and discover a way home. Along the way, he encounters a few unlikely friends. A Dreean warrior, a beautiful thief and a satyr join him as he searches. 

David's arrival into this new world sets off an explosive chain reaction of events. Faced with powerful adversaries and few clues, he may not get the chance to rescue his father before disaster strikes, condemning both of them to death. Or worse. 

Links:

Read Excerpt:

Purchase at:

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Add to your Goodreads

Laura Eno. Speculative Fiction wordsmith. The secret to her stories? Spread lies, blend in truths, add a pinch of snark and a dash of tears. Escape into her world. She left the porch light on so you could find your way down the rabbit hole.

Follow Me!

http://lauraeno.com/blog

http://www.facebook.com/AuthorLauraEno

http://twitter.com/lauraeno

Please, don't envy me my inside status--you can be an Insider too! Just order the book and...

Keep reading,

Julie

Writing and Motherhood: Jennie Bennett

Welcome to Writing Through The Seasons, a four week series, Mondays in May. Join us as we explore the writing journey--the joys, enthusiasm, challenges, concerns, life-experiences, growth--each season inevitably showers on us. 

Jennie Bennett is a writer, mom of three little ones and a wife, teaching her children to pursue their dreams by setting the example. Maybe you can have it all.

Writing and Motherhood

“I don’t know how you do it,” she says to me.

“Some days I don’t know how I do it either,” I say. But that’s a lie.

Yes, I have three children who are five and under. I have a baby who’s eight months old. I’m a wife too, and I’m in charge of the cub scouts in my area. Time is precious. I want what every mother wants for their children, for them to grow up knowing they’re loved, and even more, for them to grow up following their dreams.

So how do I it?

The simple fact is, I want to do it. But even more than that, I want my children to follow their dreams. How can I push them to have a passion for life if I don’t follow my own passions?

“Actually,” I say, amending my false words. “I get up at five am. Once my kids are up, there’s no guarantee I’d be able to get any writing done.”

“I couldn’t do that,” she says. But I know she’s the one lying now. If she wanted it bad enough she would find a way. I wake up knowing that if I don’t write I might as well tell my kids that mommy’s going to be grumpy and I might lose my temper a few times. 

Each day flies by with muddy footprints in the kitchen and bread crumbs on the table. But I keep my sanity. Writing has given me that gift.

J. A. Bennett is a mother and wife first and writer second. She blogs at J. A. Bennett about writing and other life musings. She is currently querying a Young Adult novel that combines the romance of Pride and Prejudice and the hijinks of The Parent Trap. She is also on Twitter, Facebook, and Google plus

I invited Jennie to be a part of this series because I admire her determination to pursue her dreams while giving her family first priority in her life. Indeed, she is teaching her children, through her own life, to follow their passions and dreams. 

Please stop by next Monday as we continue the Writing Through The Seasons series. I will be talking about "facing the empty nest" syndrome and the pursuit of writing. 

Keep Writing,

Julie

Feed the Words

Foggy fingers lacing their way over the mountain peaks.

Tendrils of mist hovering on the water surface. 

Flames licking the sky while hulking black dinosaurs pretend to be mountains by day.

Before I can form verbal words in my mind, images often speak to me in feelings and meaning. I'm not a great photographer, by any means, but I almost always carry my camera with me so I can capture a scene that stirs my heart, ignites a story waiting to be told or provides a metaphor for life I need to learn.

Fath: A road disappearing into the fog.

Risk: Peering over the edge of  Black Canyon into the river below.  

 Climbing the large ice walls at the Ice Park in Ouray, CO.
Can you find your own life metaphor in this one?

Mystery: The air is warmer than the lake water on Blue Mesa.

Possibilities: The towering Aspens provided inspiration for my blog. 

Hope and belief.

How did this one get in here? Just pathetic.

Feed the muse.  Keep writing,

Julie

The Twenty-Something Writer: Sarah Allen

Welcome to Writing Through The Seasons, a four week series, Mondays in May. Join us as we explore the writing journey--the joys, enthusiasm, challenges, concerns, life-experiences, growth--each season inevitably showers on us. 

Sarah Allen is the first contributor to this series. A vivacious, intelligent 24-year-old, Sarah is beginning her writing journey, and really as you'll see from her post below, her life journey as well.

The Twenty-Something Writer

First of all, thanks to Julie for this awesome idea. I am so excited to see what the other ladies have to say, and hope I can give some helpful thoughts.

So I’m here to talk about being a twenty-something writer, at the beginning of a writing career. There are good things and bad things about being at every phase of ones career. So let’s look at some of the challenges of being in a writer in your challenges and some possible ways to overcome them.

1. Little to no street cred: In the beginning you’re at the building up part of your career. You’re at the point of trying to convince people to give you a shot with little or no experience/publishing credits to back you up. So how do you overcome this challenge? The best way I can think is by searching out lots and lots of opportunities and apply to new things all the time. Only a few will pan out, but when they do, take advantage of them and slowly but surely your credit will build up. Keep track of every magazine, every article, every anthology, anything you can use to back yourself up.

2. Day job: So, this is one of those things where I know how it feels for me but not necessarily for other people, or how it really works out in later phases. But, how it seems for me in my life right now, is that this phase is when you’re starting out in day jobs too, which means you’re sort of on the bottom of the totem pole on that one too. Just the necessity of a day-job means something taking you away from writing. We all want to make a living with our words, and ideally we’ll all get there some day. So what can we twenty-somethings do? The best we can, I suppose. Just keep working and putting down words until it all works out. Someday it will.

3. Less writing and life experience: Plain and simple, if you haven’t lived as long you haven’t practiced writing as much and don’t have as much life experience to work with. Basically all you can do about this one is to do your best with what you have, keep practicing, keep saying yes to all the opportunities you can.

So there are some thoughts about the challenges of being a twenty-something writer. But are there any advantages? Of course there are! There is a lot of possibility open in front of us, and the hard work we put in today will pay off for us for years and years. Maybe it’s a lot of work and little results now, but it won’t always be that way. Right? Any other frustrations from the other twenty-somethings? Any tips and advice from the more experienced among us?

Sarah Allen

Sarah is a (24 year old, blond, fanatical, insomniac, Sherlocked, not-as-naïve-as-you-think uber-dork) aspiring writer living in the DC area and working on querying my first novel. If she’s not writing she’s probably obsessing over a movie or show with painfully stunning acting. Slyther-puff. Anglophile. Jane Austen groupie. Secret lover of jazz and post-grunge rock, not so secret lover of Colin Firth, white chocolate, cavalier king charles spaniels, and Frasier.





Can you relate to Sarah? I know I can. I feel like I have the life experience, or at least am gaining it a bit, but I don't really feel ahead of the writing curve at all. How about you? Were, or are you now, writing in your twenties? What have you learned in the process? What was it like for you?

Be sure to stop back by next Monday to read Jennie Bennett's article as she takes us into the busy season of parenting and writing.

Keep writing,

Julie

Coming in May: Writing Through The Seasons

I am so excited and pleased to introduce a series I will be hosting for the month of May: Writing Through The Seasons. 

Whether we are young, single, married, a parent, building a career, facing an empty nest, retired or caring for an elderly parent, life stages carry their unique challenges and joys. As women especially, we may face challenges in the roles we balance while still keeping our writing dreams growing and thriving.

Over the next four Mondays, four women-- friends familiar to us in the blog world-- will share their thoughts and outlooks about writing, growing and facing their particular season in life.

May 6-- Sarah Allen: author of the blog,  From Sarah With Joy. Sarah describes herself as a "24 year old, blond, fanatical, insomniac, Sherlocked, not-as-naïve-as-you-think uber-dork, aspiring writer living in the DC area and working on querying my first novel."

May 13-- Jennie Bennett: author of the blog, J.A. Bennett: A Writer's Journey. Jennie is a self-proclaimed "Mom, blogger, reader, future novelist and the mother of three beautiful children."

May 20-- Julie Luek: author of the blogs A Thought Grows and In Fine Company. Julie quit her long-time career in higher education to pursue this writing gig full time. With one child graduating college and the other soon to leave for college, she is facing the empty nest and renewing her dreams.

May 27-- Patricia Stoltey: author of the blog, Patricia Stoltey. Pat has authored two books since being retired and also travels to care for an elderly parent.


Please join me this month on an insightful journey of writing through the seasons of life.

Keep writing,

Julie

Colorado Author, Terri Benson

(And a bit about IWSG)

One of the aspects I like best about my involvement with Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers, is being able to mingle and learn from published authors who are gracious enough to let me glean from their experience. Writer friends and writing associations help abate the insecurities by sharing insights about the writing journey and providing timely education.

Terri Benson is one such writer and author. After a chat at a recent workshop we both attended, I asked her if she'd be willing to visit A Thought Grows and talk about her writing process and book, An Unsinkable Love (now only $4.99 on Kindle!). She graciously agreed. Please welcome author, Terri Benson.

The Benefits of Being Curious

I’m a curious person. OK, that can be taken in two ways, and quite often has. But, what I really mean is that I’m curious about a lot of things – pretty much everything. Like what is fire? Of course I know it’s hot, it burns, and it’s great with hot dogs, but I don’t know why it works. Same thing with radio and TV. But I digress.

What I’m really curious about is history. I love history. And speaking of love, I love romance, too.  So, guess what? I’m an historical romance writer.  Can it get any better than that? Yes, it can, with chocolate. But that’s the only way to improve it.

I love research. Finding out what happened in the same time and place that my story is set. Take my novel, An Unsinkable Love. It’s set on the Titanic. Yes, I know, others have been there, done that. But I don’t care—I had a blast doing the research. I couldn’t believe all the information available on Titanic. Like the floor made of this new material more expensive than marble—it was called Linoleum.  That it was the first ship with a heated swimming pool and it had mechanical camels in the gym.

I also researched what was happening in the world at the same time.  Turned out it was the second year there were fashion shows in Paris, and there was a major garment worker’s strike in New England – and I was able to incorporate those events in my novel. It’s that kind of thing that I love about history.

And romance? Well, what woman doesn’t love romance? That slow brush of a hand up an arm? The cupping of a face, gently turning it for a soft kiss? A heated look that says “I can’t wait another moment.” Just because I’m an overweight fifty-something grandmother doesn’t mean I don’t want that. Of course, it also doesn’t mean I always get what I want. But that’s the deal, I can write what I want! I also like mystery, intrigue, and humor so those generally end up in my stories somewhere.

If you like history, romance, a little intrigue, a laugh or two, and a great read, download An Unsinkable Love, have a glass of wine with some chocolate on the side, and get away from real life for a while. I think you’ll enjoy it.  It’s available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and most other e-book retailers.

Terri Benson was born and raised in the Grand Valley of western Colorado.  Married for nearly 35 years and counting to the same very unromantic man, and having raised 2 sons, she enjoys reading and writing historic romance and mystery to get away from the day-to-day realities of life.  In addition to writing dozens of published articles in local, regional and on-line newspapers and magazines, and award winning short stories, she enjoys camping, boating, hiking and gardening.  She doesn’t enjoy housework.  Find more about her at www.terribensonwriter.com.  Member of Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers, Romance Writers of American, and a great critique group.

Any writer who suggests a glass of wine and chocolate to accompany her book has my attention.

Thanks to Alex J. Cavanaugh for hosting the IWSG

Thank goodness for writer friends who can encourage you and shine a light on the writing path ahead.

Keep writing,

Julie