Patty Smith Hall

I've been studying the craft of writing for ten years now. That's a long time to be taking classes on plot and character development, saving up the money to go to various writing conferences and subscribing to 'Writer's Digest.' I think it's safe to say that I've bought enough writing books to start a library--I know my movers LOVED it when they got a look at my bookshelves. But in all that time, I have very little to show for it. Granted, life has been very full for our family over the last few years and I had to put my writing dreams on a shelf. That said, I learned a valuable lesson at the 2008 ACFW conference that I want to share because in all honesty, I don't remember one person sharing this secret with me in the nine years leading up to that conference. If you did, I sincerely apologize--and the next time you have such an informative nugget, knock me in the head! So what's the big secret to learning how to write? What did those writers at the ...

Word Count--1120 I didn't think I'd get to write today--the research study I'm working on launched last Thursday and I've been swamped with people wanting to participate this week. So today, I did histories and asked the doctors about some questions that had come up. I also needed to go over to my parents' house(which is an hour away to pick up my mail.) But excuses aside, I still managed to get a big scene done and I'm happy. I realized that I only have about ten scenes to go before I finish this book, which is great when I started with over fifty scenes. The goal line is within sight and I'm excited!

Word count for the day--1682 Okay, so I'm not knocking out numbers like Cheryl Wyatt posted this morning on Seekerville but I'm very happy with what I did today. I got three solid scenes written before I had to work on my day job. I also needed to review my scene cards so that I could 'think' on what I need to write next. The ladies at Seekerville are doing a great job, cheering those of us taking on this challenge. Cheryl's post on keeping that nasty internal editor in check was great, but not as fantastic as the numbers she puts up when she's pumping out her first draft. I'd love to sit down and pound out 15K in a day--but I'm getting there a little at a time.

Today has been long but very productive. It started with a quick glance through my emails, seven newspapers I read every day and a visit to Seekerville for Camy Tang's words of wisdom on turning off that pesky internal editor. I got to say--while I like blogs and sometimes can put bits of information for them, Camy's article on letting that creative side of your brain have full rein while you're getting that first draft down really opened my eyes. Thanks, Camy! And I've found that working in an office away from the house really helps me get going. I took Dan up on his offer to use a deserted desk at his office--I got more done in those two hours than in the last two days! It was nice to walk in, shut the down and not have the dog scratching to go outside or my daughters texting me for some reason or another. I found out this evening Dan like having me there too. I promised I would post my word counts each day for anyone who follows my blog(which isn't very many.) I...

I'm excited! I'm pumped! Why? Because I'm signed up to participate in Seekerville's book in a week challenge! So what is a 'book in a week' you may ask? Part of the problem with getting a new idea down for a new novel is putting your backside in a chair and just writing. There's always something to do--like clean the house, buying groceries, sitting on Facebook. What the 'book in a week ' process does is put you in the chair, writing. Like this week--I have warned both Dan and Carly that I'm taking the challenge and that means they're going to have to live on pizza or hamburgers for the week. Or whatever comes out of the crockpot. The house is clean, the bills and laundry are done and today, I stock up on groceries for the week. I'm shooting for 10 thousand words this week/2000 a day for five days--but I hope to write on Saturday too. I'll keep anyone who reads this updated as to my progress. If you'd like to join in the challenge...

It's a known fact in my family that I hate to waste time. I don't know why exactly, but I think it has something to do with my fourth grade teacher, Mrs. Payne. Every time the poor woman would catch me goofing off in class, she'd simply smile and say, 'Sixty seconds in a minute, didn't take it, didn't chose it, but its up to me to use it.' Gosh, I use to hate that poem! But as I've grown older, I see the wisdom in Mrs. Payne's words. I hate to waste time, even if it's driving through town, which if you've ever been to Atlanta can be an all day event. So what's a woman with a love for writing and a determination to squeeze every single drop out of the day to do? Why, she gets a bunch of books on CD! As a writer, I'm always interested in what's out there on the market, and let's face it; there's just not enough hours in the day to read EVERYTHING so books on CD are the perfect solution. Not only do I keep up with the latest ...

We're in the summer movie season and I have to say, I'm looking forward to quite a few flicks being released over the next three months. I saw the first one today, the latest addition to the Indiana Jones Trilogy. I remember catching a Sunday matinee of Raiders of the Lost Ark. Nineteen years old and on my own while my family went on vacation, I had gone to church then sped across town to Loew's Plaza. There was a line when I got there--back then, the theatres only got one copy of the movie so if it was a big hit, you'd have to be at the movie theatre at least an hour before the show started to get a ticket. That may seem a horrible inconvenience but truthful, it was tons of fun talking to other people who were as excited as you were to seeing a movie. Once I got my ticket and made a quick stop by the concession stand, I went to find the perfect seat. The lights go down and I'm transported to the jungle, watching as a drop-dead gorgeous Harrison Ford goes after th...

I am a horrible insominca--and have been since I was around eight years old. Such a worry wart, I'd actually walked the floors of our little ranch house, sticking my fingers under my brother's and sister's nose just to make sure they were still breathing. And over the years, my sleeping problems have only grown worse. It's nothing for me to get a scant four or five hours a sleep every night but some nights, even with the help of sleep aids, I find myself wide awake. Tonight is one such night. I can do crazy things in my sleepless state--a few months ago, my doctor prescribed a round of Ambien to help me in my quest of a full night's sleep. And I have to say, the stuff knocked me out. The only problem was that I was one of those rare few who did things like emailed people, ate like a cow, even tried to drive while I was 'sound asleep.' I know I had a problem when in my drugged state, I wrote out a proposal and sent it off to an editor I admire. I'm not s...

There are few things on TV these days that I absolutely can't miss. Most of them have already had their season finales(Bones--which threw me for a loop; House--whose writers did an awesome job with the first part of the two part finale. Who would have ever thought a fly in the oinment hanging from a necklace would lead to Amber's demise?) But if any show has taught me about writing, it's American Idol. First, how many times have we heard Simon talk about the contests being good singers, but forgettable? I thought about that a lot as I worked on my latest manuscript. As writers, we can be good, even great at stringing words together but if the passages we write are forgettable, if they can't invoke emotions, what good are they? It's one of the things I've found myself working on--making sure who ever reads my stuff FEEL it along with my characters. Or our words become forgettable. Then all the judges(expect maybe Paula who doesn't seem there half the time) ha...

After a weekend of catching up with my husband--he travels quite a bit for his job--and loading everything into my new computer system, I'm looking forward to today. Yes, it's another busy one but I'm on a writing tear right now that is so encouraging and for a writer who has lived the last few years wondering what the heck she's doing trying to write, it's an amazing feeling. One thing that helped my attitude was church Saturday night. We're doing a series on David and the pastor was pointing out all the ways that David had to prepare for the throne of Israel. He didn't become king overnight, but grew into the position with the help of wiser, more experienced people like Samuel. That's much like it is with writing--you don't become a good writer overnight but with study and the help of people who have already traveled the road you're on. I just thank the Lord for putting those people in my life--folks like Christine Lynxwiler and Tracey Batemen...

My laptop died this week. And anyone who's a writer and is living on a deadline knows that that's not a good thing. So between hours of writing my manuscript long-hand and putting out the fires that are my daughters' lives, I did some quick reseach on laptops. Some had all the bells and whistles, stuff I didn't need in my line of work. And some didn't have enough stuff to keep me going into the next three months, much less the next three years. The funny thing is that I seemed to know more about computers than I gave myself credit for. I even taught the manager of Circuit City the copyright rules for Office 2007. So maybe I'm not as tech-ignorant as I thought. But the biggest problem is transferring everything from my old computer into this one. I felt good just getting back to my blog site without messing up.

Good Morning! After messing with a another blog site that just couldn't seem to get up and running, I've made the switch to Blogger. Yeah for me! Besides a diary of my life as a domestic goddess, I'll be posting reviews of recently released books, pictures of the exotic places our family visits, a second diary of my daughter, Jennifer's quest for the title of Miss. Michigan and sneak peeks of the books I have written. Life with the Halls is always a wild roller coaster ride so fasten your seat beat and hand on!