Incandescence

As many of you know, I am currently unemployed. I chose to leave a perfectly good job so I could write. When I finished my book, I returned to Alaska and now I am in the process of looking for a new job. In the last few months, I have really learned to trust the Lord and seek His will for me. More often than naught, I get this wrong, but recently, I had such an amazing answer to prayer I can't help but share it. I was considering my options for jobs, trying to decide what to do, and was going to visit someone about a possible job. As I was driving down there, I was praying about it and asked the Lord to give me guidance. I met with them, enjoyed my visit, and felt absolute peace afterward that that was not what the Lord had in store for me. I have no idea what job I will end up in, but for that situation He showed me very clearly that that was not where I was supposed to be. It's encouraging and humbling to remember that everything that happens is in His hands, and s...

It is hard to believe it has already been a year since I went to Maui! I couldn't resist adding a few pictures. It's so beautiful and warm I have half-seriously considered moving there. But Alaska is home for now, in spite of 7+ inches of snow one day, and 50 degrees two days later. We're getting as bad as Ohio around here! Just in case you have ever wondered why we have the QWERTY keyboard system:  the origin of the qwerty keyboard I found this amazing cookie recipe on Pinterest:  softbatch cream cheese chocolate-chocolate chip cookies My new favorite soundtracks: The Book Thief  (if you have not read the book you should, it's good) and Ever After This waterfall hike is on my list to hike this summer, as well as well as exploring Hatcher's Pass . I would love to go out to Rabbit Lake again, and a hike in Whittier, as well as Virgin Creek. Every year I make these goals, and every year I only end up doing about half of them. Hopefully this year wi...

I'm a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants sort of writer, which means I don't do a lot of planning, I just start writing, with no clear idea of where the story will go. For some, this is madness, but for me, it seems to work. Here's why: I tried to create a scene list, some sort of general outline, for my second book just to see how it would work, and I'm already starting to wonder if my story will even follow it. My character is so much fun to write about I don't want to try and force him to go where I think he should go. The story I had planned for him does not seem quite right. I'm creating an ensemble of characters and I get to 're-use' a character I had to cut from my first book (this makes me really happy, I'm so glad he gets a second chance). I guess I will continue to figure it out as I go, because what's the point of all that work of plotting and planning if I don't even end up using it? I also think that my writing continues to improv...

Went out to Glacier View to pick up my car. Couldn't have asked for more beautiful weather! I have officially started my second book! Well, actually, it's more like my eighth, but I discount most of the writing I did before I was in college because it is so terrible it makes me laugh and cringe simultaneously. I am already enjoying delving back into the same world (I don't know if I ever said much about my last book, but it is a fantasy novel in a world I created 10+ years ago). I am writing about a different character in a different country, so I get to create a new culture, new back story. I think some characters from the last book will make an appearance in this one to, so I'm pretty excited about that. I'm also a little nervous because my main character is a nineteen-year-old boy, so this could be a challenge! I love him already, he is going to be a fun character to write about! One thing I have found really useful for my writing is creating an inspir...

I was looking back over my blog, changing the layout (again, I know, I can't decide what I like). I realized I have had this blog for almost ten years now. It is a little scary to think that I have been doing anything semi-consistently for so long. I have learned a thing or two since I started. Those of you who have humored me by reading this blog have journeyed with me through four years of college and the not-quite four years (four in May!) that have passed since. These ten years have been a time of refinement and of learning who I am and what I want in life. I will admit, I have had a lot of expectations that never came to fruition. There have been things that have challenged me, pushed me, and stretched me, and I am a stronger person for those challenges. I am not, and have never been, the most adventurous person. I can't help but wonder what the next ten years hold. Will I have regrets? Probably. But hopefully not as many as the past ten years hold. The last ten years...

The first signs of spring. Crocuses. Every time I make a major change in my story, it sharpens and starts to come to life. I began my story in first person, but it never flowed the way I wanted it to. So I changed it to 3rd person. Past tense. For a while, that worked. My writing flowed. And then, it stopped. I wasn't happy any longer with the way it flowed. I made another big change yesterday: 3rd person. Present tense. Even though the change is intimidating and I am running out of time, it was the right choice. My story is becoming even sharper now, instead of a distant, fuzzy image, it is close and clear. The desire to write is back, strong and forceful. When I am not writing, I am thinking of writing. Possible scenes float through my head. I imagine their conversations, think of characters interactions, and they come to life and are the ones who dictate the story, not me. They are like friends to me. I am telling their story, finding the right medium. Like an artis...