Tuesday, July 1, 2014

Romance Writers Weekly Blog Hop



It's Tuesday which means it's time for another installment of the Romance Writers Weekly blog hop! Each week, an author from the group poses three questions for several romance authors to answer. Follow us and you'll get insight into our writers' minds! Be sure to like our page on Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/RomanceWritersWeekly and stay tuned. There's going to be a HUGE give-away toward the end of this month!

This week's great questions come from author Tessa Gray. Thanks, Tessa. I enjoyed these.

1.   Do any characters you've written into your books remind you of yourself? Explain which ones and why.

It's sometimes hard to keep bits of ourselves out of our writing. Sometimes we do it purposefully and other times, for me, it sneaks in. In my August debut, THURSDAYS AT COCONUTS, I have a character named Alexandra (Alex) who is quite a bit like me. For instance she has a "touch" of OCD (some days I have more than a "touch") and she loves T.J. Maxx (so do I). Alex also occasionally falls for the bad boys and likes men in uniforms, especially cops. Enough said.
 
2.   Was there a teacher or mentor in your life who helped nurture your writing?
 
I had three--one in junior high, one in high school and one in college. Don Sharp was my English teacher at Pipkin Junior High. Mr. Sharp was entertaining, nurturing and pushed me to become a reporter for the school newspaper. Several of my articles were published and I was hooked.
 
In high school, Laura Fleetwood was my English and literature teacher. She had a lovely, easy, conversational way about her with an ability to draw the students in. I remember she had us put our desks in a circle which I thought was cool. Mrs. Fleetwood also had a section on mythology which I loved.
 
My college professor, Jo Van Arkel, was amazing. I told her once that she could make a rock creative. She gave us several observation exercises which were very helpful and she had us write and write some more. I always made "A's" and received encouraging comments on my papers. During one of my expository writing classes, she made a comment that I remember almost verbatim. "I'm not exaggerating to suggest that this article could be published in a major women's magazine." I've never forgotten that. I was in my mid-to-late twenties and a single mom. I just held onto her encouragement--and that essay--for years but never sent it in.
 
3. Every author has that moment when they doubt their ability to write. When that happens to you, how do you pull yourself up by the bootstraps and continue? What do you do to inspire YOURSELF?    
 
I think this happens to every author. On many days we're filled with self-doubt. Isn't that why Hemingway drank?! What I usually do is either reread things I've written in the past to boost my confidence or I'll read a book. Reading others' work always gives me confidence and courage. It's not that I think I'm better than those authors, but I see exactly how they string sentences together to create a story and reading someone else's book always makes me ready to get back to my own storytelling.
 
Please leave a comment, and after you're finished, be sure and check out answers from the next writer on the hop. She's the lovely, talented actor-turned-writer Kim Handysides  http://kimhandysides.com

23 comments:

  1. Beth!!
    I know a teacher named Don Sharp where I live.
    Great post!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's something. Two Don Sharps who are teachers! Is the one you know an English teacher?

      Thanks for stopping by.

      Delete
  2. I never had a teacher inspire me to write more. You are lucky! The first writing instructor that made me feel competent was in law school.

    I read my favorite authors for inspiration as well!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I guess I had good, caring teachers who saw some potential in me, although I didn't pursue writing seriously until mid-life. I was a single mom for 16 years and worked in marketing for 25 years to pay the bills!

      Thanks for stopping by.

      Delete
    2. You went to law school, Veronica?!! That's impressive.

      Delete
    3. I had to go to law school, my major political science wasn't getting me a job back in the 90s. Higher debt, but more job prospects.

      Delete
    4. Did you practice law? If so, what kind? You surely write about lawyers now! I imagine that gives you all kinds of good legal drama fodder.

      Delete
  3. Wow, three teachers at three different times in life. This is really fantastic!!! I feel like teachers are those people in a kid's life who can impact them by pointing out those things we don't notice so much about ourselves. Great answers!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much, J.J. Teachers are hugely important, I agree. I guess I was lucky enough to get in the good classrooms from eighth grade through college.

      Thanks for stopping by. I'll check out yours!

      Delete
  4. Love a man in a uniform—sigh–and if he's a (redeemable) bad boy—swoon!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Stephen King always says writers should read and you and I are with him on that, Beth.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I've heard Stephen King's quote about that. I haven't been reading enough lately and that's probably why I haven't been writing as much. I must change that. Thanks for coming by, Sarah.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I agree, reading a good book can really boost a writer's own muse!

    ReplyDelete
  8. It really does make a difference. I'm much more creative as I'm reading and it's usually completely different topics but it still inspires me. Thanks, Amy.

    ReplyDelete
  9. What a good idea to do a bit of reading when you get a bit of self-doubt, think I will give that a try! :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Now if blogger would remove the picture as well. Reposting under author name ;-)

    Great interview! My teachers were very encouraging. HS guidance counselor was the opposite end of the scope. I wanted to be like Barbara Walters - he squashed me by saying to 'get a real job'. I tried that for several years. Always came back to writing. Hugs and Blessings ~Angela

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My high school guidance counselor told me to be a secretary since I had great secretarial skills. I had some scholarships to college (which I used) but she tried to steer me toward not going to college. Weird.

      Delete
  12. It's amazing the effect just one teacher can have on your life. I remember Mrs. Goeben, my creative writing teacher in high school. It only takes one teacher to make an impression.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Very true, Chuck. It just takes one teacher to make a difference and one "yes" for publication! Thanks for stopping by.

      Delete
  13. I dedicated The Perils of Heavy Thinking to my 10th grade English teacher and to all the elementary school teachers who read aloud to their students. They instilled a love of reading, and later, writing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I love that, Russell. I hope you sent an autographed copy to your tenth grade English teacher. How wonderful.

      I loved it when my teachers read aloud or had students read a story in class. And congrats on your new release!

      Delete