Birthday Month in Seekerville

Welcome Everyone to the first day of our 3rd Birthday bash! Can you believe it? Three years old! Of course we think Seekerville is a great place, but it wouldn’t be a fraction as wonderful without all our friends.

I mean really…how can we throw a party without YOU????? For YOU???

So throw open the doors and let the party begin!!!

Cowboys. Yum. How’s that for an introduction into my writing life?

I played with the idea of showing you my writing life through photos of my office, but then visions of the television show Hoarders popped into my head and I quickly dismissed that idea. Old dogs and small children have been known to wander into my office and never be seen again. Besides, how can I justify posting pictures of cowboys when I’m discussing interior design and space planning?

It’s no secret around here that I love cowboys. Oh my goodness, give me Wrangler jeans, a Stetson hat and button down shirt over wool suits, silk ties and fitted tuxes any day of the week! There’s something earthy and real about a man who herds animals and cultivates crops.

Chris LeDoux is the epitome of my inspiration this side of the spiritual realm : )

Country music in general is very inspiring. I love the lyrics and get lost in the low, full voices; the rapid play on words; the emotions that reach into my heart and pull my soul right out of me. Well, maybe not that graphic, but you get the picture. And out of all the phenomenal choices of singers and bands out there, none get my creative juices flowing better than Chris LeDoux.

I wish you could hear the music playing in the background : )

So I have my inspiration in hand, now what do I do with it? That my friends, has been a question I’ve long sought direction for and it turns out according to one ACFW speaker, I’ve been doing it right all along.

At the ACFW conference last month, I had the opportunity to attend a Late Night Chat featuring Joseph Bentz. He entitled his talk Top 10 Strategies to Become a More Productive Writer (actually, he gave us 14), but really, he could have just as easily called it:

Giving Audra Harders permission to write books any bizarre way that feels right to her.

He had me from the first line when he mentioned allowing yourself playtime with ideas before the formal writing. My mind is one big playground. I try to imagine characters in their everyday lives, doing normal things – then twisting it up and sprinkling in chaos. Now, let me state up front, interjecting conflict in the life of my characters is not easy for me. I go through many scenarios in my head and on scrap paper before I hit on something that can’t be resolved with a simple conversation or apology.

He also mentioned how there’s nothing more daunting that looking at the beginning of a chapter or scene and trying to write it right from a formal inciting incident. Isn’t that the truth? I skip ahead and eavesdrop on the conversations stirring in the middle of the chapter. Once I’ve figured out where they’re going with their conversation and actions, I’ll massage it over, primp it up, and only then when the nucleus of the scene is well defined, will I go back and write a lead in.

I find it much easier to flow with the rhythm of the book if I start writing in the middle of the scene where there’s action rather than crafting a pretty build up that totally blows the wind out of my sails of conflict.

I also write myself a note at the end of my writing time leaving a trail of breadcrumbs to remind me where I was going with my thoughts. There’s nothing worse than sitting down at the computer knowing I only have two hours to write and spending precious time feeling my way through a scene, or conflict, or black moment that I had already pretty much worked through. I survive by lists. This is just one more list I post on the edge of my monitor to get me in the mood, LOL!

Working full-time outside of the home is a blessing in disguise. It keeps me from kicking myself at the end of the day when I look back and find out of my 12 to 14 hours of time, I've only written for 2 - 4. I am not the writer who wakes up, grabs a cup of coffee and digs into my manuscript all day long. I’m a hit-and-run writer. I write in 30-minute snips, shuffling in distractions like laundry, walking the dog, talking to hubby and the kids, before disappearing for another 30-40 of work. See why leaving a note reminding me where I was heading with an idea is important? Using this method diligently, I can pound out 1000-1500 words an evening. Double that amount on Saturdays and Sundays.

And yes, armed with gallons of coffee and an array of snacks, I have belted out 18,000 words in a weekend. My mind was fried by Sunday night. Funny what you can do when you push yourself.

I’m probably the least disciplined of all the Seekers. I blame it on my Attention Deficit Disorder. I’m not complaining. I know God had a reason to bless me with this. . .this. . .unique trait : ) And much like the trials of Job, I know I am not alone and the Lord will see me through.

Why in the world He’s made me a master of tangling together the threads of my plots, I can only imagine.

Any other ADD writers out there? Even if you’re perfectly normal : ), what works to organize your bursts of writing genius? Share with us and you might be the lucky recipient of a Barnes and Noble gift card, chocolate, an IOU for my debut Steeple Hill Love Inspired 2011 January release, Rocky Mountain Hero AND a CD of Chris LeDoux’s Greatest Hits.

Blessings to one and all!!

Keep coming back to Seekervile!

We've planned an awesome month just for you!!