Tag: writing (Page 2 of 2)

Counting a Few Blessings

October 21, 2016 / Marsha Ward / 0 Comments

Once in a while, I have to sit back and count my blessings. Among them is a daughter who doesn’t mind if I bend her ear to listen to a scene I wrote. Her feedback is so helpful, and her responses are genuinely what I worked for.

I’m also grateful for wherever it is I get my inspiration for characters (there are several theories to consider). For the current work-in-progress (WIP), I’ve looked up settler and long-time Shenandoah Valley folk to borrow their surnames. They just fit.

When I started this crazy adventure story back in my late teens, I had no idea that a real family named “Owen” (no s) actually settled just across the mountain from where I plopped down my characters in Colorado Territory. I didn’t know that fact until thirty-some years later. I had no idea that the surname “Owen” was that of several Confederate soldiers who originated from the Shenandoah Valley. I had no idea I would eventually write about the American Civil War as it impacted MY Owen family.

Blind luck? Serendipity? Whatever I owe this whole shebang to, it’s very special to me, and I’m grateful for the experience.

Save

Share This:

Walmart.com stocks some of my paperbacks

August 9, 2016 / Marsha Ward / 0 Comments

Imagine my surprise when I checked out a tip in one of my author groups and discovered that four of my six novels are listed at Walmart.com! Gone for a Soldier, Spinster’s Folly, Ride to Raton, and The Zion Trail are all available, and at discounted prices.

Three of the four trade paperback novels written by me that they carry are ones that I’ve published through CreateSpace, a valuable resource for indie authors like myself. I’m not sure why The Man from Shenandoah was left out, or why the iUniverse-printed Ride to Raton was included, but clearly, this is a(nother) sign that I need to get busy and re-publish the two novels still left with iU, Ride to Raton and Trail of Storms.

I’m not going to agonize about why The Man from Shenandoah is not offered. I presume that it will show up some day. In the meantime, if you’re curious to know if you can get a better deal at Walmart.com than you can at Amazon.com, check out the links below. If you’ve already read them, you could take an opportunity to post a review by clicking on each of the book links.

Gone for a Soldier
Spinster’s Folly
Ride to Raton
The Zion Trail

Save

Share This:

Trust Your Creative Voice

December 9, 2015 / Marsha Ward / 0 Comments

How are your trust issues these days? Do you trust yourself as a writer? Or do you often find yourself on the shaky ground of self-doubt?

That’s a hard part of being a writer. You might be mistaken for someone with bipolar disease, because you either love your work or you hate it, with corresponding high and low mood swings.

While I can’t offer much help on the high or low moods you may experience, here’s a writing tip on a subject I’ve been studying a lot lately, which might help with the trust factor.

TRUST YOUR CREATIVE VOICE

The Creative Voice comes from the part of your brain that knows how to tell stories, as opposed to your Critical Voice, which keeps you out of danger by preventing you from writing, ’cause, you know, that’s too dangerous!

If you, like me, detest outlining, here’s a book that may just lift you up to the stars with elation: Writing Into The Dark: How to Write a Novel Without an Outline, by Dean Wesley Smith. Yes, I did write about this book before. But after reading it once through, I had a terrible scare. I couldn’t find it anywhere!

Fortunately, when I went to Amazon to order another copy (yes, that’s how valuable I found the book to be), I discovered that since I had purchased the print copy, I could download the ebook free!

HAPPY DANCE!

A couple of days ago, I looked at the bottom shelf of a bookcase from a different angle than usual, and discovered that my print copy of the book had slipped off something and become lodged on the bottom shelf.

SECOND HAPPY DANCE!

Now I’ve re-read the book, and I’ve highlighted crucial points in bright pink, a practice I never allow myself, except, you know, in very important cases, this being one. I’m learning to trust my Creative Voice, and oh! What a difference it makes!

Tell me: Are you a writer who outlines before you write, or do you sit down and trust that your Creative Voice will lead you into a rip-snorting good tale?

Share This: