Today’s guest is Renee-Ann, the author of Stella’s Plea (November 2012), which shortlisted in the Word Alive Press publishing contest (2011), and recently released her second novel, Emma’s Prayer. She’s now working on her third, Charlie’s Plight. She and her husband live on the Canadian Atlantic Coast. Her favorite quote: comes from Benjamin Disraeli: “The best way to become acquainted with a subject is to write about it.”  Here is ReneeAnn’s take on ―

I’ve always loved writing stories, but it remained a hobby for a great many years. I also enjoy a good challenge so when I first attempted to write a novel, I decided to try my hand at a court drama. Ouch! It wasn’t at all what I’d expected. Little did I know how hard it would be. Don’t get me wrong, I had a lot of fun trying, I usually do when I make up stories, but although I had what I thought was a great beginning and end, I had absolutely no idea how to tackle the middle, the court case itself. Reading courtroom dramas is one thing, writing them is another. What was I to do?

People advised me to watch TV shows like CSI and the likes. I don’t watch much TV and couldn’t get into any of those, so I began with what I felt was the obvious: Reading. After all, writers read too. I began to familiarize myself with real court cases, did some research on the internet, and sought the help of lawyers, but didn’t get anywhere. After much frustration, I decided to set it aside. It was either that, or give up entirely, and I wasn’t willing to do that. I did, however, follow the advice a bestselling author gave me. He said, and I quote:

“I urge you to finish that story and start another. This emotional separation will give you two great assets. First, you gain an emotional distance from your work. Second, you learn through doing that your profession and your current work are not one and the same.”

Try as I may, I couldn’t finish it, because I didn’t know how to develop that middle, but I did start a second novel. Once I’d finished it, and for months after that, I edited, did a lot of rewrites, and edited some more – yes, with the help of a professional editor – until she said, “it’s ready.” That’s when I self-published Stella’s Plea. Then I returned to the court drama, and tackled it again. I tweaked it to make it easier to write, and this past February, Emma’s Prayer became my second self-published novel.

You see, I could have given up so easily, tossed it aside and never look back. The problem is, taking that route wouldn’t have put my story out there. The same goes for you. You have the desire to write, and you have ideas, all you need is to dig deeper and find the words. One thing that helps is a change of scenery. Instead of sitting at your desk, or on the sofa, you might want go to a coffee shop, or the library. Different sounds sometimes spark ideas on what to write next. It may even be a different room in the house. Personally, I have a desk in my ‘office’ but much prefer sitting in bed, laptop on my breakfast tray, and back pillow behind me. Whatever works best for you.

Another wonderful advice I received from that same bestselling author was to attend Christian Writers Conferences. For me, that’s become a must. I save frequent flyer points to cut cost otherwise I couldn’t afford to go, but it’s worth every penny I do spend. It’s knowledge gained that will never go to waste. It’s a place where you learn from those “who’ve been there done that,” meet awesome writers, and make wonderful friendships that will last a lifetime. There are many wonderful conferences out there, and chances are, there’s one not that far from you.

Now go on and get writing. Blessings.

Renee-Ann

Stella’s Plea: https://www.amazon.com/Stellas-Plea-R-Giggie-ebook/dp/B00ANURJJ2

Emma’s Prayer : https://www.amazon.ca/Emmas-Prayer-R-Giggie-ebook/dp/B01BVXDN2Q

Sign up for her blog at http://reneeanngiggie.com You can also follow her on: http://www.facebook.com/ragiggie

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