Musings of a Sparrow….
My thoughts about God, writing, and life in general….
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Organizing the Plotting of My Novel
As I’ve spent years writing, I've learned the need to remain organized as I do my pre-writing and plotting before I begin writing the body of the novel. This usually involves brainstorming, fleshing out the idea, writing synopses, rewriting synopses, researching subject matter, and plotting outlines and scene lists for the story. Since I’m an ink-and-paper writer, I like brainstorming everything on paper before uploading it to my laptop for storage. In the past, that meant a lot of legal pads and looseleaf everywhere, but modern technology has come up with ways in which an old-fashioned gal like me can write things out by hand and remain organized in the modern world….
The Main Characters of Filling the Cracks (and How I Developed Them)
On Wednesday, August 2, 2023, I will debut my novel Filling the Cracks on my blog here at Jenniroman.com. While I’m excited about it, I’m also nervous. There’s no way of telling how the story will be received, and I’m hopeful yet also cautious. Despite having moments of adventure, this story is character-driven instead of plot-driven. My focus in writing was on the development of the characters; they were important to me, and I spent time developing them both ‘on paper’ and in my head. In this post, they will be briefly introduced to you (I don’t want to give too much away before the first chapter is posted), and I’ll explain my process of creating them…
Writer Self-Care
When I moved from viewing my writing as a hobby to a potential career, I focused too much on spending most of my day cranking out page after page of manuscript that I failed to look after myself and neglected my physical and emotional needs. I came across several blog posts discussing the necessity of ‘writer self-care,’ and I scoffed at them. I was too focused and driven to take time for such frivolity. I didn’t realize how much I was denying myself until I suffered the early burnout stages. I’d written full first drafts for five different manuscripts almost back-to-back, losing my mojo, my creative muse. Everything I put down on ‘paper’ was dry, bland, and yucky. I returned to those blog posts and articles on writer self-care and reread them from the perspective of someone desperately needing such advice….
Why I Love Being Canadian
In honor of Canada Day, July 1, I am writing about why I am proud to be Canadian. I promise not to be obnoxiously political (lol), but I want to address, in list form (in no order), what it is about Canada, my “home and native land” that I love.
What Is Narcissistic Abuse?
In the last blog post, I wrote about domestic violence: what it is, how to find help, and why I write about it in my stories. I mentioned that domestic violence or abuse is pervasive and destructive not just to the victim of the abusive partner but to anyone else in the family and society. I also said that this week I would discuss a type of abuse commonly found in domestic situations (though not exclusively so): narcissistic abuse. In my stories, I also write about narcissists and the abuse they cause others. For that reason, I will briefly define what it is here…
Domestic Abuse—What is it, and why write about it?
In the novel I’ve written and am in the process of pitching to literary agents, Ashes of Injustice, the female protagonist is a survivor of domestic abuse. This is a theme in other manuscripts and short stories I’ve written. One might ask what is behind my preoccupation with domestic abuse. The simple answer is that I’ve witnessed family and friends who were abused or are still in abusive relationships. I’ve seen its long-term damaging effects on individuals and families and feel the need to expose and explore it in my writing. I am a survivor of abuse—physical, sexual, emotional, psychological, spiritual, and financial. It’s a problem of epidemic proportions, not only in the part of the world where I live but in humanity. For these reasons, I expose it as a problem in my writing through the experiences of the characters I create. I strive not only to show the pervasive evil that domestic abuse is but also that it is possible to find freedom and healing from it…
I am a Sparrow
If you’re reading this post, you have probably landed on the first page of my website or blog and noticed the images of sparrows. It’s a running motif. Maybe you’ve asked, “What’s with the birds?” If you have, this post is for you. If you haven’t, I’d still like to explain the significance of the sparrow to you. You see, I am a sparrow…
How To Effectively Research for Writing
As a writer who is serious about her craft and has written several full manuscripts and short stories, I’ve found myself faced with having to do a fair amount of research for the stories I’ve created. Researching the topics you write about is essential. A writer can look foolish if they write about something they are completely ignorant about and get their facts and details wrong. This is especially true if you write science fiction, crime fiction, or historical fiction. Readers are knowledgeable and savvy and don’t always forgive an author for being too lazy to research their subject matter. So, it’s best to do your research…
4 Hobbies for the Introverted Writer/Reader
I write a lot. Most of my waking time is spent at my laptop or sitting outside with my Rocketbook and Pilot Frixion pens, writing, editing, researching, or brainstorming something new. I’m a bit of a workaholic and perfectionist. I have to force myself to stop and do something else with my time because it’s unhealthy to be obsessed with one job or pastime alone. So, over the years, I’ve tried my hand at several different kinds of hobbies. Being an introvert and not overly athletic, most of my hobbies are quiet and creative and can be done by myself….
Book Review of “The Water Keeper”
Writing this book review of The Water Keeper by Charles Martin was daunting, not because the book was horrible and unreadable but because the absolute opposite was true. I found this one of the best books I have ever read, and I don’t say that lightly. It both touched and triggered me significantly because the poetic beauty of the prose and the themes and messages profoundly affected how I look at life. I recommend this book to anyone willing to face the hurts and grief they have experienced and allow love, especially the love of God, to heal them…
My Reading List List for June/July 2023
In a previous blog post, I mentioned a list of books I intend to read by the end of May 2023. In today's post, I will share the books I want to read once I’ve completed the ones on my April/May 2023 list. If I don’t complete this list before the end of May, I’ll carry them over into June and July…
Short Story: Trash
It’s a beautiful day today, but come rain or shine, Sunflower Miller can be found picking up a pop bottle and putting it in the blue recycling bag she carries, tied to a belt loop on one hip, then picking up a paper drink cup and placing it in the black trash bag tied to the other hip. She’s developed a rhythm after hours upon hours of practice. All on her own, she can clean an entire schoolyard in a day. The best pickers among her followers take at least two. With the help she’s gained over the past six weeks, the schoolyards of seven central Alberta villages and towns have been cleaned….
Books That Have Had a Profound Impact on Me
As I described in previous posts, I went five years without reading more than a couple of books in that time as I was so busy and focused on writing my manuscript, Ashes of Injustice, that I didn’t devote time to my reading—a mistake I am now endeavoring to rectify. However, that doesn’t mean I haven’t done any reading in my life. I’d always been an avid reader before focusing on my manuscript and going as long as I did recently without devouring books was an anomaly…
Short Story: The Tree
His drive home from seeing the specialist in Edmonton takes Matt Campbell past the old hobby farm he grew up on. His older sister, Michelle, and her family live there now after taking over the place when their mother, Carol, died ten years past. Matt hasn’t been back to see his sister or his old stomping grounds since his mother’s funeral….
Short Story: War Within
A short story about a war inside the heart of a young woman searching for belonging.
My Reading List For April/May 2023
Welcome to my blog! One of the things I have discovered as I’ve spent my life writing fiction and studying the craft (mostly self-educated, but still) is that it’s vitally important for a person serious about being a writer and aspiring to become a published author to read. You can’t grow as a writer if you're not a reader. The two are inexorably intertwined. Much to my chagrin, I have been so absorbed with writing my manuscripts over the past five years that I’ve done very little reading, much to my detriment.
Creating a Designated Writing Space
On my journey as a writer and aspiring author, I've learned that it’s essential to have a dedicated writing space—a place where the only thing I do there is write, so it’s designed to inspire me and help me focus. Without my dedicated writing space, I’m easily distracted and lose motivation and inspiration. In my room, I limit the things that distract me but include those that feed and comfort my muse….
My Current Writing Project
Since reading my first novel anthology, The Chronicles of Narnia, by C.S. Lewis as a child, I have wanted to be a published author. Traumatic life experiences in the following years negatively influenced my self-confidence. They caused me to doubt the worth of my writing, so I did nothing with the works of fiction I produced, hiding them from others. Through the years, I’ve written several full-length manuscripts of 50000 words or more, some of which were fanfiction and others original compositions, but I didn’t dare to move beyond writing the first drafts. I never allowed anyone to read my writing until I began writing fanfiction online in the mid-to-late 2000s (more about that in a future blog post)….
Writing Style: Making Yours Effective and Unique
I repeatedly hear as I study how to become a writer and how to write a novel that one of the most important aspects of becoming an author is to discover and develop one’s writing style. This has intimidated me because I find it difficult to describe my style to someone else, but I can see how it differs from that of authors whose works I’ve read and loved….
9 Tips for an Effective Morning Routine
I’ve found time and time again that I get the most done on the days I follow a set morning routine. On days when I don’t follow a routine, I tend to flounder, and my productivity drops dramatically. I haven’t always had a morning routine. I didn’t have a morning for many years, especially during periods of my life where I allowed my depression to rule rather than doing everything I could to battle it. Life is better when you have a morning as part of it….