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Tanara McCauley

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Tanara McCauley

Tag Archives: authors

The Write Kind of Life

17 Monday Nov 2014

Posted by tanaramccauley in Writing and Pursuing Publication

≈ 9 Comments

Tags

amreading, amwriting, authors, books, chocolate, coffee, community, editing, inspiration, relationships, writers

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Writing is a solitary business.

Sure, lots of people do it. But when it’s time to put words to page, the writer is often isolated behind four walls.

We talk to ourselves. We get talked to by inspirational quotes we’ve framed, tacked, or taped all around the writing den, not to mention characters we’ve made up.

We stare into space. Drum fingers. Type. Delete. Backspace. Rewrite.

Minutes pass into hours. Hours produce hundreds of words, maybe thousands. Or not.

And we do this, enjoying or enduring it, day in and day out.

Alone.

Yet there are things that bind us. Little constants, partaken of or adhered to by writers, that act as invisible dots. From that keyboard clacking in the cubbyhole of an office, to the one tap-tap-tapping from the lounge chair on the beach.

A sip of something hot and steaming between paragraphs.

A nibble on sweet treats at the close of a scene.

A dip into the pages of someone else’s book while we break from writing our own.

Coffee. Chocolate. Chai.

#anwriting to #amreading.

Word counts. Daily goals. Settings. Arcs. Plot points. Characters. Dark moments. Platform.

These things take the solitary, isolated writer and give her a place among thousands of sisters and brothers who live the writer life.

The write kind of life. And we dare not trade it.

Your turn: What are your favorite things about the community you belong to in your line of work?

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When Mom’s Away…

21 Sunday Sep 2014

Posted by tanaramccauley in and Other Topics, Faith, Relationships, Writing and Pursuing Publication

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ACFW, American Christian Fiction Writers, amwriting, author, authors, children, conference, humor, parenting, relationships, St. Louis, writers, writing

As I gear up to head to the American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) conference in St. Louis, I’m tempted to fret over how my family can possibly manage without me. My husband is off work and my father-in-law will be flying in to keep him company, still I’m skeptical of two men being able to manage every group of the food pyramid (we won’t even discuss cooking it), school uniforms, practice schedules, games, homework, chores, gardening, an all day four-year-old, and countless other things. Not to mention what my two daughters’ very long, exceedingly curly, extremely thick hair is going to look like by the time I return from five days absence.

This short, fifteen-second commercial helped me to put the brakes on all that worrying. When I’m gone, things won’t be done my way. And that’s just fine. While I might find a few things to cringe about if I could watch the goings-on of my household from my cell phone (is there an app for that?), I’d also find my kids safe, prayed over, fed–with something, and happy.

I’m blessed to have a husband who supports my dream. And I’m grateful for a place to go where I can connect with other writers, grow in my craft, worship the Lord, and pursue the next step.

So St. Louis here I come! May the Lord bless, keep and protect my family, and every other family His writers are leaving behind. And for the moms en route with me, here’s to having things dad’s way for a time :-).

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Blog Hop – My Writing Life

04 Wednesday Jun 2014

Posted by tanaramccauley in Writing and Pursuing Publication

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

American Christian Fiction Writers, amwriting, authors, blog hop, blogging, c. joy allen, Christian fiction, christian writers of the west, contemporary fiction, contemporary romance, editing, novel, pantser, plotter, robin w. pearson, ruth a. douthitt, series, writers, writing, young adult

laptop

I’ve been asked to participate in a blog hop. The assignment is to answer four questions about my writing, then select three other authors to answer the same questions on their blogs within the next couple of weeks. Be sure to see the links to their blogs at the end of this post and find out more about these wonderful writers. A huge thanks to Dana McNeely, president of Christian Writers of the West, for inviting me to participate! You can find her answers to these same questions on the Christian Writers of the West blog.

What are you working on?

I am finishing up my second novel, which is actually the third book in the series I am working on. It’s a contemporary romance about a Major League baseball player who’s managed to maintain a low key lifestyle, until now. Of all the recent changes in his life, three women prove the most complicating–a sports reporter, a sports agent, and the near-dead woman found in his home.

I’m also a third of the way through the second novel in this series, which follows the baseball player’s twin brother to Guatemala, where cartels are terrorizing the countryside for control of the drug trade. He meets and falls in love with a woman who does everything she can to avoid him. He’s determined to find out why, not knowing that the answer will cost him.

How does your work differ from others in its genre?

My motto is “Fiction might not be real, that doesn’t mean it has to be unrealistic. There’s no room for perfect people in my stories.” Add to that sentiment “perfect lives, perfect situations, perfect outcomes”…you get the picture. Only God is perfect, so I’m not afraid to put my characters in real life, messy situations that they need a perfect God to help resolve. I’m also not afraid to diversify. My characters come from mixed backgrounds, races, classes, etc. You won’t find many novels with a main couple of two different races, where their racial difference is not the topic of the book. You’ll find such a thing in my writing. I try to stay true to each story put on my heart, choosing characters, setting, and backdrop that strengthen, not distract from, the plot. My main concern is honoring God by writing it to the best of my ability. I worry less about making it “fit.”

How does your writing process work?

Okay, real life again. I’m a stay-at-home mom. I have two 9-year-olds and a four-year-old empress. So…you can’t set a watch by my writing schedule. Sometimes I sit in the corner of a karate dojo with a laptop propped on my knees, other times I’m tapping in the notes section of my phone from the passenger seat of my truck while my husband drives to Costco. Being a night owl helps. Typically I write after I’ve put the kids to bed, spent time with my husband, and cleaned the house. (A nighttime clean is the most rewarding; it lasts more than five minutes.) So it’s not unusual for me to be typing and backspacing away from about 1 to 3 (or 5) in the morning. Every now and then I’ll pop into a Starbucks at opening time on a Saturday and stay until I’ve reached a word count goal. Ultimately I have to make time to write around my family’s schedule. Depending on what’s realistic any given day, I’ll set a time goal or a word count goal.

I’m also a pantser. I have a general idea of what’s going to happen in a story, and I make notes and loose (very loose) outlines. But for the most part the story unfolds as I’m writing it.

Why do you write what you do?

The stories I write originate in different ways: people watching, past experiences, “what if” scenarios, etc. Only the ones that continue to resurface–those that produce this sort of burning in my chest–actually make it on the list to become a full length novel. Writing is not just hard, it can be downright torture sometimes. But to quit would be to waste a gift I’ve been given and to choose not to honor God with it. That’s a choice I’ll never make. Plus, I have a suspicion that if I give up before that (ever-growing) list has been completed, I’d be subjected for a lifetime to small, relentless voices whispering “write me, write me, write me.” So I write.

Tag, you’re It!

Robin W. Pearson is a gifted writer who is also a stay-at-home mom and homeschooler. Her debut novel A Long Time Comin’ (formerly titled Women & Children First) was a 2012 semi-finalist in the Christian Writers Guild’s Operation First Novel contest. She has done editing and article writing, and currently blogs about faith, parenting, and writing. She lives with Eddie, her husband of almost 20 years, and their seven children. Within the next week or so you can find her answers to these questions on her blog Mommy, Concentrated, where you’ll also find relatable stories about parenting with a focus on Jesus.

C. Joy Allen is a recent finalist in Clash of the Titles’ Olympia writing contest. She writes contemporary fiction and romance. She completed her first novel in January 2013, and has plans for another. When she’s not writing, she’s enjoying her marriage of fifteen years and counting, and homeschooling her four children. She also loves volunteering for American Christian Fiction Writers where she is a member. Within the next couple of weeks you can find her answers to these questions on her blog To See Joy, where you’ll also find other enjoyable blog posts about faith, writing, and life in general.

Ruth Douthitt – In 2004, author Ruth A. Douthitt completed The Dragon Forest, which was picked up by OakTara Publishing in 2008 and released in April 2011. Ruth currently teaches Writing/Language Arts at an elementary school. She enjoys running, gardening, and drawing in addition to writing. She lives in Arizona with her husband. Within the next couple of weeks you can find her answers to these questions on her blog The Writer’s Pen, where you’ll also see some of her amazing artwork and find access to her books.

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The Writer’s War

29 Wednesday May 2013

Posted by tanaramccauley in Writing and Pursuing Publication

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

amwriting, authors, Christian fiction, daily quota, literature, perseverance, reading, stories, word count, writer's war, writing

Writing today was a battle.

kung fu

Glory to God…I won.

Image courtesy of Lavoview / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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Book Review of Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Browne & David King

04 Tuesday Sep 2012

Posted by tanaramccauley in Book Reviews, Writing and Pursuing Publication

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

adverbs, authors, critic, david king, point of view, renni browne, self-editing for fiction writers, writers

I loved, loved, loved this book! And at the risk of breaking the “once is usually enough” rule I’ll say it again, I loved this book!

Writing, like any other art form, might be born a talent; but it will soon die without some level of technique. In Self-Editing for Fiction Writers, Browne & King reveal enough technique to put even the most pedestrian author on the path to literary success.

Ahem. For the sake of time I’ll forego editing this blog post to the standards set forth in the book and simply share why it’s a must have for every author.

Browne & King use a blunt but humorous approach to outline what writers need to get rid of, add, tweak, and try; then toss in the hows and whys for good measure. You walk away with a better understanding of point of view–why your hick from the sticks shouldn’t think of the sun as a timeless orb whose golden fingers caress the horizon.

Adverbs–the amateur author’s best friend–become all but taboo. Because as Browne & King explain, “when you use two words, a weak word and an adverb, to do the work of one strong verb, you dilute your writing and rob it of its potential power.” (p. 198)

They do drop one f-bomb. And I am sooooo not a fan of the f-bomb. But they use it to prove a point about the use of unnecessary swear words in writing. Point successfully proven.

Writers, particularly new ones, tend to guard the words they’ve written like a newborn child. When someone suggests a change, said author might smile on the outside, then place the critic on their “do not ask again for they know not what they’re talking about” list. Such a writer will either sink into oblivion with the poor work they’ve written, or worse, become known for it. To avoid either, get a copy of Self-Editing for Fiction Writers, which I gave 5 out of 5 stars. Read it, study it, highlight it, read it again, give it a permanent, accessible home on your writing desk, and watch your writing morph into something far beyond your expectations.

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Writing Contest!

25 Saturday Aug 2012

Posted by tanaramccauley in Writing and Pursuing Publication

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Tags

authors, Chrisitan Writers of the West, contemporary, fiction, mystery, phoenix rattler contest, romance, speculative, suspense, thriller, women, writers, writing contest, young adult

Image  The deadline is fast approaching for the CWOW (Christian Writers of the West) Phoenix Rattler Contest! Are you an unpublished author or an author whose last publication was at least five years ago? This contest is for you! Submit ten pages of your manuscript (manuscript does not have to be completed) by the September 1st deadline for your chance to win in one of the following categories:

Contemporary Fiction

Contemporary Romance

Historical Fiction

Historical Romance

Mystery/Suspense/Thriller

Romantic Suspense

Women’s Fiction

Speculative Fiction

Young Adult

Polish up those first ten pages and submit your entry! For more details and to enter, visit the CWOW website at http://christianwritersofthewest.weebly.com/2012-phoenix-rattler-contest.html.

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