Category: Book Update

A hearty thanks to those who have already been asking about my book!  Your encouragement has given me the strength to move along, and your questions have challenged me to pursue different ideas that I had not considered.

My mom has been my editor since I was writing essays in third grade.  When I was young, she knew that I had the passion to one day write books, and she grew and nurtured that passion in me from an early age.  When kids my age were getting trophies for writing the first sentence that came to mind, my mom was chasing me and my homework around the house with a red pen, ready to edit my creative writing assignments.  I remember having to answer writing prompts at least once a week in third grade.  After every writing assignment, my mom would give me at least one new piece of advice.  From her, I learned about word usage, avoiding run-on sentences, and so much more!  It has been a pleasure hearing her feedback about my book.  I wanted her to run through the book and make sure the story line made sense before I sent it to a literary agent to get it checked.

They say that success is all about who you know.  God blessed me with a great mother who encouraged me to be successful in writing.  I made a lot of wonderful friends in college who urged me not to give up on my dreams.  Now that I’ve written this blog, I’ve had so many opportunities to meet people who love writing just as much as I do, or who have resources that can benefit me as a writer.  Social media (particularly Twitter and Facebook) have opened doors to new possibilities for me to promote my writing.

Because of social media, I’ve been made aware of several conferences for writers.

Because of social media, I’ve been able to have conversations with others about emotions and anxiety, which is a major theme in my book.

Because of social media, I’ve been asking for help and getting answers.

Because of social media, I’ve discovered new writers who are trying to get their books published as well (and I will be creepy and encourage them, since it’s OK to do that on social media!).

Because of social media, I’ve promoted a story that I wrote, and it might be in a newsletter soon!

Basically, I didn’t realize the resources that I had in Twitter and Facebook.  While Facebook connects me to people I know, Twitter connects me to companies, authors, publishers, articles, books, and news agencies.  On Facebook, I can spread hope among my peers, and on Twitter I can gain the resources I need to spread that hope even further.

So…this week, I will be utilizing more social media.  I think I’ve gotten the hang of Facebook, but there’s much to explore on Twitter.

This week’s goal is to find a literary agent (one who can professionally edit my book and will connect me to a nice publisher).  Say some prayers that God leads me in the right direction with that.  I’d always thought I would be self-publishing my book, but I think that it would be better to have my book published with a well-known company.  So the whole idea of a literary agent and a publisher and submitting a manuscript is totally new for me.

If you have any feedback to help with promoting my book, finding a publisher/literary agent, or using social media, drop a comment below!  Thanks again for all who are reading.  Keep a lookout next week for another update!

What does it look like to be set free?  Torri was locked within the cage of her own insecurities, masking her emotions with false positivity.  It is only until she discovers who she really is that she is able to find out what it means to live in freedom.  And it all started with reaching out to the King.  If you find yourself craving more than your life has to offer, join Torri in believing that hope is out there.

This paragraph is the summary of the realistic fiction book, To the King, into which I have poured my heart for the past three years.  It has been my dream to be a writer since I was about six years old (you can read more about my writing passion in my first post on this site).  This dream developed out of my own love for reading; I wanted to write a book that others can enjoy reading.  I felt led to write a book after college, but then life (AKA my fears of rejection and my lack of confidence in my writing) got in the way, and I put it off.  I kept coming back to it, but between getting a full-time job, finding the love of my life, and moving into two new apartments, it was difficult to invest in this book.  I felt stuck.

It was only after I received the encouragement from my friends, family, and husband that I was able to finally find the time (AKA the confidence and faith) to finish my book.  I made it my New Year’s Resolution to work on my book and get it published.  The small group my husband and I attend challenged me to write/edit/research at least one hour a day until my book is finished.  And now, I can say with quite confidence that it is finished.

So…I wrote a book. Now what?

Here’s the cool part: If you are reading this, you have the opportunity to be apart of this. Every Thursday, I will be promoting my book and the story behind it on this blog.  If you believe that this book is worth reading, I encourage you to share my posts with others via Facebook, Twitter, or other social media sites. If you are a published author and have advice or encouragement you would like to share, please comment (if you know me personally, you can contact me via e-mail or Facebook).  Finally, if you like to pray, please pray that God would give me strength, wisdom, and courage as I research publishing companies and submit my manuscript to various publishers.  Anyone who would like to pray and encourage me can also comment on this post or any other post in the future.

I’ve realized pretty early on in my life that it is difficult to do anything alone.  I would not be where I am today without the relentless encouragement of my mother, the level-headed wisdom of my father, the refining love of my husband, the smiles and support from my loved ones, and the guiding care of my Heavenly Father.  I welcome you to be a part of my dream of writing a book that others will enjoy reading.

For those who read my blog every Monday night: I will still continue to write a story every week.  Tune in this Monday to read about busyness and motivation.

I’ve been trying to keep up with my blog, but in reality I have no time or motivation for writing. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE writing. However, I have begun to lose that zeal that I felt when I graduated college. When I graduated, I was full of good ideas. I had no problem dishing out a 500-word blog post per day. I wrote to my heart’s content, having plenty of time and energy to write both this blog post and my 5-page journal entries every night. It was great.

But then responsibilities kicked in…

I am thankful for my part-time job. I am thankful for my TEFL certification class. I am thankful for my observation and conversation classes. But I have had no time to write.

Still, my passion has not left me. I still want to write. I still want to encourage others with my voice. So what do I do?

Here is what I have discovered about being a writer/teacher/student/woman/daughter/worshiper:

1. I’m writing for me. Sure, I want to encourage other people, but when I write, I’m using my voice, not the voice of what others tell me. People may get offended at my voice. People might think my voice doesn’t matter. And obviously, I might have to change my tone, depending on my audience. However, writing truly comes from the heart. If I don’t have the opportunity to express what is on my heart, my writing is just not going to be good. So…I’m finding my voice. And that’s OK.

2. It’s going to take time. One time, my mom asked me how long it takes to write a blog post. It actually only took me four hours to write, edit, and submit a blog post. But now that other meaningful activities take up my brain’s attention, the time it takes to come up with a blog post has increased drastically. By the time I have a good idea, I don’t even have the energy to write it down. It’s going to take time. And that’s OK.

3. I have high expectations of myself. I work a lot. I teach about an hour away from where I live. I study and prepare for my weekly homework and for my teaching practicum. And I still expect myself to whip out a blog post for the whole world to see. The way my life is set up right now, that’s not going to happen. I’m going to have to take breaks. I’m going to have to learn my boundaries. I’m going to have to make my posts a bit shorter 😛 And, you know what? That’s OK too.

I’m human, and I’m figuring it out. I put so many responsibilites on myself that I don’t know what others expect of me. But for now, I’m finding my voice. I’m writing to communicate a message. I’m learning to be patient. I’m learning to be OK with my pace of writing. I’m ready to be used by God through my writing.

As usual, although I’m venting and coordinating my thoughts, I hope that this post encourages you. To all those people who want to write but don’t have the time, energy, or motivation: you can do it. It’s possible. Don’t give up; start small and keep going. To all those people who are writing but feel like they’re writing is going nowhere: don’t stop. Even if only one person reads your insightful blog posts, that’s one person who has been influenced by your work. That is definitely worth it.

That’s what I tell myself every day.  I created this blog not only to give hope to other people through my experiences, but to also experiment with my writing skills.  Since I have started this blog, I am thankful to have had opportunities to write articles for other blogs.  I am experimenting with different writing styles, such as reviews, short stories, and poems.  I also write in my journal every day!

As I’m experimenting, I realize that I will not be posting things every day.  I will try to do the best that I can, but because I do other things besides writing, I will not be able to sit down and write on a daily basis.  But I will continue to have articles of different genres.

If you have any ideas or feedback, please let me know.  Thanks so much again for the support!