Ability to Storytell Part II

By Kelly Bridgewater

Last week, if you missed it, I wrote about a number of things I did to spark my imagination as a young girl. It is important to read that before reading this post because they go together. Go ahead. 

Read that post. I'll be waiting.

Right.

Here.

Go.

 . . .

Welcome back.

Part two begins here:

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As long as I could remember, I have been telling stories to entertain myself. In fourth grade, I started to write stories down. I would even write different endings to movies that I liked, for instance, the Mighty Duck series. Or I would write down stories that happened in the fall or around Christmas to cool myself and remind me of those feelings we all get at the holiday season. I wrote a number of stories featuring haunted houses, mansions, forests.  

When I entered high school, there was a journalist program, where you could write for the school newspaper. Since I wanted to write and had no other creative outlet at the time, I signed up and wrote for my high school paper for three years. But my love was still creative writing. I needed some outlet for my imagination to flourish, so I started stories while sitting at my desk in class. Of course, I didn't do it when I was supposed to be working on school assignments, but every spare moment, I was scribbling away in a number of diaries that I turned into my creative outlet.

After a number of years of getting married and having three boys, I graduated with my Bachelor's in English with a minor in Creative Writing. While the creative writing part did not spark my imagination, thanks to a certain teacher, I did write stories to earn my degree.

In graduate school, I earned a MA in Writing, and I opted to complete a creative thesis where I had to write and defend a 120 page creative collection of short stories. It was different, but it still didn't seem to be the best stories I could write. I understood I was working on the process, but it didn't feel that inspiring.

Since graduating and being a stay-at-home mother who is homeschooling our third son, I have completed four complete 90,000 words romantic suspense novels. They were exciting, and I love seeing how far I could push the button with my characters.

In the past three years, I have fallen in love with World War II history set in London. I have done tons of research and keep watching documentaries on what happened in London. I have outline, very roughly, the idea for three World War II novels set in London during 1938-1940. I have the heroines and the heroes lined up and waiting for me to write their story.

But two years ago on October 31, my Daddy died. My creative juices tanked. I haven't written anything, and I mean nothing. Not a short story. Not a summary. Not a plot synopsis. Nothing. I sit at the computer, and my mind goes blank. I have looked over a number of my novels, but nothing sparks an idea. 

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In the past couple of months, after months of praying and worshiping God to bring my desire of my heart back, I get flashes of inspiration, and have picked up a number of research books to read and take notes, but I haven't actually gotten into the mood to write anything yet. There are days I hear the Lord nudging me to sit back at my computer and write, so I think the days are coming, but not yet.

I honestly can't wait to get back into my creative zone and write my World War II novels. I think they need to be told. During this trial with my Daddy's passing and other issues in my life, I think I can make the faith journey more humbling for my readers, which is what I really want to accomplish anyways.

Sorry for the long posts!

What about you? Can you trace your writing journey? Where did it start? Are you stuck in a non-writing world right now? Hints to get out of a non-writing funk.

Ability to Storytell Part I

By Kelly Bridgewater

What motivates you to write?

A familiar question with a familiar answer. Some say a certain person. Some say a certain event in their past shoved them into storytelling,

BUT . . .

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I want to share my creative path to wanting to write.

When I was a little girl, I had an overactive imagination, which I passed onto my oldest who is fifteen years old. I loved playing with my Barbie's, Polly Pocket, and anything else to spark my imagination on a daily basis. I could play for hours, and I mean hours at a time with my Barbie's. My mother used to wonder how I could play for hours talking to toys that didn't talk back.

As I played outside, I would draw an imaginary house on the driveway in our front yard. Our driveway sloped upwards, so I would outline a couch with end tables and make a kitchen, but as you went up higher, you went to the bedroom and bathroom. Now the house looked like you were looking down from the sky, so you could see a circle inside a square and notice it was a lamp on an end table. I would play in my "house" with my best friend, Robin.

I also had an imaginary friend named Jessica, who was the nicest person I knew. We would ride our bikes together and run laps around the neighborhood and yard just for fun. Jessica would go away when I entered the house, but she hung out a lot with me when I roamed the neighborhood. 

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My friend, Robin, and I would always play in her side yard, using our imaginations. We were always twins separated at birth. She would always go to the poorer family and have an attitude; whereas, I would go the wealthier family and be snobby. We used a tree as our horses by bouncing the tree branch up and down. The house across the street had the perfect "stair-stepping" tree, so we would climb his tree and hang out in the top for hours. (Back then, neighbors allowed those type of things. He wasn't worried. We were having fun.) When Robin's family upgraded and received a pool, we would spend hours playing mermaids and who could hold their breath under the water the longest.

What would you do as a child to feed your imagination? Please, come back next week where I share the second part to my writing journey. I would love to have a discussion with you guys about the creative things you did as a child. Don't allow me to think I was the only one that did this!!!

A Letter to a Non-Reader

Dear Non-reader,

Have you ever been bored? Have you ever wish there was something to do that made you different? 

Ever dreamed you had magical powers? Ever wanted to visit a foreign county, like London, Paris, France, or Italy? Or how about visiting an imaginary place like Hogwarts and Narnia?

Well, you have come to the right place.

I have the solution for you.

Pick up a book. 

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 I know, what a book? I have tried that before. There are plenty of boring books out there. Trust me, I have read tons of them. 

In college, I think they pick the most boring books and make us poor undergraduate and graduate students read.

But that is the variety of life . . . there are different genres. Something for everyone.

Romance.

Historical.

Science Fiction.

Fantasy.

Suspense / Mystery / Thrillers.

Non-fiction.

And a combination of all of these different genres.

As an avid reader, I have experience trips of Europe and other parts of America. I have time-traveled to the past where I have spent time living in a Medieval castle, lived in estates, experienced World War I and World War II, and watched as the world survived fires and earthquakes. I have watched the world embrace new technologies and seen some fall. I have experienced the world as an immigrant. I have experienced the hunt for a number of serial killers and was a police officer on the trail to hunt down injustice.

My world is filled with adventures that I will never probably never experience in my normal life, but because I don't mind spending time with my nose in a book, I spend more time exploring the world not within my reach.

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Even though you have been burnt before my bad books, don't hesitate to try again. If the book doesn't fit you, then find a different book. Even in the same genre. Some authors in a genre I enjoy don't write as well as I'm used to, so I return to other authors. But times, I find a new author to enjoy when I browse the shelves at the local bookstore or library.

I hope that you give reading another chance and find something you will enjoy.

All the best,

An avid reader

Imagination is more important than . . . : *2 BOOK GIVEAWAY*

By Kelly Bridgewater

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Imagination is more important than . . .?

Do you know the answer to that quotation?

Albert Einstein said, "Imagination is more important than knowledge."

Do you believe it?

As writers, we spend most of our days with our head in the clouds, looking for the next good chapter or book idea to fill our time. But I wonder, how did you allow your imagination to roam free as a child?

As a child, me and my best friend, Robin, used to run around and play in her side yard all day long. We used a tree that grew right next to her fence as horses. The branches moved up and down, so we would climb the tree and straddled the branches. We would go far across the open plain and fight knights and villians who attacked us.

Robin's side yard was pretty big or maybe it just appeared big to our imaginations. We saw a huge mansion where we would walk in circles, but we saw the curved stairs, leading to the upper floors of ornate home with our beds. The neigbor across the street had this huge tree with branches that grew up like stairs, so Robin and I would spend hours climbing up the tree and talking and laughing.

We even created our own world with our own storyline called IceLand. Robin and I were twin sisters sent to Earth when the Evil witch destroyed our Ice home, another planet out in the galaxy. We were sent in pods to earth by the king and queen who were our parents. It kept us occupied for hours.

Plus, what young girl in the early nineties did not play with Barbies. Robin and I played for hours. I enjoyed playing at her house because she actually had the Barbie dream house with all the furniture. Robin would buy two of the same dolls, which of course, we made as twins who lived in different homes.

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As a child, this was how I kept my imagination on overdrive. Since then, I have seen the benefit of my overactive imagination. It has allowed me to stayed glued to the computer screen and watch my characters interact with each other on the page. I can imagine my story world to the finest detail, even though sometimes it doesn't come out on the page like I want it to.

What did you do as a child to stimulate your imagination? Come on, I shared some stories that my friend, Robin will probably cringe that I have put out in cyberspace. Now it is your turn.

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**************Giveaway*******************

Want to win a hardback copy of A Novel Idea: Best Advice on Writing Inspirational Fiction? I'm also throwing in a copy of Hiding Places by Erin Healy.

Enter at the Rafflecopter below!

*Open to US Residents only! Sorry!

Good luck!

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