This is Jennifer signing in for my first time on Novel Matters. I'll continue with the "getting to know you" portion of our blog, and hopefully you'll stop by and leave a note so we can get to know you, too!
What is Christian fiction?
Good, quality reading that doesn’t leave you feeling sordid or ashamed. The publishing industry, as with any entertainment industry today, tends to be riddled with questionable content. It’s important to have Christian fiction authors we can trust to provide good books that can be read with a good conscience.
What grade school, middle school, or high school class did you come closest to flunking? How has that marked you for life?
Geometry! I hated geometry. Fortunately, it’s not an essential skill in writing, and I can guarantee I’ll never write a novel about a mathematician.
Conflict is central to fiction, but how do you create a work of fiction that is tense, difficult, and sometimes even frightening, yet make it a place readers want to go to, spend time in, and get to know well?
I think humor is essential to any good book. Humor is always somewhere in the world, and can usually put a smile on your face even in pretty bad times. So I try to keep the tone light enough throughout the book that people can go through the difficult times with the characters but still not feel distraught when they’re reading.
Tell us about the relationship between your writing and your spiritual life.
I’m a big believer in the Lord being my everything, so I feel He not only gives me the time and capability to write, but that He also gives me my inspiration. When I sit at the computer I ask Him to give me the words to write.
What's your favorite brain food while writing?
Chocolate. Is that really a brain food??
Can you make up stories on the spot - at the drop of a hat?
Only silly ones. I’ve been a nanny for fifteen years, so I’ve had occasion to make up nutty stories on the fly. But I’m no serious storyteller.
How do you know that you have achieved what you're aiming for, in a particular passage you're writing? (That is, before showing it to someone else -- what rings your internal chime?)
If I see myself in it. The worst writing times for me are when I don’t feel I stayed true to my style of writing and storytelling. So if it feels off, the delete key gets a good workout.
What are your favorite things to do to take a break during a long writing session?
I like to shop. And I like to eat… which makes shopping more difficult since fitting into pants is an important aspect of that. But if I only have a short break, I’ll watch something on television, particularly sports and old movies.
Good, quality reading that doesn’t leave you feeling sordid or ashamed. The publishing industry, as with any entertainment industry today, tends to be riddled with questionable content. It’s important to have Christian fiction authors we can trust to provide good books that can be read with a good conscience.
What grade school, middle school, or high school class did you come closest to flunking? How has that marked you for life?
Geometry! I hated geometry. Fortunately, it’s not an essential skill in writing, and I can guarantee I’ll never write a novel about a mathematician.
Conflict is central to fiction, but how do you create a work of fiction that is tense, difficult, and sometimes even frightening, yet make it a place readers want to go to, spend time in, and get to know well?
I think humor is essential to any good book. Humor is always somewhere in the world, and can usually put a smile on your face even in pretty bad times. So I try to keep the tone light enough throughout the book that people can go through the difficult times with the characters but still not feel distraught when they’re reading.
Tell us about the relationship between your writing and your spiritual life.
I’m a big believer in the Lord being my everything, so I feel He not only gives me the time and capability to write, but that He also gives me my inspiration. When I sit at the computer I ask Him to give me the words to write.
What's your favorite brain food while writing?
Chocolate. Is that really a brain food??
Can you make up stories on the spot - at the drop of a hat?
Only silly ones. I’ve been a nanny for fifteen years, so I’ve had occasion to make up nutty stories on the fly. But I’m no serious storyteller.
How do you know that you have achieved what you're aiming for, in a particular passage you're writing? (That is, before showing it to someone else -- what rings your internal chime?)
If I see myself in it. The worst writing times for me are when I don’t feel I stayed true to my style of writing and storytelling. So if it feels off, the delete key gets a good workout.
What are your favorite things to do to take a break during a long writing session?
I like to shop. And I like to eat… which makes shopping more difficult since fitting into pants is an important aspect of that. But if I only have a short break, I’ll watch something on television, particularly sports and old movies.
