How many books do you have on your bookshelves? Are they filled with only your favorite authors? Or perhaps you keep everything you read, and the shelves are overflowing? Today, we have author Candace West sharing her favorite writing tip.
Welcome, Candace!
Name: Candace West
Genre: Historical Christian Fiction
Latest Release: Lane Steen
Writing Tip:
“I wish I could write like that!” Whenever you read a fantastic novel, do you ever think this? My bookshelves are bursting with books that inspire me. I’ve read thousands of lines that almost make my mouth water. They are so beautifully written.
I admit that my writing falls short of so many other authors I admire. Most of us probably feel that way when we’re pouring over our manuscripts or freezing up at the keyboard when the perfect word eludes us. A perfect quagmire for frustrated writers. When those moments come, turn the tables on those doubts with these tips:
Never compare your writing style to other authors. It’s wonderful to learn by example from them, but don’t fall into the trap of berating your voice. As writers, we never stop learning the craft whether we are beginners or best-selling authors.
Focus on being yourself. Let your words shine through the story you are called to tell. When others help polish off those rough edges, let it blossom. With a lot of time, patience, and practice, your voice will transform into one that is uniquely yours.
I read so much that sometimes I fear my ideas are too close to other writer’s ideas. Sometimes I write and read something later that’s close to my own. But their voice and my voice are distinctively different. This is an excellent reminder that other writers can influence your writing, but to always let your unique voice flow through.
How can she let go of the past when she is forced to confront it?
At sixteen, Lane Steen never imagines she is living a lie until a new schoolteacher, Edith Wallace, comes to Valley Creek. Yet Edith is more than a schoolteacher. She is part of the past–a past hidden in a mysterious dream that has haunted Lane since childhood.
Lane yearns to escape from her embittered father. Getting an education is Lane’s only hope. Carefully, Edith works to earn Lane’s friendship, but love and trust doesn’t come easy for a heart plagued by hate. But then the truth shatters Lane’s world.
The truth sends Lane on a turbulent search into the past. Leaving Valley Creek behind, Lane reunites with a family she cannot remember–a family that surpasses her wildest dreams. A family that belongs to her.
Despite her newfound joy, her hatred for her father only deepens. Although she desires to experience the faith of her family, Lane can’t cast away one thing she holds closely: the hatred that helped her survive.
Digging into her father’s unbelievable past, she confronts the story behind her father’s ruin. Will she always be bound by hate?
Yet something even stronger binds her. Something stronger than her family, something stronger than her will. She is bound to Valley Creek, the place of her stormy childhood, the place of the man she loves, but more importantly, the place of God’s calling. Ironically, she finds love, purpose, grace, and forgiveness in a place she’d sought all her life to escape.
Candace West was born in the Mississippi delta to a young minister and his wife. She grew up in small-town Arkansas and is a graduate of the University of Arkansas at Monticello. When she was twelve years old, she wrote her first story, “Following Prairie River.” Since then, she has dreamed of writing Christian fiction. Over the years, she has published short stories as well as poems in various magazines. Since her teenage years, she has written many church plays. In 2018, she published her first novel Lane Steen. By weaving entertaining, page-turning stories, Candace hopes to share the Gospel and encourage her readers. She currently lives in her beloved Arkansas with her husband Aaron and their son Matthew along with two dogs and three cats.
Social Media:
Sign up for my quarterly newsletter at www.candaceweststoryteller.com! I love getting to know my readers! Also, visit my author page at www.facebook.com/inspirationalnovel.
Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/candacewest111.
Before you go, check out Lane Steen and connect with Candace on social media. Thank you for joining us today!
Enjoyed your post, Candace & Erin!
Thank you, Cynthia! ☺️