When you think about writing, do you think about the whole process or do you dream about your story but never seem to get anywhere? While we should always have a dream to achieve, it’s what comes in the middle that makes that dream come true.
Today, author Normandie Fischer is here to tell us what exactly it takes to make that dream come true. Welcome to Wisdom Wednesday, Normandie!
Name: Normandie Fischer
Genre: Women’s Fiction
Latest Novel: The Sea Prayers
You’ve heard it from myriad sources, the same advice, the same words of encouragement. Keep writing. Keep going. Persevere.
Since my first book released, I’ve had folk approach me: “I’m going to write a novel someday.” Or, “I could write a novel if I chose to.” Or, “I have a perfect idea for a book.”
The I’m-going-to, the I-could-if, and the perfect-idea folk have one strike against them. All their writing is dream-based, when what they need is to begin. Just begin. And then—oh, and this is the hard part—keep going.
Bringing a novel to completion and then to publication is hard work. It takes determination and perseverance, especially if you care about quality. Quality is hard-won. Quality takes time and a willingness to listen and learn.
Back when I was editing for a small press, I ran into writers with good ideas who were convinced they knew far more than I—or any other editor. Convinced they’d written a great piece, they weren’t willing to learn. They knew better. They didn’t need an editor. They didn’t need to listen.
Well, fine, but that’s never true for anyone. We all need other eyes, other perspectives, an editor’s honing skills. I use both a content editor and a copyeditor because I want my work to be the best it can be.
Writing is hard work. Sticking with it, learning and growing, is even harder. Oh, and then there’s the miserable part that involves rejection—from agents and publishers, from readers. No one wants to hear that her story isn’t good enough, but I don’t know a single author who hasn’t had to cope with rejection along the way. It’s part of the process.
How you handle it depends, in large part, on your reasons for writing. If you write for glory and fame—and actually think you deserve both—the devastation of rejection will be a lot more painful than if you write because it’s your passion, your calling.
I’m convinced I’m supposed to write. I love to do it, and even without an audience, I’d continue. As a woman of faith, I also write to please my Lord, which means I adhere to the command in Ecclesiastes 9:10: “Whatever your hand finds to do, do with all your might.”
With all my might. With all the care I can give it, with all the perseverance it might take, with all that is in me, with humility, as an offering. And the rest is up to my Lord.
A waitress, a megastar, and an ex-addict wage war for the heart of a young girl.
Thirteen years ago, a spiked drink left Agnes with a permanent reminder of the man who date-raped her.
Her daughter looks like him, sounds like him, and even listens to his platinum records (of course, the dude’s a mega star because nothing is fair) but Brisa is everything Agnes has in the world. At least, she is until the day this music star sets his sights on getting himself a ready-made family.
He’s got millions of dollars, millions of fans, a high-powered legal team, and half Brisa’s DNA. Agnes has a run-down house, a friend who’s almost three years sober and afraid to say he loves her, and a lawyer willing to work pro bono.
Oh, and the whole town of Beaufort. That’s right. She’s got all those Beaufort folk at her back, praying to the God she has rejected, and not one of them is going to let Brisa go without a fight.
Another story of faith redemption from the author of Sailing out of Darkness.
Normandie Fischer is a sailor who writes and a writer who sails. After studying sculpture in Italy, she returned to the States, graduated suma cum laude, and went to work in the publishing field, moving from proofreader up the ladder to senior editor, honing technical tomes, creative non-fiction, and, later, fiction.
She and her husband spent a number of years on board their 50-foot ketch, Sea Venture, sailing from San Francisco to the Sea of Cortez, Mexico, and on through the Panama Canal. They now live in coastal North Carolina, where she takes care of her aging mother and, whenever possible, enjoys her two grown children and two grandchildren. She is the author of six novels.
Make sure to connect with Normandie on social media and her blog, and check out her latest release, The Sea Prayers.
Website: www.normandiefischer.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/WritingOnBoard
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NormandieFischer/
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Normandie-Fischer/e/B00BSIF2NI/
The Sea Prayers Purchase Links:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07H2MWMYC/
BOOKs2Read: https://www.books2read.com/u/m0geDl
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-sea-prayers
Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-sea-prayers-normandie-fischer/1129474278
Ibooks https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id1435120402
Thank you for joining us today!
What kind of writing challenges are you facing? For me, I had to make the decision to sit down and write (from beginning to end) and not worry if it was amazing or if it was junk. I let that fear hold me back for a long time. It was difficult, but I did it, and it was a little easier with the second book. I’m starting my third book this week, I know I may still have those doubts, but I know I’ve done it twice now, and I know you can too!
Normandie, your story has a lot of twists and turns. I can fel the tension building. I agree that writing a good book is harder than you think. And I’ve discovered, though told I’m a thorough editor, (for other authors), I overlook the errors in my own books.
Good luck and may God bless you in your writing endeavors.
Thank you, Laurean. (Love your name!) That’s it, isn’t it? We can edit others, but definitely need other eyes on our own.
Good advice. One thing we can never to is learn TOO MUCH! Editors are there to make our writing better, if only we will let them!
Exactly, Regina. Being willing to learn is essential, isn’t it?