Jessica Ferguson

Author, Writing Coach, Speaker

Telling Stories Over and Over and Over Again!

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How many times can you write the same story? The same story, but different. The same story, but different authors.

I know we often encourage each other by saying we can give the same idea or plot to ten others and we’ll come away with ten completely different stories. That’s true. I believe it.

I’ve said before that while writing The Groom Wore Blue Suede Shoes, three Elvis books were published before mine was even finished. That’s always discouraging and a little frightening. Are ideas just floating around in the air, waiting for someone to grab ’em. Well, as weird as it sounds, I do sort of believe that. I know all good things in our lives come from God, and that we can do nothing on our own. That includes getting good ideas. I certainly didn’t come up with those great ideas–the ones those bestselling writers grabbed and ran with.  

Recently I’ve seen two of my ideas come to pass, written by others. They were enough like my idea that if I write mine now, I’ll feel like a copy cat.

I know there aren’t any “new” ideas; everything’s been done/written already. I’m trying to break myself of the habit of “mulling things around in my head” forever and a day. I’m a slow thinker, but a pretty fast writer. Does that make sense. 🙂

I’ve written a little more than 100 pages of my inspirational romance. A couple weeks ago, I picked up one of the Love Inspired books in Walmart and guess what, the theme was almost exactly the same as mine. Except the author offered a cute twist. 🙂 So it was different, but the same.

After I fought away the doubt, despair, and agony I took a look through my realistic lens.  By the time I finish my book, query the editor, wait for a reply, actually sell it, go through revisions, all the necessary steps involved, more than a year will have passed. I’m sure even more stories like mine will have been published.

The point is, when this happens we can’t get discouraged. We need to just finish our books! We can try for a traditional publisher or we can indie publish. After all, we’re in the land of opportunity, aren’t we? (Unless books, reading, writing, and publishing are cancelled. Yikes!)

Have you seen some of your ideas come to fruition by other writers? Did you keep writing or did you get so discouraged you gave up? Hopefully, you kept writing!

 

IWSG Day: Shelving Your Work

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Welcome to June, and another IWSG meeting. We appreciate Alex J. Cavanaugh and his gang who make certain IWSG runs smoothly. IWSG posts the first Wednesday of each month. Find the entire list of participants here. 

Our purpose is to share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!

Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG and hashtag is #IWSG.

The awesome co-hosts for this June 2 posting of the IWSG are J Lenni Dorner, Sarah Foster,Natalie Aguirre, Lee Lowery, and Rachna Chhabria!

Our optional question this month is:

For how long do you shelve your first draft, before reading it and re-drafting? Is this dependent on your writing experience and the number of stories/books under your belt? 

I sometimes shelve my work for years but I don’t think that is actually shelving. That’s probably closer to procrastination or losing interest. But to answer the question, for me every story is different. I guess my answer depends on how excited I feel about the story, how rough a draft it is, and if I’ve written it for a publisher, a magazine or a contest. Maybe it’s even a gut feeling thing.

As mentioned in a previous post, I have a series of four novellas that I wrote several years ago in quick succession. I haven’t looked at them since. I even made a Pinterest page for each one. I’m sure if and when I get back to them I’ll be appalled at the convoluted mess, or excited for the challenge. I’m hoping for the latter.

When it comes to revision, sometimes I’ll revise as I go, and then I’ll put the story aside for a few weeks.

I call myself an intuitive writer. Some of my books and stories spill out of me while others require an outline. Don’t ask me why. I think each story sort of has a life of its own and “tells” me how it wants to be treated. That sounds weird, doesn’t it, but I’ll bet some of you know what I mean.

I come from a journalism background so I’ve taught myself to write pretty fast. There usually isn’t a lot of “shelf” time when you write for newspapers or biweekly magazines. That’s helped my fiction writing, but it usually means more revision. Writing fast is great for just getting the story down.

For the past several days, I’ve been playing around with plottr. I think I talked about it in my previous blogpost. I’m really enjoying “constructing” my newest book and plottr is helping me pull together the middle where I often flounder.

If any if you have a manuscript that took off on so many rabbit trails that you lost your way, I encourage you to give plottr a try. I’ll bet you can get that novel back on track using their 30 day free version. And then, you’ll want to buy!

Now, a bit of good news I want to share: I entered a “hook” contest that Books and Such Literary Management sponsored in celebration of their 25th anniversary. The hook had to be 25 words or less. Today I learned I’m one of 25 semifinalist out of 317 submissions. I won a $10 Starbucks gift card and I’m invited to send a proposal based on my hook to them by June 15th.

How fun is that?

I’m curious: do you submit to contests? If so, what kind?

How Do You Write?

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I truly envy those of you who can sit down and plot your entire book scene by scene or chapter by chapter, including each character’s GMC. I can’t. Or maybe I should say I don’t plot to that extent. I use a very vague 3-act structure. And pile lots of random notes into my iPhone.

I start thinking about the story when an idea or a character with a goal or a problem pop into my mind. I vaguely map out the little I know —and hope it’s enough to keep me excited. I’ll be able to tell soon enough … when I start writing. The actual writing is where I get to know my characters and my story. Would you call me a pantser?

I’m a fast typist. If I have a soft comfortable chair to sit in, I can write all day. I just think story and let my fingers fly. The problem, of course, is that there’s a heck of a lot of revision.

Once I wrote four novellas in the course of a few days. That was several years back and I often think about those short books, and how I might make them longer. The characters are still real to me. Their stories still excite me, but they’re so rough I’d probably be overwhelmed if I re-read them. I wonder how long revision would take. I used to love rewriting my novels. Now, not so much.

Every writer has their own writing/plotting/revision methods. Plotting is probably second nature to many of you. I’m good with beginnings and endings–meaning they come fairly easy. It’s the middle that stops me cold and hangs me up.

I’m investigating plottr. It seems like an interesting program—and very visual. I’ve never fully understood or caught on to Scrivener so maybe Plottr will work for me. There’s an interesting YouTube interview with bestselling author Deb Kastner, and she shares her plotting a romance template. There are many good instructional videos showing valuable info regarding plottr. You may have already watched them.

Have you used Plottr? What’s your experience with it? Share how you write. I’m curious and interested.

Let Me Recommend

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I’m determined to keep up the once-a-week blogging. It’s tricky getting back into it when one has been away so long. I don’t feel I’m saying much that’s beneficial to anyone. Maybe today:

Just out of curiosity, who reads blogs these days, and why? For inspiration? For research? I’d really like to know so I have questions for you at the end of this post.

My favorite blogs are writing related but when it comes to being a faithful reader, I’m not. I’ll scan to see if they’re writing about something that interests me. I ALWAYS read a post that has to do with markets and submissions. And plotting or outlining. (Crazy, isn’t it? I should really understand plotting and outlining by now.)

Hands down, my favorite blogger is bestselling author Tina Radcliffe

Her latest post Deadline Dementia speaks to me, and I’m sure it will make an impression on you too. Don’t we all work better, faster and more seriously if we have a deadline?

If you visit Tina’s site, please click on her For Writers Series and feast on all the informative articles she writes for us. I never hesitate to learn something I can actually apply.

The only downside I’ve found to Tina’s blog is that there’s no subscribe feature (if you find one, let me know). When I forget to pop in, my reading piles up or I miss valuable info.

Also, you might want to subscribe to her writing newsletter Inside Edition, that features links to articles, markets, contests and much more. If you don’t benefit from Inside Edition you can always unsubscribe. Give it a try. It’s the only newsletter I actually get impatient for!

Questions for you:

Just out of curiosity, do any of you follow blogs that are not writing related? What and why?

Do you know if there are any non-writers who read your blog?

Do you produce a newsletter? Why? Promoting your books only, or do you have personal tidbits?

How many newsletters do you subscribe to? Do you open them and actually read them?

Go Write!

To sum it up, I’m targeting Love Inspired with my latest manuscript. I’ve read (more than once!) and studied Tina Radcliffe’s Desconstructing a Romance Novel and several of my favorite LI writers. So far, I have 88 pages. Fingers crossed and many prayers that I can get through the middle!

And you? What are you working on this week?

Let’s Get to Writing!

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Hello, my writer friends! What are you guys doing out there in writing land? This past week I’ve roughly outlined a series of NF books. Oh, please, don’t be impressed. I’m always doing that … I just never sit down and write the books. (slapping forehead).

I received a very powerful email from author (mentor to Christian writers) Shelley Hitz talking about the power of a book series (NF book series.) I’ve read it several times and each read-thru I get a little more pumped with ideas. So what did I do?

I sat down and wrote a short story. (slapping my forehead again!) Maybe some day I’ll seriously hit the nonfiction trail but when your first love is fiction …

This short story has been my first writing endeavor in more than a year. (In all fairness to me, I did edit my novel. The pandemic and the state of our country really messes with my head!) After hubby read through my story, asked his questions, made his suggestions, I sent it off to Woman’s World Magazine. Ten fingers and ten toes are crossed, and prayers are going up. I’ve sold them two stories during the past couple of years, but it seems every attempt is like starting from scratch, relearning how to pull a short romance together, at least for me. 700 words is tricky!

I really need some publishing encouragement. How about you?

For those of you who write mysteries, take a look at these two markets. You might have a story that fits. Please note: these are secular publications.

#1. Mystery Weekly Magazine  

and

#2. Untreed Reads, a publishing house that was founded in 2008. Read the guidelines carefully.

(I Just) Died In Your Arms: Crime Fiction Inspired By One-Hit Wonders

Also, have you heard of the contest that Books and Such Literary Management is hosting in celebration of their 25 year anniversary?  The deadline is May 15th but if you hurry …. Here’s the link:

I sent them my hook, and if I happen to be one of the finalists, I have my proposal all finished and ready to send.

Let me know what you’re writing … see you next week!

Jess

IWSG Day – It’s May!

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Hello IWSG readers and writers! It has been awhile since I’ve posted (not sure I remember how) so I need to remind any new readers out there (and myself) that Insecure Writer’s Support Group is for any and ALL insecure writers. Yes, that would be me! We’re here to support each other and that’s been desperately needed during the past year or so. Agree?

The awesome co-hosts for the May 5 posting of the IWSG are Erika Beebe, PJ Colando, Tonja Drecker, Sadira Stone, and Cathrina Constantine!

This month’s optional question is one I had to think about: Has any of your readers ever responded to your writing in a way that you didn’t expect? If so, did it surprise you?

I can answer with one word: No. And maybe that’s why I’m an insecure writer. I can’t recall anyone responding to my books–fiction or nonfiction–in a positive or negative way. Oh, wait! One lady I play bean bag baseball with has come to mind. She complimented one of my stories in Woman’s World Magazine and told me how much she loved it. She said it in such a dreamy voice, I believed her. 🙂 She even read it twice. Mmmm, I feel a little better now. Encouraged! Maybe I should try to write more short romances. It has been an entire year.

Just out of curiosity, how much have you written during this pandemic? I’ve been totally blank and blocked. I feel I’m just now getting back to normal, but not quite there yet.

I just wanted to pop in today to participate in IWSG day and promise you this new leaf I’m turning: to blog each week on something writing-related. Hope you’ll sign up or tune in so we can encourage each other. Good writing, and I’ll see you again next week!

Six Month Review

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Hello my friends—assuming I have any friends left. This is my first post of 2020, and I’m still not certain I have anything to say. I’m going to assess what I’ve accomplished so far this year. I’m afraid more thought than action.

I sold another story to Woman’s World. Wait… was that this year or last? It came out this year.  I’ve lost all track of time. It was such a fun little story. I titled it Daughters and Dogs but they changed it to The Promise of Puppy Love and they changed the ending. (My ending worked better.) Since we were in the middle of Coronavirus, I could only find a few copies of it in one particular grocery store. I didn’t want to run all over town exposing myself to COVID just to purchase extras. That issue went quietly into the abyss, and since the story came out, I haven’t submitted any more WW romances. I just haven’t been able to write much except …

April was Camp NaNoWrMo and I wrote a nonfiction book. Yep, that surprised me too! I’ve been wanting to pull together a “writer memoir” for a long time, sort of walking beginning writers along my publishing path and sharing info that I think is important whether the rest of the world does or not. You know, we all have our experiences and our opinions, and I really have a bunch. I even talk about mean writers/mean critiquers in my book. Believe me, if you aren’t prepared for a mean writer, it can shut you down–especially if it’s someone you admired. I still have to do a lot of rearranging and major revisions; we all know how I am when it comes to rewriting. I seldom get to it so there’s one more manuscript stuck in my “unpublished” drawer. Funny how motivating a contract is–makes all the difference when it comes to revision.

And here’s another conundrum:  I’ve been working on a short story (off and on) for two or three years. I think I’ve mentioned it before. It came to me with a complete beginning, middle and ending as I was driving through East Texas. I wrote and rewrote to the best of my ability, then sent it to a Beta Reader for her thoughts. (A woman I did not know so she had no reason to flatter me.) The comments she made really helped flesh out the plot as well as the characters. I entered it in the very first Bill Crider Prize for Short Fiction contest this past year. Back in September I received a notice stating:

“Your story was among those in the second round of judging. Unfortunately, it was not among the finalists.”

So there you go—not a winner, not a finalist, but I made it to the second round of judging. Okay, I’ll take it! I put my manuscript aside for a while so that when I finally went back to it I might determine WHY the story didn’t make it to the finals. And remarkably, I spotted a couple of places where I did NOT do my research. Really stupid mistakes on my part.

Now, I’ve rewritten again. This time my story is geared toward the Great American Fiction Contest sponsored by The Saturday Evening Post. I’ve been waiting, and waiting for just the right story to enter, and I was certain More Than a Legend was the one … until a couple of weeks ago when the Texas Ranger statue in Texas was removed.

More Than a Legend is about a Texas Ranger who passes away and after his death his “so called” best friend learns of an “indiscretion.” The moment the Texas Ranger statue in Dallas toppled to the ground, I knew I shouldn’t submit my story. I can’t contribute to the insanity of demeaning another law enforcement officer. More Than A Legend may never find a home. Obviously, not this year. It just feels wrong. And it may be awhile before I feel like writing about any bad cops.

But if you’d like to enter this great contest sponsored by The Saturday Evening Post, here’s the link. Deadline is July 1st so hurry!

Now, tell me what you’ve accomplished during the past six months. I hope you’ve been writing like crazy!

Last IWSG Day of 2019

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Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!
The awesome co-hosts for the December 4 posting of the IWSG are:


I’m out of pocket with no way to post except via my phone. That’s a challenge for me so let me have a raincheck, please. And until my next post, I hope you have a fun day visiting our great IWSG members.

 

 

IWSG Day: Researching Stories

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If it’s Wednesday, then it’s IWSG Day! I’ve missed a month or two, but I’m back. IWSG stands for Insecure Writers Support Group and was founded by Alex J. Cavanaugh.  You can follow other IWSG members here or on twitter using the hashtag #IWSG. We also have a Facebook page.  The purpose of IWSG is to share and encourage, and answer any questions new writers might have. Remember, there’s no such thing as a dumb question.

 Our awesome co-hosts for this posting of the IWSG are Sadira Stone,Patricia Josephine,Lisa Buie-Collard,Erika Beebe,and C. Lee McKenzie!

 Our interesting optional question this month is: What’s the strangest thing you’ve ever googled in researching a story?

A few years back, I was offered an opportunity to write a novella for Tales of the Scrimshaw Doll series published by The Wild Rose Press. My characters popped into my mind immediately. One character was so incredibly evil he surprised me. I had to research his kind of evil. I needed to find some way he would mark his family and I did. He branded them. To my surprise, people really brand each other and themselves. I’m not talking about tattoos. I mean like cowboys brand their cattle. I tip-toed in to communities where they discussed it and told what they used: keys, cookie cutters, wire, anything decorative that they could heat, sear and mark the skin. When I say I “tip-toed” in to these sites, I mean I peeked with one eye closed because I’m pretty queasy when it comes to any kind of pain and torture.

My book was called The Last Daughter and it’s a story very close to my heart. It’s about love and evil, and sincere, heartbreaking forgiveness. It’s out of print now and “waiting” for revision so I can republish under my own imprint. I hope in early 2020.IMG_9314.PNG

Today, I’m excited to announce my latest release called Christmas In Love. No evil here. Just love sweet love. I’ve coupled two of my previously published short stories with a brand new story that I’m pretty proud of. Take a look at my cover. Isn’t that hero yummy? I thank the multi-talented Heather K. Duff for finding him, designing the cover and formatting the book.

If you give Christmas In Love a try, I hope you’ll leave a review—good or bad. But, hey … if you leave a bad review, at least tell me why or what you didn’t like about Christmas in Love. It might be something I can fix.

I hope you’re all doing well, writing up a storm on NaNoWrMo, and that you have a very blessed Thanksgiving. See you in December!

IWSG DAY: Just Give Me Windows!

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Who: The Insecure Writers Support Group

What: A group that isn’t afraid to voice their fears and insecurities, and share and encourage others.

When: The first Wednesday of each month

Where: Everywhere! Twitter, Facebook, on various blogs and HERE.

Why: Because Alex J. Cavanaugh saw writers expressing doubt and fear … and noticed writers offering encouragement. (Writers love to see other writers succeed.) Alex recognized a need for a support group and he decided to do something about it. The Insecure Writers Support Group was born. Yay, Alex!

The awesome co-hosts for the September 4 posting of the IWSG are Gwen Gardner, Doreen McGettigan, Tyrean Martinson, Chemist Ken, and Cathrina Constantiner!

Our Optional question this month is: If you could pick one place in the world to sit and write your next story, where would it be and why?

Give me anywhere as long as I’m in a large room with a wall of windows overlooking a sandy beach and blue water. The catch is—let me have at least eight hours each day for an entire month. I don’t like writing in snatches of time. Unfortunately, I do it, but I prefer long hours so I won’t lose the various strands of my story or the rhythm of my dialogue or the vague ideas that pop into my head as I create. I seldom plot more than a few lines per chapter so I often desperately hang on to my story. When I stop to cook, or participate in another activity, or leave my work area to run an errand, I struggle to get back to where I was while pounding keys.

I read that Danielle Steele used to lock herself in a room, not coming out until her book was finished. Her family delivered her meals to the door but other than that, no contact. In a way, that sounds like an ideal writing arrangement for me—as long as that room has windows.

What do you think?