Mormon Bloggers

I blew it. My first chance and I blew it! I’ve had a silly idea for a long time. Jenni and I don’t have a TV, so we never see regular episodes of anything. We do rent movies on DVD and watch them on the computer, but we’re determined not to get a TV. I’ve been working on my most recent book quite a bit lately, and I was talking to someone about it, and how much fun it has been to write. When the person I was talking to said, “How do you get the time?!” I fumbled with stuff about getting up early or staying up late, and a little about determination, blah, blah, blah. After I left, I slapped myself on the forehead. I forgot – completely forgot! See, I’d had this idea that if anyone ever asked me how I get time to write books or CD’s, I’d simply say, “I don’t watch TV, and in the time I would have been watching, I write.” But I forgot. Blew it on my first chance. Oh, well. Guess I better give up movies so I’ll... Read the rest of this entry »

If you love writing, there’s something wonderful happening on April 23-24, 2010, at the The Marriott Hotel in downtown Provo, Utah. These two dates are when the 7th Annual LDStorymakers Writers Conference takes place–the best event of the year for all writers. Here’s what Stacy Whitman, Editorial Director of Tu Publishing and guest editor at the 2009 LDStorymakers Writers Conference said last year. “I must say, it was one of the most well-organized, well-staffed conferences that I’ve ever participated in. It ranks right up there with BYU Writing for Young Readers (though Storymakers is for every genre–adult, children’s, LDS, secular, fantasy, realism, nonfiction, and so forth), and the conference itself focuses more on craft than marketing, so the lessons about, well, storymaking, can be applied to whatever niche an author writes for.” For detailed information about this year’s conference, please click HERE!  Read More →

Meet me over on Writing Fortress today for another Peek in the Past. This month my post is titled “Black and White Cemeteries.”  Read More →

Spencer W. Kimball, “The Gospel Vision of the Arts,” Tambuli, Feb 1978, 1 In our world, there have risen brilliant stars in drama, music, literature, sculpture, painting, science, and all the fields of excellence. For long years I have had a vision of members of the Church greatly increasing their already strong positions of excellence till the eyes of all the world will be upon us. President John Taylor so prophesied, as he emphasized his words with this directive: “You mark my words, and write them down and see if they do not come to pass. “You will see the day that Zion will be far ahead of the outside world in everything pertaining to learning of every kind as we are today in regard to religious matters. “God expects Zion to become the praise and glory of the whole earth, so that kings hearing of her fame will come and gaze upon her glory. …” (September 20, 1857; see The Messenger, July 1953.) With regard to masters, surely there must be many of the quality of Wagners... Read the rest of this entry »

The words, “inspired by a true story,” often mark a movie or novel. When my manuscript is published, the cover could read, “inspired by a real plant.” I received a hibiscus plant at Christmastime several years ago from a woman receiving hospice care for cancer. I met Lily through my husband when we visited her home [...] All Content Copyright (C) 2007-2009 TJ Hirst. No content may be reproduced without the copyright owner’s express written consent. The Plant That Inspired My Novel  Read More →

By the end of the week I will have met my goals for 2009—well, not all my goals. I never learned to smile very well, a goal I will carry over and try again next year. I will, however, mail the manuscript of my novel to an editor for her consideration, which will lead to [...] All Content Copyright (C) 2007-2009 TJ Hirst. No content may be reproduced without the copyright owner’s express written consent. A Greater Capacity to Create  Read More →

On November 1, Jenni I were about to get ready for bed when she mentioned to me that she had a friend who was going to write a novel in a month. When I asked why he was doing it, she told me about National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo, and how it was a group that challenged people to write a 50,000 word novel in a month. I laughed, wondering what kind of goof would make such a ridiculous commitment. I love writing, but that would be way too much. Still… Then gears started turning in my head. “No,” I told myself, “I’m a nonfiction writer.” Of course, I knew that wasn’t completely true. Anyone who’s been following the Synergetic Novel knows I’ve at least dabbled in the juvenile fiction genre. Then my fingers started to itch. “Argh…” I told myself, “but I’ve got a Christmas CD to be working on. I’ve got two other books in the works right now. Taking on another project would just back up their publication.” But... Read the rest of this entry »

Meet me over on Writing Fortress today for another Peek in the Past. This month my post is titled “Walking the Walk.”  Read More →

Recently, I had started a thread over at www.writingforums.com. This thread is discussing how we all came up with our particular online monikers. Mine is SeattleGhostWriter. Well, being a bit tired and in one of those weird moods, I had decided to post something of a confession regarding a particular nickname that was held for [...]  Read More →

Wednesday night and it is Scout night for an 11 year old stepson. Rushing around to get things together, nature calling at the most inconvenient time, switching out the laundry from dryer to basket, from washer to dryer, changing out of clothes into fresh clean clothes, putting the last of the dishes away before heading [...]  Read More →

Mission accomplished. The book is done. At about 1 a.m. this morning, I sent the final pages back to my editor (Tristi Pinkston at Valor Publishing) for review and inclusion in the master copy of the manuscript. Changes were accepted. I can finally say, the book is done! Copy editing is the next step to get it ready for typesetting, but those changes are expected to be minor. During the edit, Tristi mentioned that I must really like water because of some of the imagery in my book. Yep, I do. It is calming to me. I have spent some of my best thinking moments on the banks of a stream or river. So, the image above of a peaceful lake seemed appropriate for this post. And if I must say so myself, the book is quite good, better than I had ever imagined when I started out on this writing journey. I look forward to seeing comments from my readers when the ARCs are sent out! Oh. I almost forgot. If you want to experience the satisfaction one can only experience through the creative process, sign... Read the rest of this entry »

Off and on, there is the venture over to the Mormon Apologetic Discussion Board where the participation is robust, various topics explored, and questions postulated with diverse answers. One particular posting caught the interest of the more creative and authorian side. Claremont Graduate University is having a submission call for Academic papers that deal with [...]  Read More →