Hi, bloggers!
One of my favorite things about my raising is that my father was a preacher. Although he is no longer preaching, I’m proud of him and all that he’s accomplished in his life. During his time as a preacher, he served two churches. I made lasting friendships at both.
There are some crazy stereotypes for preacher’s kids. I disagree with them. I was not a wild child. In any sense of the word. I was active in the church, helping with children’s ministry and music. I grew up singing in church and still do to this day. Even education was important to me. No crazy parties or rebellious nights.
Today, faith still plays a large role in my life. Even in my writing. I use few curse words, if any at all. There are no steamy scenes. If there’s romance, it’s more of the sweet side. This is just my preference. I do sometimes add Christianity to my story, even briefly mentioning church or a prayer.
It’s important for people to see my personality, my faith, thru my writing. I want people to see the real me thru my words.
This isn’t to say I have anything against people that write steamier or more adult stories. Everyone has their own thing, and that’s how it should be. Anyone that gets out there and can create a beautiful story deserves praise. It takes a lot of courage to simply put your ideas out in the world.
Until next time………………………… Stay Focused!
love love love todays topic…and, i loved your post! i see u Marlena, thru your words, & what i see is just beautiful! p.s. im so enjoying your new format!
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Thank you so very much, Tia. You are always so kind to me and I’m beyond grateful for you and your friendship. 🙂
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What a fantastic piece of writing, Marlena. Thank you for sharing a bit of yourself with us readers. I grew up in the church as well. My grandfather was in the music ministry and a Sunday School teacher. However, unlike you, I became rebellious. I became a hellraiser. I came back (the Prodigal Son) twenty-two years ago, after a near death experience. This experience not only opened my eyes, it profoundly changed who I am. God is good. He made each of us uniquely individual. We all have our own path in life to travel. It’s up to us to keep moving forward–even when that path opens up and threatens to swallow us whole. I admire that you stayed the course and didn’t become a rebel. That takes strength. Had I done the same, I could have saved myself a lot of pain. However, the lessons learned from this pain would never have become my gain.
As for my writing: I don’t want readers to see any part of me in my work. I want them to see the characters and the scenes and the worlds I’ve created. I think that’s why Jazz Baby became my first published work. It is so far removed from who I am. I’m obviously not a 13-year-old girl (though my sister may try to convince you otherwise). But in writing from that POV, hopefully readers don’t see me; hopefully they’ll see the character as a real living breathing person. I really enjoyed this blog piece. Again, thank you for sharing.
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Thank you so much, Beem. I appreciate you sharing about yourself. I completely agree with you. I love how unique people are, each individual person. And we all have to travel our own path, yes. It’s wonderful you took what you went thru, learned from it, and came out on top.
I, for one, can vouch for your characters being so realistic. I truly loved reading Jazz Baby. It’s such an amazing story, I felt like I walked along the journey.
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