From the Joy of Reading to a Joy of Writing: Author Interview with Christine L. Henderson

My joy of reading started when I was a child, and my mom took me to the library where I was given the choice to get as many books as I wanted. Once home, I voraciously read them feeling like I had treasures untold. Today, two of my happy places are still libraries and bookstores.

I didn't start writing until my final year of high school when I was tasked to create a few skits for a senior program. That's when my love of writing began. In college, I looked forward to my classes that were about creative writing whether it was screenplays, short stories, or poems. My first writing job out of college was creating ad copy for radio stations.

My published writing now includes inspirational pieces for Chicken Soup for the Soul and other anthologies about family life, poems and short stories for kids’ magazines, devotionals for international magazines, and books for children and adults.

One of my books I'm especially proud of is a devotional and activity book for children. That book has been awarded a 5-star Reader's Favorite Rating. Here are the details from that rating...

Exploring the Bible: Prayers, Poems, Praises, Bible Verses, and Fun Pages is an entertaining Biblical activity book for children. Filled with an interesting combination of puzzles, word searches, coloring pages, and a collection of related Bible verses, this is a great resource for Sunday school teachers and home-school parents alike. It's also a book that would be helpful for anyone wanting something engaging for their children to work on while learning names and lessons from the Bible. Every few pages there is space for children to write about something they are thankful for on that day, in their own words. These pages provide a great opportunity for children to practice their writing skills while also learning to cultivate a mindset of gratitude. It is even a fun way for children to learn critical thinking skills and to reflect on their thoughts and feelings.

In Exploring the Bible, the author has done a wonderful job of creating an interactive learning tool for children. While including a wide variety of learning games that children can enjoy, this book also contains a good mix of Old Testament and New Testament lessons that offers children an opportunity to learn more about the books of the Bible and some of the lesser talked about characters. 

I loved the way that the layout of the activity book was easy to follow and well-considered. With a mix of mazes and coloring pages with absorbing word games, it's a great book to have on hand for group learning events. Appropriate for home-school, church, after-school programs, or just something to have on hand for children to pass the time, this Bible activity book is well suited for parents and teachers alike.

If you'd like to learn more about this book or my other books, here's the Amazon link to find them:https://www.amazon.com/stores/Christine-L.-Henderson/author/B09L2Y7XNP

 

Adding Your Life Skills to Writing

Like many authors, I came to writing as a second career. Or in my case, this is a third career. If you're just starting out, you may think you have nothing in common with other writers than the desire to write. In actuality, some of the traits and skills you learned in your other job could be very helpful with your writing career. 

My work background is in advertising and real estate sales. It's easy to grasp how advertising can play into selling homes. You use the words and images in advertising to create an interest to purchase a product. In real estate sales, the product is the home and my services. 

So how does my work in advertising and selling homes fit into creating stories? Easy. Stories are a series of word pictures that create a reason for a reader to continue with the story. Just as buyers purchase homes because when they find an emotional attachment. You need to "hook" your buyer as well. 

The style and flow of rooms in a house are the backbones of the lifestyle the buyer wants to achieve. In a story, the way every character interacts with another become scenes that create the plot. If the structure of the house is poorly constructed, buyers will lose interest. If the plotline is flawed, the reader will discontinue his reading. Authors need to follow structure and grammar rules just as builders do. 

Architectural styles change as do writing styles. Some prefer bestsellers that are fresh and cutting edge, while others or perhaps prefer timeless classics. However, both need strong writing foundations. 

So how can your past work skills, assist you in your writing career? Let's take the medical field. You probably have lots of experience using charts and graphs. Use that skill to create outlines for your stories. 

Do you work in an office creating reports and tracking expenditures? Those analytical skills can be used to review scenes and see if they flow the plotline from one midpoint to another until completion. 

Or perhaps you've worked in a restaurant. You know what spices and intense flavorings appeal to the taste buds. In writing, create subtle nuances of the characters and their actions to intensify the story. 

So no matter what work you've done before, it could very well be what you need to be a better writer. And just think of all the people you've met along the way, they too can be crafted and changed as characters in your writing.

You've already been preparing to be a writer. You just didn't know it. The more you write, which includes writing daily, the better you will become as a writer. 

I've put in a lot of sweat and effort in creating my writing in the past few and I've been published in each of these publications. I continue to hone my writing skills and continue to submit to more publications.