An Interview with Author Laura Jackson

1) When working on a manuscript, what do you do when you get stuck?

I take a break. I don't plot out my novels, so I just take a few days to think and to pray about what should happen next. I also bounce ideas off my mom.

2) Do you ever read your dialog aloud to see how it sounds? Have you ever performed an action you want one of your characters to carry out in order to help you visualize or describe it? Have you ever embarrassed yourself doing this?

I do all this in the privacy of my home. (I embarrass myself enough people watching.) But, it really is helpful to read dialogue aloud and to see if someone can really wrap their arms around their knees and spin—or whatever it is. I didn’t do this until my sister pointed out that I had characters doing things they couldn’t really do.

3) What aspect of being a writer is the most challenging for you? Why is this difficult, and what steps have you taken to overcome this hurdle?

Time management is hard for me. I waste a lot of time (check out my Tuesday post about that), and I feel convicted to limit my online time by setting a timer. I wouldn’t waste time at my day job, so I don’t need to waste the time I’ve set aside for my writing job.

4) Do you read your reviews? Have you ever replied to one? Do you find they influence your writing when you work on subsequent books?

I do read my reviews because I’m new and feel I need to get a feel for what readers think. It stings when someone doesn’t love what I’ve written, but sometimes their critiques are valid and helpful.

I haven’t replied to any other than to thank my advanced readers/influencers for their honest reviews.

5) If you’re a plotter, have you ever tried pantsing it? If you’re a pantser, have you ever given plotting a try? Can you swing both ways, or are you a confirmed devotee of one of these methods?

I want to be a plotter so badly! I want to be organized. I’ve tried even just jotting down main plot points, and then I discover those notes after the book is finished and I forgot major events.

6) Does your best writing flow? Or are you most satisfied with the work that you’ve labored over, sweating and groaning?

It just flows. There’s time for editing later. Just get that first draft out.

7) Do you prefer writing the initial draft, or do you enjoy the revision process more? Do you revise as you write, or do you first produce a big mess that you later have to fix? If your first draft is rough, do you usually have to cut out a lot of dead wood, or add flesh to the bare bones?

Because I am a pantser, I have a lot of extra stuff in the book—too much fluff. So, in my editing, I have to delete chunks that take away from the plot, places I rambled until I got to the next plot point.

I like editing until the third or fourth or tenth time! By the fourth time, I hate all the characters and don’t care what happens to them.

By the time the book releases, I love them again.

Laura Jackson loves books--reading and writing them. A life-long reader, Laura studied English in college and taught 7th grade language arts before earning her Master's degree and becoming a school librarian. Now, she spends her days sharing great books with kids and her evenings writing books about teenage girls discovering God and His plan for their lives.

Find Laura's latest release, Worth the Time, on Amazon.

Connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, or her website/blog.

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Author Laura Jackson: Redeeming the Time

Laura Jackson loves books--reading and writing them. A life-long reader, Laura studied English in college and taught 7th grade language arts before earning her Master's degree and becoming a school librarian. Now, she spends her days sharing great books with kids and her evenings writing books about teenage girls discovering God and His plan for their lives.

When I was writing Worth the Time, one scripture kept coming to mind.

Joel 2:25 (ESV) “I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten….”

It resonated so deeply with me that I had a character in the book share it with the main character, who was distraught over the years she’d missed with her biological father.

God is faithful to restore—even the time we’ve wasted chasing things other than Him, following dreams that weren’t from him, and living in sin.

I spent years crawling out of a pit of sin. I knew it was sin, and the more I desperately clawed my way out of the pit, the deeper I sank.

Until He rescued me.

Psalm 40:2 (KJV) “He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock and established my goings.”

So, Jesus has set me free. And not only did He rescue me, He set me upon a rock. So what do I do next?

I’ve felt convicted to spend more time in the Word—reading it, memorizing it, meditating on it, talking about it. When I spend my time wisely on things that will last forever, I’m keeping myself from going back to that pit. I’m walking in the way He’s established because He reveals His will through His word.

And when I’m immersed in His word, I can fully live for Him—sharing the gospel with unbelievers and encouraging my sisters in Christ. Our time on this earth is so very short—a vapor in the scheme of eternity.

I don’t want to waste a moment on things that are not eternally good.

But it’s hard. What are some practical things we can do to spend our time wisely?

Here are a few I’ve thought of. What can you add?

*Get plugged into a church where the truth is spoken and where there is a community of believers who encourage and challenge each other.

*Limit Internet time (Okay, this one may just be for me. I waste SO MUCH time online doing nothing.)

*Keep a journal one day to see what you’re spending your time on. What is a time waster?

*Give back to others. When we volunteer regularly, we see how blessed we are, which often helps us not to take our time/health/etc for granted.

Find Worth the Time on Amazon. 

Connect with Laura on Facebook, Twitter, or her 

Website/blog.

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An Interview with Author Laura Jackson

On Tuesday this week, Laura Jackson shared her thoughts with us on the subject of waiting - something we're all too familiar with! Today she's agreed to talk about a variety of things.

1) Thanks for waiting around to speak with us again! So tell me, now that you're reveling in the release of your first book: what do you love about being a writer, and what do you like the least?

     I love sharing great stories. I love imagining characters, putting them through hell, and seeing what comes out. I hate editing. Well, I like it the first few times, but about that fifth or sixth time, I hate the book and the characters. (Sorry if that’s too blunt.)

2) Are you a plotter, a pantser, or a combination?

     I’m a pantser. For my first novel, which released February 4, 2014, I had the idea of Ellie. I knew where she started and where I wanted her to end. So, I opened up Word and started typing. It took off from there. I do make notes as I write or jot down a few big events that need to happen, but that’s usually while I write, not before.

3) Do you write full time, or do you work it in alongside a full-time job?

     I’m the librarian at an elementary school during the day. It’s a great job for several reasons. First, I get the best vacations ever, which gives me good chunks of time to write. Second, I’m surrounded by books all day, which is inspiring and often a little daunting as I read amazing books and automatically compare mine to them. Third, I work with great kids who love reading. I get to read books and color, cut, and glue activities all day, which is exhausting but energizing.

4) How do you get your best ideas?

     By just living. Meeting people, seeing what people go through. It’s amazing the stories that are around us.

5) What do you do to get past writer’s block?

    I check Facebook….and usually get distracted for a few hours.

   Sometimes I let it sit. Since I don’t plot, I often have to take a few days to just think about what should happen next.

   Sometimes I ramble write until I get to a breakthrough. Then, I delete the rambling.

6) What’s your favorite method for keeping a story’s middle from sagging?

      Expose a lie. Have the character face a fear. I’m only on my second story, so I’m still learning. ☺

7) Do you like to listen to music when you write?

       Sometimes, I do listen to music while I write. I try different genres. For example, I started a book where one of the characters plays the piano, so I’m trying to listen to some piano pieces to get in his mind. My only experience with the piano was when I took it freshman year of college. The professor told me she’d give me an A because I tried really hard but that I should not take Piano 2.

 Most of the time, I listen to sports radio while I write. Go Rockets! Go Texans!

8) Writing is a sedentary occupation. What do you do for exercise?

       My back is stiff while I type this. I walk a lot at work, but I also do BodyPump twice a week and

cardio twice a week. Well, that’s the goal. I enjoy working out, especially after sitting to type all day.

Thanks, Laura, for stopping in for a chat.

Readers, you can connect with Laura at Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, or her blog. And don't forget to stop by The Borrowed Book tomorrow, when you can enter to win a free copy of her debut novel, Worth the Wait! 

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Waiting by Author Laura Jackson

Waiting is hard. And being a writer means waiting a lot.

Waiting for answers from agents.

If you get an agent, waiting for them to submit to publishers.

If you don’t get an agent, waiting to hear from small publishers.

Waiting for the publisher’s offer.

Waiting for edits. Second edits. Third edits. Fourth edits. 

Waiting for the cover reveal.

Waiting for reviews from beta readers.

Waiting for readers’ responses.

Even if you’re not a writer, you’ll spend a great deal of your life waiting.

On red lights.

On summer to get here.

On the customer ahead of you in the drive thru line to pull up.

On the phone to ring.

For a promotion.

For a husband.

For a child.

For a loved one’s salvation.

So, what do you do during your waiting?

Cry.

Scream.

Get angry.

Get depressed.

Give up.

Trust God and His plan.

It’s the hardest thing to do when you’re waiting, but it’s the only thing that gives complete peace. 

In Worth the Wait, Ellie Lansing has a picture-perfect life with a close-knit family and the perfect boyfriend. But her world is suddenly knocked off center when her drool-worthy boyfriend cheats, and her always-has-it-together mother is diagnosed with cancer. Ellie doesn't get it. She always does the right thing - doesn't God owe her a happy life? Through her heartache, Ellie learns that sometimes what seems like the end is really just the beginning and that what God has for us is always worth the wait.

And isn’t that true for all of us? When we submit to Him and His plan, our life is a little less about waiting for SOMETHING to happen and a little more about enjoying the SOMEONE who created our life.

Wait on Him. He’s always worth the wait. 

Laura Jackson loves books---reading and writing them. A life-longe reader, Laura studied English in college and taught 7th grade language arts before earning her Master's degree and becoming a school librarian. Now, she spends her days sharing great books with kids and her evenings writing books about teenage girls discovering God and His plan for their lives.

Return Friday for a chance to win a copy of Laura's book!

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