Encouragment for Writers

Many have written and said they've read In the Eye of Deception and Dancing Softly, in two or three days. They've said the books are quick reads that shout hope.

I love writing and want to know everything I can about the craft. This page contains some of the things I've learned. I hope it inspires.

“I write to give myself strength.” Joss Whedon

“Stories make us more alive, more human, more courageous, more loving.” Madeleine L'Engle

I love making up stories and telling them to my girls. When I see them wide-eyed hanging onto every word....it motivates me to weave the story into

something more appealing.

When they were younger I often read The Happy Prince, by Oscar Wilde. By the time I got to the end...all three of us were crying...everytime. The story of sacrifice and compassion moved us so strongly.

But my favorite story teller is Hans Christian Andersen. He wrote The Ugly Duckling, The Emperor has No Clothes, The Princess and the Pea and so many other that are still loved by kids today.

I heard that Anderson was considered an ugly child. He had few friends and spent hours alone lost in his imagination and fantasies. It wasn't until he hit 30...that he became a success. He was born into a poor home and like many of his stories his rags to riches life reads like a happily ever after fairy tale.

“Write what should not be forgotten.” Isabel Allende

I like reading biographies...the ones that show that life's tough stuff doesn't last...that miracles are for real....and that people are incredibly resilient.

I have a library full of those kinds of books...some written by well known authors...others that most never heard of. All of them have impacted and changed me in some way.

Once such book is Forgiving Dead Man Walking by Debbie Morris. I picked it up cheap - for less than $5.

Once I started reading...I couldn't put it down. What I got from the book was HOPE and that life goes on after trauma....It's really true what they say....everyone does have a story.

National Writing Month....It happens in November....the challenge to write 50,000 words in 30 days...1,667 words a day. Participation is free.

2006 Sara Gruen decided to take NaNo's challenge. The result - Her book, 'Water for

Elephants,' a historical romance became a number one best seller.

Gruen's editor for her other two novels turned down Water for Elephants forcing her to find another publisher. She did. Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill picked it up. Water for Elephants has been translated into 44 languages...sold over 3 million copies worldwide and was made into a movie in 2011.NaNoWrite will happen again this November.

Are you up for the challenge? http://www.nanowrimo.org/

“A short story is a different thing all together...

A short story is like a kiss in the dark from a stranger.”

Stephen King
~

A Twist of Innocence

Researched and Authored by Nikki Rosen

The story has taken on many twists and turns. It began with one elderly man telling me his version of what happened. His story was sketchy. He remembered few details. He said he was charged with a crime as a child that he was innocent of.

Fascinated by the story I set out to find the details. Incredibly I found the baby in the story and the boy who helped rescue her.

They told me the shocking truth of how four young boys snatched a toddler from her backyard, beat her, attempted to rape her and then hung her in a shed and left her to die. The four bragged about what they had done. Someone overheard them and told police. The boys were charged and ultimately sentenced. Three of them were brothers who already had a history of committing crimes that were serious enough to be heard and dealt with by Juvenile Court.

This story is about lies and deception and using faith as a means to promote and profit from a heinous crime. The title will be changed from A Twist of Innocence to Twisted Innocence.

Nikki Rosen ~ Write2Empower

Winner of The Word Guild Award

Honourable Mention of The Grace Irwin Award