P.A. Pursley's Blog
May 1, 2016
Motivation!
During my creative outpouring while on our cruise, I was listening to Daniel play the guitar and sing songs. I had my head down during most of his session because of all the words that came pouring out of me onto the notepad. As I was writing, he sang a song about being someone's support and being there for the girl. I found out later the song was "I'll Be" by Edwin McCain. It is a beautiful song. Just as he was singing it I was writing a scene about my characters and how the singer was comforting the main character. I couldn't help but laugh while I was writing because the song was perfect.
Since being home, I have been listening to Daniel's song sessions and have been looking up all the songs he was singing so I can listen to them while completing my revision of the book. It truly was an amazing experience because his artistic outlet was helping me with mine.
So many times we surround ourselves with those who either zap our energy or who make us doubt our abilities or who just simply do not believe in what we are doing. My challenge to you is to surround yourself with those who believe in you, who have the same goals, or if they are family and you just can't get away from them, then remind yourself that you can do it. Every time they say you can't, tell yourself ten times that you can!
I used to get discouraged very easily and I didn't try because I was listening to those who told me I couldn't. When I stopped listening to them and started putting myself out there, I found that there were more people who wanted to see me succeed than there were those who didn't. But it took me fighting through all the din of discouragement to get into the clear sounds of those who really love me.
Do you have a dream? Is it something you have been dreaming since you were little? Then reach for it! Don't let others rob you of your dreams! Don't let them take from you what God gave to you!
Since being home, I have been listening to Daniel's song sessions and have been looking up all the songs he was singing so I can listen to them while completing my revision of the book. It truly was an amazing experience because his artistic outlet was helping me with mine.
So many times we surround ourselves with those who either zap our energy or who make us doubt our abilities or who just simply do not believe in what we are doing. My challenge to you is to surround yourself with those who believe in you, who have the same goals, or if they are family and you just can't get away from them, then remind yourself that you can do it. Every time they say you can't, tell yourself ten times that you can!
I used to get discouraged very easily and I didn't try because I was listening to those who told me I couldn't. When I stopped listening to them and started putting myself out there, I found that there were more people who wanted to see me succeed than there were those who didn't. But it took me fighting through all the din of discouragement to get into the clear sounds of those who really love me.
Do you have a dream? Is it something you have been dreaming since you were little? Then reach for it! Don't let others rob you of your dreams! Don't let them take from you what God gave to you!
April 30, 2016
Inspiration!
My husband and I just got back from an anniversary cruise. Even with me getting sick it was one of the best cruises we have been on. Normally we look at the scheduled events and try to make the ones we want to go to. This time we decided we would not worry about the scheduled events and just do what we want to do. Relax, eat, and drink.
So after I got over the staying-in-bed-with-fever part of the sickness, we found a guitar player on board the ship that we really enjoyed listening to. He was young, about late 20′s maybe early 30′s. We found him in the lobby and listened then found him in one of the band rooms the next night to listen to him again. He asked us, because we were the only ones in the room, what we wanted to hear. I told him anything by Maroon 5. So out of all of their songs he sings “She Will Be Loved” which is one of my favorites. As he was singing I started thinking about the music video and our cruise. I suddenly got this great idea for a book. Before he even finished the song I had the first couple of lines in my head. I had to get back to the room to start writing.
I spent every spare moment the next two days hunched over a journal with my pens and ink refills. I didn’t bring my iPad with the keyboard so I wrote out the general story. I spent my days in the red lighted room where he sang the Maroon 5 song and the evenings writing while he played. It was the most fun I had writing!
I finished ninety percent of the story while on board the ship and the rest the day we got home. It took me a total of four days to write the story. It is the fastest I have ever written a complete story. All by hand. I didn’t want to mess up the flow so I finished by hand after we got home.
One of the other things that makes this book so amazing for me is that it is the first book I have written strictly about relationships. Normally my books have some overlying tone of murder or medicine or monsters. But this one was all about the relationship between Holly, the protagonist, her husband, and Daniel, the guitar player. I have been wanting to write a relationship based book but didn’t think I could do it. I know it was only the circumstances, the location, and the talent God gave me that allowed me to produce it.
If you are unsure about new experiences, do it. Experience is the fodder for creativity.
So after I got over the staying-in-bed-with-fever part of the sickness, we found a guitar player on board the ship that we really enjoyed listening to. He was young, about late 20′s maybe early 30′s. We found him in the lobby and listened then found him in one of the band rooms the next night to listen to him again. He asked us, because we were the only ones in the room, what we wanted to hear. I told him anything by Maroon 5. So out of all of their songs he sings “She Will Be Loved” which is one of my favorites. As he was singing I started thinking about the music video and our cruise. I suddenly got this great idea for a book. Before he even finished the song I had the first couple of lines in my head. I had to get back to the room to start writing.
I spent every spare moment the next two days hunched over a journal with my pens and ink refills. I didn’t bring my iPad with the keyboard so I wrote out the general story. I spent my days in the red lighted room where he sang the Maroon 5 song and the evenings writing while he played. It was the most fun I had writing!
I finished ninety percent of the story while on board the ship and the rest the day we got home. It took me a total of four days to write the story. It is the fastest I have ever written a complete story. All by hand. I didn’t want to mess up the flow so I finished by hand after we got home.
One of the other things that makes this book so amazing for me is that it is the first book I have written strictly about relationships. Normally my books have some overlying tone of murder or medicine or monsters. But this one was all about the relationship between Holly, the protagonist, her husband, and Daniel, the guitar player. I have been wanting to write a relationship based book but didn’t think I could do it. I know it was only the circumstances, the location, and the talent God gave me that allowed me to produce it.
If you are unsure about new experiences, do it. Experience is the fodder for creativity.
October 19, 2015
On Being Original
Today I watched a movie called “Lazarus.” As I watched this movie I realized it was very similar to the book I just finished revising called “Boundary of Light.” Both movie and book have a main character by the name of Frank. Both were about a scientist who brings his beloved back to life after a tragic accident. Both were about the use of our brains and the 90% unused portion. And both had to do with past issues with one of the main characters. As I sat and watched this movie I know my jaw hung open for most it. I couldn’t believe that my ideas were being used in this movie. Or should I say, I can’t believe I wrote a book similar to the ideas of this screen writer!
I have been praying for specific things during 2015 that will bring about amazing things if God allows them to happen. Slowly but surely things are moving into place for my prayers to be answered. I know that seeing this movie right at this time was Satan’s way of discouraging me. He was telling me the entire time I watched this movie “See, you don’t have any original ideas. Agents are going to read your book and say it’s been done and reject it.” And that very well could happen, but that will not keep me from moving forward. That will not keep me from chasing my dream. That will not keep me from doing what God has instructed me to do.
Yes, this kind of thing is depressing, but how many books and movies are out there that are similar? Lots of them! There have been dozens of movies produced and dozens of books written that have been inspired by the classics. That doesn’t make them any less entertaining.
Even in literature and art, no man who bothers about originality will ever be original: whereas if you simply try to tell the truth (without caring twopence how often it has been told before) you will, nine times out of ten, become original without ever having noticed it.
C.S. Lewis
I have been praying for specific things during 2015 that will bring about amazing things if God allows them to happen. Slowly but surely things are moving into place for my prayers to be answered. I know that seeing this movie right at this time was Satan’s way of discouraging me. He was telling me the entire time I watched this movie “See, you don’t have any original ideas. Agents are going to read your book and say it’s been done and reject it.” And that very well could happen, but that will not keep me from moving forward. That will not keep me from chasing my dream. That will not keep me from doing what God has instructed me to do.
Yes, this kind of thing is depressing, but how many books and movies are out there that are similar? Lots of them! There have been dozens of movies produced and dozens of books written that have been inspired by the classics. That doesn’t make them any less entertaining.
Even in literature and art, no man who bothers about originality will ever be original: whereas if you simply try to tell the truth (without caring twopence how often it has been told before) you will, nine times out of ten, become original without ever having noticed it.
C.S. Lewis
Inspiration
I was talking to one of my friends from church today about my books. I told him about my self-published books, and I even gave him one to read. And I told him about the one I just finished that I will be submitting to agents to see if one will represent me. He was fascinated by it and then told me that he has thought about writing. He told me about the story he would write but then he told me that the grades he got in school in English and Grammar were not good. I explained to him that the creative talent God gave us was not the talent of writing a well-constructed book. The talent He gave us was to think up stories and characters, plot lines and villains. All the grammar, punctuation, and sentence structure can be fixed by an editor.
I told him all about NaNoWriMo and how it is was set up to inspire writers to get that novel down on paper. It’s not about writing a book ready to be published. It’s about writing a rough draft that you can work on the rest of the year until the next NaNoWriMo challenge.
By the time we finished talking he looked at me and said, “What you said really inspired me. I’m going to get to writing that book.” I was so excited that I was able to help a writer get started writing. I even started telling the people at church that he was a writer, too. He tried to explain that he hasn’t written anything. I told him that all he has to do is write that first sentence and he will be a writer. So get writing.
I have spoken to others about their writing talents but none of the people I have talked to about it has done anything to move in that direction.
Remember…A writer writes, always...Billy Crystal "Throw Mama From the Train"
I told him all about NaNoWriMo and how it is was set up to inspire writers to get that novel down on paper. It’s not about writing a book ready to be published. It’s about writing a rough draft that you can work on the rest of the year until the next NaNoWriMo challenge.
By the time we finished talking he looked at me and said, “What you said really inspired me. I’m going to get to writing that book.” I was so excited that I was able to help a writer get started writing. I even started telling the people at church that he was a writer, too. He tried to explain that he hasn’t written anything. I told him that all he has to do is write that first sentence and he will be a writer. So get writing.
I have spoken to others about their writing talents but none of the people I have talked to about it has done anything to move in that direction.
Remember…A writer writes, always...Billy Crystal "Throw Mama From the Train"
October 18, 2015
The Journey Begins
The novel I wrote for NaNoWriMo last year (2014) is complete. I revised it twice and have put it into the hands of an editor and a friend both of whom will read it and review it and make corrections where needed. They will also give their opinion regarding the story and content.
The novel, “Boundary of Light”, is set in Galveston, Texas at the home of Dr. Frank N. Styne, a neurologist and scientist, who is working on human longevity by way of soul transferrence. His wife, Mary Styne, is involved in a traggic car accident leaving her in a coma from which the doctors do not expect her to awake.
Nikki Capital is a young girl newly rejected by the adult movie industry. After surviving through a life full of abuse and neglect, she finally realizes she cannot take any more, and decides to take her own life.
Dr. Styne finds Nikki’s body and decides to transfer his wife’s consciousness into it. What he and his colleague, Immanuel Gore, find is that Nikki is not completely gone, but will come back into her own body only to decide she wants a second chance.
This book is about their struggles through life, love, and reanimation of dead flesh.
Once I get feedback from my editor and my friend, I will send it out to agents.
Thank you for all your support, my loyal fans!
The novel, “Boundary of Light”, is set in Galveston, Texas at the home of Dr. Frank N. Styne, a neurologist and scientist, who is working on human longevity by way of soul transferrence. His wife, Mary Styne, is involved in a traggic car accident leaving her in a coma from which the doctors do not expect her to awake.
Nikki Capital is a young girl newly rejected by the adult movie industry. After surviving through a life full of abuse and neglect, she finally realizes she cannot take any more, and decides to take her own life.
Dr. Styne finds Nikki’s body and decides to transfer his wife’s consciousness into it. What he and his colleague, Immanuel Gore, find is that Nikki is not completely gone, but will come back into her own body only to decide she wants a second chance.
This book is about their struggles through life, love, and reanimation of dead flesh.
Once I get feedback from my editor and my friend, I will send it out to agents.
Thank you for all your support, my loyal fans!
October 4, 2015
Claim It!
I don't like people to know where I work because 1) I don't like hearing their horror stories, and 2) I don't want our clients to be able to find me for fear they will harass me or sue me if they think I write about them. So I don't list on my FB or Twitter or even LinkedIn where I work. I got a message on LinkedIn that my boss was wanting to connect with me on LinkedIn. Without really thinking about it, I accepted. Then I realized that my account still showed who I worked for. And if you know how LinkedIn works, the system tries to connect you with other people that may help you in your career or shows jobs you may be interested in. I realized I didn't want to be known as the person who works at such-and-such company so that others in that industry would find me or I would get job notices. I'm trying to get out of that industry. So I changed my job from what I actually do to "Author."
I figured if I truly want to be an author, and I am trying to get published, then I need to stop telling people I work for this big corporation and say I am an author. And I am an author since I have two books out on the market. I need to stop saying "I want to be an author" and say "I am an author." Granted it isn't my full time job but in 6 years and 4 months it will be. I will be able to retire from the big corporation and concentrate on my writing.
Since I changed my job status I got a connection request from one of our customers whose job I handled and he is an actor. He worked on JFK and some others. He doesn't have big roles but he has played in more films than I've been in (which is none). So I accepted the connection. If I want to be a contracted published author then I need to start making the connections that will get me there.
This is a start.
So when I went into FB and it said, "Where do you work?"...well...
I figured if I truly want to be an author, and I am trying to get published, then I need to stop telling people I work for this big corporation and say I am an author. And I am an author since I have two books out on the market. I need to stop saying "I want to be an author" and say "I am an author." Granted it isn't my full time job but in 6 years and 4 months it will be. I will be able to retire from the big corporation and concentrate on my writing.
Since I changed my job status I got a connection request from one of our customers whose job I handled and he is an actor. He worked on JFK and some others. He doesn't have big roles but he has played in more films than I've been in (which is none). So I accepted the connection. If I want to be a contracted published author then I need to start making the connections that will get me there.
This is a start.
So when I went into FB and it said, "Where do you work?"...well...
January 3, 2015
Are You Serious?!
Yesterday was Sci-Fi Day so I thought I would go into Netflix instant and watch a sci-fi movie. I picked one out and started watching it. Oh, I would say five minutes into the movie the characters did something that I had one of my characters doing in my book that I had never seen in any movie or read about in any books. I thought my idea was unique. Well, it seems someone else had that same “unique” idea.
It’s that moment when you just want to chunk the book you are working on because it is no longer “unique.” I didn’t throw out the book but I am fighting feelings of inadequacy. I am having to block out those thoughts that “maybe I’m not as special as I thought I was” and “oh, great, now everyone is going to think I stole from this movie”, and even “maybe I should just forget about being a writer because everything has already been done!” Yeah, it’s been that bad.
But the words of C.S. Lewis were brought to the forefront of my mind…
“Even in literature and art, no man who bothers about originality will ever be original: whereas if you simply try to tell the truth (without caring twopence how ofter it has been told before) you will, nine times out of ten, become original without ever having noticed it.”
So I will keep on plugging away and hope that whoever reads my work doesn’t just think I copied from someone else. And even if they did think that, I know I didn’t.
It’s that moment when you just want to chunk the book you are working on because it is no longer “unique.” I didn’t throw out the book but I am fighting feelings of inadequacy. I am having to block out those thoughts that “maybe I’m not as special as I thought I was” and “oh, great, now everyone is going to think I stole from this movie”, and even “maybe I should just forget about being a writer because everything has already been done!” Yeah, it’s been that bad.
But the words of C.S. Lewis were brought to the forefront of my mind…
“Even in literature and art, no man who bothers about originality will ever be original: whereas if you simply try to tell the truth (without caring twopence how ofter it has been told before) you will, nine times out of ten, become original without ever having noticed it.”
So I will keep on plugging away and hope that whoever reads my work doesn’t just think I copied from someone else. And even if they did think that, I know I didn’t.
June 23, 2014
You never know...
I have no problem telling people that I am 47-year-old. What I do have a problem with is telling people how long it took me to finally put my talent to work.
I wrote when I was young and had teachers ask me if I wanted to be a writer when I grew up. I would just shrug my shoulders and say "I don't know." I spent half my life trying to please other people that I failed to see that I was not pleasing myself.
It took God sitting me down and telling me that HE gave me this talent for writing and I needed to use it or lose it. Jesus said of the man who buried his talent that he was wicked for not only not using it but burying it where no one else could see it or even know about it. That is exactly what I was doing with the beautiful talent of writing He gave to me.
Two of my daughters have the same talent and I watched as they became actively involved with writing groups and websites to hone their talents. It made me realize how I had been wasting mine.
So here I am with two published books and I am working on the third one. I participate in Nanowrimo every year and every extra moment I have is used to write or read.
Last Wednesday night in our ladies class, the teacher pointed to me and said "she is doing what I want to do - write!" She asked me at my first book club meeting, when the club read my first book, how I did it. I told her everything and encouraged her to do the same. I've had other women in the congregation tell me they have written things but they don't submit them to anyone.
I think what threw me was that even with two published books I still feel I am not worthy of this wonderful talent God has given to me. What I continue to fail to realize is regardless of whether or not I feel worthy of it or good at it, this talent was not given to me so I can make lots of money, be a NY Times bestselling author, or to make me happy on earth. This talent was given to me to be used in God's service. To bring others to Him. To encourage others do use their talents, too.
Regardless of where you are in your writing career - or any career where you are using the talents God gave to you - remember you are doing it for Him and the Kingdom, not for yourself.
I wrote when I was young and had teachers ask me if I wanted to be a writer when I grew up. I would just shrug my shoulders and say "I don't know." I spent half my life trying to please other people that I failed to see that I was not pleasing myself.
It took God sitting me down and telling me that HE gave me this talent for writing and I needed to use it or lose it. Jesus said of the man who buried his talent that he was wicked for not only not using it but burying it where no one else could see it or even know about it. That is exactly what I was doing with the beautiful talent of writing He gave to me.
Two of my daughters have the same talent and I watched as they became actively involved with writing groups and websites to hone their talents. It made me realize how I had been wasting mine.
So here I am with two published books and I am working on the third one. I participate in Nanowrimo every year and every extra moment I have is used to write or read.
Last Wednesday night in our ladies class, the teacher pointed to me and said "she is doing what I want to do - write!" She asked me at my first book club meeting, when the club read my first book, how I did it. I told her everything and encouraged her to do the same. I've had other women in the congregation tell me they have written things but they don't submit them to anyone.
I think what threw me was that even with two published books I still feel I am not worthy of this wonderful talent God has given to me. What I continue to fail to realize is regardless of whether or not I feel worthy of it or good at it, this talent was not given to me so I can make lots of money, be a NY Times bestselling author, or to make me happy on earth. This talent was given to me to be used in God's service. To bring others to Him. To encourage others do use their talents, too.
Regardless of where you are in your writing career - or any career where you are using the talents God gave to you - remember you are doing it for Him and the Kingdom, not for yourself.
February 7, 2014
Another first...
As I did with my first book, False Hope, so I did with my second, Things of the Flesh - I gave away three free books on Goodreads.
One of the give aways resulted in a good review from one of the winners! I was so excited to see the review. It was very well written, it was encouraging, and she liked the book! I always had a fear that my first review by someone I didn't know would be a bad one, but it was good and I am so glad!
The worst thing you could do to an artist is see/read their work and then pass it by as if it had no affect on you. Even a bad review would have had me on cloud nine because that meant someone took the time to read my book and make a comment!
Thank you, faithful readers!
One of the give aways resulted in a good review from one of the winners! I was so excited to see the review. It was very well written, it was encouraging, and she liked the book! I always had a fear that my first review by someone I didn't know would be a bad one, but it was good and I am so glad!
The worst thing you could do to an artist is see/read their work and then pass it by as if it had no affect on you. Even a bad review would have had me on cloud nine because that meant someone took the time to read my book and make a comment!
Thank you, faithful readers!
December 21, 2013
Back to the drawing board...
My daughter and I were just talking about this, and it also seems Sarah Dessen had the same problem...setting aside a book you have invested so much time in.
Mine was my pre-teen book that I started to write about two years ago. I loved the story line and I may go back and use the characters and maybe some of the scenes because they continue to play in my mind, but the overall book has been stored in File 13.
It was a difficult thing to do because of the time and energy invested in it. And despite the fact that it will be rewritten, I really liked the characters. But as I picked it up to begin writing it again, the book just felt forced. I felt like I was pushing it to make it work, and I didn't like that feeling. I like to let the story and the characters do what they do best...live and grow.
So the pre-teen book has been set aside for now until I get finished with the 3rd book in the Paul Jakarta chronicles and the 1st book in my fantasy series.
Who knows, maybe my rebellious pre-teens are not ready for the world to know about them. After all, at that age, they are still trying to figure out who they are.
Happy writing!
Mine was my pre-teen book that I started to write about two years ago. I loved the story line and I may go back and use the characters and maybe some of the scenes because they continue to play in my mind, but the overall book has been stored in File 13.
It was a difficult thing to do because of the time and energy invested in it. And despite the fact that it will be rewritten, I really liked the characters. But as I picked it up to begin writing it again, the book just felt forced. I felt like I was pushing it to make it work, and I didn't like that feeling. I like to let the story and the characters do what they do best...live and grow.
So the pre-teen book has been set aside for now until I get finished with the 3rd book in the Paul Jakarta chronicles and the 1st book in my fantasy series.
Who knows, maybe my rebellious pre-teens are not ready for the world to know about them. After all, at that age, they are still trying to figure out who they are.
Happy writing!
