Angela Shaeffer's Blog, page 2

Friday: Book Q & A

Friday Author Q & A!

Did your story change much from when you first started writing until the final draft?

Originally, my opening sentence was the four short sentences of everyone “needing Jill” all at once:

“Mom, did you pack my hat?” 

“Jill, where should we store the extra drinks?” 

“Babe, can you hand me the sunscreen?” 

“Mommy, sit by me!”

 

I loved starting off showing how a mother wears so many different hats and needs to be everything to everyone all at once. 

But in workshops, because readers did...

Friday: Writing & Publishing Q & A

Friday Q & A on writing and publishing!

How do you handle writer’s block?
Skip the scene that’s holding you back and start somewhere completely new—a much, much later part of your story. Don’t worry about what happens during or after the scene that’s stumping you and write something completely different.
I pants’d my novel for this very reason. I was stuck for days (months?) with what happened the day after the accident. So I moved forward to what I did know. Jake and his mom were bugged by each ot...

I'd Love to Come to Your Book Club

Last Wednesday I was the guest author at my sister's book club in Chicagoand had such a great time meeting her friends and neighbors!
Meeting people who have read my book and want to talk about my book?
Yes, please!
For years when asked, "What's your book about?"
I wished I could start from the beginning explaining each character-- what makes them special and what makes them challenging--share my favorite scenesand explore the family and human psychology that was so interesting and relatable.But ins...

Organizing ADHD

 My library and office are finally finished! The rooms are so beautiful and colorful, warm and inviting, stepping inside is like getting a hug from a rainbow.
This afternoon I anticipated starting to shelve books.But first, I needed to organize the storage room. But when I put an errant costume in the costume closet, I got distracted by how messy the costume closet was.
So I reorganized the costume closet hanging like things together, finding items that didn't belongand sorting things in drawers u...

Friday: Personal Q & A

 Questions & Answers

Do you have another profession besides writing?

I’m fifty-four years old and have been a stay-at-home mom to one daughter and three boys from when my oldest was born when I was twenty-five, until my youngest went to college in 2023. Alongside raising my kids, I had an unintentional career as a person who said yes to every volunteer request. 

I loved being involved in my kids’ schools, sports and at our church, and forged many friendships and thrived as I love organizing people,...

I'm In The Library!

 Six weeks ago I applied to have The Things They Didn't See added to our County library system.

The application asked for professional reviews and links to Google and Goodreads for reader reviews and the librarian I talked to said they were choosy. I hadn't heard back and intended to follow up last week.
At my book signing, I was so delighted to see an old friend from my old neighborhood. She'd seen the newspaper article, read my book and loved it! When I asked if she'd brought her copy for me to ...

Friday: Book Q & A

 As promised, Friday is Q & A day!

How long did it take you to write The Things They Didn’t See?

I enrolled in writing classes almost ten years ago (2018) and started this book a few months later when I got the courage to enroll in the novel writing series. But progressing through the series and my novel came in fits and starts. After writing the first chapter, I had a son returning home after being away on a church mission for two years. His brother was also preparing to graduate then leave for t...

Vacation

Vacationing this week in Pagosa Springs, Colorado.
For years while we were in the thick of child-raising, my husband and I dreamed of getaways and time to ourselves.Now, most of the time we love being empty nesters.
But Pagosa is where we always had our family vacation.A week every summer for all of our married years.
When our children were young, we bonded over campfires, shooting bb guns, hiking to the falls, fishing in the pond, trips to the general store, yard games and kite flying.
As they got ...

Genre Word Limits

Did you know that the new book you're writing has a word limit?
Each genre has an industry standard word count.Of course, if you're self-publishing, you don't have to stick with these numbers,
but it makes sense to do so because you're not Brandon Sanderson or JK Rowling (yet!)and you don't have built-in readers clamoring for your book.
While there are several reasons to stick within range for your genre,the most compelling is reader expectation. 
You're trying to attract readers and you don't want ...

Friday: Writing Process Q & A

 For my recent virtual book tour, I had a few author interviews.
It was so fun pondering the questions and taking time to record answers about my writing process, my novel and personal get-to-know-you's, that I've decided that every Friday will be Author Question and Answer Day!
If you have a question, I'd love to answer it! Send your questions to me through my contact form on my website.

When did you decide you wanted to become an author?

Even as a child I wanted to write a book. (The Mystery of Si...