Photo courtesy of Suat Eman

Do you remember the first book you ever WROTE?

I recall back when I was still in my twenties and I discovered I wanted to be a writer. So, I began penning a romance novel entitled Cavanaugh. Don’t laugh – I named my heroine Cavanaugh. I saw it in a name book at the library. Cavanaugh was a pampered college student. Her mother died when she was a child and she was raised by her father – a wealthy man who owned a successful travel agency (I got this idea since I was working at a travel agency as an accountant at the time). Cavanaugh wanted to be independent and make a name for herself. Her father offered to hire her to work in his travel agency during her summer off from college.

Coincidentally, her father has also hired Evan Sanders to work as an accountant in his travel agency. Evan is a sad, hardened young man because his girlfriend (I think it was his girlfriend, it may have been his wife – I wrote this thing several years ago and it’s kinda hard for me to recall) had died and he was grieving.

As you can guess, Evan and Cavanaugh were attracted to one another.

Meanwhile, Cavanaugh’s father was dating a beautiful woman, Nia, a former model. She was jealous about the attention that Cavanaugh’s father lavished on his daughter. She hated seeing Cavanugh with Evan. Also, Evan had a provocative, shapely, ex-girlfriend (NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH HIS DECEASED WIFE/GIRLFRIEND) who was trying to win him back. Her actions wreaked havoc on Evan’s and Cavanaugh’s relationship.

Cavanugh went on a cruise by herself to decide if her and Evan were meant to be together. When she returned, they kissed, and decided that they could work out their differences…

BLAH!

When I think about this manuscript, I shudder. It’s currently sitting under the stairs, in my basement, gathering piles and piles of dust. I cringe when I read those words. At the time, I even had the audacity to hand the manuscript over to friends and family who kindly gave me lofty reviews….

So, tell me about the first manuscript you ever wrote. What was it about? How long ago did you write it?

I wrote Cavanaugh about seventeen years ago. I feel that writing is a craft that can always be improved. Cavanaugh certainly needed LOTS OF IMPROVEMENT.

~Cecelia Dowdy~

Which do you prefer, male or female novelists?

I’ve been an avid reader for as long as I can remember, but, when I think back in time to the stories I’ve read in my life, it appears that I seem to be partial to female authors. This isn’t intentional, but, when I think about the stories that I’ve read, about 90% of the authors are female and about 10% are male. Why? I don’t know. I guess since I’m a woman, maybe I can relate to the stories of romance and women’s fiction – which are usually written by females, more so than the novels penned by males.

Please don’t misunderstand me. I’ve read a lot of great books by male authors over the years, but when I’m in a bookstore, scanning the shelves, looking for great books, or, when I’m on Amazon or Barnes And Noble.com, looking for a novel to purchase, I usually end up purchasing a female author!

On my this blog, I do book reviews. If you scan through the old posts, you’ll see that most of the books that I review are by female authors.

So, what’s your preference, male or female novelists, and why do you believe you have a preference? Please share your responses with in the comments!

~Cecelia Dowdy~

Have you ever been to a writers’ conference?

I found the publisher for my first book through a direct contact at a writers’ conference. I used to attend the Romance Writers of America Conference every year and I met Tracie Peterson (the former editor of Barbour Publishing’s Heartsong Presents line). Although Tracie didn’t offer me a contract for my story, when her former colleague, Stephen Reginald, was looking for an African American Christian Fiction author to write a novel for a special 3-in-1 collection for Crossings Book Club, he contacted Tracie for suggestions and she gave him my name. As a result, I landed the contract for Someone For Toni, my first book in the novel collection entitled Promises To Keep that was released back in 2002.

My second romance was sold through the direct contact at a conference hosted by a local Romance Writers of America Chapter (Washington Romance Writers). I met with a Harlequin editor who referred me to Krista Stroever, who was a new editor for Love Inspired at the time. I submitted and made a sale to Love Inspired three weeks later.

I now attend conferences sponsored by American Christian Fiction Writers. I’ve sold three more romance novels since I’ve begun fellowshipping with this wonderful group of writers and they have a conference each year that is totally awesome! I recommend attending this event if you’re serious about pursuing commercial publication.

Also, at writers’ conferences, you have the luxury of forming new friendships with fellow writers and you’ll get to meet some best-selling authors that you may have admired for years, and meeting these authors is a treat!

So, have you been to a writers’ conference before? Which one did you attend? Was it a positive experience? Tell us about it in the comments section!

~Cecelia Dowdy~

I thought I’d mention two of my favorite books about the craft of writing. The first is Self Editing For Fiction Writers by Renni Browne and Dave King. I recall this book giving a good foundation for the basics of writing. I recommend this book to those who are just beginning the writing process and they long to pen a novel. The book also contains writing exercises, which is nice. Self-Editing covers subjects like “show, don’t tell” and other topics that beginning writers need to know. I no longer have my copy and I’ll probably purchase another. I loaned my copy to somebody and they never gave it back.

The second book I wanted to mention was Stephen King’s book On Writing. WARNING, THERE’S SOME PROFANITY IN THIS BOOK, BUT IF YOU CAN GET PAST THAT, THE BOOK GIVES GOOD, SOUND WRITING ADVICE. This book is a memoir that tells about Stephen King’s journey to publication and it also talks about his life. The book even tells about his problems with substance abuse. He also gives good, solid writing advice that most writers need to follow if they want to seriously pursue publication. I read this book several years ago and I still recall passages where Stephen talks about his pre-writing days, about how he’d be at work or doing a task and a scene from a novel would come into his mind. I was mesmerized by this book and I’ve often recommended it to aspiring writers.

What are your favorite books about the craft of writing? Please share those titles with us in the comments section!

~Cecelia Dowdy~

Photo courtesy of Free Digital Photos

Do you think that writers have better memories than the average person? The reason I’m asking is because since I can recall, I’ve always had a strong, vivid memory. I remember incidents, people, situations, etc…decades after they’ve occurred. I’m not talking about just one incident or a sketchy detail, I’m talking tons of information about things that have happened in my life. I’m not going to necessarily remember dates. However I can recall events and incidents – these are minor incidents that don’t really have much of an impact on my life – I just remember them. For example, when I was nine, my family left the military base since my dad had retired from the Army. We relocated, so, I left behind friends that I had not seen since the fourth grade. Fast forward nine years – I was in college, and I saw a male college student that I remembered from my elementary-school days while my dad was still in the military. He had no idea who I was, but I remembered him. I remembered things we did in elementary school, and I recalled that his mother made a candy house every year and he’d bring it to class and we’d eat it! I then started asking about people that had graduated in his class, and he named people, people that I remembered as if I’d just seen them the previous day.

My mom has a box of old photos and class pictures. I can pull out my kindergarten class picture and name everybody on there. I remember who was who, and I also recall certain incidents that happened while I was in school with these people.

I could go on and on with examples, but I’ll stop here for now. A friend of mine said I remember some of the guys because I probably had a crush on them in school. However, that’s not the case here. I did have crushes, just like most girls do, however, I recall people with vivid clarity, and some of these people I didn’t even have a close relationship with when I was growing up.

I was thinking about this recently and wondered, do writers have better memories than the average person? Do these vivid memories unlock the doors to our minds, exposing us to new ideas on which to focus on for future stories?

Leave a comment!! This inquiring mind wants to know what you think!

~Cecelia Dowdy~

Photo courtesy of Vintage Little People.

Do you remember when you first discovered you wanted to be a writer?

When I was a kid, I used to play with the Fisher Price Little People with my sister. I’d think up a whole plot (kind of like a synopsis) and then I’d act the story out with the people. My sister loved playing with the Little People with me because she loved my stories!

When I was about ten years old, I wrote a book entitled Candyland. It was about a set of twins named Fred and Susan and they find this magical land where everything was made of big, yummy candy! I made my own book cover – a piece of paper colored with purple crayon and the words Candyland were colored with red crayon.

I used to tell people that I didn’t realize that I wanted to be a writer until I was twenty-eight. However, as I look back on my life, there are certain things that I’ve done that indicate that I really should’ve discovered my writing passion way before my late twenties. I’ve always been an avid reader, too, which can sometimes indicate that one is a writer.

Are you a writer? If so, are there writer-type things that you’ve done throughout your life? Share your answers with a comment!

~Cecelia Dowdy~

Photo courtesy of Gregory Szarkiewicz

Do you have issues that you’re dealing with in your life? Do you want to dig deeper, giving your stories more intense plots and emotional conflicts? If you want to give your stories more steam, propelling them forward, giving you the momentum to actually finish writing your book, then you need to bring those issues into your novel!

I often meet people online and at writers’ conferences who tell me that they’ve started writing a project, but can’t finish it. What’s usually helped me to finish a story is to write about something that sparks my interest, and that usually involves writing about issues and concerns that have affected my life and the lives of my loved ones.

Alcoholism is something that has been a part of a lot of my friends and family members’ lives, and, I noticed, that it was an issue that kept popping up in my books. When you place your issues into your own novels, you might find the steam and the gumption to keep going, to keep writing, until you type those magical words: THE END.

Another issue that I’ve included in my novels is financial dishonesty. I’ve noticed that due to my personal experiences, I get emotional when dealing with my finances and the finances of others. I dig as deep as I can and try to bring those emotions into the pages of my novel.

It’s good to start with emotional issues and then you can add more things that you enjoy while creating your story. I’ve always had a fondness for good-tasting food, and I’ve had a number of people tell me that reading my books makes them hungry!

So think about your life, your issues, and your interests. Layer them throughout your book and I can almost guarantee that you’ll want to finish that tale – and you’ll be passionate about your story, too!

What makes you happy, sad, angry, or upset? Figure it out, and throw those emotions into your writing!

~Cecelia Dowdy~