Comments for Melissa Aylstock -- Writer

Comment on Divine Providence by Teddi

Teddi — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 14:53:49 +0000

Very cool! Our Father works in wonderful ways! Truly, He’s our Provider.

Comment on CTR’s Ring by JS

JS — Wed, 26 May 2010 20:01:20 +0000

Can’t wait for the sequel to CTR’s ring!

Comment on Big Goals by Dana Palmer

Dana Palmer — Tue, 25 May 2010 13:57:53 +0000

We could all stand to take a closer look at our goals. Thanks for the reminder.

Comment on Naivety by Melissa Aylstock

Melissa Aylstock — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 15:13:54 +0000

I like the imagery of “steeping your writing in Light.”
You would have loved the LDStorymaker’s conference. In fact, next year you should go with me. There was surprisingly little “Mormon” overlay like I thought there would be. There were over 460 participants all trying to write to about the human condition, but on a slightly higher level than is typically found in main stream stuff.

Comment on Naivety by Teddi

Teddi — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 14:51:49 +0000

Yeah, I hear ya about this label. As a teen/young person in college, I remember going out of my way to appear knowing about things I had no idea about.

Overall, I tend to want to have stories that I myself can enjoy, which means not steeped in the evil deeds and images of what my villains (or misguided characters going about their daily lives) might be up to. But I think I tend to be okay with whatever the story demands.

If I’m writing a story for a certain audience and need to get graphic about something for the purposes of the book, then I’ll get graphic. However, I think this is more rare than some might assume. It’s not an excuse to go off the deep end. “Oh, well, that’s the story, I have to show that because it happened.” No, I don’t have to show it, I could just refer to it indirectly.

But sometimes the story is specifically designed to reach certain hearts with certain messages, and if I need to be graphic about violence or graphic about neglect or graphic about the results of selfishness or graphic about being willing to sacrifice, I’ll do it. And I’ll respect those who choose not to read it because they don’t want something that graphic in their head. Each to his own conscience be true!

Nevertheless, I have long held the desire to steep my writing in Light. Just as Stephen King delivers a great story of good vs. evil, but one steeped in and shaded with darkness, I want to be the “Stephen King of light and goodness”! *wink*

Comment on Writer’s Conferences by Teddi

Teddi — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 14:42:08 +0000

Wow, that’s cool! Had no idea Stephanie Meyer was LDS. Very cool.

I’m so glad you’ve got an active creative writing community in your “circle”, too. The more people who are putting out quality stories with good moral values, the better. Time to turn the tide!

Would love to hear more about the conference and what you learned, what fun conversations you had, etc. We oughta get together for a cup o’ tea or something and chat!

Comment on Pitching a Book by Melissa Aylstock

Melissa Aylstock — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 14:59:25 +0000

What a great idea, Teddi! I’m going to do just that. It makes perfect sense. It’s true I don’t have a problem talking to complete strangers. I suppose I’ll need to have my business cards handy because after I tell them about my latest book, they’re sure to be intrigued. M

Comment on Pitching a Book by Teddi

Teddi — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 06:08:39 +0000

Heh-heh. I feel ya! Praying that you get comfortable with it. It took me the better part of my week-long conference to get comfortable telling someone else about my story. Even when I had a “pitch” written, I’d fumble it when I tried to *say* it.

And then one day I was sitting on a bench talking with a fellow writer and it just flowed out of me. Funny, I can’t even remember at the moment which story I was pitching. But it flowed.

Maybe you should practice telling it to the grocery store cashiers and people standing in line at the bank. It’s a limited time, it’s a stranger, and at least then you’d never have to see them again if you messed it up! *grin*

Comment on Query Letters by Melissa Aylstock

Melissa Aylstock — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 01:40:23 +0000

I have changed a lot actually. There is going to be a new revised version out in a while where my main character isn’t quite as wimpy.

Comment on Query Letters by Teddi

Teddi — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 23:08:00 +0000

Would I want to read it? Definitely!

Oh, wait — I already did! And I couldn’t put it down!

*grin*