By Peggy Webb AKA
Elaine Hussey
Much ink is spilled
about the basics of writing.
You’ll find endless posts about characters,
plot, pacing, setting, and
the fine
art of knowing when to use dialogue versus description. But
how often do you hear a
writer talk about magic, that often indefinable element that
makes a story rise above all others?
I’ve been writing for a very long time (since 1985), and I remember so clearly what friends told me when they read my first
book. “Peggy, it was like sitting
on your front porch
swing, listening to you
talk.” “I would have picked that book out as yours even if
I hadn’t seen your name on the cover.” “Reading it felt
like being with you; it felt like
being in the middle
of the story.” Heady stuff, that
kind of validation. And
what did
it
all mean?
When I write, I lose myself in the
story; I don’t
think about the process. Editors describe me as
an organic writer, one who lets the
story flow, one who is not afraid to
depart from the
normal course of things and
follow where the story
takes me. Still, I’ve taught
many writing workshops, and I’ve taught at
Mississippi State University. In order
to teach, I had to analyze
what worked and why. I had
to peel back the veil and decipher
the magic.
The easy part
of teaching is laying
out the basic elements
of story. The hard part is explaining voice. “Is it the way the characters talk?” students ask. Yes…and
no. “Is
it using an omniscient narrator?” Yes…and no.
Here’s what I know about voice:
it’s an attitude, powerful and
unique, that shines
through the writing.
It’s a way of inhabiting characters so the reader
can identify each one
If you
have a copy of my novel,
The Sweetest Hallelujah written as Elaine
Hussey, turn to pages 14
and 15 to “hear” the voice.
Currently I’m
pouring that bit of magic into two projects, another literary fiction novel
written as Elaine Hussey (no
details yet) and Stars to Lead Me Home, a women’s
fiction novel written
as Peggy Webb. Stars to Lead Me Home is slated
for
a June release. I love the cover, love the concept, and am
very excited to bring this book to you!
It
has been such a pleasure to visit with you today. To learn more about
my books and also about
my
writing process,
do visit my websites, www.peggywebb.com and
www.elainehussey.com. You
can view my mini-writing class videos on both websites and chat with me
about books on my blog,
. Periodically, I do wonderful
giveaways which are announced
on my
blog and my social
media pages.
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USA Today bestselling author Peggy Webb is the most prolific writer the state of Mississippi
has ever produced. This award-winning author has written more than 70 books,
200 magazine humor columns and two screenplays. She writes in multiple genres,
including literary fiction as Elaine
Hussey. Her acclaimed literary fiction novel, The Sweetest Hallelujah, garnered praise from critics who dubbed
her one of the “Southern literary greats” and compared her to Harper Lee and
Flannery O’Connor. As Elaine, she is a member of the prestigious,
invitation-only literary organization, PEN. A former adjunct instructor at
Mississippi State University, Peggy lives in a turn-of-the-century cottage where
she loves gardening, playing piano, singing in church choir and sipping sweet
tea on her front porch with friends. Follow the author at www.peggywebb.com and www.elainehussey.com as well as on FaceBook and
Twitter.
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