By Robin W. Pearson
If I’d graduated from law school, I would have written about
a hotshot attorney who squeezes a “not guilty” verdict from a hostile jury.
If I ever take a picture that’s not out of focus or off-center
and that captures something other than what I eat and who I birthed, I’ll
publish a coffee table book filled with landscapes and close-ups.
If I was daring enough to kill more than time and the
occasional eight-legged creature, I’d weave a complicated whodunit.
If I used my broom for something other than sweeping up
Frosted Flakes, dust balls, and minuscule Playmobil pieces, I’d pen a tale of
magic and fantasy and midnight flight.
But I didn’t, I probably won’t, I’m definitely not, and I
never do.
Years ago, I was inspired to wrap some fiction around
generations-old family stories and traditions. Being rooted and grounded in the
South, I flavor my work with a y’all or two, a
helping of grits, and some down-home wisdom that I acquired at my grandma’s and
on the second pew in Sunday school.
Later, when I was tasked with “building a
platform” to further my publishing dreams, I laid the framework on those same
cornerstones—faith and family. I sought to get that nod of understanding from
those already on board while attracting others to climb on and join my
adventure. To make my experience their experience.
And I don’t just speak from that
experience; it also speaks for me. My writing
reflects my spirit-filled life as a wife, mother, homeschooler, and artist and invites
readers to step through the looking glass and drink up. While I love
page-turning courtroom scenes filled with fast-paced cross-examinations in the
pursuit of justice, I’m led to write drama that unfolds around a dinner table
and leads to self-examination, mercy, and grace. And sure, nothing tugs the
heartstrings when you read how a guy gets the girl, but nothing stirs my soul
like writing how both the guy and the girl get God. My calling is an extension
of who I am and what I believe, unlike watching television, doing puzzles, and
of course, reading. These pastimes transport me from my day-to-day,
destinations far from my laundry room and laptop while my work acts in the
reverse, entreating my audience to pull up a chair and cozy up, so they can suffer,
celebrate, and soak up life right along with me.
If you’re embarking on your own publishing journey, and
you’re trying to build a platform to grow your audience, but you’re not sure
where to start, consider sharing the story that no one else can tell, the one
you live, love, and believe. Your audience will connect with you, the author,
and relate to you, the person.
No ifs, ands, or buts about it.
_____________________________________________________
Robin W. Pearson’s writing sprouts from her Southern
roots and her love of her husband and seven children. Both lend authenticity to
her debut novel, A Long Time Comin’. After graduating from Wake
Forest University, she has corrected grammar up and down the East coast in her
career as an editor and writer that started with Houghton Mifflin Company
twenty-five years ago. Since then she has freelanced with magazines, parenting
journals, textbooks, and homeschooling resources. Follow her on her blog,
“Mommy, Concentrated,” where she shares her adventures in faith, family, and
freelancing. Helpful Links: Author Website Author Page Media
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