Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to all!

May 2024 be full of love and joy.

May you be healthy and safe.

May each day there be peace in your heart.

May God pour His blessings on you.

May you share your smile.

May you receive their smile back.

May you appreciate each day you have

May you use it to love others.

Blessings to All

A Time To Be Thankful!

                                            Happy Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is a time to be thankful.

To share with others the true joy of being thankful. 

It is a time to be grateful to God, our creator and 

sustainer of life. The one who loves us with an 

unconditional love now, and forever. Our God, 

who sees the good in us and guides us on our 

journey, leading us to Him. We thank Him for 

His bountifulness to us so we in turn can share 

with others. May each and every day, draw us 

closer to Him so others will see Christ in us. 

Let us share our Lord and His love with them. 

Amen. 

Susan Reichert

Vacations Are Wonderful!

                        

Last week we took a vacation visiting family. One of the highlights of life is visiting with your family. Getting away from the everyday and stepping into different sceneries and meeting up with family and friends.

Upon rising the first morning in our vacation spot and going outside there is a wonderful walking trail with a pond in the center and a fountain in the middle of the pond. It is an invitation from mother nature to come and join her and breathe in the morning air exhailing all the stress that arrived with you. 

You immediately can see all the daffodil stems surrounding the trees. What a shame the cold air took out most of the beautiful blooms. But fortunately mother nature was able to spare a few of the blooms for us to behold. We could imagine how breath taking the scene must have been with white and yellow daffodils around the trees.

I am not sure who was having more fun, the birds singing, the squirrels running and jumping around or the rabbits.

The peace and calmness filled the air. As you can see, there is a cross on this knoll and as you stand and gaze you are reminded what time of year it is. Soon we will be celebrating a joyous Easter season. My thoughts traveled back to a time as children on Easter we hunted Easter eggs. And for just a moment I remembered the time we colored the eggs and the next day, they hid the eggs and then turned us loose to search for them.

As much fun as we had, I am most grateful for the teaching about Christ being Risen!


I wish for you and your family a time of togetherness and a time of celebrating our Lord.

As you continue walking along the trail, which by the way is paved, you get to spend your time in the wonderment of all God created and the many different shades of green as the trees are beginning to bud and merge in with the trees that remain green during our winters. It is during this time that you get to know more about your creator and the details that He puts into everything He creates,

Of course this time of year, pollen is settling on top of the pond and I don't imagine anyone enjoys pollen. But, the powdery substance called pollen is released into the air, the wind picks it up and carries to other plants so they can make seeds. I try to remember as I sneeze , pollen is important. So if it gets to bad, we can put our mask on.

The first stone arch you see is created with different color blocks. If you look right behind it, you see a different design out of steel. I think this is one of the many treats along the path coming upon the different designs and materials used which are used to fit in with nature and delight you in your walk. You can't help but stop and study each structure. There is a peaceful feeling as you look at the intricate details.

If you look close, you will see the rabbit. I don't know who was more startled, me or the rabbit. But he seems to stay put, evidently not to disturbed and eventually you can continue your walk. I think rabbits are a funny creature but it is fun to watch them.




Well, I hope you enjoyed the pictures. The trail is, as I said, peaceful and calm. A great way to regroup your thoughts and relax from the stress and tensions in life.


I realize these are a tad different pictures than people usually show from their vacation. But this vacation, as I said, was to visit family and re-acquaint ourselves with them and nature.


May you and your family as you prepare for Easter find time to enjoy your family and friends and relax from the toils in your life.

Susan Reichert, author of Conquering Fears With Christ, Listen Close, Between Me and You, God’s Prayer Power, and Storms in Life. Published numerous magazine articles and stories in 10 anthology books. Speaker at writing conferences, seminars, and libraries.

She is the founder of Southern Author Services, and Editor of Suite T. She is the retired Editor-in-Chief of Southern Writers Magazine. Reichert has a passion for writing about God in devotionals, prayers, and inspirational works.

She and her husband live in Tennessee. They have four grown daughters with families of their own. Susan is a member of the DAR and a member of the First Families of Mississippi.

www.susanreichert.com

Did you know fear is the enemy's weapon?

Are you tired of dealing with fear? If you are, I have great news for you. You do not have to live a fearful life anymore. Learn how to put the enemy on the run.

In this book you will find help to conquer fears. Remember Christ defeated the enemy. He left us instructions. He said, “Do not fear.” He does not want us living in fear. He wants us to live the life God gave us. We cannot let the enemy steal our peace and joy that belongs to us through Christ.

We can choose to walk with boldness and courage on our journey. Christ is with us.

Telling Others What They Mean to Us

Christmas 2022 is soon going to be over. Beginning today, the 26^th, there are five days until the end of 2022. Hopefully, we can look back at the year and find blessings we received. We have five days to look back at the year.

I hope everyone has had joys and blessings in 2022 that will present wonderful memories.

For me, I am most thankful for my family. They are my greatest blessing.

To my friends, I love all of you and am grateful to have you in my life. 

I am convinced we should be sure and tell our family and friends throughout the year how special they are and what they mean to us. Telling them is wonderful, but we want to be sure we show them too.

For Suite T, we are most grateful to the authors who share their stories with us throughout the year. Learning more about them as a person and as a writer endears them in our hearts.

So, as we look back over the year, let us give some thought to the books we've read. For those we enjoyed, I pray we will take a few minutes, and let the author know what their book meant to us.

This is one of the greatest gifts we can give to an author. We can do so by putting a review on their Amazon.com author page and also find their website/blog and let them know.

The one thing we each can do is let others know what they mean to us. This will be a blessing for them as well as us throughout the year.

So, to all our readers and authors, we want to tell you how much you mean to us. We pray for you to be blessed and joyful now and next year, too.

Do You Write Letters?

Susan Reichert


Have you ever written a letter? Most of us have. Some of us have used pen and paper instead of a computer.


Back in 2016, Jan Morrill wrote a guest post for Suite T. The title of Jan’s post was Writing Letters: A Creative Journey . Jan's started her post by saying, “I’ve found writing letters to, from or between my characters to be an imaginative technique to smash writer’s block.”

I think this is an excellent suggestion for authors. And I wanted to share her post with you again. Click Writing Letters: A Creative Journey and it will take you to her post.

I think this does even more than help with writer’s block and think it allows the character to come through to help the writer know more about them. I love the idea of having a character write a letter. I think you will too.

Her book, Creative Characterization includes details and exercises for you on letter-writing techniques and much more. You will see her advice is just what we writers need.

If you find yourself staring at a blank page, I hope you have Jan Morrill’s book, Creative Characterization handy, not only will it help you with your writer’s block but there are exercises on letter writing, techniques and more.

Jan Morrill was born and for the most part raised in California. Her mother, a Buddhist Japanese American, was an internee at Tule Lake and Topaz during World War II. Her father, a Southern Baptist redhead of Irish descent, retired from the Air Force.

Her debut novel, The Red Kimono (University of Arkansas Press, February 2013) and many of her short stories reflect memories of growing up in a multicultural, multi-religious, multi-political environment.

The Red Kimono was selected Historical Novel Society’s Editor’s Choice and a 2013 Arkansas Gem by the Arkansas State Library. Visit Jan at: https://janmorrill.com/

I think you will enjoy using Jan's suggestions and techniques she has so graciously shared with all of us.

~~~~

Susan Reichert, author of Listen Close, Between Me and You, God’s Prayer Power and Storms in Life. Published numerous magazine articles and stories in 9 anthology books. Speaker at writing conferences, seminars, and libraries.

She is the founder of Southern Author Services, and Editor of Suite T. She is the retired Editor-in-Chief of Southern Writers Magazine. Reichert has a passion for writing about God in devotionals, prayers, and inspirational works.

She and her husband live in Tennessee. They have four grown daughters with families of their own. Susan is a member of the DAR and a member of the First Families of Mississippi

Visit Susan at: https://www.susanlreichert.com/

A Sprint or a Marathon?

Octavia Butler said, “You don’t start out writing good stuff. You start out writing crap and thinking it’s good stuff, and then gradually you get better at it. That’s why I say one of the most valuable traits is persistence.”

Octavia Estelle Butler was an American science fiction author and a multiple recipient of the Hugo and Nebula awards. In 1995, Butler became the first science-fiction writer to receive a MacArthur Fellowship.

Born in Pasadena, California, Butler was raised by her widowed mother. Extremely shy as a child, Butler found an outlet at the library reading fantasy, and in writing. She began writing science fiction as a teenager. She attended community college during the Black Power movement, and while participating in a local writer's workshop, was encouraged to attend the Clarion Workshop, which focused on science fiction.

She soon sold her first stories and by the late 1970s had become sufficiently successful as an author that she was able to pursue writing full-time. Her books and short stories drew the favorable attention of the public and awards soon followed. She also taught writer's workshops, and eventually relocated to Washington. Butler died of a stroke at the age of 58. Her papers are held in the research collection of the Huntington Library.

Her book Kindred is considered her most popular novel. Kindred follows a young Black woman named Dana.

It tells the story of a modern black woman who is celebrating her twenty-sixth birthday with her new husband when she is snatched abruptly from her home in California and transported to the antebellum South. Rufus, the white son of a plantation owner, is drowning, and Dana has been summoned to save him. Dana is drawn back repeatedly through time to the slave quarters, and each time the stay grows longer, more arduous, and more dangerous until it is uncertain whether Dana’s life will end, long before it has a chance to begin.

It is wonderful to put words on paper that have been forming in your head and see them those words in black and white. I find some people when they start writing, don’t know that writing takes effort. Writing can be fun, and writing can be tedious. There are days you don’t want to write and then there are days you don’t want to stop. But the more you write, the better you become. Like Octavia Butler said, we must be persistent.

Writing is also not a sprint. It is more like a marathon.

Susan Reichert, author of Listen Close, Between Me and You, God’s Prayer Power and Storms in Life. Published numerous magazine articles and stories in 9 anthology books. Speaker at writing conferences, seminars, and libraries.

She is the founder of Southern Author Services, and Editor of Suite T. She is the retired Editor-in-Chief of Southern Writers Magazine. Reichert has a passion for writing about God in devotionals, prayers, and inspirational works.

She and her husband live in Tennessee. They have four grown daughters with families of their own. Susan is a member of the DAR and a member of the First Families of Mississippi

Visit Susan at: https://www.susanlreichert.com/

Hawthorne Said It Best If We Listen!

 

Happiness! Now there is a word. So many people think they know what happiness is. They always seem to think it is on the outside, and like Hawthorne said, they chase the happiness just like kids chase a butterfly. But like the kids, we cannot catch happiness.

Happiness is a feeling of contentment.  Pharrell Williams in Happy says:

So can we trust our feelings? Maybe. 

For writers. maybe happyiness is putting those words that run around in our head to paper. For a gardener happiness may be putting  seeds into the ground and nurturing with food and water and see the flowers pop through the soil and grow tall.  For parents, it is holding their precious baby at birth.  

And George Savige imparts his thoughts on happiness to us in his poem Happiness.

So if Hawthorne is right, and we quit chasing happiness, and sit down and be quiet, will it alight on us?

What Will You Leave?

 

Today, Henry David Thoreau  is considered among the greatest of all American writers and the intellectual inspiration for the conservation movement. 

While I love his quote above, and believe that if we each work on being better as a person we will have influence in our world, I do not agree that he is the greatest of all American writers.

We have many writers who have come and gone, who are also great in their own right. I think there is room for all of them. Don't you?

I think we can all strive to write better, learn more, and be in the moment as a person and as a writer.

Over the years, I have enjoyed many different genres and authors. I always try to read books written by new authors and follow some of them; and like all writers, the more they write, the better they become. 

As a reader, I am cautious about what I read. If I am going to spend my time reading a book, I want to know the book will either be entertaining or informative.  We all have certain core values as people, and I want to protect my core values and not allow things I read or see to erode my values. So that is why I am cautious.

It is important that writers know their readers, and that readers know their writers. When the two mesh it becomes an excellent relationship between the two.

What we believe is important, whether we are writing or just living each day. Let us try to leave something worthy to make the world a better place for those who are still here in writing and living.

Susan Reichert, author of Listen Close, Between Me and You, God’s Prayer Power and Storms in Life. Published numerous magazine articles and stories in 9 anthology books. Speaker at writing conferences, seminars, and libraries.

She is the founder of Southern Author Services, and Editor of Suite T. She is the retired Editor-in-Chief of Southern Writers Magazine. Reichert has a passion for writing about God in devotionals, prayers, and inspirational works.

She and her husband live in Tennessee. They have four grown daughters with families of their own. Susan is a member of the DAR and a member of the First Families of Mississippi


Visit Susan at: https://www.susanlreichert.com/

Do The Books You Read Have Settings?

 

Susan Reichert

Settings are most important in our writing of fiction and nonfiction.

In February, of 2019, Connie Mann wrote a post for Suite T, that I often go back and read when I am writing because it brings attention to the importance of a setting.

Here is the date, title, and link for you:

Wednesday, February 27, 2019, Wait, Where are we Again?

By Connie Mann

https://southernwritersmagazine.blogspot.com/2019/02/wait-where-are-we-again.html

Connie asked the question, “Have you ever started reading a book and several chapters in, had to flip back to the beginning to see if you’d missed clues as to where you were?”

I have had that happen many times. Having to flip back to the front to see if I missed where the story is taking place. Maybe you have too. See what she says about that in her post Wait, Where are we Again?

Connie is the author of Beyond Risk, (Florida Wildlife Warriors #1), Beyond Power (Florida Wildlife Warriors Book #2) the Safe Harbor series (Tangled Lies, Hidden Threat, Deadly Melody), as well as Angel Falls and Trapped!



Updated in August 2021, The Master Class staff article they wrote, How to Create a Vivid Setting for Your Story is an excellent article to help with our knowledge of settings.

Their opening sentence explains why settings are important in our writing. It read,

“A detailed setting draws your readers into the world you’ve built, allowing them to inhabit the storyline. Learn the core elements of setting and apply them to your own writing.”

In their article you will find these items:
What Is Setting?
How to Create a Vivid Setting for Your Story
5 Exercises for Writing Vivid Settings
Want to Learn More About Writing?



I think you will find Connie Mann’s post enlightening as well as the article

from the Master Class most helpful in your writing of settings.

Happy Writing!

Perfection or Progress, We Choose!

                               Susan Reichert

Perfection is said to be the condition, state, or quality of being free or as free as possible from all flaws or defects. (Dictionary)

Mel Swartz L.C.S.W in Psychology Today, 2008,said, “The desire to be perfect burdens many people and ironically dooms them to unhappiness.”

This I have found to be true. I believe we need to work at being our very best, but perhaps we could let go of the picture of being perfect in every way, whether it be looks, smarts, writing, or life.


Deep Patel in Forbes, Jun 16, 2017, said, “Too often, people mistake progress for perfection. They spend more time staring at the weeds than they do assessing the forest. They get lost in the details instead of asking whether their work is moving them in the right direction. And most of all, they are confused about the meaning of “done.”


Vince Lombardi was head coach and general manager of the Green Bay Packers, Coach Lombardi led the team to three NFL championships and to victories in Super Bowls I and II (1967 and 1968). He is considered one of the great coaches of all time. Because of his success, he became a national symbol of single-minded determination to win. He said, “Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection, we can catch excellence.”


Michael J. Fox, is an accomplished actor who in 1998 publicly disclosed that he had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease seven years earlier. Fox subsequently became an advocate for finding a cure and founded the Michael J. Fox Foundation in 2000 to help fund research. retired from acting in 2020 due to his declining health. Mr. Fox said, “Excellence I can reach for; perfection is God's business.”

Perhaps as we look at their definitions of perfection, we might readjust our view of this culprit that so many times prevents some from beginning and some from finishing.

It can be that way in our lives in every  aspects. For writers perfection can prevent us from achieving our dream of writing that book that plays scenes in our minds.

Susan Reichert, author of Listen Close, Between Me and You, God’s Prayer Power and Storms in Life. Published numerous magazine articles and stories in 9 anthology books. Speaker at writing conferences, seminars, and libraries.

She is the founder of Southern Author Services, and Editor of Suite T. She is the retired Editor-in-Chief of Southern Writers Magazine. Reichert has a passion for writing about God in devotionals, prayers, and inspirational works.

She and her husband live in Tennessee. They have four grown daughters with families of their own. Susan is a member of the DAR and a member of the First Families of Mississippi

Visit Susan at: https://www.susanlreichert.com/

https://twitter.com/swmeditorhttps://twitter.com/SouthrnAuthrSer

https://www.facebook.com/SusanLeeReichert, https://www.facebook.com/southernauthorservices, https://www.linkedin.com/in/susan-reichert-55922a13/ , Amazon -

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54576850-god-s-prayer-powe

Visiting A Cemetery Finds a Story or Two

 

Susan Reichert

There are many cemeteries that are historic in every state, and I dare say most date back before the state became a state.



So why am I writing about cemeteries? Well, to let you know, (in case you don’t) there are many stories that would fill volumes of books in each one of them.



You don’t have to be a relative to find the stories. But I dare say, as an author you would find a great many stories to write about.



Look at historic Elmwood Cemetery in Memphis, TN. Established in about 1852, it was one of the first rural garden cemeteries in the South. A funeral scene in Paramount’s 1993 legal thriller (book written by John Grisham) The Firm was filmed in this cemetery.



Can you imagine the stories that can be created using this cemetery as a setting? Even as a character?



Beneath ancient elms, oaks, and magnolia trees you will find the famous and infamous, those who were loved and feared. You will find veterans of every American war, including the Revolutionary War. There are generals, governors, mayors and madams, side-by-side.



All you need do is choose a character, do your research, decide your plot, and begin your story.



As you walk through these cemeteries, you will find your mind reacting to the places. Perhaps characters will pop into your head, and they will begin leading you to write their stories. No doubt, you may wind up with many stories to write.



Laura Bullion, female Old West outlaw is buried in Memorial Park Cemetery, Memphis, TN. In this cemetery there are many musicians buried here.



The American Cemetery in Louisiana’s claim to fame claim to fame is that it’s where Julia Robert’s character was buried in the 1989 film, Steel Magnolias.



Authors obviously find it interesting to include cemeteries in their stories and the movie producers shoot the cemeteries in their films.

I even wrote a short story for an anthology book and set it in a cemetery.


Look around your towns, what do you have that is very old, and has a history to it? Do your research, and in the process, you too may just find “your Elmwood” full of stories. Who knows, you might just find your next series waiting for you there.



Happy Writing!

Susan Reichert, author of Listen Close, Between Me and You, God’s Prayer Power and Storms in Life. Published numerous magazine articles and stories in 9 anthology books. Speaker at writing conferences, seminars, and libraries.

She is the founder of Southern Author Services, and Editor of Suite T. She is the retired Editor-in-Chief of Southern Writers Magazine. Reichert has a passion for writing about God in devotionals, prayers, and inspirational works.

She and her husband live in Tennessee. They have four grown daughters with families of their own. Susan is a member of the DAR and a member of the First Families of Mississippi

Visit Susan at: https://www.susanlreichert.com/

https://twitter.com/swmeditorhttps://twitter.com/SouthrnAuthrSer

https://www.facebook.com/SusanLeeReichert, https://www.facebook.com/southernauthorservices, https://www.linkedin.com/in/susan-reichert-55922a13/ , Amazon -

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54576850-god-s-prayer-powe

We Need Inspiration and Courage

                                Susan Reichert

Every writer, at one time or another needs inspiration and courage to keep going. To keep writing. An interesting note here, is that we all need that, whether we are writers or not.

Richard Bach, the man who wrote Jonathan Livingston Seagull and the book, Illusions: The adventures of a Reluctant Messiah said, “A professional writer is an amateur who didn’t quit.”

I found that statement could be a writers motto if we changed it to, “I will not quit.”


Some days writers look at a white screen waiting for the words to come. It might be easy to get up those days and do something else, but there is something in a writer that that keeps them writing.

If you remember Jonathan Livingston Seagull was about a seagull who became bored with his daily squabbles over food. It is a simple story. He has a passion to learn to fly and he learns everything about flying he can.

But in the story, there is a profound message. The message is that we can all be so much more than we believe or are given to believe.

His story in the book of Illusions questions the reader's view of reality. He proposes that what we call reality is merely an illusion we create for learning and enjoyment.

The book explains that the world that we live in is an illusion, the things we think are real, are not, and so is the underlying reality behind it. The teaching Bach receives he concludes that each of us must focus on our own spiritual quest, allowing others to attain their own enlightenment.


In this book Richard Bach takes to the air to discover the ageless truths that give our souls wings. That we don't need airplanes to soar. . .that even the darkest clouds have meaning once we lift ourselves above them.

Perhaps that is what a writer strives for, to be better with every book we write and in so doing soar above the dark clouds in life.

Susan Reichert, author of Listen Close, Between Me and You, God’s Prayer Power and Storms in Life. Published numerous magazine articles and stories in 9 anthology books. Speaker at writing conferences, seminars, and libraries.

She is the founder of Southern Author Services, and Editor of Suite T. She is the retired Editor-in-Chief of Southern Writers Magazine. Reichert has a passion for writing about God in devotionals, prayers, and inspirational works.

She and her husband live in Tennessee. They have four grown daughters with families of their own. Susan is a member of the DAR and a member of the First Families of Mississippi

Visit Susan at: https://www.susanlreichert.com/

https://twitter.com/swmeditorhttps://twitter.com/SouthrnAuthrSer

https://www.facebook.com/SusanLeeReichert, https://www.facebook.com/southernauthorservices, https://www.linkedin.com/in/susan-reichert-55922a13/ , Amazon -

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54576850-god-s-prayer-powe

Wondering What 2022 Will Bring?

Sitting in my favorite chair in the living room by the fire, I wondered what the ‘New Year 2022’ would be like.



The past two years have been most unusual to say the least. But I did not want to think on these past two years and the devastation they caused around the world. Instead, I wanted to focus on the new year that would soon be here.



I remembered what Anthony T. Hincks said. “Don’t let the New Year get old.”


As I thought about those words, it seemed to me he was saying do not let the feeling we have at the beginning of the new year get to feeling like all the other years. To embrace the new year with awe and expectancy of good things to come into our lives throughout the year. Choosing to make everyday a new day in our lives. To create and achieve all we are capable of each day.


In this way, we will keep the ‘New Year’ alive every day.

Happy New Year to you!

Our Life’s Niche

Susan Reichert

Growing up we all are looking for our niche in life. The people we associate with. . . these would be the kids we play with growing up to the people we socialize with as adults. We look for the ones we fit into.

Webster dictionary says Niche is a place, employment, status, or activity for which a person or thing best fits in.


We have all been at functions where we were uncomfortable, we did not fit in. So, we know why it is important to find our niche in life so we will be happy and be able to participate in life and be part of the community.

It is the same with an author’s book. It too has a niche; a place where it will flourish.

For every book there is a specialized segment of the market. It is said that the niche for a book is a very specific, tightly defined, focused audience. The secret for author’s is to find that niche.


So it is with life, people have a niche. Are you in yours?

A new year is upon us, and has we begin to look at our thoughts for the new year and making goals or resolutions, it would be good to look at our niche.

Susan Reichert, author of Listen Close, Between Me and You, God’s Prayer Power and Storms in Life. Published numerous magazine articles and stories in 9 anthology books. Speaker at writing conferences, seminars, and libraries.

She is the founder of Southern Author Services, and Editor of Suite T. She is the retired Editor-in-Chief of Southern Writers Magazine. Reichert has a passion for writing about God in devotionals, prayers, and inspirational works.

She and her husband live in Tennessee. They have four grown daughters with families of their own. Susan is a member of the DAR and a member of the First Families of Mississippi

Visit Susan at: https://www.susanlreichert.com/

https://twitter.com/swmeditorhttps://twitter.com/SouthrnAuthrSer

https://www.facebook.com/SusanLeeReichert, https://www.facebook.com/southernauthorservices, 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/susan-reichert-55922a13/ ,

Amazon -

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54576850-god-s-prayer-powe

Our Wish For You!

 

All The Things We do Surrounding Christmas

 

The day is almost here, we hurry to decorate our front door with lights, wreath and garland. Making sure our Christmas tree is all decked out in lights of color and quickly dash off to the stores to get those last minute Christmas gifts. We hurry home and prepare dinner for family and friends and then off to church for the candlelight service.

This day we don't seem to mind as much that we must hurry around, making the last minute stops on our list and creating dishes to please each one at our table.

When we get to the candlelight service, we slow down, and are reminded it isn't about buying presents, preparing food, or decorating trees and front doors. It's about a night, a night that Mary and Joseph could not find room in an inn and had to bed in a stable. It's about a night a bright star shining high above showed three wise men where to come; bearing gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. It's about a night Mary gave birth to a baby boy, placed him in a manger and called Him Immanuel, God with us. It was the night Jesus was born.

Nostalgic Moment with Susan Reichert on Why Build a World for Your Story?

 

NOSTALGIC MOMENT

Tuesday, November 22, 2016

Why Build a World for Your Story?


By Susan Reichert


Believe it or not, most times, the setting we choose for our story is like a character. We must create that world. It may look like the world you live in, but it will have its differences.


This world is going to need its own look, sounds, and smells.


Even if you choose a setting like where you grew up, you will still add stores, houses, malls, a river, or stream or mountain that did not exist in your town.


The characters you create will need certain locations. You may need to create the places they work, the restaurants where they eat, or a diner they visit every morning for breakfast. You may want to put a particular church or a hardware store.


All these things you could create and place in this world.


This world will have a feel about it that is different from other places. Real or imagined.


This is the place your characters are going to come to life. The more you know about this world, the more you bring it to life for your reader. Even though you may not use everything you create for this new world in your story, by just knowing these things it puts more richness in your story.


Take it a few steps further, you could develop a little history for this new world. What are its laws, rules, does it have folk lore?


The most important rule of all when creating your world, is show, do not tell the reader. Open the door and bring them into this world you have created.


Some authors draw maps of their towns and surrounding countryside and put them in their books. Having read some of those authors, like Lin Stepp, it made it much more interesting and just delivered me into the world she created. As I read other author’s books I could picture the towns, a post office if they had it, where the general store was . . . across the street, with its red roof and black writing on the front of the store. I can follow the street a character takes to walk down to the bait shop and know that when the character is walking up Main Street they will run right into the courthouse. It creates for the reader a picture in their minds drawing them into the story feeling like they are there.


What all can you add to your new world you create for your story? What about the type of weather in that location? The flowers and fauna you find. Everything is usable in the world you create. The secret is to make this created world seem real.


However, you do not want it to overshadow your story. So, think about what type of world you want to create and how you can help your reader enter that world and be part of what you have created.

Susan Reichert, author of Listen Close, Between Me and You, God’s Prayer Power and Storms in Life. Published numerous magazine articles and stories in 9 anthology books. Speaker at writing conferences, seminars, and libraries.

She is the founder of Southern Author Services, and Editor of Suite T. She is the retired Editor-in-Chief of Southern Writers Magazine. Reichert has a passion for writing about God in devotionals, prayers, and inspirational works.

She and her husband live in Tennessee. They have four grown daughters with families of their own. Susan is a member of the DAR and a member of the First Families of Mississippi

Visit Susan at: https://www.susanlreichert.com/

https://twitter.com/swmeditorhttps://twitter.com/SouthrnAuthrSer

https://www.facebook.com/SusanLeeReichert, https://www.facebook.com/southernauthorservices, https://www.linkedin.com/in/susan-reichert-55922a13/ , Amazon -

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54576850-god-s-prayer-powe

The Holidays and Writing

Susan Reichert

I was so anxious for the holidays to get here as were my daughters. Even though they are grown, they were as anxious as their mother. And this year we were able to get together and put up the old Christmas tree with decorations and all; like we did when they were kids. A special addition was my great-granddaughter, who at ten years of age helped us decorate and had as much fun as we did. Wished our other two daughters could have been here too.

Yet I have not wrapped the presents, but I will and soon they will be under the tree, so everyone can guess what they are getting. (They will have no clue what we have in store for them this year.)

Even though my children are grown, they still get excited about Christmas, not just for the gifts, fun and food, but the joining of  all  together at church on Christmas Eve to celebrate our Lord’s birth. A true blessing for me, that we are together at this special time of year. Because of the pandemic we could not be together last year. My husband and I enjoy the time we spend with our kids and their husbands. We are blessed to have great son-in-laws.

It’s a wonderful time for children, young and old.

What does this have to do with writing you ask? I think this holiday would be a perfect time, to write a few short stories about what Christmas meant to us as children; things we did, places we went. Trees we decorated, presents we got and  family members who were there. Describing all the wonder and joy during those special times would make a beautiful set of stories to pass on to our children, grandchildren, and those yet to come. It will give them an opportunity to see how special holidays were with our families.

So, try it during the holidays. As memories pop up in your head, put them to paper. Who knows, you might have enough short stories to use to write a Christmas book  for the holidays in 2022.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! May God bless you all.

We Remember Pearl Harbor! We Salute Our Armed Forces.

We remember Peal Harbor

and salute our soldiers whose lives were taken

that day and honor them for their sacrifice.

Let us remember the freedoms we

enjoy are because of the sacrifices of the

 men and women in our armed forces.

We salute all of you!

 

A Thank You?

Susan Reichert

“When you read a piece of writing that you admire, send a note of thanks to the author” Sherman Alexie.



Good advice? I think so. But I confess, I do not always take the time to do this.



I am sure there are others who have read good books, admired the writing, enjoyed the story, and made a mental note to let the author know. But life stepped in, and the thought forgotten. Another example of good intentions left undone.



Sherman Alexie was a poet, author, screenwriter, and filmmaker. I like to think he made this statement because he was pleased with his work and wanted to know if others were.



Aren’t we all like that though? Don’t we want to hear from others how they like our work? Even as a little child, we are that way. We proudly take that mud pie we made to show momma.



Being an adult now, I can picture my mother smiling as she looks down at my little hands holding up my mud pie, and somehow, she manages to not gasp at the mud all over my face, hands, and clothes. Instead, she brags on my pie



We all need accolades. I wish I had taken the time to let each author know how much I enjoyed their work.



We are fortunate in that we can let the author know how much we enjoy their work by leaving a review on their book.



I will try and do better and leave reviews for the books I read. I want the author to know I appreciate and enjoy their work. I hope you will too!

Susan Reichert, author of Listen Close, Between Me and You, God’s Prayer Power and Storms in Life. Published numerous magazine articles and stories in 9 anthology books. Speaker at writing conferences, seminars, and libraries.

She is the founder of Southern Author Services, and Editor of Suite T. She is the retired Editor-in-Chief of Southern Writers Magazine. Reichert has a passion for writing about God in devotionals, prayers, and inspirational works.

She and her husband live in Tennessee. They have four grown daughters with families of their own. Susan is a member of the DAR and a member of the First Families of Mississippi

Visit Susan at: https://www.susanlreichert.com/

https://twitter.com/swmeditorhttps://twitter.com/SouthrnAuthrSer

https://www.facebook.com/SusanLeeReichert, https://www.facebook.com/southernauthorservices, https://www.linkedin.com/in/susan-reichert-55922a13/ , Amazon -

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54576850-god-s-prayer-powe