My Start as a Writer

By Hayley Belfrage

When I was a little girl, becoming a writer had never even crossed my mind. Even at the ripe young age of fifteen, I still do not know if that is where I want my life to lead, however, I know it is now a possibility. Writing my trilogy, “The 4975,” I was constantly faced with an adversity in every new chapter. I had many different visions of what could happen to Hunter, Eamon and the ones around them if I penned every possible outcome.

When I got the confirmation email confirming the trilogy will be published with Ravenswood Publishing. It was all I could do not to run up and down the street crying with joy. Hang on, I actually did that. (I was home alone at the time.)

What do I do to get inspired? Listen to music. All types of music, but my favorites include the works of a young Delta Goodrem, Taylor Swift, Calvin Harris, HAIM, M83, Sarah McLachlan, and Celine Dion. Ballads from a wide variety of musicals also appear on my playlist. The biggest question I get asked in regards to inspiration is how.

How did I get blessed with the idea for the “4975?” How did I find the time to sit down and write, between juggling my friends, extra-curricular activities and a fully-fledged academic education? The answer is simple, dear friends and fellow writers; if it is meant to happen, I promise you that it will.

The most valuable advice I can offer is to draw from your own experiences - that way, you will know and comprehend what your main characters understand.

Happy writing!

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Hayley Belfrage can be found on Instagram: @hayleybelfrage Twitter: @Hayley_Belfrage Facebook: Hayley Belfrage

Stuck in the Middle

by Gary Fearon, Creative Director, Southern Writers Magazine


The great philosopher Taylor Swift once said, "I love the ending of a movie where two people end up together. Preferably if there's rain and an airport or running or a confession of love."  I think I might have seen that movie. 

Of course, what we don't see is what comes afterwards.  We usually don't see the happy couple getting blood tests, dealing with paperwork at the registrar's office, trying to lose weight for the wedding, or arguing a year later because someone didn't take out the trash. 

"If you want a happy ending," said Orson Welles, "that depends, of course, on where you stop your story." Indeed, most stories end at the point where there is a happy ending, a resolve, or a sense of hope.  Ever since man began telling stories, beginning / middle / end has been the standard. 

But in the early days of film, movie makers realized audiences would keep coming back week after week if they were given a story that has no ending.  Thus were born short features like Flash Gordon, Superman, The Perils of Pauline, and other cliffhangers starring recurring good guys, bad guys and damsels in distress, some literally hanging from cliffs until the next installment.

That same serialized approach became a staple of radio once it came along.  Even Amos & Andy had its roots as a fractured drama, complete with a somber opening theme.  Then, only a couple of decades later, soap operas dominated TV.  Romance and drama are a natural mix for a storyline that has no ending.  No sooner is one problem solved when three more come along.

NBC keeps its biggest mystery unrevealed on The Blacklist

Today, the "continuing story" concept is more popular than ever.  It's all over nighttime television, from Game of Thrones to Downton Abbey to The Blacklist. Miss one episode and you'll miss some event so pivotal that you'll be scratching your head down the road.

But these are not simply long sagas with no end.  Each episode includes its own weekly situation to be dealt with, and while we are still baited with a cliffhanger, we receive some satisfying conclusion to the drama du jour.  Otherwise it would get frustrating to invest repeatedly in something that never pays off because the story is forever stuck in the middle.

We have an inherent craving for resolve.  Like the tales we tell, our lives contain constant ups and downs, but when we succeed, the world doesn't stop to acknowledge each victory with "THE END".  We love a hero we can identify with and feel the elusive sense of closure through.

If we've written solid characters, their lives could continue beyond the ending of our story.  Choosing the most satisfying place to close the epilogue is how we give readers what they desire.  They are thankful for happy endings, because real life tends to be one big cliffhanger.

Songs in the Key of Life

by Gary Fearon, Creative Director, Southern Writers Magazine


"Where do you get your ideas?" is one of the most-asked questions of any writer, and almost always the answer involves simply observing real life.  Our daily experiences are a constant source of inspiration for any practitioner of the pen, and some of the most famous examples have endured the test of musical time.

Is Paul thinking, "Hold your head up, you silly girl"?

Throughout the songwriting of the Beatles, real life runs rampant.  "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" gets its name from a classmate of John Lennon's son Julian, who drew a picture showing her with diamond-shaped eyes. John's deceased mother Julia was the inspiration for a number of his songs, as was Paul McCartney's mother ("Let It Be") and his sheepdog ("Martha My Dear").  "Lovely Rita", about a meter maid, was sarcasm in song after Paul was issued a ticket by a female parking attendant. "Michelle" started out with similar farcical intentions, ridiculing a French art student Paul had seen singing at a Liverpool party.  "Hey Jude" was originally titled "Hey Jules", intended to encourage John's son Julian during his parents' breakup.  I could go on and on, and I think I just did.

Rumors have survived the decades regarding Carly Simon's biggest hit, "You're So Vain", mainly because Carly still playfully refuses to identify the victim of her vitriolic vocals, said at the time to be anyone from Warren Beatty to David Bowie.  She has at least confirmed that it was not Mick Jagger, who sings backup on the song, nor her soon-to-be husband at the time, James Taylor.

Speaking of Sweet Baby James, Taylor's first hit "Fire and Rain" was written after the suicide of a childhood friend named Suzanne ("Suzanne, the plans they made put an end to you").  It also includes allusions to his early failed band The Flying Machine ("Sweet dreams and flying machines in pieces on the ground").

I'd be remiss not to mention Stevie Wonder (since I stole one of his album titles for this post). Among his 500+ compositions are the hits "Isn't She Lovely" (written after the birth of his daughter Aisha), "Sir Duke" (a tribute to Duke Ellington and other artists of the big band era) and "My Cherie Amour" (dedicated to a girlfriend whose name was actually Marsha).

For anyone who remembers Gilbert O'Sullivan's breakout hit "Alone Again, Naturally", it's only natural to feel a little sorry for this young lad for whom "reality came around" and cut him into little pieces after being stood up for his own wedding.  The song continues to lament how he "cried and cried all day" when his mother passed away.  But don't feel too bad for him; every bit of it was fictional and Mrs O'Sullivan was just fine.  He later, however, wrote a hit song about his real-life niece, "Clair", which became one of the most popular baby names in the months that followed.

More recently, Heaven help anyone who gets on Taylor Swift's bad side.  John Meyer, Taylor Lautner and Kanye West are purportedly among the targets of her poisoned pen.  Swift neither confirms nor denies any speculation, because a lady never tells.  She just writes songs about it.  You kids.

It's only human nature to want to hear the stories of others.  It's our calling as writers to share those stories with the world. The joys and sorrows we live through aren't just personal experiences, they're endless ingredients for whatever literary cake we choose to bake.

Getting Inspired

By Holly Zitting

For writers inspiration is the bread and butter of our daily life. But for most of us finding it could prove as elusive as a search for Waldo in a field full of candy canes. It is a question I am continually asked. What inspires you?

While the answer is different for everyone there are things that inspire us all. Taylor Swift is a Grammy winning artist. She is also a serial dater; she makes up and breaks up on a weekly basis with a new heartthrob.  Not only does she use her personal heartbreak for inspiration she profits from it with bags full of money and gold records galore.

As someone who has been married to the same man for almost 16 years I can’t count on the constant break-ups that come with young love to inspire me. So what does inspire me? It could be as simple as a song on the radio. My newest work in progress was inspired when my daughters best friend was singing along to the catchy yet overplayed “Call me maybe?” at the beginning of the summer. Seeing two girls that I love happy and singing the line “I threw a wish in a well,” ended up taking on a life on its own and now I three books in the progress because of a simple song lyric.

Fall is my favorite time of year. Seeing all of the changing colors sparks my imagination. Take a drive and look at the beauty around you. Inspiration could come from something as simple as a walk on the beach with someone you love or possibly even listening to your favorite song. Reading a good book or even people watching can inspire all of us. With social media everywhere we look we are constantly being relegated with stories that are either heartwarming or bizarre. Each one adds to the twisted folds of our imaginations. So for all the writers and want to be writers (like me) my best advice is….simply live life.

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Holly Zitting is the Author to The Amulet Prophecy. The Amulet is releasing on December 1^st. It will be on Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble.com as well as Whiskey Creek Press.com. It will be followed by Talisman and Infinity. The Paradan Tales will release its first book in January entitled The Wishing Well. Holly is a stay at home to 5 children with her husband of 16 years. She is also a foster mother.

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