by Mary Ann Kerr
Writing has become a passion and I can’t seem to stop!
As the leaves turn to vibrant colors and the air begins to chill, our thoughts turn towards harvest and thanksgiving for God’s bountiful provisions. We are reminded, by creation, of God’s infinite love, a love so great that God sent His son to earth to live, die and rise again so that we might have eternal life with Him. He’s given us much for which to be thankful.
Right now, I’m thankful to God for the passion He’s given me to write. I was at a party the other night, and someone asked me about my books. They wanted to know just how I get the ideas for the stories and how I put them together. It wasn’t difficult to respond, and when I finished talking, one lady said, “Wow, your eyes sparkle when you talk about writing. You’re really passionate about it, aren’t you?”
Yes, I am passionate about it. Each of us has been given creative ability from our creative God. My husband was a career Air Force officer, and I never finished college until he retired. I was able to teach for a few years but became ill and had to stop. It was devastating, but God is so good and has given me another outlet for touching lives. I give the glory to Him for the creative ability to write and the passion for it. I honestly don’t know if I had that ability before, but I do now, and I love it!
My stories evolve as I go. I know that each of us have different ways of writing. Teaching Language Arts, I had students who couldn’t seem to do the outline before they wrote. I was the same way and would tell them to write and then make their outline fit what they wrote.
I don’t know from day to day where I am going with the current story I’m writing. Liberty’s Inheritance flowed, as did the sequel, Liberty’s Land and the prequel Liberty’s Heritage, which is in the works as I write. My fourth manuscript was easy, but the fifth didn’t flow as much and I had to sit and think of possible scenarios. I’m in the middle of my sixth book and it is another one that is flowing. So far, I haven’t experienced writer’s block and hope I don’t.
I write historical Christian fiction. In the story I’m in the process of writing, a murder was committed in the prologue. I’m on chapter eighteen, at forty-seven thousand words, and don’t know, yet, who the murderer is. It sounds crazy, but it’s the way I write. If members of ACFW told how they write, each would have a unique way of crafting their story. It’s that special gifting of creativity that God has bestowed upon us.
To be passionate about writing breathes life into the words, endowing your characters with that extra ‘something’ which in turn, engages your readers.
Mary Ann Kerr lives in Washington State with her husband, Philip. Living in various parts of the U.S., Canada, Germany, and Denmark, her travels have flavored her writing. Besides writing Christian historical fiction, Mary, a retired teacher, speaks at women’s retreats and luncheons. She has four sons and twelve grandchildren.