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Noodler
of the Month: Merrillee Whren
Wet Noodle Posse |
Merrillee Whren
Q. Tell us a little about your writing journey so far.
A. I've been writing since I was in high school. I wrote my first
novel in the evenings when I should have been doing homework. Then I
took what I had written to school the next day and let my friends
read it. That book now resides in a box of memories somewhere in our
attic. After high school I went away to college, got a degree in
education and became an elementary school teacher. During those
years I sometimes thought about writing, but it was many years later
that I decided to write something with the idea of publication. I
loved reading romances, so naturally I wanted to write a romance. I
completed my first manuscript in 1984 and submitted it. A few months
later, it came back with a rejection.
In 1985,
Romance Writers of American held their national conference in
Atlanta, Georgia, where I lived. After reading about it in the
newspaper, I went to the conference hotel to check it out. Back in
1985, you could still register for the conference at the door. I
joined RWA on the spot and went to the conference. I even had an
editor appointment. How times have changed. I spoke with an editor
from Thomas Nelson who was just starting a line of inspirational
romances. I submitted my second book to her, and again in a few
months it was rejected.
Silhouette
and Zondervan also started inspirational romance lines back in the
mid-'80s, but before I completed my third manuscript, all of these
lines folded. Eventually, I discovered Georgia Romance Writers and
became a member. For a couple of years, I tried to figure out where
I could submit my much-revised third manuscript. Finally, in April
of 1988, I decided to submit it to Harlequin American. That same
year, I took third place in the GRW Maggie Contest for another
manuscript. I was feeling pretty good about my writing, especially
when I received a revision letter from an editor at Harlequin. I did
the revisions and resubmitted. Then in March of 1991, just days
before we moved from Atlanta to Boston, I received a rejection on
that manuscript almost three years from the time I originally
submitted it. The move distracted me from the rejection, but I
didn't write more than a few pages during the two and a half years
we lived in Boston.
When we
moved to Dallas in August of 1993, I was determined to start writing
again. I found Dallas Area Romance Authors and soon met three other
unpublished writers, and we formed a critique group. This group
eventually produced three Golden Heart winners and three published
authors. I was the tortoise of the group. Throughout the next ten
years, I wrote, revised and submitted manuscripts, but they were all
rejected. Many times I felt like giving up, but each time I seemed
to be at my lowest I would get a boost from a contest final. In the
late '90s, the inspirational romance market opened up again, and I
started gearing my stories to that market.
In 1999, I
had my first win in a contest with an inspirational romance, and in
2000 I had my second contest win and a request from an editor at
Steeple Hill, but it ended in a rejection. In 2001, I won another
contest with a request from another editor at Steeple Hill. I was so
very hopeful about this manuscript because I thought it was my best
writing. However, just days after I entered this manuscript in the
2003 Golden Heart Contest, I received it back with a rejection. I
was devastated and thought I had wasted my entry fee. I was at the
point where I seriously questioned whether I should continue
writing. I wondered what God wanted me to do with my desire to
write. I sent off my Golden Heart entry with little hope. I enjoyed
the holidays and didn't think about writing. But after all the
Christmas decorations were put away in January of 2003, I had
another set of characters crying out for me to write their story. I
decided to write their story. Then I would quit.
The idea of
ever quitting quickly fled when I found out in March of 2003 that I
was a Golden Heart finalist. Not only was I a finalist, I won the
Inspirational Golden Heart. Then on February 20, 2004, I got a call
from Diane Dietz at Steeple Hill. She wanted to buy the book she had
requested after judging the 2003 Dixie First Chapter Contest. This
wasn't my Golden Heart winner but the book I decided to write before
I would finally quit. There is no quitting now. My answer to
question two says it all. Quitting is never an option. Now I look
forward to seeing my book, The Heart's Homecoming, on the
shelves in August 2005.
Q. What's the best piece of advice you've ever received from another
author?
A. NEVER GIVE UP.
Q. If you could spend an hour picking the brain of anyone, who would
it be?
A. There are lots of brains I would like to pick, but the first one
that comes to mind is my maternal grandfather. When I was a kid he
was just my grandpa, but now that he is gone and I am much older I
realize that he had lots of information and wisdom that I never
bothered to tap.
Q. What do you feel is your best strength as a writer?
A. I'm not sure I can judge my own strength as a writer. I know that
writing dialogue comes easiest as I'm writing. I hear conversations
in my head. Does that make me crazy? <G> At the same time, I'm not
sure dialogue is my strength. It just comes easiest. I think
characterization is my strength. I write character-driven stories. I
love to delve into character backgrounds and what makes them tick.
Q. Is there a type of book you'd love to write that you haven't?
A. When I was teaching, I often thought of writing a book for
children. I enjoyed reading so many children's books while I taught.
I'd also like to write a non-fiction inspirational book someday.
Q. What, in your opinion, are the three writing books that no writer
should be without?
A. I checked my bookshelf. I have a lot more than three writing
books, so it's hard to choose just three. I do have to admit that I
haven't read all the way through most of those writing books. One
book I know I've completed is Goal, Motivation, & Conflict
by Debra Dixon. Two others I like are Structuring Your Novel
by Robert C. Meredith and John D. Fitzgerald and Getting the
Words Right by Theodore A. Rees Cheney.
Q. What is your writing process like?
A. I'm a seat-of-the-pants writer. Characters usually come to mind
first when I think of a new idea. I usually have a first scene, and
I know how the book should end. I only have a vague idea of what
happens between the beginning and the end. I've tried over the years
to plot ahead, but I found myself not doing any writing because I
could never answer all the questions in the plotting charts or come
up with chapters and scenes. So I decided just to write. As I write,
the story begins to unfold a few scenes at a time. I often plot
while I do my daily walk. The inspiration for my book, The Heart's
Homecoming, which comes out in August, came from a song about a man
who was jilted and now the woman who jilted him wants him back. I
took those two characters and that conflict and developed a story.
Q. Other than writing and reading, what other activities do you
enjoy?
A. I play tennis in two different leagues. Right now my win-loss
record isn't too great. I think it's because I don't have enough
time to practice anymore. I also love to garden and work in the
yard. I like walking on the beach near my home. And my husband and I
enjoy going to the movies.
Q. What is your dream vacation?
A. Wow! This is a hard question. I live in a vacation dreamland with
beaches, tennis and golf just around the corner. So I don't have to
go anywhere to enjoy what others travel miles to enjoy. But I have
often said when my husband and I retire, I would like to travel by
car along the back roads of the United States. I want to take my
time getting there and explore out-of-the-way places.
The Heart's Homecoming
Steeple Hill Love Inspired
August 2005
ISBN 0-373-87324-7
click here to order on Amazon.com
Homepage:
MerrilleeWhren.com
Click here to see
Merrillee's page on Wet Noodle Posse.com
To read last
month's Noodler of the Month article, click
here
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