RSS

Daily Archives: July 25, 2011

Guest blogger: Inspirational Romance Author, Marie Higgins

I want to thank The Gem State Writers for giving me the chance to be a guest blogger today. I’m so excited to share with you what I know! (or at least think I know…lol)

HOW TO WRITE A GREAT INSPY

When I first decided to start writing Inspirationals, my critique partners groaned at the idea. No kidding! They didn’t want me to do it because they said most Christian romances were boring. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that I hadn’t read an Inspy in several years, and the ones I’d read were boring!

So, I decided to take a chance and start a new trend – if I could, anyway. I decided that my stories wouldn’t just be hero meets heroine, learns about Christ, has a faith-promoting experience, and they live happily ever after. Instead…I write action and adventure. I write humor. I write about the deep attraction felt between man and woman. I believe that just because my stories are labeled ‘Inspirationals’, they don’t have to be a Sunday School lesson. Christians are people too. We are human, and we experience the same things that non-Christians experience. We are tempted just like everyone else. And…we live normal lives.

When I start creating a story, I figure out the plot first – a normal plot between a man and woman who are going to fall in love but things will stand in their way. I think about all the obstacles they’ll overcome along their journey. THEN I will figure out how to add a Christian element into the mix. My characters are not Holier-than-Thou type of people. They are regular people you meet on the street who have regular problems.

Since August 2010, I’ve had three books published with a Christian publisher, Walnut Springs Press. Two were Inspies, and my latest release was a sweet romance. I’ve received numerous reviews and comments. The main theme of these comments boils down to – Ms. Higgins’ stories do not read like most Christian romances. What’s fun is to realize this surprises most readers. Go figure!

Inspirationals are on the rise, my friends. For years I’d been writing a different genre, but I wasn’t going anywhere in my writing career. In the beginning years, I competed with so many writers who write in the same genre and I couldn’t get noticed. When I decided to finally ‘write what I know’, I couldn’t believe how my career turned around. FINALLY, I got my foot in the door with a good publisher. FINALLY, I signed with an agent. FINALLY, I’m getting the recognition I have craved for nearly 15 years. And FINALLY I’m happy with the stories I write.