by Jill Chapman

 Writing has been an adventure for me in a multitude of ways. From the stories I wrote as a middle-school preteen to the weird stuff I drafted as a teenager, from newsletters, lesson plans, and Sunday school lessons to novels, my writing has been straight from my heart.

When I began to write my middle-grade novel at age fifty-nine, I knew I wanted a mystery story with adventure that kids would love to read. The first drafts were not great. Several drafts later, I had the story ready. So, when I pitched it and sent the manuscript in after it was requested, I thought it would be published right away. It’s funny when I think about it now. There would be several more drafts with a professional editor before it went to print.

The biggest lesson I learned from all the drafts, tears, and frustration of editing was that there is always room for improvement. A specific word choice can turn a whole paragraph around.

As a retired teacher, I thought I knew how to write.

Turns out, I relied on the answer key a lot. Comma rules elude me even now as I’m working on book four of The Bomb Squad series.

The common thread of my writing journey has been to never give up. I attended conferences, joined writing groups, watched YouTube videos on writing, and followed other authors on their social media. During all this activity, I filled notebooks with advice, tips, and tricks on writing. I pull these notebooks out when I get discouraged, and then I see how far I’ve come in knowledge of writing and publishing.

 When I wrote the beginning paragraph to The Bomb Squad, I had no idea that it would be rewritten and rearranged some fifty times! There were times I felt discouraged, but it became a joke to see what would happen after each critique or edit.

I rejoiced after publication that I didn’t have to rewrite the first paragraph again.

Since it was the inciting event, it was key to the whole story.

There are more stories in me if I don’t give up. The Bomb Squad series has two more books to complete. That’s the goal I’m striving to achieve. Then it’s on to a young adult novel that I’ve rewritten three times. I’m still not happy with it, but it’s closer every time.

Available on Amazon https://a.co/d/8qvCsRb

Life’s journey is a lot like writing. The most significant difference is that you can’t go back and rewrite any of it, but you can keep going. Your story isn’t finished, so you don’t give up. You may not be able to delete mistakes in life, yet the next chapter doesn’t have to have the same blunders.

Earlier, I said the biggest thing I learned was to keep editing, but I think the most important thing I’ve learned is to never give up.

Jill Chapman

Jill lives in Southern Indiana with her husband of forty-seven years. They enjoy their country lifestyle and visits with their children and grandchildren. She writes for her own blog, Quips from My Quill, while also guest- blogging. Her books for children are filled with family-friendly adventures.
 
Her interest in books began in her childhood, where reading provided a wonderful outlet for her wild imagination. She loves to tell stories about her life experiences with humor mixed in to convey the sense of adventure she feels every day.
 
Jill says her life is like a good plate of nachos, a tiny kick of spice, and a whole lotta cheese.

For more information, visit https://authorjillchapman.com/