A Chat with Author Maureen Pratt

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Hello, everyone! Kevin Thompson here. As we prepare this blog post, we want to remember our brothers and sisters in the Carolinas as well as the other areas struck by Hurricane Florence. As one of many who experienced the eye wall of Hurricane Irma last year and the devastation it can bring, I understand firsthand what they are dealing with right now. But know this: God is there before, during, and after the storms of life, both figurative and literal. We “celebrated” the first year anniversary of Irma on Sept. 10-11th (it occurred during the middle of the night), and…

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Tips from the Pros: Maureen Pratt

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Greetings from lovely Mount Dora, Florida, where we’re experiencing a few welcome weeks of spring before we move into our sticky summer weather. Today, I’ll share a special encore interview with author Maureen Pratt. Maureen comes to publishing from the unique perspective of a lupus and hypothyroid patient who also serves as an advocate for others suffering from chronic disease. Far from negative, her books and her speaking provide hope, help, and practical inspiration. Welcome, Maureen! How many books do you have published, and what are a few of your latest titles?  I have seven published books, and my newest one is releasing this spring: Don’t Panic!:…

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Why Do You Write?

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I’ll be taking about a year off of my CAN blog and other CAN activities (but will still "lurk" on the message boards and chime in from time to time – and will still keep writing my Beliefnet blog). The reasons for this are several: Because of a new autoimmune disease/condition diagnosis, I’ll be starting a rather potent immunosuppressive drug and don’t know what the side effects will be; I have a number of longer writing projects that I am eager to complete; and, well, sometimes I know I have to "do" rather than write about doing! Which leads me…

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Happy About Your Endings?

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Hello! Maureen Pratt here with my monthly CAN blog about the craft of writing. This month, some thoughts about satisfying, "gotta read this author again" endings. Whether you’re writing fiction or non-fiction, each piece has a beginning, a middle, and an end. Although they are each crucial to telling a good story, it’s the ending that gives readers the final feeling, the ultimate impression, of the work as a whole. If your beginning hooked them into starting to read, and if your middle was expertly crafted to keep them reading along with your storytelling, then the ending is that wonderful…

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Seeds and Stories

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Hello, and Happy Easter! Maureen Pratt here with my monthly CAN blog – just in time for Easter joy and Springtime green! This time of year is fresh with promise. Trees are budding, flowers are blooming, and seeds are sprouting. My creative juices seem to flow more freely at this time of year, too, and all sorts of seedlings are popping up, showing off their first leaves, and looking good for the coming warmer months. What in the world am I talking about? There are powerful analogies between gardening and growth and solid story-telling. Whether fiction or non-fiction, our writing…

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When You’re In Drought

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Here in Southern California, we’re experiencing a severe drought. The land is unquestionably dry, and at times, the air is sandy from loose, small particles kicked up by the winds. Destructive fire is more of a risk, now. We’re being asked to be "careful" about water usage. No mandatory rationing so far, but should this continue… As far as I can tell, when a drought happens, there are basically two ways of quenching the proverbial thirst. One is rain from the sky, and the other is to divert existing water from elsewhere. Of course, this last brings up the question,…

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Do You Have to Like All of Your Characters?

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Hi! Maureen Pratt here with my monthly blog. A friend of mine and I recently got into an interesting discussion about how much of the programming on television and many of today’s movies contain fundamentally unlikeable characters who do some pretty awful things. And yet, they draw an audience, sometimes rave reviews, and, sometimes, too, awards and accolades. As a reporter, I’ve had to write stories about subjects that I don’t necessarily "resonate" with. I’ve also had to interview people with whom I personally disagree or who are not exactly the kind of people I’d want to share a meal…

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“Brilliance in a bottle”

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Hello! And a very Merry Christmas to you! Maureen Pratt here for my monthly blog which, this year, just happens to fall a couple of days after one of my favorite holidays – you guessed it – Christmas! What I especially love about Christmas is that we get to bring out many of our dearly-held traditions. Whether it’s in baking, decorating, music, or Scripture study “what was old is new again” as we celebrate the Season. How does this relate to writing? Well, it reminds me that sometimes I miss “old” traditions of the authorial kind. Writing long-hand, for example,…

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The Aching and Powerful Fragility and Strength of Memory

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It is poignantly fitting that National Alzheimer’s Awareness Month occurs in the same month as one of our most memorable holidays – Thanksgiving Day. Alzheimer’s is a disease that robs people of their memories. Thanksgiving Day is an occasion when people gather to celebrate, give thanks, and weave conversation from past to present to future memories. Photos, videos, and audio recordings will be made during the festivities. And some of these will make their way sometime in the future into the lap of someone who once participated and remembered, but now needs to be gently coaxed to even recognize the…

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Sometimes, It’s What We Don’t Say That Matters

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As writers who work at our craft every day, we meet the blank page squarely with the intent of filling it. What will we write about? How will we describe our characters? Which facts will we use to flesh out our story and, if writing an opinion piece, our arguments? But there is another element to writing that is often more potent than what we say on a page. That is, what we don't say. Indeed, the use of not using certain words, descriptions, or dialogue is a potent part of the writer's craft, strong and bold when used well,…

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