Monday Motivation With a Bowl of Chicken Soup!

Today, I am happy to welcome Tracy Crump to The Storyteller Squad. Last month you got a sneak peek into Tracy’s Chicken Soup for the Soul writing journey. Tracy also works as an editor and recently had a romantic short story published in Woman’s World Magazine.

Here is the rest of her interview.

Tracy, welcome to The Storyteller Squad!

You have been very successful in writing for Chicken Soup for the Soul.  How many stories have you had published in Chicken Soup?

My 22^nd story was recently published in Chicken Soup for the Soul: Think Positive Live Happy.

We are both in the ACFW Memphis chapter and I know that you are also working on a fiction manuscript. What challenges do you face with the fiction compared to the non-fiction?

Though I use fiction techniques in my nonfiction stories, I have to be more diligent in watching for point-of-view shifts, avoiding “filter words” (which you wrote about in your wonderful article for my newsletter, Sharon), and researching facts to make sure my fiction is authentic. It’s different from telling a story that I know intimately, but it’s a lot of fun!

You also work as a freelance editor. Does your editing mind ever inhibit your creativity in a first or second draft?

I’m sure it does to a degree. And for a while, I tried to change since all the “experts” said not to edit as you go along, just get it down on paper. Then I had lunch with multi-published fiction author Brandilyn Collins when she keynoted at our conference. She said she finally learned that editing while writing was what worked best for her. It slows her down, but when she’s through, she pretty much has a finished product. I don’t worry about it now. I figure if it worked for someone who has written as many books as she has, it can work for me.

Tracy has written a book of devotions which her agent is pitching to publishers.  Tell us a little about this book and why you wanted to write devotions.

I’ve published a number of individual devotions over the years and love digging deeper into Scripture and connecting it with the lives we live today. One thing we all experience at some time or another, either ourselves or with our families, is illness. I witnessed God perform lifesaving miracles when I worked as a nurse and thought devotions based on those experiences might offer encouragement to others going through similar trials or struggling with a caregiver role. The book is tentatively titled Health, Healing, and Wholeness: Devotions of Hope in the Midst of Illness.

You have a successful newsletter called The Write Life. Tell us a little about this newsletter.

The Write Life originated at the first Chicken Soup for the Soul workshop that Marylane Wade Koch and I presented to nine writers at a local library in 2008. It has gone out every month since then, and we now have around 850 subscribers. Each issue includes a short article on some aspect of writing or marketing by industry professionals, a Chicken Soup for the Soul tip, a Subscriber Spotlight, and a short, encouraging devotion. Authors such as Cecil Murphey, Angela Hunt, Brandilyn Collins, and Bob Hostetler (and of course, Sharon Rene!) have contributed articles, and we send story callouts for Chicken Soup for the Soul and other anthologies to our subscribers. It’s free! Just go to our website to sign up.

What advice would you give someone, young or old, who is trying to pursue their dream, whether it’s writing, singing, or being a doctor or lawyer or anything else?

I believe God gives us gifts and puts desires in our hearts to use those gifts for Him. I never dreamed I’d be doing the things I’m doing today. If you feel God is leading you to do something, be brave, learn all you can, and step out on faith. As my mother always said, “You’ll never know until you try.”

Tracy Crump’s devotions and articles have appeared in numerous publications, but she is best known for more than two dozen stories in Chicken Soup for the Soul® and other anthologies. Her course, “How to Write for Chicken Soup for the Soul,” is one of Serious Writer Academy’s top sellers, and she teaches workshops and webinars on writing for the series. Tracy is also a freelance editor and proofreads for Farmers’ Almanac. With two grandchildren and two more on the way, she believes “Grandma” is the most beautiful word in the English language. Visit Tracy at www.TracyCrump.com or www.WriteLifeWorkshops.com.

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