Writing – Christine Smith

Know the Novel: Part 1 // Introducing Unwind the Shadows

Post published:October 10, 2024
Post category:Writing
Post comments:14 Comments

Fall's FicFrenzy is nearly upon us! Soon I'll be taking advantage of the motivation fall always brings me to type madly away at a new project! Sooo today I'm answering the Know the Novel prompts to introduce you all to the thing that may or may not turn me into a hermit for a month. I'm so excited, guys. Last year, I didn't heavily join in on Fall's FicFrenzy due to life and health and other priorities taking precedence, which is perfectly fine. But boy, do I miss the mad rush of immersing in a first draft for the entirety…

I live! // An Update, Know the Novel, & FicFrenzy

Post published:September 3, 2024
Post category:Life Writing
Post comments:20 Comments

Hey, friends! I do in fact LIVE. And I'm poking my head in from my hiatus for a little life update and to announce some exciting upcoming things. Whew. It's been quite the past couple of months. In my last post, I mentioned that I needed mitral valve replacement surgery. I am very happy to say that is over and done with! I had surgery on July 19th and have been recovering ever since. It wasn't all smooth sailing, but God was so good through it all. Strangely, the surgery itself was the easy part. I felt so much peace…

Mid-Year Update // Seasons, Rest, Surgery, and A Hiatus Notice

Post published:July 16, 2024
Post category:Life
Post comments:9 Comments

Happy July, friends! I am a bit (read: a lot) in shock that we are here at the halfway point of the year. But this seems like the perfect time to reflect on the year thus far and share some updates. 2024. Goodness, it is blazing by. So far it's been both a lovely year and a stressful one, but that's one thing I've been learning through this year: the most beautiful things are found in the hardships. So what has 2024 looked like thus far? It's been a creative one. After a writing break in December, my two co-writers…

Storytelling is Worth Fighting For

Post published:June 11, 2024
Post category:Writing
Post comments:14 Comments

Stories—one of the most impacting creations we've been gifted on this earth. Stories have been changing lives and shaping the world since the creation of time. Stories are powerful. And it is such a privilege to tell them. But sometimes (many times) it's not always easy... The writing community is swarming with memes about the struggles of the writing life, with jokes about how we'd rather move to Antarctica to raise penguins than make progress on our WIPs, with endless conversations about how hard writing it is. Because it is. Writing is hard. It takes so much energy, so much…

Hello 2024 // Living Boldly

Post published:January 15, 2024
Post category:Life
Post comments:14 Comments

A most happy 2024!!! We've accomplished another year and have a brand new one with all manner of journeys ahead. That can be a little scary, definitely overwhelming, but also so very, very exciting. I will be honest, I didn't have the easiest December. Some deep insecurities that have been slowly rising to the surface burst out at the most inopportune time, life got stressful, and I struggled with one of the worst cases of creative block I've ever experienced. This eternal optimist who usually looks to the future with hope was having severe difficulty getting excited about anything. My…

2023 in Review // My Favorite Things, Writing Highlights, & Growth

Post published:December 4, 2023
Post category:Encouragement Fangirling Life Reading Writing
Post comments:9 Comments

2023—a year of unexpected blessings and reaching for new dreams and mourning losses and praising God for renewal and failing and learning and so very much growing. It was a year of life. And though some (read: many) days were hard, there were blessings in it all, and I am grateful for each day given. Somehow we have reached the final stretch of 2023 and I'm looking over at March like, "Weren't you just here?" But my word chosen to live by for 2023 was PRESENT. I tend to fly through my days, always looking ahead and never stopping to…

My FicFrenzy Plans

Post published:October 13, 2023
Post category:Writing
Post comments:4 Comments

FicFrenzy starts in TWO DAYS. I cannot believe it's been a full year since I launched this writing challenge. I am so excited to settle in with my FicFriends again and get some good writing in. But this year's FicFrenzy and in general fall writing for me may look a tad different. Before I launched the Fiction Frenzy Writing Challenge last year, I participated in NaNoWriMo every single year for 12 years straight. I got a smidge...obsessed. BUT. The joy of NaNoWriMo and then FicFrenzy is that it pushed me to get a full book drafted in one go. I…

I’m Back + Fall’s FicFrenzy is Coming!

Post published:September 11, 2023
Post category:Writing
Post comments:4 Comments

Hello, my friends! I have returned from a most refreshing August hiatus and thought I'd pop in for a quicky post with some updates and announcements. I seriously cannot believe we are nearing the halfway point of September and fall is just around the corner, but I am not complaining one little bit. Though life itself had a lot of goodness during the summer, the weather was brutal and my body does not do well in extreme heat and humidity. But temperatures are finally slowly inching downward and I'm feeling myself come alive again, and with that coupled with a…

A Little Update + Hiatus Notice

Post published:July 24, 2023
Post category:Life Writing
Post comments:8 Comments

Hey, friends! It's been a while since I've talked about what's been going on in my corner of the world, so I thought I'd share a little (rambly) update today. Do settle in with your beverage of choice (I have coffee, surprise, surprise), and let's catch up! Life + Learning On the life-y side of things, there is nothing huge to report. Things have been fairly quiet, and yet feel busy at the same time? You know how life be. I've been anxiously awaiting fall because summer heat and I don't have the best relationship. At the same time, my…

Why I Believe in Happily Ever Afters

Post published:June 12, 2023
Post category:Writing
Post comments:15 Comments

It is always the great debate: Should every story end with a happily ever after? Certainly not. Art is entirely subjective, and each story should have its own unique ending. But today I want to discuss why happily ever afters can be such powerful storytelling tools. Many people associate happily ever afters (HEAs) with fairy tales (which is kind of funny as a great number of fairy tales are far closer to tragedies *points to most of Hans Christian Andersen's works*). In doing so, the implication is that HEAs only happen to fictional princesses who can speak to woodland animals…