Terry Helwig's Blog - Posts Tagged "inspiration"

It's near the end of January and I have one chapter, 16 pages, of my novel completed. My sister Joni made me laugh when she said 16 well-written pages are a lot better than 100 badly written pages. Very true! My lesson this month has been learning the importance of "massaging" my material--my first draft of the chapter was only four pages long; it was but a shadow of the finished product. Shadows are good--they prime the pump--but the key is to flesh out the shadows until you have a living, breathing piece of work. Hopefully, I've accomplished that. Today, I'm in the shadows of Chapter Two.

I want to thank everyone who signed up for my Goodreads Giveaway for an autographed, first-edition copy of “Shifting Shorelines: Messages from a Wiser Self,” which was a Finalist in the 2022 Feathered Quill Awards. We had over 1,960 entries! I mailed books to the winners today, and I hope to run another giveaway for Mothers Day, as I believe “Shifting Shorelines” would make a perfect gift for mothers, daughters, grandmothers, and granddaughters.

Here are a few comments from some of my readers:
“Shifting Shorelines,” inspires, comforts, and enlightens…Exquisite…How many ways can I say I love this book…It is a heart-warming invitation to the treasury of the shoreline and reawakens the joy of being alive…At the close of each chapter, Terry Helwig shares a few words of encouragement to her younger self, about the path that awaits ahead…Terry’s wise, universal messages inspire hope and offer a welcome respite from a troubled world.