Inspiring Close to Home

As writers we hope our words will inspire others to laugh, to think, to change, to review, or to take a chance. But sometimes we inspire in unlikely places. My current book – the first one in quite a while – came out in November and my family and friends have all very excited and supportive.

            When my ten-year-old grandson came to visit he asked to use my ipad and the keyboard so he could write a book too. He plopped himself down at the dining room table and started to peck at the keys.

            “Grandma, how many chapters do I need?”

            “I usually start with twelve.”

            More pecking at the keys.

            “How do I get a publisher?”

            “Don’t worry about that yet, Drew. First you finish the book.”

            Peck. Peck.

            “So is an agent expensive?”

            “Not too bad, but well worth it.”

            Finally the pecking stopped and a big smile spread over his face. “I finished chapter one. You wanna read it?”

            “Sure.”

            “It’s a Spiderman Trilogy with a cross over with the Justice league.”

            I was pleasantly surprised. For a first attempt from a 4^th grader is was pretty good. I understood the plot in the first few sentences and his main character was appealing. Throughout the rest of the day, he worked on his ‘book’, stopping now and then to tell me he’d added a girlfriend and a villain, and later he introduced another girl character to make the girlfriend jealous.

He wrote up to chapter seven and I read it again, my grandmotherly pride swelling. I was amazed to find he had an understanding of story structure and rising and falling action. There were even cliff hangers at the end of each chapter. (The chapters were short –two paragraphs in some places but it had heart.)

            Drew lives in a neighboring State so I’m not sure if ever finished the book. I’ll find out tomorrow when the family comes for Christmas. I hope he did. Maybe he’ll work on it again while he’s here.

He’ll never know what a wonderful gift he gave me—to see firsthand how my feeble efforts at writing inspirational romance had spilled over and inspired my grandson to write his adventure story. What more could an author ask for?

            When he’s completed his trilogy, I plan on sending a sample to my agent just for her input. I know Drew will be thrilled and who knows, she might want to represent him someday.

            Christmas is an inspiring season, I hope you’ll all be inspired to use our words and our actions to inspire everyone around us.

Merry Christmas

Lorraine Beatty

Rekindled Romance – April Love Inspired

Restoring His Heart – June Love Inspired
Plantation Christmas Weddings – Christmas Wreath – novella collection, September Barbour Books

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Lorraine Beatty was born and raised in Columbus, Ohio, but has been blessed to live in Germany, Connecticut, and Baton Rouge. She now calls Mississippi home. She and husband Joe have two sons and six grandchildren. Lorraine started writing in Junior High and has written for trade books, newspapers and company newsletters. She is a member of RWA, ACFW and is a charter member, and past president of Magnolia State Romance Writers. In her spare time she likes to work in her garden, travel, and spend time with her family.