Tis the Season

Merry holidays to you all!

I love this special time of the year. The days are filled with family, friends, gifts and lots of yummy food.

As a writer it is a fun time to pay attention to our senses. Take a moment to smell, I mean really smell. Chocolate, egg nog, apple cider, baking cookies, Mom's special treats, fresh cut trees, rain on the pavement...I'm sure you could find many smells that remind you of this season. The neat thing is year after year, these aromas will always remind you of this time of year, of family, of love.

Now look around. What do you see? Colors, lights, ornaments, decorations, presents, smiley faces. The list is endless.

Do the same for the sounds and tastes you experience this time of the year.

Think of the traditions you and your family try to observe each year. Where did they come from? Why? Why is it important to continue them?

These are all things you could write about. And as you do, try to touch your emotions to feel what you feel when you smell, see, taste, and hear during this holiday season.

May your days be blessed,
K.T. Hernandez

Be Brave

Hi friends,
I am embarking on a new temporary job in a few days, one that is totally and completely different from anything I've ever done, and I have to say, well, it's a bit scary. But taking yourself outside your comfort zone is thrilling too. It is there, outside our warm and fuzzy space, that we learn, grow, expand, FEEL.
And so this is what I suggest to you writers--BE BRAVE.
Try something new and really experience it.
Taste a new dish, a strange spice, a pinch of hot pepper.
Explore.
Meet a new friend.
Volunteer.
Be brave, learn, grow and don't forget to write about it. (Here, if you'd like to.)
Maybe I'll see you out there in our brave new world!
K.T. Hernandez

Thankful

Hi friends,

Because Thanksgiving is almost here, I want to say how thankful I am for you, family, this world, and being able to write.

Writing is a passion, a release, a blessing for me. It is such a joy to have words flow freely, creating new places, people and emotions as they go.

Why don't you try it?

Write about things you are thankful for. Write to make your world a better place. Write to touch hearts. Write to instill education and justice.
Just write.

Have a safe and loving Thanksgiving,
K. T. Hernandez

Use Your Senses

A couple of days ago I woke to a strange dripping sound. My first thought was that we had a problem with one of our faucets. It did not occur to me that it could be raining! We have not had rain in Southern California for so long, that I forgot what it sounded like.
This got me to thinking about how writers write sounds. For example, a drip plopping in the sink sounds different from one coming down in thick grass, or on the sidewalk, for that matter. Does a raindrop make a sound if it lands on the soft skin of your cheek? What does it sound like? Think about that a moment.
Now factor in the smell of rain. What do you smell? Sweet grass, musty dirt, wet fur?
What does rain taste like on your tongue?
How about the feel of it on your skin? Is it tapping your head, racing down your cheek, blurring your eyes?
What is the color of rain? Gray, white, brown, some elaborate mix?
Okay, this is what you should be doing when you write stories. Writing is more than words. Use your senses in the world you have created. Put yourself right there, dancing in the rain. If you do that, your readers can't help but get wet.

Where Do Your Stories Come From?

Hi gang!
Kids ask me all the time, "How did you come up with the story about the miner-49er ghost for SAVING MINER'S GULCH?"

I like to think God plays a big part in my idea creation department. I mean, He is the ultimate Creator, after all. When an idea tickles my brain, I think about how to turn it into a story. How would my readers like to see it? Is it going to be a funny story, or something serious? What will be at stake? Will the characters have to solve a mystery, be in a position of life or death, have to save someone? As I unravel these questions more thoughts come to me. Who are my characters? What is important to them? What's in their hearts?

I sketch out a plot, kind of like an artist who sketches a picture before she applies paint. I get a sense of how to begin, the conflicts my characters will face and the climax where the character fights through the ultimate problem. I also know how it will end. Then I begin.

When the first draft is written, I put it aside for a few weeks before I start the editing process, which can take nearly as long as the writing of the first draft! That's how I do it.

So, back to the miner-49er ghost, Jack Boyd. The idea of sending two boys off to find buried treasure and save a mining town came to me in a most unusual way. My husband's great-grandfather wrote stories about lost treasures in the Southwest many, many years ago. We found one of these old books with his signature inside. Imagine that! My sons now have a book that their great-great-grandfather wrote and signed. After reading about the legends of lost treasures, my sons wanted to go searching for gold right away. So did I!

And that got me thinking...
What if two boys stumbled into an ancient mystery of a lost gold mine, and what if they met the ghost who still haunted the mine? It sounds like a story to me!

K. T. Hernandez

Call to young writers with questions

Hi all,

Many young writers have questions about the publishing industry, or writing in general. So go ahead ask. I've been writing and teaching kids the joys of writing for many years now. I'm a member of the Romance Writers of America, the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators and various writing groups. I promise to take all questions seriously and do my best to answer them.

Writing is fun. Enjoy!

My First Blog

Dear friends,

This is my first adventure into the amazing world of blogging. I hope I don't trip over my feet and fall flat on my words. If I do? Well, it's okay to laugh.

My name is K.T. Hernandez. I am a writer and a teacher. If you wanted to, you could look up the first book I self-published, Kid's Play, Early Development Activities to Prepare Your Child for Kindergarten. It's a book for grown-ups to read. I hope it will give kids a head-start in school.

So I write books for adults, but I am also writing an adventure series for kids ages 7 - 12. These are really fun stories about two young boys who find treasure, stop the bad guys, and save the day. The books aren't published yet, but I know they will be, one day soon.

Let's face it, writing is tough. I love to write, especially those days when the words come easily and dialog pops into my head faster than I can type. But there are other days when I have to drag the words across the page like an old dead log. Those days? Not so much fun, no. But I've found if I keep working at it, practicing, polishing, reading other people's stories, the words flow again. Like a sweet song.

What do you like to read/and or write?