Ever curious about the other me–the author Paula?

The ACFW Colorado Inkwell honored me by inviting me to interview as their Author Spotlight for May. There were some unique questions and I had a lot of fun.

Here’s a taste:

1. People often say that writing and publishing a book is like birthing a baby. You’ve raised four children. What have you learned from that experience that helped with birthing your books?

What a fun question! Maybe the most important thing is comparing a first draft to a birth experience. We would never think a child is full grown just because he is born, but new writers too often think this way about first drafts. Birthing a first draft is a huge accomplishment and something to celebrate, but it is just the beginning of the book’s growing up. Most accomplished authors say they rewrite 5-15 times!

Another connection that comes to mind is how the birthing process itself differs with each book. My first child took 17 hours of labor. My second sailed through in under 2 hours. It’s the same with the books I’ve completed. Some took years to form, others were written in weeks. Some was excruciatingly painful to produce and others were (comparatively) easy… (Read more on the Inkwell!)

Until Next Time,

Tagged: ACFW, ACFW CO, American Christian Fiction Writers, author, Paula Moldenhauer, The Inkwell, writing