I’m up bright and early on this Thanksgiving Day, 2016, waiting to begin cooking a wonderful brunch for my family. I’m sipping coffee with more cream than coffee (just the way I like it) and reflecting on all that I’m grateful for. Of course I’m grateful most of all for my faith and my family. Without them I’m not sure I would know who I am or have ever been able to establish my purpose in life. I’m thankful for good health and the privilege to wake up of a morning and begin a new day. Its a gift I never take for granted.

I’m also grateful to have been given the gift to craft a story with words. My books may not give every reader the joy they seek when they read on of my stories, but there are those who find them gratifying, and to those people, I say thank you. Without readers, authors would have much less satisfaction in weaving the stories of their creation. But write them they must.

With the gift of writing comes a responsibility that I take very seriously. Words are magic. They can bring joy, pain, anger, sadness, and evoke change. Because of that power every writer should strive to craft a story to the best of their ability. Take those words and massage, extrapolate, twist, turn and build a story that grabs not only the attention of a reader, but their heart as well.

I believe this is true whether you write fiction or nonfiction, but as fiction is my specialty, I’ll speak to that. Using words to build not only a setting, but characters takes practice. Weaving emotion into a character’s thoughts and heart is not easy. It requires the study of words. Those that show and not tell. It’s easy to tell a reader how a character is feeling, but much more difficult to show them. I’m not the best I can be by far, and I also believe writing is a craft that grows with study and practice. I strive to learn new ways every day to construct with words a story that will leave a reader breathless.

Take heart writers. The beauty of words is their magic. Use them wisely and creatively to craft a story that will weave its way through your readers’ emotions in a way that will leave them satisfied yet wanting more.  If it were easy, everyone would be successful at it. Like anything, to become the best at what you do, you must practice.

When people ask me what I do, I tell them I work in insurance. When people ask me who I am, I say, “A Writer.” I find joy in writing, and even if my stories weren’t read by a single soul, I’d still build them to the best of my ability. Words are magic, my friends. Thank you for supporting me by allowing me to weave my tales for you.

If you’d like to see Kelly’s stories, visit Books by Kelly.