Author Crush Month: Liz Curtis Higgs

I am so excited to introduce our last Author Crush of 2010. Years ago when I was working as a technical writer/editor for an educational company I had a hard time reading books for pleasure. I couldn’t turn off my analytical brain and just enjoy the story. Then I picked up Liz Curtis Higg’s Thorn in My Heart. I started off with my usual nonstop mental analysis, then somewhere along the way I fell into the story. I was in 1788 Scotland and my heart was breaking.

Now, Liz is my GGR. My Guaranteed Good Read.

Every summer my family goes to a quiet little lake in British Columbia for our vacation and whatever reading material I take with me is all that I have. So it better be good, right? Yes, the GGR. The tough part for me is that Liz’s books tend to come out in the spring. I usually buy early so I don’t risk the store not having any before my vacation. But that means not allowing myself to even peek at the first page. Straight to my suitcase so I’m not tempted. Thank you Liz for being my GGR.

Here Burns My Candle, based on the Old Testament story of Naomi and Ruth is out March 16th.

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Here is what Liz had to say when I asked about her writing routines.

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Even the word “routine” makes me twitchy, but after 27 books, I’ve developed a few methods that help me travel from first page to last—if not efficiently, at least eventually.

I’m a firm believer in having a workspace dedicated to writing, whether it’s a card table, a spare bedroom, or the little building we have behind our old farmhouse. Inside you’ll soon discover I have two desks. In my first-floor office I handle correspondence, chat with my publisher, create marketing pieces, update Facebook and Twitter—all that 21^st-century stuff. On the second floor is a room lined with bookshelves, where I do nothing but write. No food, no phone calls, no kidding.

Surrounded by the Scottish mementos that inspire me, I can quickly immerse myself in another time and place. A cup of Earl Grey tea, a fragrant candle, and some Celtic instrumental music help usher in the proper mood. I have a fairly detailed plot outline in hand, but my goal is to climb inside my characters’ hearts and let them tell their story. I’d rather observe and listen, writing down what they say and do, instead of forcing them to follow my lead.

Each book takes me about a year to write. I have a daily target word count, which is quite low at the start of the book—750-1,000 words a day—and grows with each chapter until I’m hitting 2,000-2,500 words a day. Exactly once in my writing career I hit 5,000 words between breakfast and bed. The next day I couldn’t rub two words together. So, I try not to get too obsessive about how much I get done, and instead focus on the quality of the writing itself.

Whether I’m writing nonfiction or fiction, I’m all about the research. Love-love-LOVE it. I have more than 850 books about Scotland, shelved by subject—architecture, birds, education, food, gardening, etc. And I have another 200 books and commentaries that help me understand the women of the Bible.

For my Scottish novels based on biblical characters, I research the Scriptures first, studying each passage in a dozen different translations, all the while letting the truth sink in and the story take root. Then I dive into the historical material, combing through my Scottish resources for relevant customs, traditions, and folklore that suit both the story and the setting. I’ve visited Scotland eleven times to date, tramping through the villages and over the hills and glens, snapping photos, asking questions, and taking copious notes. I’ve met the loveliest people since my first visit in 1996, and hear the cadence of their speech in the voices of my characters.

Anytime I think writing is hard work, I remind myself of the years I spent waiting on tables, cleaning houses, selling wigs, or changing diapers, and suddenly a day parked in front of a computer sounds like a cake walk. With tea, please.

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Want to see a virtual tour of Liz’s writing study? Especially all those books? Yeah, me too. Here it is (warning, you’ll want a room like this for yourself):

http://www.lizcurtishiggs.com/scrapbook/study.htm

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In her best-selling series of Bad Girls of the Bible books, workbooks, and videos, Liz Curtis Higgs breathes new life into ancient tales about the most infamous—and intriguing—women in scriptural history, from Jezebel to Mary Magdalene. Biblically sound and cutting-edge fresh, these popular titles have helped more than one million women around the world experience God’s grace anew. Her best-selling historical novels, which transport the stories of Rebecca, Leah, Rachel, and Dinah to eighteenth-century Scotland, have also helped her readers view these familiar characters in a new light. And her nonfiction book, Embrace Grace, winner of a 2007 Retailers Choice Award, presents her message of hope in an engaging and personal way, speaking directly to the hearts of her readers.

Liz is the author of twenty-six books, with more than three million copies in print.

http://www.LizCurtisHiggs.com