Preslaysa Williams {Writer Wednesday}

A little bit about Preslaysa...

Preslaysa Williams is an award-winning author and actress. As an actress, she’s co-starred on a Nickelodeon TV series and has appeared on Off Broadway and regional theatre. After graduating from Columbia University, she began writing heartfelt stories of redemption. In her spare time, she enjoys spending way too much time on social media and training for half marathons to force herself to exercise.

Connect with Preslaysa...

Website: www.preslaysa.com
Blog: www.preslaysa.com
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/12017078.Preslaysa_Williams
Facebook: www.facebook.com/preslaysa
Twitter: www.twitter.com/preslaysawrites
Instagram: www.instagram.com/preslaysa

Get to know Preslaysa...

You and Writing

What has kept you writing? 
Pure love. Really. I love it so much that nothing can keep me from NOT writing. It’s part of who I am. I get twitchy if I go for long stretches of time without writing. For me, writing helps answer the big life questions and sort out all the things I mull over in my head. (I’m an overthinker!)

Writing

Are you a Panster or Plotter?
I started out as a Pantser on my first two books, but now I’m definitely a plotter. Plotting saves me so much time!

What does your writing process look like? 
Now that I’m a plotter J I spend a LOT of time interviewing and chatting with my characters even before I start figuring out scenes in the book. For my current work in progress, I spent about two to three months talking to my characters. When the time came to plot and outline, the story itself came naturally because I knew the characters so well.

What is your favorite and least favorite part of the writing process? 
Favorite part of the writing process is when my scene draft is close to polished, and then I’m wordsmithing or strengthening the character’s voice. My least favorite part of writing is writing first drafts because they are usually so stilted and awkward and flat. Rough writing makes me cringe, but it’s also an invitation for me to do my thing as a writer and fix it up.

Do you listen to music when you write? If so, have a favorite artist or playlist to share?
Yes, I do listen to music when I write. When I need extra focus, I listen to non-vocal background noise that’s supposed to stimulate creativity. I go to the Coffitivy website for this; it’s amazing. Right now, my favorite song (with lyrics) that I like listening to while writing is Khalid’s “Location”

Are there any books or resources you could recommend to younger writers looking to grow in their craft?
“Techniques of the Selling Writer” by Dwight Swain and “Scene and Structure” by Jack Bickham

How do you grow in your writing craft? 
I read a lot, and I write a lot. I don’t get writer’s block. I manage to do some form of writing or editing at least six days a week, even if it’s only a page of writing or editing. Those little increments add up!

How do you balance your writing life with “real” life?
Any tips or tricks to share? I used to keep long to-do lists and feel defeated at the end of the day when I didn’t do everything I set out to do. Now, I only have a to-do of 3-5 items. It’s made me more productive and happier!

You

What is one thing you like to do to relax when you aren’t writing?
Read a great book that makes me cry and laugh.

What are you currently reading?
Right now, I’m reading “The Boy in the Black Suit” by Jason Reynolds. It’s a YA book. I’ve been binge reading contemporary YA recently!

Thanks for being my guest Preslaysa! Reader friends, make sure you enter the giveaway below - I know there are some of your out there who love your coffee as much as I do 😉

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Forgetting and Reaching: Two Keys to Reaching Your Dreams by Preslaysa Williams | Guest Post

The road to success is paved with failure. Yep, failure. Some of the most successful people have failed their way to success.

Bill Gates is one example. Long before he became one of the world’s wealthiest individuals, Bill Gates started a company called Traf-O-Data with his partner Paul Allen. The company aimed to process large amounts of data. They tried to sell their idea, but they garnered a lot of “no’s”. Gates and Allen later went on to found Microsoft, their biggest success.

Did you know that Walt Disney was once fired from a newspaper company because he “lacked creativity”? He persevered and later started Laugh-O-Gram films, but that failed. Disney eventually made his way to Hollywood and created films which gained in popularity.

Milton Hershey started three candy companies before he founded Hershey’s chocolate. I, for one, am very thankful that Hershey persevered!

Philippians 3:13-14 says: “Brethren, I don’t regard myself as having laid a hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call in Christ Jesus.”

To see your dream materialize, this passage says to do two things: 1) forget the past and 2) reach for the future.

To fully let go of the past—the failures, the mistakes, the regrets, the pain—you need to have something to shoot for in the future. “Without vision, the people perish” (Proverbs 29:18). Without vision, you can easily get sucked into the past and literally drown in negativity and failure.

I believe that when God created you, He had big dreams for your future. I believe you were created to fulfill God’s big dreams for your life. I also believe that when you tap into your heart’s desires, you’re tapping into God’s dreams for you. They’re one and the same.

“Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart” (Psalm 37:4). As you delight in Him, your true heart desires will spring forth. You’ll know what you were called on earth to do. You’ll know your dreams. The first step is delighting yourself in Him.

To tap into your dreams, you have to set aside time with God. It doesn’t have to be a legalistic set amount of time. It can be five minutes a day, but consistency is key. During this time you can:

1. Pray
2. Listen to a faith building message
3. Read a couple of verses in the Bible, etc.

During this time, ask God: “What are your dreams for me?” Also, ask yourself: “What do I want most for my life?” Write down your thoughts.

At first, what you write may be hazy, murky, diluted. You may be unsure if this is really what God has for your life, but over time your vision for your life will become clear. You’ll start taking first steps towards your dreams. Yes, you’ll be met with failure, but don’t worry, you’ll be in good company (Gates, Disney, Hershey!) Simply seek Him and persevere. 

Preslaysa Williams is a multi-award winning writer of Inspirational Romance. Her work has won the 2015 ACFW Genesis contest and the Indiana Romance Writers of America Golden Opportunity contest. Her work was also a double finalist in the 2015 Windy City RWA Four Seasons contest and a finalist in the Northwest Houston RWA Lone Star contest. She has a Master’s degree from the University of South Carolina and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Columbia University. You can sign up for her newsletter at http://www.preslaysa.com/newsletter-sign-up/ to get updates on her writing journey.

Web and Social Media Links:
www.preslaysa.com/newsletter-sign-up/
www.facebook.com/preslaysa
www.twitter.com/preslaysawrites

Preslaysa Williams | Spread the Christmas Joy

My Annual Letter from “Santa”

As a child, I loved Christmas morning. I eagerly tore open my presents which included gifts like a new Cabbage Patch doll or a shiny red Speak-N-Spell or a pair of Buster Browns.

Reading my annual letter from Santa was even more exciting than receiving gifts. The letter waxed eloquent on my good behavior over the year (which may or may not have been entirely true). I was always intrigued with how Santa knew the details of my life: like the time I skinned my knee running across the school yard or the time the school bully socked me in the stomach or the time when I aced my spelling test. But I only met Santa when we snapped pictures together at the local mall every December. How could he know all this stuff? Did Santa have some secret intelligence on me?

(And never mind that Santa’s handwriting strangely resembled my father’s penmanship. Hmm…)

It was nice knowing Santa cared enough to write a long, thoughtful letter (and leave me a Cabbage Patch Kid too!) As a child, December held a special quality unmatched by the other eleven months of the year. It was a time when people seemed to smile a little brighter, laugh a little louder, and acted a little kinder.

As I grew older, I found out that Santa wasn’t real, and I had lost that magic. The gifts were from my parents, and the letter was from my dad. I became jaded by all the holiday stuff, and I lost my sense of wonder. This feeling grew until I sensed my heart turning cold and unthankful. I never appreciated the fact that my father had painstakingly wrote a letter to me every year. I never expressed gratitude that my parents went out of their way to purchase and wrap presents for me every year. Their money could’ve been spent on something more practical.

My ungratefulness spilled over into every area of my life until my soul became weighed down. Frustrated, I then started paying attention to the ordinary life around me. I kept a list of all the things, small and large, for which I could be thankful. At first, I kept the list in my head. Then I wrote it in a journal. I recently started to share some of my list on my social media. Over time, I recaptured the magic and the miracles hidden in the mundane.

Santa didn’t write me an annual letter. That was a fairy tale. My father wrote the letter, a man who works hard every day, a man who had experienced some disappointments but still gave me the gift to dream. A man who, today, still talks about his hopes and his plans for the future. He carries the wonder of the season.

_____________________________

Preslaysa Williams is a multi-award winning writer of Contemporary Inspirational Romance. She’s a die-hard introvert who loves Jesus and writing excessively detailed to-do lists. When she’s not hunched over her manuscripts, she’s homeschooling her two children and avoiding housework. She’s represented by Chip MacGregor of MacGregor Literary, Inc. You can visit her online at http://www.preslaysa.com/newsletter-sign-up/  and sign up for her newsletter which provides updates on her writing journey.