Love in Stories and a Book Giveaway Chance

Ann H GabhartAnn's Posts, One Writer's Journal 69 Comments

I love reading a story that has a great guy in love with the absolutely right girl. I love writing about that kind of good guy – an old friend who becomes more than a friend by story’s end. I saw something this week about romance tropes in stories. There’s the bad boy character who always seems to draw girls …

Smiles for Valentine’s

Ann H GabhartAnn's Posts, One Writer's Journal 11 Comments

“Romance is the glamour which turns the dust of everyday life into a golden haze.” ~Elinor Glyn Valentine’s Day is in a couple of days. It’s a day for romance. Guys get girls flowers and candy. But it also celebrates love in other ways too. Moms and Dads get kids toys and candy. Friends give each other hugs and smiles. …

How Do You Keep Your Brain Sharp?

Ann H GabhartAnn's Posts, One Writer's Journal 14 Comments

Life is all memory, except for the one present moment that goes by you so quickly you hardly catch it going. ~Tennessee Williams What would we be without our memories? Good or not so good, we learn from our yesterdays and that knowledge prepares us for our tomorrows. We like recalling those happy times of when we were kids or …

1st Sunday Devotional – The Bible and Smiles

Ann H GabhartAnn's Posts, One Writer's Journal 26 Comments

“Joy is God’s smile; love is God’s laughter.” ― Matshona Dhliwayo Do you love to smile? Smiles can make you feel better even when you don’t really feel as though you have any reason to smile. I just wrote a post about how smiles are good for us last month.  So this seemed the perfect time to share a devotional about …

Do You Have Trouble Finding Time for Everything?

Ann H GabhartAnn's Posts, One Writer's Journal 16 Comments

Time is what we want most but what we use worst. ~William Penn I’ve begun my next book. My deadline isn’t for several months, but a book has a lot of words and many scenes. So it is enough of a looming date, that I’m pushing myself into the ‘make my fingers touch the keyboard and crank out words and …

Finding Story Glimmers at the River

Ann H GabhartAnn's Posts, One Writer's Journal 6 Comments

A couple of years ago when I started thinking about writing a new book, I had to come up with many things before I could put my fingers on my keyboard and start churning out words. One early glimmer of an idea was how nature can be a healing force. Another glimmer was I kept seeing or imagining two young …

Smiles Are Good for You

Ann H GabhartAnn's Posts, One Writer's Journal 14 Comments

  “The world always looks brighter from behind a smile.” — Unknown Does it make you feel good to smile? Here are a few facts about smiles that you might not only find interesting but they might make you smile. Smiling helps us live longer – People who smile are generally happier. Smiling decreases blood pressure and released those nice …

A Journal Writer Forever

Ann H GabhartAnn's Posts, One Writer's Journal 12 Comments

  January is speeding along and I’m working on a new novel with a working title of Where the Bluebird Sings. That’s subject to change. At this point early in the writing process, everything is subject to change. Anyway, since I’ve set a goal of a certain number of pages to write each day to move me closer to my …

Daily Courage in Life

Ann H GabhartAnn's Posts, One Writer's Journal 16 Comments

COURAGE – the mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty. (Merriam-Webster Dictionary) “I’m frankly tired of marching. I’m tired of going to jail,” Martin Luther King, Jr. admitted in 1968. “Living every day under the threat of death, I feel discouraged every now and then and feel my work’s in vain, but then the …