Today we talk with my friend Rue about the writing process, reading more books, and her current works in progress!
Tell us a little about yourself!
Hi, I’m Rue Hart. I’m a young writer pursuing a career as an author and as a corporate sponsored coach. I live on a farm with my ten siblings, mom, dad, and about a hundred farm animals.
Tell us about your writing journey and your current projects!
I hadn’t seriously considered being an author until I joined the Young Writers Workshop. In the course of two years, after joining, my writing and knowledge has improved tenfold. I started my blog and email list, finished my first draft for a fan-fiction, and began my newest story: DEFENDER.
Speaking of DEFENDER, the high fantasy is about a pink-haired boy named Fuery. While all he’s ever wanted is to belong in his world, the universe appears to have other ideas. When past memories begin to flood his mind and a new villain crops up trouble in his city, Fuery begins to wonder if all this trouble is somehow connected to him.
In DEFENDER, you’ll come across blood thirsty dragons, a King desperate for vengeance, and a camera that reveals the truth about a three-year war.
Who inspired you most to become an author?
That’s a good question. I could list a series of authors (Ted Dekker, Tokien, and Shannon Messenger, to name a few) that inspired me. But my mom and dad are the wonderful people who have provided me with the resources and encouragement that drive me forward.
Tell us a bit about your blog and its mission!
Shattered Stories is a place to share my story, as well as encourage other young writers, especially those who are writing for God. On my blog I share writing tips and motivation tricks, life and faith lessons, and some of my own writing.
What do you do to get your brain into the writing zone?
Typically, it doesn’t take much. Getting out my laptop, putting on my headphones, and sitting down gets me ready to write. Writing is my only ‘free time’, so I enjoy it and never want to quit typing in my fictional world. But not all days are the same. Sometimes I’m too tired or distracted to write, and that tends to make me frustrated, which in turn makes writing even more difficult (please tell me I’m not the only one this has happened to). There are a few ways I’ve learned to counter this:
- Take a quick nap (ten/twenty minutes). This works half the time, but the other half I’ve ended up sleeping a lot longer than I expected and getting more tired because of that. I’d suggest that if you’re in a time crunch, set a timer or two.
- Change where you’re writing. This can be really hard to do, but even just sitting on my bed instead of in the living room, can help me reset.
- Drink a cup of tea. This is one of my favorite ways of resetting. Taking the time to make a cup helps me refocus (and is best when I turn off my headphones). Then I can sit down and sip it while continuing to write.
- Take a walk. This one is best when it’s either super cold, or long. Again, taking away my music at that time can really help clear my mind and get me excited. But I always bring my phone or a slip of paper to record ideas. They always come when I’m walking outside!
- Turn on instrumental music. I like to search up songs that are in the genre i’m currently writing in. Music without words doesn’t work for me unless I’m distracted already, then it helps.
What does your writing process look like?
I like to create a story idea in my head for a period of time, keeping the little sparks of inspiration in my notes app or in a notebook. Once it’s boiled for a while and I’m sure it’s worth a shot writing, I’ll start putting the pieces together. I always start with the main character or the antagonist. Creating characters is my favorite part of the process, and I think the most important one, since the protagonist is the one your reader will be following the entire story. After a few central characters are created, I focus on worldbuilding. Once the world is a little more clear to me, I have a basic plot in mind. At that point I take the Three-Act-Structure and fill it in. By then I’ll have written a few scenes and I’ll feel excited to start writing. It’s a little complicated, but everything falls together when I take each challenge one step at a time.
Do you have any advice for other young writers? Mistakes that you’ve made that others can avoid?
Please read more books. Last year, I had hardly touched three books in the past three years. It was brain rot. Now I have three personal shelves dedicated to books. Reading brings knowledge, and there are thousands of richly written books in your reach. Some of the books on my shelf are fiction, but most are non-fiction. While I write fiction primarily, indulging my mind with non-fiction has improved my writing most.
What are some resources you recommend to young writers?
Books:
Flourish by Martin Seligman. A non-fiction book about a visionary new understanding of happiness and well-being. I believe that you will struggle greatly with impacting people positively with your writing if you don’t have a solid foundation of understanding positivity in the real world.
Do Hard Things by Alex and Brett Harris. Another non-fiction book, directed towards teenagers who rebel against low expectations.
The Emotion Thesaurus by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi is ‘A writer’s guide to character expression.’ And is very helpful for me in understanding and showing my character’s emotions.
5 Editors Tackle the 12 Fatal Flaws of Fiction Writing by K. S. Lakin and four other editors. This book was essential for my early learning on writing, and serves as a reminder for how to craft every story I make.
For Horror readers:
Thr3e by Ted Dekker
House by Frank Peretti and Ted Deckker
For Sci-Fi readers:
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
Red Rising by Pierce Brown
The Ascend Trilogy by Esther K. Bowen
For Fantasy readers:
Five Kingdoms by Brandon Mull
The Keeper of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger
The Young Writers Workshop is a wonderful community of young writers, guided by Christian instructors/authors. I wouldn’t have come this far without the help of the content library and my online writing friends cheering me on.
Where can we find out more about you?
https://shatteredstories4.wordpress.com/ is my blog. And if you’d like to subscribe to my email list, the link it below!
The WarriorCo. 
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