Talking with author Cindy Ladage

Wrapping it Up

Writing fiction can be a tricky thing.  There are days when the words just seem to fly off the page, then there are days when they seem stuck up there somewhere in your head and you just can’t get them down on paper.  Then I know I have other times when I keep changing my mind and think a story,  especially novels  should go a different direction,  then I find myself rearranging sometimes for the good and other times wasting precious time.  What I have learned though is the trick to success is to finish.  While this might sound like a simplification of a complicated process, the truth is, an incomplete story is going absolutely nowhere.

I think we underestimate the importance, the success of finishing a writing project.  To finish a novel or children’s book is a huge accomplishment.  Every writer’s hope is that their creation will find print, but that is the next step, the first is to take the story, compose it and complete it.

 I talk to so many people that have started a book, in fact sometimes several, and never finished it. The reasons are many.  “I don’t have enough time.” “I need to rewrite the chapter before I can go on?” “I’m not sure how to make it end”  etc. etc.   To get from a draft to a completed story takes dedication and pushing through.  Write first, clean later I say.  If you see something way off, stop and take the time to clean it up, but as long as you feel your story is on the right path, you can edit it upon completion.  In fact, you and an editor will edit and rewrite, edit and rewrite in most cases, but you can’t edit a book that isn’t finished.

Sometimes finding your book is just looking at a project in a different way.  My latest children’s book, “When Matilda Made Time Stand Still” started out as a short story.  Then when I got it done I thought this would make a wonderful children’s book.  I took tea time with my granddaughter and the story flowed from there.  This book means a lot to me because it reflects on family time, my time with a little girl before she started school that will never come again.  While the story is not about a grandma and granddaughter but about a little girl that doesn’t want to take a nap because she just has too much to do at tea time, the story is us.   While I am delighted the story is in print and that Oak Tree Press thought it was worthy of publishing, the first success was finishing a lovely story about a lovely time with a beautiful little girl.

Take the time to finish your story; you will be glad you did!

When Matilda Made Time Stand Still

Oak Tree Press

Children's Story

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When Matilda wants to continue to play and her mother tries to get her to go for a nap, Matilda inadvertently breaks her mother's watch and time stands still. The little girl is happy to continue with her tea party and playing with her dolls until she herself becomes sleepy and worries that she doesn't know how to get time to start again. Finally, she falls asleep. I won't tell you the end, you'll have to read this story.

About the Author

Besides her books, Cindy Ladage is a freelance writer that lives on a farm with her husband in central Illinois. She writes for several antique tractor publications and has a column "Wrenching Tales" in Farm World.

Cindy has three grown children, two grandchildren and loves to write and read! She loves to travel check out her travel blog at http://travelingadventuresofafarmgirl.com/ Cindy was a finalist in the 2014 NATJA Awards for her story "Outdoors in Southern, Illinois," The Prairie Land Buzz

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