When Should I Tell My Child He’s Adopted?

Telling Children They Are Adopted

The fact that a child is adopted should never be hidden. I believe the child should hear the word adoption even as a baby. You don’t want to overdo it, but mention it when it’s natural.

Telling a good friend in front of them is okay, because it is the truth. Make it seem natural. Even when my son was a baby, I would tell him, “I’m glad we adopted you.”

Frame it as a good thing. Don’t give the child the impression that there is something wrong with adoption, or that they should be embarrassed about it.

Our adoption was an open adoption and most years we would get together with Kelly’s family sometime around my son’s birthday. Even when he was very young, I would explain to him that he came out of Kelly’s tummy and that he was blessed because he had two families that loved him.

This approach prevents the child from enduring unnecessary trauma when they find out the truth.

A Diamond in the Rough,

Nancy

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving from my family to yours!

Nancy

Cultivating Thankfulness to Soothe an Aching Heart

Let’s Give Thanks

Since we are in the Thanksgiving season, count your blessings. If desire for a child is intense, it can blind us to the gifts we are receiving.

Take time to thank the Lord for all the good things He has given you. It will refocus your perspective. Most of us come to realize we have a lot more to be thankful for than we think.

A Diamond in the Rough,

Nancy

Tips For Writers

Writers need to build their platforms. Today’s featured link has some helpful tips on making that job easier.

 

The whole idea of “building a platform” and “marketing your book” is to get people to read what you’ve written. Whether you’re traditionally or self-published, connecting with potential readers is crucial. There are many good ways to do this (although it’s not necessarily easy), and plenty of resources to  help you. Today I want to point out the most common mistakes I see authors making in the effort to connect with readers. Click here to read more.

Nancy

National Novel Writing Month

I would like to remind all of my writer friends that November is National Novel Writing Month.

Are you participating in this event? How is your novel-writing going?

If you have never heard of this topic, click here for more information.

Nancy

Writing A Good Beginning

Cec Murphy is running a great series on his site. The topic is writing a good beginning. I have enjoyed the series and I would recommend that readers start from the beginning of the posts and read all of them.

 

 

Last words on first words.

One way to learn to write good beginnings is to see how the professionals do it. Although some do it better than others, I learned a great deal about beginnings by reading only first paragraphs of half a dozen books every day for a week. Click here to learn more.

Nancy

Review of More and Strong

It is important to review proper uses of words in written language. What is the correct way to use ‘more’ and ‘stronger’?

 

I was only half-listening to an economic analyst being interviewed on NPR, but shot to attention when he said that some economic event was “a more strong indicator” of something or other. Click here to learn more.

Nancy

Developing Characters

As writers, we need to understand character development. Today’s featured post discusses this issue.

 

A story needs characters, and generally one stands out as the central figure, the person about whom the events will revolve.

I suggest the above description of a main character is a recipe for an unpublished novel. While it may be true, it misses key points regarding characters who appear in well-read fiction. Click here to learn more.

Nancy

Observation Tools

Hi,

Today’s featured post admonishes writers to use every day observation skills to enhance one’s writing.

Jane Austen was a genius with story in so many ways.  One particular skill that I marvel over?  Her skill at observing others and then transferring recognizable markers of personality and character to the page. 

Think for a moment about just a few of the characters from Pride and Prejudice.  What do the following names bring to your mind? Click here to learn more.

 

Nancy

Helpful Writing Tip

 

I love to share other writing articles that I think might interest my fellow writer friends. Today’s featured post is a great read. I hope you enjoy it.

 

Have you ever wondered how some authors can turn out novels as easily as baking a boxed cake?  I know I do!  They seem to throw in all the right ingredients, stir in a mixture of conflict, suspense and romance, and come up with a perfectly baked masterpiece. And they do it in record time.

It almost turns me green with envy! My days of writing are not so spectacular. It seems there are days that I struggle through one sentence or paragraph wondering how in the world I’m going to complete the other 250 to 300 pages. Click here to read the rest of this encouraging article.

Nancy