Merrillee Whren is the winner of the 2003 Golden Heart for Best Inspirational Unpublished Manuscript given by Romance Writers of America. She has also won the 2006 Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award for Best Love Inspired of 2006 and the Georgia Romance Writers’ Maggie Award for Excellence for her novel, AN UNEXPECTED BLESSING. Her book, LOVE WALKED IN, is the winner of the inspirational category of the 2007 Published Beacon Contest.
Merrillee’s writing journey has had as many stops along the way as her life’s journey. She wrote her first novel while she was in high school and shared it with her friends. However, many years passed before she considered writing anything for publication. Finally in 2003, after writing and revising eight manuscripts, she won the prestigious Romance Writers of America’s Golden Heart Award for best, unpublished inspirational manuscript. The following year, she made her first sale to Steeple Hill Books. THE HEART’S HOMECOMING was an August 2005 release.
Her ninth book for the Love Inspired line, HOMETOWN PROPOSAL, was and August 2010 release. Because she loves stories with happy endings, she is thrilled to be writing inspirational romance for Steeple Hill Books where the stories have emotional and spiritual happy endings.
Merrillee is an active member of Romance Writers of America and a member of one of its local chapters, First Coast Romance Writers, which meets in Jacksonville, Florida. She is also a member of American Christian Fiction Writers.
She is married to her own personal hero, her husband of thirty-plus years, and has two grown daughters. She has lived in Atlanta, Boston, Dallas and Chicago but now makes her home on one of God’s most beautiful creations, an island off the east coast of Florida. When she’s not writing or working for her husband’s recruiting firm, she spends her free time playing tennis or walking the beach, where she does the plotting for her novels.
What time of day do you write best?
I usually write best in the evening. I think it’s because when I first started writing that was the only time I did so, and I’m not much of a morning person. I rather do mundane things in the morning like housework, grocery shopping and email.
How long do you write every day when you have a deadline looming?
I write as many hours as the day allows when I have a deadline.
How long do you write every day when you don’t have a deadline looming and why?
It is hard to say. It depends on the day. Some days I write like I have a deadline, but on others I may only write a hour or two.
How do you begin writing a novel?
I usually have characters in mind and a situation. I start from there and write whatever comes to me.
Are you a before you ever write your novel planner? If so, how do you plan? Do you use any outlines, books, formats when you plan your novel?
No. Outlines make my head spin. Since I sell on proposal now, I have to come up with a synopsis, but it is the hardest part of the process for me. The finished book doesn’t always follow the outline although I don’t veer too far away. Many of the elements are there, but they may not be in the same order.
If you aren’t a planner, is there a point in writing the novel that you stop, look back and plan? If so, what is your method for doing so?
The only plan I have is the synopsis I write to sell the book. After the book goes to contract, I seldom look at the synopsis again. I only look at it to make sure I haven’t strayed too far from what I told my editor I would write.
Where did the idea come from for the novel you are working on right now?
My previous editor suggested I write a series based on a charity or ministry. The first idea I proposed to her didn’t go anywhere because we couldn’t agree on the concept. We decided on another idea for a ministry called The Village of Hope. The Village of Hope is a ministry located in an Atlanta suburb on a former college campus. The Village, as it is often called, is a community of folks from all walks of life, who are in need of help. The Village ministry provides services for the homeless and the unemployed. They provide legal services and job training. They give a helping hand to those who are recovering from substance abuse. They assist widows and abused women in their women’s ministry. Neglected and abandoned children are served in their children’s homes. The assisted living facilities help those who can no longer live completely on their own. The first book in the series, Second Chance Reunion, will be a January 2015 book for the Love Inspired series.
Do you use any visuals for inspiration? (or anything else!)
I sometimes have photos of my hero and heroine or other major characters. Mostly though, the character images are in my head. Although it isn’t visual, sometimes certain songs will inspire me.
How do you get through the “murky middle” of your novel?
I just plow ahead, hoping it all fits together.
Do you revise every day? If so, how do you organize your revising? What is your revision technique?
I do revise every day. I reread the part that I wrote the day before to get back into the story. I may change sentences that are unclear, find typos and other general editing. I don’t do anything major until the book is finished.
Do you have a writing group, or a trusted reader for your novels? If so, how does that work? Do you meet weekly, or only when you have a novel due? Do you share your materials online or in person?
When I first started writing I belonged to a critique group in Georgia. I really missed them when we moved away. When I lived in Dallas, I was part of another critique group. We met weekly in person. After I sold, I rarely had others read my work. I didn’t have time to read other people’s work, so I couldn’t expect them to read mine. I do have one faithful reader, my daughter, who reads the manuscript after it is finished. She looks for typos and inconsistencies.
What have you learned about your method of writing after publishing your book(s)? Has it changed? If so, how?
I have learned that my process works for me. I can’t tell someone else how to write. I know now that I can write a synopsis before the book is complete. Before I sold on proposal, I didn’t write the synopsis until the book was finished.
What advice about a writing method would you give to any new writer?
Find the process that works for you. Don’t let someone else try to tell you how to do it. You can experiment with different methods until you find the one that makes you the most productive.