A Glimpse into the Thoughts & Imaginings of Vibeke Hiatt
I’m reading a book by a twenty-something author who started her manuscript as a teen, worked on it for a few years, spent a couple of years finding an agent, then was picked up by a big publisher. It’s a good book. But it triggered something in me that I hate to admit I ever … Read more
I drafted the final scene of the final book of the Forgotten King trilogy today. It feels strange. Do you know that listless, bittersweet feeling you have when you finish reading a great book? You’ve invested so much emotionally into the characters and their lives, it’s hard to say goodbye. Finishing writing a book, especially … Read more
I control time. The hands of the clock surrender to my fingers. Forward and backward, inside-out and outside-in. The past is the future and the present is timeless. Actions of today become feats of a past year. Words understood before they are spoken. Thoughts and feelings erased from existence. Time measured and time felt. Time … Read more
For a long time, I resisted the idea of self-publishing my books. In my mind, a self-published book was a book that wasn’t good enough—a low quality vanity project for a person with no skill and no training. I have a lot of confidence in my stories and have worked hard on them. I have … Read more
A few months ago, I came across an article from 1973 by a man named Bruce B. Clark, titled “Creative Writing in the Church: A Challenge to Young Writers.” I wasn’t looking for an article for members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints dealing with writing, but I’m glad I found it. … Read more
I haven’t written in two months. I haven’t had the appetite for it. The thought of sitting at the computer and typing out words and sentences makes me feel physically sick. There’s a reason for it. Back in June, we applied for a 3-bedroom apartment. Writing helped me relieve the stress of that anxiety. But … Read more
I’ve always loved research—research and learning. I remember being assigned to write an essay about lions in the 1st grade. It was my first research experience. I pulled out the volume of my family’s encyclopedia that told about lions and my mom helped me to find pictures in one of our many issues of National … Read more
Last year, with the support of my husband, Brett, I decided to get more serious about the writing craft, which included attending writing conferences. In Utah, though, writing conferences aren’t very common, and affordable ones for families on tight budgets even less so. A couple of friends couldn’t stop talking about the Life, the Universe, … Read more
At first, I wrote everything by hand out of necessity. When I was thirteen, we didn’t have smartphones or tablets. We didn’t even have palm pilots, the original handheld device. Laptops were rare—and no one was bringing them to school. The easiest way to write between classes or when I finished my schoolwork or at … Read more