About Author and Speaker Tina V. Bryson

Bio :: My Story :: Causes :: Press Kit (PDF)

~ ABOUT ME~
Q: Why do you write? A: When I was young, writing was a way to escape the ordinariness of my life. At that time, I primarily wrote short stories and poetry. Writing provided a great opportunity to give a voice to all the competing emotions I was dealing with. Now, I still write to give a voice to what I am thinking or feeling, but in addition, I write because I believe God has given me something to say, a means to encourage people.
Q: How did you get started? A: Actually, I’d have to say when I was in the fifth grade. I was in the gifted and talented program at Leak Street Elementary School. Our GT teacher required us to keep a journal. I hated it. Although we were supposed to write in it every day, I always put that assignment off until the last minute. The assassination attempts on Ronald Reagan and Pope John Paul II in 1981 changed all that. It was the first time I tried writing about how an actual event impacted me.
Q: How did you balance writing "Perfect in Weakness" with having small children at home? A: Most nights I did my writing after the kids were in the bed. Writing for me, in particular this project, was therapeutic. So it gave me some down time each night to myself with the privacy of my own thoughts. Having small children definitely extended the period of writing, but having them also became a part of the project, so it all came together in the end.
Q: Do you prefer to write by hand or use a computer? A: I’m afraid I’m becoming a techno junkie. I prefer to use a computer now because it is much more convenient as far as saving various drafts and moving things around from chapter to chapter. When I wrote my first book, I did do some of my additions by hand because it felt like I was writing in a journal. It’s nothing like that natural feel of pen or pencil to paper. But, working on my second book, I just sat down at the computer and it just flowed out of me, like I had been holding in something I wanted to say for a long time.
Q: Do you use the Internet for research? A: Yes, I do. For "Perfect in Weakness" it was important to get the medical information correct relating to treatment of micro-preemies, preterm labor, etc. Even when information was not going to be included in the book, such as statistics, the Internet was very helpful to help me set the tone in my own head. It also was really useful in cross-referencing a variety of Scriptures and having a variety of translations at my fingertips. In particular with "10 Things Every Kid Should Know About God" it was helpful to use online Bible reference sources.
Q: What kinds of materials have you written on when paper wasn’t available? A: I write on anything I can get my hands on. I’ve written on post-it notes….lots of them….since they are so small, and I may be trying to capture details of an idea. I’ve written on napkins, and the back of envelopes. But I usually wouldn’t recommend envelopes, because it’s usually a bill….so I either end up filing it away with story ideas and can’t remember “where did I put that bill” or I pay the bill, and forget that I wrote my story idea on the back of the envelope. So that is not the best system. Sometimes I write in the margins of my notebook, when I can’t find a clean sheet of paper in that notebook. You have to make the best of what you have in the moment. And I also keep a giant white board in my house to write down reminders and ideas.
Q: How long does it take to write a book? A: My first book took me about 5 years to write, but a lot of that had to do with the subject. It was difficult emotionally to write. Since it was non-fiction and it was dealing with something that had really happened to me, sometimes I just had to put it down and walk away for a bit and come back to it. At that time, in addition to my children, I was working full-time as an editor for the local university. So I didn’t have as much time to write. My second book took just 6 days, but that is because it tied into my motivators to write. I had attended a workshop and was challenged to make time to write a book by the end of the week. So that gave me 7 days. I love a challenge, so I had the deadline. It also was an idea that had been working itself around in my head for some time. So that gave me the percolating idea, and it was just a matter of sitting down and putting what was in my head down on paper.
Q: Who are your favorite authors? Favorite books? A: One of my favorite authors is Maya Angelou. It may sound strange to say, but it is not even so much because of her books. It is because of her wisdom. I like to hear her speak. A lot of it is common sense, but it is the author’s way that she chooses and weaves the words together that I love. “The Notebook” by Nicholas Sparks is one of my all time favorite books. Yes, he lives in North Carolina, but I like “The Notebook” for another reason. A writer friend gave it to me when I was working on one of my first fiction pieces. We were talking about how to effectively use flashbacks and she thought this was a good example of how to do it well. She was on the money from a writer’s perspective. So it was supposed to be an instructional example, but I absolutely loved the story too. I also like Rick Riordan. He does a great children’s series and doesn’t seem to feel the need to throw in profanity or other things that some children and youth writers do. Even though his characters are teenagers, he keeps it clean, but writes stories that are engaging, funny, totally implausible, but a great read. I love Terri Blackstone as a Christian writer. She writes wonderful, suspenseful stories that interweave faith throughout without overkill.