When I was a child, I loved to work jigsaw puzzles. You know, the ones made out of large chunks of wood. As I grew older, I graduated to adult puzzles with five hundred, one thousand or sometimes two thousand pieces. Working a puzzle is one of the few ways, besides reading, that I’m able to relax.
That said, I take a lot of heat for my puzzling strategy. People have called me “weird” because I don’t look at the front of the box as I connect the pieces. Yep, I keep the box face down on the table, so I can’t see the photograph. I don’t want to know what the odd shaped, interlocking pieces will create. I love the element of surprise as each piece builds on to the next and forms a completed picture.
Am I weird?
I’m the same when it comes to writing. Most of you have probably heard the terms “plotter” or “pantser” in the writing world. Well, I’m a full blown pantser. I’ve tried to sit down and plot a book from beginning to the end, but I’ve always ended up frustrated. For me, writing is something I do because I’ve always loved it. The fact that I’m compensated for my hobby is a true blessing from God.
Like the pieces of my puzzles, the story pieces that I always have in my box, apart from the setting, are my character’s internal and external goals. That’s pretty much all I have to go on when I sit down to write. Why do I write this way? It’s simple. One of the most exciting things when it comes to creating a story is when my character surprises me. If I’m surprised, I hope my readers will be as well.
Speaking of surprises, shortly after my October post where I wrote about waiting on my cover from Harlequin, they sent me this.
It’s available now for pre-order and it will officially release on February 21, 2017. I’m excited to offer some giveaways in the near future.
Besides reading, which I know you all do plenty of, how do you like to relax?
**I’m at the day job today, so I’ll be around later to chat.**
By day, Jill Weatherholt works for the City of Charlotte. At night, and on the weekend, she writes contemporary stories about love, faith and forgiveness for Harlequin Love Inspired. Raised in the suburbs of Washington, D.C., she now resides in Charlotte, North Carolina, but her heart belongs to Virginia. She holds a degree in Psychology from George Mason University and Paralegal Studies Certification from Duke University. She shares her life with her real-life hero and number one supporter. Their relationship grew on the golf course, and now they have one in their backyard. Jill believes in enjoying every moment of this journey because God has everything under control.
Gorgeous cover, Jill! :)
Thank you, Autumn! I agree, the art department did a great job.
Merry Christmas Jill. Thanks for sharing and congratulations on your new cover and upcoming release.To relax I enjoy watching Hallmark movies or play video games on my iPad (like Cookie Jam, Tasty Tale, Christmas Sweeper, or PopWords). Sometimes I relax by cooking and baking, watching cooking shows and reading cooking magazines. Being retired, I have more time to enjoy my interests and my grandchildren.
I love puzzles too. Hubby and I usually have one going. But I do like to see the picture. :)
I like to cook, scrap, or do projects with friends. I don’t see shapes very well, but do keep trying to do some puzzles. Usually my husband needs to help :) He shakes his head sometimes when I spin the piece around to make sure it doesn’t work. I like the cover artwork!
My mother has always been the same way and refuses to look at the cover of the box when working a jigsaw puzzle. We’ve worked a lot through the years (they have so many fun ones!), and I usually buy her a new one each year. At 84, she’s still going strong! :) I don’t work jigsaw puzzles as often anymore, but I will usually find where a few pieces fit in. I used to do cross-stitch, but now the book writing and reading are what I do in my “spare” time. :) Congrats on the book, Jill. Beautiful cover, and Merry Christmas!
Lovely cover, Jill. Congratulations! Lately I’ve been doing online puzzles to relax. Not sure if they keep my eyes and brain sharp or dull them, but they’re fun!
I love to walk and sew. I made cotton flannel pajamas for my grandchildren for Christmas because you can’t buy them anymore. After we move I’ve debated making wedding veils to sell. We’ll see what happens. I made one this summer for my daughter and had fun with it. They don’t really have to fit, so they’re easy to make.
Jill,
I’m like you, I LOVE puzzles, they help me relax. Yet I have to see the picture or it gives me stress.
One time I bought a puzzle at the dollar store and went home to put it together. As I was working on it I started to realize the picture on the box wasn’t helping me. The pieces and colors were of something like cats and dogs and the picture on the box was a sort of painting of a street scene from Italy. NOT THE SAME! It was so weird and hard. I didn’t like it and it caused me lots of stress. My husband thought it was great because he says I put puzzles together too fast. It’s just that I love figuring out how things go and how it all fits.
I actually gave the puzzle away as a white elephant gift the next year. HEHEHE!
This is similar to my reading. I get so absorbed in the book and reading trying to figure it out, I have to finish it and sometimes it’s all in one day. Again my husband doesn’t understand this. He reads his books soooooo slow I think he’d loose track of what was happening. Actually he does and then he has to go back and read some over. ;0)
I don’t know if I could write anything like you do tho….part of me is still VERY OCD and I’d have to have all the parts lined out to know if it flowed or if the timeline worked. I comend you for doing it your way.
WOW! WHAT SKILL!
As Brisco Darlin would say, “More power to ya!” (Andy Griffith Show)
Puzzles frustrate me.
I enjoy crocheting or counted cross-stitch. Try to make gifts, never anything for myself.
I also enjoy good clean romance or comedy movies….especially those based on a book! Ha
I enjoy doing puzzles, but I like to see the cover while I’m doing them. My sister got a puzzle a long time ago that was round and totally red. It was called “Little Red Riding Hood’s Hood.” It didn’t help at all to see the cover on that one. LOL It was very frustrating. I can’t remember if we ever got it done or not.
Your cover is lovely, Jill. I’ll have to put your book on my TBR list.
Reading is my favorite way to relax. Also, I enjoy listening to the birds singing outside. :-)
Jill, I am a pantser like you, but I don’t love puzzles. They are not relaxing. They make me more stressed because I can’t fit the pieces together. That is the way I feel about trying to plot. Writing a synopsis for a book I haven’t written is torture.
I also enjoy jigsaw puzzles, but am pretty tied to the box. Other than reading, I most enjoy playing games (almost anything board or card – not video games….I’m horrible) and doing other kinds of puzzles (crosswords, sudokus, and most other word/logic puzzles).
Thank you, Renate. I enjoy watching Hallmark movies too. Baking has always been relaxing for me too. Of course, it wasn’t so much yesterday, when I reached to put the cookies sheet in the oven and burned my hand. That’s what I get for not wearing my glasses…sigh. I’m happy you’re enjoyed retired life, it sounds nice. Thanks for visiting today. Merry Christmas to you and your family!
Most people do like to see the picture, Elizabeth. :) I’m not sure what got me started working puzzles that way, but I get upset when someone tries to flip the box. Thanks for reading!
Thank you, Julianne. LOL! There’s nothing wrong with checking all sides of the puzzle pieces. I have a friend who’s really into scraping. She actually attends overnight conventions where they scrap all night long. Thanks for stopping by today.
Hi JoAnn! I feel so much better knowing I’m not alone when it comes to not using the box as a guide. That’s great that your mother is still puzzling after all of these years. I hope my eyes stay sharp enough to do the same. Reading is a great way to relax. Thank you! I love the cover. Wishing you and your family a Merry Christmas!
Thank you so much, Kathleen! Puzzles, whether on or off line can be so addicting. I have a tendency to be a little hyper, but working a jigsaw puzzle keeps me put for a little while, at least. Thanks for visiting today.
Hi Diana! I think that’s a great idea. I’ve always heard when it comes to starting a business, do something you love. It sounds as though making wedding veils might be the perfect fit for you. I admire those who sew. I have a difficult time just threading a needle. :) Thanks for stopping by today.
My husband and I love playing card games (we have a box full of games like Uno, Rook, Phase 10, etc) and doing jigsaw puzzles (sometimes we rely on the box and sometimes we just try to do our best). We’ve started our first one in a bold move to do a 3,000 piece complex puzzle of Giovani Paolo Paninni’s collection of paintings of Rome (we were dating then and it took us 3 years to finish). We’ve then downgraded to 500-2,000 pieces after we got married, then just this year decided to do a 6,000 piece one. It was a modern Romero Britto’s painting of a family (and it took us about 3 months to get done… I’d say we’ve become pros, but it was more like we were good at procrastinating getting work done). We’ve been hanging puzzles in our home and soon learned will run out of walls or we’ll need to get creative (one puzzle that we put together ended up hanging in my grandpas beach house last summer).
Reading and visiting with my BFF are my favorite ways to relax. Jigsaw puzzles are a little too frustrating for me, even though I enjoyed putting them together with my mom when I was a child.
Have a blessed Christmas everyone!
I laughed out loud when I read that you gave the puzzle away as a white elephant gift…mean, but funny! Did you ever hear from the recipient? I guess it was just an error in the factory, but boy, I could see how that would drive you crazy if you were used to looking at the picture. A couple of times, I’ve come to the end of the puzzle only to discover that a piece is missing or I’ve ended up with an extra piece. Like yourself, I can be very OCD, but for whatever reason, when it comes to writing, I have a difficult time following a structured outline. Thanks so much for sharing today. I enjoyed reading your comment, Marylin
LOL! I love the Andy Griffith Show and the Darlings. I think puzzles frustrate a lot of people. Many years ago, my grandmother tried to teach me to crochet, but it was too frustrating for me. I remember her sitting for hours knitting away and making beautiful afghans. Thanks for stopping by today, Gail.
Thank you for your kind words, Winnie.
Oh my, I can see where looking at the box wouldn’t have helped while working “Little Red Riding Hood’s Hood.” I once did a 2000 piece puzzle that was probably seventy-five percent sky. That was tough too! I appreciate your visit today.
Hi Mimi! I agree, reading is a great way to relax. Since I got a Kindle, I can read while on my elliptical, so I can’t wait to work out each day. :) Oh yes, listening to the birds and watching them, especially the hummingbirds is relaxing for me too. Thanks for stopping by!
I seem to remember reading somewhere that you are a pantser too, Merrillee. I’m with you on writing a synopsis, definitely a painful step when writing a proposal. One thing I’ve learned about puzzling is, like most things, the more you do it, the better you become. Thanks for reading today!
I’m not a fan of video games either, Katy. Playing Solitaire with a deck of playing cards can be relaxing too. I admire those who do Sudoku, I’ve yet to try and figure that out. Thanks for stopping by today!
We’re kindred spirits, Priscila. We also used to glue and hang our puzzles in our garage and a few special ones in our bonus room. Then like yourself, we ran out of wall space. A few years ago, a pipe burst and flooded our house. Sadly, the garage suffered a lot of damage and so did the puzzles. Everything came down when he had to repaint. Wow! Six thousand pieces, I’m impressed! It must have taken a long time to turn all of the pieces right side up. Once, at a puzzle store, we saw an Old World map and it was fifty thousand pieces…can you imagine? Thanks so much for stopping by and sharing your puzzling experience.
I think jigsaw puzzles can be frustrating for a lot of people, Barbara. Sewing has always been a source of frustration for me. Oh yes, visiting with BFFs is a perfect way to relax, especially if it’s a BFF from way back. Thanks for visiting today. Wishing you and your family peace and joy in the new year. Merry Christmas!
We have a family tradition of putting a jigsaw puzzle together on New Year’s Day. There really isn’t room to leave a puzzle out the rest of the year. I relax by reading or going for a walk. Sometimes recently I’ve done adult coloring books, but usually have too much urgent stuff on my list to do that.
You know how much I have done puzzles fo years . I love it . I takes time to do puzzles until I am done. By the way . You got fabulous book cover
I love that tradition, Margaret! Yes, real life stuff gets in the way of puzzle time, but when you have a moment to sit down and do a few pieces, it makes it that much more enjoyable. I agree, the adult coloring books are quite relaxing too. Thanks for visiting today!
Yes, you’re a puzzle queen like myself, Terri! I love it too. Thank you…I love the cover too. The art department did a great job. I appreciate you stopping by today.
Not weird, Jill, extremely creative! And you must have gobs of patience. lol.
February 21st?? Yowzee! Already pre-ordered months ago and canNOT wait! That cover is AMAZING! Have a wonderful Tuesday, Jill. xo
My parents, who are both gone now, used to have a puzzle table in front of the patio doors in their apartment. There was ALWAYS a puzzle going on. They also both enjoyed crossword puzzles, cryptograms… all that sort of thing. I never really enjoyed any of them. These days I’m all about the 60-piece puzzles with my young granddaughters. THOSE I can handle! LOL
I used to cross-stitch and even sold Creative Circle needlework kits for years (anyone remember those?). But in recent years, I don’t have many hobbies outside of the garden and the grandgirls. Maybe I’m too focused on writing…. hmm… could that be?
Besides reading, I like to sit next to my husband at night on the sofa and watch an episode of the DVD collection we’ve borrowed from the library.
I too like doing puzzles, especially the 1000 piece ones! I like the Hometown collection of puzzles with colored pictures of old timey houses and people. But I have to look at the front of the box :-)
I’m with you on being a pantster, but only with drawing. Though I haven’t picked up pencil and paper for years! I really enjoyed drawing as a kid and took it in high school. I never did like being constrained to a “pattern” of drawing and always did free-handed. I’ve really been thinking of taking it up again because it’s another very relaxing hobby!
Merry (almost) Christmas Jill to you and yours!
Hi Tori! I have patience when it comes to some things…others, not so much. :) LOL! I appreciate your enthusiasm. Thank you so much! xo
Yep, that’s us, Val, we always have puzzles going on our dining room table. I do remember the Creative Circle needlework kits. I wonder if they’re still around? Like you, writing seems to consume so much of my free time these days, but I do make a point to try and do a few pieces of the puzzle each day. :)
Hi Trixi! Oh, I love the Hometown collection puzzles too. In fact, I have a Christmas one that I should bring out.
I think you should definitely pick up a pencil and start drawing again. If you have the talent, you shouldn’t let it go to waste. Like yourself, my sister is a gifted artist, but she hasn’t drawn in years either. I keep telling her she should. Of course for me, it’s not relaxing…I can barely draw stick people! LOL! Merry Christmas to you and your family!