I wasn't sure what I'd write about when I first saw the topic. In the book it talked about "But from grade school to college, most students would tell him that they didn’t have permission to write about themselves; the teachers gave them the subjects to write about. Established writers would tell him they had to write what editors wanted. If this has a familiar ring to you, or if you feel you need permission to write about yourself or whatever you need to write about, I give you permission. Now … [Read more...]
Day 8: The Voice that Chirps and Chirps
We all have those little voices inside our head. Sometimes it's just one. Sometimes negative. Sometimes positive. And sometimes they even go to war with each other. Kind of like the character Kronk in Disney's movie "The Emperor's New Groove". Whenever he's about to do something he shouldn't, an angel with a halo clothed in white appears on his left shoulder and a guy who seems to appear as a devil with horns and a pitchfork dressed in red pops up on his other shoulder. One represents good. The … [Read more...]
Day 7: Jumping Off
I have to laugh. Talk about something hitting home. I have been struggling to get back into my writing. I have a completed first draft of my fiction novel but have been unmotivated to just sit down and edit it. I have several story ideas, that as soon as they pop into my brain, I immediately write them down. Everyone I talk to tells me to just jump in and do it. Yet, I don't no matter how much I should. I could come up with a million excuses, or a better way to say it would be … [Read more...]
Day 6: Daring to Tell
I wonder how many closet writers there are because they're scared to get out of their comfort zone, daring to tell what's rolling around in their brains. Fear can be a great force within ourselves. It can stop us from doing so many things, things even God may want us to do. We have to remember that God will give us the strength we need to do things according to His plan. In our own human form we are weak and vulnerable. It is through Him that He gives an invisible shield of … [Read more...]
The Journey with Carole Brown
Please welcome this weeks guest Carole Brown for The Journey. She answers the question: How have you seen God work in your writing journey? To Paraphrase Shakespeare . . . To be (a writer) or not to be (a writer). 2012 started out with determination to become published. I was already going through a discouragement period, and I felt little change as the months passed. Tidbits of things should have given me a hint that change was in the air. Or maybe better said, in my … [Read more...]
Day 5: Getting Caught
When I read the caption for today, I was intrigued. What could that mean in writing? As I read it, my lips curved upward. Getting caught means how afraid you can be to put all your emotion into your writing and then "getting caught" when someone else reads what you've written. You're completely exposed. It's like you're sitting on an operating table, chest cut open with your beating heart exposed to the world. The reader is the surgeon holding the knife where she'll gently take care of your … [Read more...]
Day 4: Choosing Story Over Relatives
Today's topic sounds strange to me. It almost sounds selfish. I think this strikes me funny because I think family is the most important thing there is, as I'm sure most of us feel this way. Some people haven't been blessed with a loving and caring family. So to put a story before their family is a no brainer. However, if your family is close, choosing your story over them may make you take pause. I know I would never write something to intentionally hurt my family. No matter how screwed … [Read more...]
Day 3: The Holy Calling
Its amazing sometimes how God works. Many say His ways are mysterious. The bottom line, no matter how much we want to control every thing, we simply don't know His plan for all of our lives. His plan is greater than any of us can fathom. For me this hit me head on like a Mac truck (I know clique, but it's true) when God decided to answer our prayers about healing my precious baby girl by telling us all no, that it was time to bring her home to heaven where she'll be free from autism. He … [Read more...]
Day 2: Sacred Space
When I think of "Sacred Space" I think of it more in the abstract. I can be sitting in my living room in my comfy cozy chair or like I am now, writing this on my Kindle as I walk on my treadmill. For me my space becomes sacred when I need to write something. I don't like to be interrupted as I can lose my train of thought just like the snap of my fingers. Sometimes I'm so engrossed in what I'm doing that others may try to talk to me but I don't hear them as my mind's been turned off to … [Read more...]
Day 1: Switchbacks up the Mountain
Switchbacks up the mountain can mean so many things. I think life in general is a continuous road where we travel up and down the mountain. Sometimes it's more like an easy hill that we climb and where life seems to move forward at a nice pace. But then there are those times where the road going up the mountain is so narrow and steep we feel we might fall off the edge plummeting to the ground below. I know that first year after Mari died my life felt more like the later. It felt like at any … [Read more...]
