When we first think about something to write, whether it's a new book idea, a short story, or even a paper for school, we need to be able to be free to write without worrying about where a comma goes or if you have a run on sentence. Just write. Freely let your hand write out those thoughts on paper or into the computer. This is where our creative juices flow. Freely from our minds to the paper below us. I love that time. None of it may make sense when I'm done, but in that moment it sure did … [Read more...]
The Journey with Sydney Avey
Please welcome this weeks guest Sydney Avey for The Journey. She answers the question: How have you seen God work in your writing journey? Curses! Attend any story craft seminar today and you won’t leave the room without being admonished to “show don’t tell” at least once. Example: Writer: Anneliese felt scared. Reader: Do tell. Writer: Anneliese’s eyes froze in their sockets. Her heart tried to beat its way out of her stiffening chest. Reader: Did I remember to lock the door … [Read more...]
Day 41: Overnight Success Story
I think we'd all like to be an overnight success story. It's a dream of ours as a writer. The process would be simple. We write out our novel. We work ferociously to get it just right. Then we query the agent of our dreams. You receive a phone call almost immediately from said agent where he says, "You're the writer I've been waiting for." You sign the contact he has for you the next day because he's flown to your house. Next he calls and tells you that Thomas Nelson, Bethany House, and … [Read more...]
Day 32: Improvisation
When we think of the word improv, we typically think of actors and actresses in an acting class. All they may be given is a word or a phrase. From there the true magic behind acting comes forth. They get to play out whatever comes into their heads. Sometimes its funny. Sometimes sad. Sometimes it just makes you think. The bottom line is they have fun doing what they love to do most and that is to act. This should be the same for us as writers. To be able to tap into our own creative muses and … [Read more...]
Day 23: What Writer’s Do
Man, it is really interesting, yet not surprising, how different we all are when it comes to how we wrote. I just read about a guy who literally sets his alarm for 4am, wakes up in the dark and doesn't turn on a light, puts his computer on his lap making sure his monitor is a black screen, writes for a few hours, goes back to bed, and then wakes back up at 8:30am to edit what he wrote. I couldn't imagine doing all that. As it is, I'm not a morning person. The night hours are when I shine. But it … [Read more...]
Day 10: Working Out
When I first glanced at the topic I thought about how I've been trying to work out on a daily basis by walking anywhere from a half hour to as long as 2 1/2 to 3 hours each day. It seems like most people who haven't worked out in a while dread starting a new exercise routine. When you first start out the body tends to become sore from the new way it's being used. But once you've gone a few times the body becomes accustomed to this and you actually begin to love how you feel after a … [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 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...]
The Journey with Mary Hamilton
Please welcome this weeks guest Mary Hamilton for The Journey. She answers the question: How have you seen God work in your writing journey? Early in my writing journey, the church I attended put on an annual dinner theater as an outreach to women. I’d only written a few articles for take home papers and magazines when they asked me to write the next play. The idea was scary (what if I failed?), but enticing (what if I succeeded!). With lots of prayer, I agreed to try. My hour-long play was … [Read more...]
Confucius…
He said, "To go beyond is as wrong as to fall short." Do I agree with this? Absolutely not. Why would it be wrong to go beyond what you expect or thought you would. I think of goals and my writing. When I set one, the main focus is to not only make the stated goal but to also exceed it if at all possible. You feel good not only about making it but surpassing it. On the opposite side, if you don't make it you tend to beat yourself up and feel terrible about it. I've always been told to set … [Read more...]
