I'm sitting here at my keyboard trying to figure out how to start this very post, yet I can't think of a "fancy" way to do it. So here it goes... I've not shared with very many people the struggles I've been going through for several months now. While I won't go into details, there have been a lot emotionally trying things happening in our home to where I've been really down and my self-loathing is in full swing. I can easily get to a place where I'm beating myself up, saying how stupid I am; … [Read more...]
A Tip on Getting Distracted
To start off this new week in the study (week 3 day 1), Jen has us read chapter 6, “Tweezers, Velcro Rollers, and Other Tools for Girls (you just gotta love her chapter titles): Bible Study Tools You Have to Know About”. I didn’t take a lot of notes from the chapter as much as wrote down the tools Jen suggests we have while we are studying the Bible. However, I did highlight some very important things she mentions throughout it. Page 94, “Most of us don’t use our Bible helps either, but … [Read more...]
The Ultimate Doubt Buster
It’s hard to believe I’m already at the end of week 2 (day 6). The time seems to have flown by but I’ve already learned so much. 1. I’m to look over the details of Isaiah 45:8-12 and read through my journal entry for week 2 day 5 to create a title out of the main idea. Title: The Doubt Buster Now Jen is having us look much closer at the details of these verses. She tells us to disconnect my mind from spitting out an easy answer and listen to what the Holy Spirit is telling me. a. Why … [Read more...]
Do you have a Doubt Buster in Your Life?
Today (week 2 day 5), she had us read Isaiah 45:8-12 for questions 1 (see the bottom of the post if you’d like to see the passage) and identify the main idea in the passage. a. What is the big picture here? What is God trying to say? Trusting God in all things. While we might question those things that go on around us, or even the world as a whole, we need to remember to never doubt God, who He is, or what He has done. It’s in the doubts that creep in that we can lose sight of the bigger … [Read more...]
Day 118: Infusion of Hope: The Circus Rider #acfw
The circus rider who stands on top of the horse as the horse gallops around the arena stays focused. He doesn’t allow those around him to distract him. If he did he might fall. This holds true in our writing. If we allow those around us to influence us to either change our writing to what others say it should be or those around us don’t support our writing then we won’t write or we change our voice which becomes lost in who we really are as a writer. We have to remember to always be true … [Read more...]
Z is for ZZZs #AtoZchallenge #acfw
The dreaded ZZZs. It's exactly what we don't want to do to our readers. That is make them fall asleep as they are read our books. We want our novels to be so engaging that they have a hard time putting it down so much so they don't want to go to sleep. This has happened to me so many times where I'm so into the book that it's hard to put it down. I still remember waking up not to long ago and my Kindle was on my bed beside me. I was so close to the end of a book the night before that I wanted … [Read more...]
O is for Outline
Or as I like to call it: Plotter. In writing a novel you have what we writers like to call either Pantsers or Plotters or somewhere in between. A pantser is someone who writes their novel, as they say, by the seat of their pants. In other words, there is absolutely no plotting of the novel whatsoever. They write their novel as it comes to them. However, with a plotter, it 180 degrees in the opposite direction where they outline everything before they write a single word for their … [Read more...]
N is for Novel
The novel. It's been around for not only years but centuries. It's a place where we can lose ourselves as we read what's been written on the page. We can go off on adventures or fall in love with a prince. We can go to a place only the imagination can make up or a place we've never been before. Novels can be both historical or contemporary. They can teach us things or simply be a nice escape from reality. They can be light and just a fun read or they can be go deep delving into emotions that … [Read more...]
The Journey with Angela Meyer
Please welcome this weeks guest Angela Meyer for The Journey. She answers the question: How have you seen God work in your writing journey? God has always been a part of my writing. Since junior high with the first pen scratches, poems of angst and attempts at stories. My heart poured out to God in written prayers and lessons He taught me. He drew me closer to Him in those early years on my journey of faith. About 7 years ago I wrote my first full length novel and over the course of 5 … [Read more...]
Day 65: Why You Don’t Show Your Work to Your Spouse
I have to tell you that as of right now I sit here sitting in my comfy, cozy rocking recliner getting ready to go read today's phrase, I had to laugh as I can only imagine what will be said. I guess we'll find out in a second. Here I go... Well, here it is. I thought it best to quote what she said: "Why You Don’t Show Your Work to Your Spouse. When Norris Church Mailer showed her husband, Norman Mailer, the first one hundred pages of a novel she was working on, he said, 'It’s not as bad as … [Read more...]
