I want, no, I need to share this excerpt from the book I'm using. Even as I sit here writing this, I feel my eyes moistening. I hope you will see why this has touched my heart and maybe why God lead me to the very book to use in my 365 day journey. "Robin Romm worried whether to publish the memoir she had written about the last three weeks of her mother’s life. She wrote thirty pages of notes during those weeks, then ninety pages in the ten days after her mother died. Romm felt there were … [Read more...]
Day 85: Motivation
Motivation. What a word. It can mean so much to so many people, yet what motivates us is all so different. Just like our fingerprints are all different, so is the motivating power behind what we do. For me, what motivates me to keep writing on my daughter's dedication website is my daughter. I can write about the good times and the bad. When I'm feeling lonely or have a need to write down the thoughts that swirl around in my brain like a tornado. On this website, my fiction writing and how … [Read more...]
Day 77: Why Write?
I love this question. Why do I write? It's simple really. I do it because I've grown to love it and couldn't imagine my life without it now. I write when I'm sad. I write when I'm happy. I write when I have news to share. For me it has become an extension of who I am. I think, in a way, people who read what I write have a view into who I am as a person and have become happier as a result. I think back to the day I started my daughter's dedication site. I was so sad. Grief engulfed my body. … [Read more...]
Day 68: Making Use of Fear
In life there are so many things we can be fearful of. Some seem irrational like small spaces, loud noises like fireworks shows, or even the little itty-bitty spiders that to some say, "it's more afraid of you than you of it." I think my granny (with noises) and my mom (with spiders) would beg to differ. When it comes to writing, fear can grind us to a halt. We are afraid of what some might say about our writing. Or we won't ever find an agent or publisher so why try. Or sometimes the … [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 53: On Work and Sentences
When I was young and growing up, English was a hard subject for me. I always had a hard time knowing when a run on sentence became one and was I supposed to use there, their, or they're. (To this day I still struggle with homophones.) My dyslexia always made it more difficult. Today it has gotten easier but it's still hard work. I've been able to learn to compensate. For example, when I take a college class I probably spend a lot more time than most to get the same 'A's as someone … [Read more...]
The Journey with Jennifer Slattery
Please welcome this weeks guest Jennifer Slattery for The Journey. She answers the question: How have you seen God work in your writing journey? It’s always exciting, terrifying, and more than a little unnerving to sense God calling you. I believe most often, the details come later. Consider the biblical character Samuel, awakened by God one night. Three times God called out to the child, “Samuel! Samuel! Samuel!” And three times, the young boy bolted from his room in search of an earthly … [Read more...]
Day 49: Tilting
When we write we put our heart and souls into our characters. They become a part of who we are. But are those characters verbatim of who we are? Of course not. We "tilt" the character just so, so that he or she has something similar to who we are. There might only be a smidge of something about us but it's there. Tilting the characters makes them in their own right, individual and unique. But if we don't put ourselves into our work it won't sound right. Something will feel off. No, I won't … [Read more...]
Day 48: Community
When I think of a writing community I think of ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers). This little community of writers is so much more than writing. There is Novel Track. It's a place of accountability and support. You let the group know what your goal is at the beginning of each month. Then, as each day goes by you report in your numbers for that day. In return, you will receive positive reinforcement. Even on the days where you did nothing and tell the group you have a great big goose … [Read more...]
Day 39: Keeping a Journal
I love keeping a journal. I typically go for long periods of time without writing in it but when I do it becomes a daily ritual. Right after Mari died I told Keith I had to get a journal. What I wrote in there were all my very raw and exposed emotions. Sometimes it felt like I wrote the same things over and over. It's one of the ways that helped me through my grief. And then one day I had tons of thoughts swirling around in my head. But I had a different feeling this time about writing … [Read more...]
