As writers, we love to go into the recesses of our brain and come up with stories out of no where. It's what fuels the fire of our story as we write out each word. I think of Mari as I'm writing this today. Sometimes while Mari would be sitting in her chair, and it looked like she was staring off into space, she would start to giggle incessantly over what appeared to be nothing. You could take your hand and move it back and forth in front of her face and she didn't see it. She'd retreated … [Read more...]
Day 58: Retreating to Play
We can look at kids with all the energy we wish we still had and get tired by looking at them. Sometimes we joke and say, "Man, if I could bottle all that energy and sell it, I'd make millions." We all laugh and agree. I think sometimes we forget what it's like to play. I'm not saying to go out to the monkey bars or anything. I'm talking about taking time out to do some fun adult things like rock climbing, paintball or going to a dance club to just let loose. Kids are undeterred by what … [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...]
The Journey with Patty Smith Hall
Please welcome this weeks guest Patty Smith Hall for The Journey. She answers the question: How have you seen God work in your writing journey? My writing journey has been one long and winding road(a nod to the Beatles there) full of twists and turns, stopping and starting on a moment’s whims depending on what daughter needed me at the time. But 2004 was a pivotal year for me, the year I was awarded a scholarship to the ACFW National Conference in Denver. At that time, I had been writing … [Read more...]
Day 43: Nelson’s News
Perception. There can be ten people who read the same exact story and you will have ten differing opinions on whether the story is any good and what they liked and disliked about it. A great example for me is the "The Shack." Personally, I loved this book. It was recommended to me by a friend shortly after my daughter died. It took me a long time to finally sit down and read it. I loved how the author was able to show God in such a way that the main character of the book could finally … [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...]
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 29: First Things First
There's an old saying that goes like this: In order to start your journey we must first know where we're going. For example, in order for Keith and I to know the exact route we would take to get to Alaska when we started our journey, we first had to know exactly where we were going. So in this case, first things first, we knew we were going to Anchorage. From there we could plot our long course, making our stops along the way … [Read more...]
Day 27: Fruitcakes and Discipline
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit. — ARISTOTLE Think about that quote for a minute. How thought-provoking is that? Discipline. I will be the first to admit I struggle with discipline almost on a daily basis. Don't get me wrong. If I'm focused on an in particular goal, I am 100% committed to that current goal. It's when I start to get the least bit bored that I find myself no longer disciplined and I move away from what I'm doing. And to be honest, it's … [Read more...]
Day 26: The Trampoline as a Metaphor
Life sometimes can totally surprise us in the most unexpected ways. For instance, a big trampoline. How in the world is a trampoline possibly related to writing? Before I read today's except on the phrase above, I was stumped. Then I started to read how scared to death the woman was by "what looked like a big lake of black water." She said, "I’m here to tell you that it is impossible to be calm and dignified on a trampoline. It is also impossible to feel safe on one. I crawled onto [it] and … [Read more...]
