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 47: The Writer’s Club
As a writer, we have all joined a special club that I'm happily a member of: The Writer's Club. It doesn't take much to join. Actually, it's relatively painless. Simply put, you just have to write. That's it. Nothing more. Nothing less. I joined the writer's club while my daughter lay before me getting sicker over those 16 days. At the time, I didn't even know I had joined the club. I was accepted without question. And all I did at the time was relay information to family and friends about … [Read more...]
Day 44: Sad Flailing and Panic
Look at the following quote. "Writing is magic, as much the water of life as any other creative art. The water is free. So drink. Drink and be filled up." —STEPHEN KING I would have to agree with Mr. King. No, you will never ever see me reading one of his novels (talk about nightmares for days). However, finding out that even a writer as good as he is gets writer's block and he looks at writing the same way I do makes it so I can relate to him. We all have those time where we panic because … [Read more...]
Day 37: Being a Writer
I think deep down inside us we all have a little bit of being a writer inside. If you've ever day dreamed or made up stories and played them out as a kid, you are a writer of sorts. The only difference is you didn't write them down. Whereas those that call themselves writers do. I love being a writer. I never thought I'd be one. I remember when I would be reading a book thinking about how much fun it would be to write a story myself. I had absolutely no confidence that I'd be any good. I'm glad … [Read more...]
Day 34: The Duck or the Pâté?
It's strange to think of pâté. Personally I have never tried the stuff and really don't want too. When I was growing up my mom let my sister have a pet duck. His name was Peepers. I always thought it strange to have a pet duck but we did. He was a cute little thing. When I think of pâté I think of him. It just couldn't think about doing it. Eating Peepers, uh, no. When I read what Ms. Abercrombie wrote it was more like she was comparing someone who proclaims to write but does everything else … [Read more...]
Day 33: Diving, Not Drowning
When I went to go read today except, this was the first line: "The fear of going back into your past — reliving trauma or grief — sometimes can block writing about the most important part of your story." This struck me to the core. I have so many things in my past, the good, the ugly and the tragic. All of which have shaped and molded me into the person I am today. The unfortunate part to all of this is there has been those very ugly things that no one ever wants to have happen to themselves or … [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 are going. For example, in order for Keith and I to know the exact route we will take to get to Alaska when we start our journey, we must first know exactly where we are going. So in this case, first things first, we know we are going to Anchorage. From there we can plot our long course, making our stops along the way until we make our destination. I think there are many times in life where we … [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...]
Day 25: Failing Better
"Fail. Fail again. Fail better." This is a quote by Samuel Beckett. And here is another one by Thomas Edison: “I didn’t fail one thousand times. The lightbulb was an invention with one thousand steps.” I think we hear many times throughout our lifetime how it doesn't matter how many times we fail as long as we keep on trying. If we stop at the 999,999th time, it might have been that millionth time that could have been the one to work. For me, I've been constantly learning about writing both … [Read more...]
Day 20: Naked in the Hallway
In a nutshell: Privacy. It seems like all we ever want in this life sometimes is privacy. There are things in our past that if others find out will leave us vulnerable. Raw. Open. My childhood was anything but easy. As for school, it was harder for me than a typical child due to my learning disability, Dyslexia. Today, most people still don't know I have it. In fact, if someone finds out about it they are surprised. When I was young I was held back in 2nd grade. Even after that I … [Read more...]
