Are there actually signs or messages from above? Do they actually lead us down a path if we choose to follow? Are they there so obvious that if you choose not to follow it you come to regret that later? Are you too stubborn to follow them because it's not according to plans we have for ourselves? I think the answer almost every time is a great big yes. We are all selfish by nature. Of course we think about ourselves and what we think will be best for us. But no matter how great or how grand … [Read more...]
Day 74: The Truth and Nothing But
It's interesting when we compare fiction to nonfiction. With fiction as a writer we many times will infuse a part of who we are into our stories, but the story itself is fiction. It comes from the recesses of our mind as we write down the story. Nonfiction, however, is based on real life stuff. Take this quote: "The writer of memoir makes a pact with her reader that what she writes is the truth as best she can tell it. But the original pact, the real deal, is with herself. Be honest, dig … [Read more...]
Day 73: Starting Again and Again
I think we all have our times when we start something only to stop, then we come back and start again going through the cycle over and over. Whether it's a job where we start each day anew and by the time we are getting off we have our ending each day as well. Or if we start some new craft project like crocheting a blanket. Some people don't get easily bored. But if you're anything like me I can only go so long before I get bored with what I'm doing and I stop for a while only to start again … [Read more...]
Day 72: Writer’s Remorse
To write truthfully sometimes we have to write things we may not want others to know but are important to be true to who we are as a writer. When I think about this it kind nails me to the wall. My past isn't pretty. And it's not from anything bad I've done personally, but instead what has been done to me as a child. I think of my mom and every thing she went through as a child. My Granny and Grandpa partly raised me as a child. However, how they were with me was completely different from … [Read more...]
Day 71: Being Your Own Shrink
I have to share this quote with you. "You have to have done that hard psychological work before you sit down to write." —MARY KARR This is one of those 'awe-ha' moments. Ever since I can remember I never understood why God would allow, in His loving giving Self, the terrible abuses and neglect that happened to me throughout my childhood. As I entered high school, my freshman year we attended a church a couple of times. It wasn't till the following summer I was able to get a ride to it … [Read more...]
The Journey with Emilie Hendryx
Please welcome this weeks guest Emilie Hendryx for The Journey. She answers the question: How have you seen God work in your writing journey? In the Midst of the Journey I’ve always loved reading and writing. Ever since I was a little girl, I can remember dreaming up ideas, creating imaginary places, and compiling all of the elements of a good story into a play session with my stuffed animals. At that time, I didn’t know much about the fundamentals of writing or story telling, I just knew … [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...]
Day 66: The Pitfalls of Grammar
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 Cara Putman
Please welcome this weeks guest Cara Putman for The Journey. She answers the question: How have you seen God work in your writing journey? A Writing Journey that Weaves and Runs I’ve wanted to write for about as long as I can remember. I’ve always had a love for good books and stories. When I was a teen, my favorite authors didn’t write new books fast enough – now I understand why! But at the time, I thought they should be able to write more books in a year, so I decided to try my hand at … [Read more...]
Day 64: Writing Is Not Pretty
Are you a little confused by today's title? To be honest, so was I. So I got to thinking. When we're writing a book, or a play, or a blog post, or whatever type of writing that needs to be done, our first drafts are anything but pretty. There are grammar mistakes galore (even though in our head it was perfect :( ). We have all the spelling errors that either our auto-correct didn't change our word automatically or we really messed up the spelling (gotta love spell check, a writer's best friend). … [Read more...]
