Best Posts of Summer

As I have been reflecting on this summer and all I have experienced, I am grateful for the opportunity I have had to keep writing. Though the pandemic has shut some things down for writers, namely book signings and speaking events, I have yet been given the privilege of searching my soul for the truth of why I write. And it seems that readers fall right in line with me.

Photo by Thought Catalog on Unsplash

None of us write to hide. We write to be seen. We write to be heard. I would imagine that's why the most popular post this summer has been "Do you write to be average?" There's not a person I know of who doesn't want to leave a legacy of some kind to the world. Whether that legacy is a recipe, a story of their life, or a photo album of their adventures. 

Second, we want to win! In "Why Would You Want to Enter this Contest Today?" I shared my newest release, "I Walked With Jesus". Evidently, there are a few of us out there [tongue in cheek] that hope to win. I am waiting for the results and will let you know when I have them. 

Photo by Wesley Eland on Unsplash

Third, we want to know what others are thinking. In my post "Reviews of I Walked With Jesus" I shared multiple reviews from readers and what they thought about my newest book. Reviews help a reader decide on the purchase of a book. Will it be something they will like? 

Will it fill a need for them? Will it change their life? Many readers reading inspirational books hope they will take away something that they will be able to carry with them through life.

Fourth, we don't want to miss out! When the contest held at Novels Alive was almost over, I put out a post, "Just hours away from ending!" Perhaps you were one of those who kept telling yourself you were going to enter the contest and the days' sort of slipped away from you until the very end. Sometimes, life is like that.

Photo by Erik Mclean on Unsplash

Fifth, we forever want FREE stuff! "Free book until August 30" focused on my previously published book, "Enlightened: My Personal Journey with Christ Through Scripture Journaling". I remember, years ago, when I won a Seals & Crofts album from a radio station. That record was like gold to me for many years! And all I had to do was to be the 10th caller!

Thank you to all of my readers!

How to Unlock Your Writing Genius

Doors are hard to unlock unless you have the right key.

This is the front door to my office.
(Man, it needs some painting).
I need to use the right key to unlock this door;
not any key will do.

The same is true of your writing genius. Dreaming about being a writer never got anyone anywhere - just ask my brother who has been dreaming about becoming a writer for more years than I can remember. He has great ideas too. Ideas that would sell. But what does he do?

Dream. 

Dreaming is good if you take the time to do something about it. 

Make the time.

"Time waits for no man", the old saying goes, and it doesn't wait for women either. If you want to unlock your writing genius, if you want to learn how to become a writer, even the best writer you can be, then you must make the time. When I first thought about writing as a career I didn't have a lot of money to spend on classes. I couldn't afford to go back to school.

What did I do?

I checked out books at the library. I wrote. I attended a writer's

group.

These are some of my books, and some of the books of other writers I have published
through Idea Creations Press.
None of them would have happened
had I not stayed on the wobbly bike.

Learning how to become a writer is a little like dusting off your bike, getting on the seat, and taking yourself for a ride. You might have peddled a few times before, but not lately, and as your bike wobbles, as you try to gain your balance, you realize you've still got it. You can still ride.

My personal belief? We can all write, but not all of us apply ourselves. The juice is in us, but we don't apply what's already there. 

Write more than you watch television or play games on your phone or...

Writing not only takes time it takes a lot of focused time. You've more than likely heard of morning pages, or writing a page a day - or about 500 words, but what of writing 500 words a day on a particular project? Rather than writing 500 random words that come to you, and then wondering what else you can possibly share later, you're just so exhausted getting it all out, why not use those creative juices right off the bat?

Say you're interested in writing a book about your childhood. Start your day by remembering an event that happened to you. You don't need to start at the beginning, just start with one remembrance. The next day, follow it up with another remembrance, and so on. Once you get enough written, you can then consider how you'd like to organize your book.

My first book was a mixture of true experience
and fiction as Samantha deals with her
parents' divorce.

What if you're interested in writing a novel? One of my favorite techniques is finding a picture, either from a magazine, a painting, or a book that reflects my vision. I look at that thing and start to write whatever comes to me. Will it be the beginning? Probably not. But it will be something. And the next day I can look at it again and see what else comes to mind. I may find my beginning on day three or day ten, but if I use my creative juices the day will come and I will know when my book has begun. And who knows? Those other things I have written may just be chapter three or ten!

Throw negative critiques out. 

Story bashing never helps. "Story helps" do. You will know right away what type you're receiving as you're learning how to become a writer by how you feel. Defensive? Bash. Time for a crying jag? Bash. "I really like this part right here." Help. "That's exactly how I felt as a kid." Help. "What were you trying to say here? I really want to get it." Help.

Negative critiques of your writing, especially in the beginning may create within you a desire to STOP. You will hear them, and when you do, let them go. Pick up your pen. Go to your computer and write. 

I usually write on my computer unless I'm away from home. 

But stay focused. Don't rant. Keep going.

Share your work.

Yep. I know, after hearing that you'll receive negative critiques as you learn how to become a writer, you may not want to share your work with anyone. Do. And continue to share even after the negative critiques, especially when you receive the negative critiques. As a writer, I am still learning, and I have been a published book writer since 2002! I was learning before that as well because I started as a newspaper reporter. 

My first draft on a paper for college
received a C-.
My final, an A as I remember.

I am still learning, and expect to be learning until my dying day. I still share my work. Not everyone likes it. And that's okay. I keep writing, and so should you!

Quotable Quotes for Writers

Do you have a selection of your favorite quotes from your top fellow writers?

Photo by: brewbooks, courtesy of Flickr

What I love about writers, especially if the writer has an inspirational heart, is what they can teach me--not just about plot, characterization or theme, but what I learn about the power of words. A word gains power as it is used just right, when you feel it in beneath your skin and all the way into your heart.

Words that have meaning for me as a writer and as a person, are words that make me think well beyond the reading of them. I am awe-struck and want to change another piece of myself just for reading them. I want to take action.

You may love C.S. Lewis like I do but may not have read "Weight of Glory" though you've probably heard of "The Screwtape Letters." As in all Lewis literature such as the ever common but not so common "Mere Christianity," there is something profound to hear.

"Conceal from the patient the true end of Humility. Let him think of it not as self-forgetfulness but as a certain kind of opinion (namely, a low opinion) of his own talents and character" (From The Screwtape Letters).

"Be sure that the ins and outs of your individuality are no mystery to Him (God); and one day they will no longer be a mystery to you" (From Weight of Glory).

"When will I ever learn to accept what is given instead of always yearning for more? My lavish expectations too often tarnish my blessings" (From A Year by the Sea, by Joan Anderson).

"God sometimes speaks in whispers, so we will move closer to hear" (Firstlight, by Sue Monk Kidd).

Photo by Burtoo, courtesy of Flickr

And finally,

"When the heart is flooded with love there is no room in it for fear, for doubt, for hesitation. And it is this lack of fear that makes for the dance. When each partner loves so completely that he has forgotten to ask himself whether or not he is loved in return; when he only knows that he loves and is moving to its music--then, and then only, are two people able to dance perfectly in tune to the same rhythm" (Gift from the Sea, by Anne Morrow Lindbergh).

Today you may want to gather your own favorite quotes and have them readily available to read when you need a bit of uplift or guided direction. As a writer we may or may not believe in our own gifts, our own talents to write, but we usually forget who gave them to us in the first place.