Writing Life Ramblings – Biographical Ruminations (Peter Black)

Writing biographical pieces without your subjects’ knowledge and permission can be a precarious thing. You can never be certain beforehand whether your subjects would approve or disapprove, or like or dislike what you say about them. There’s potential for ruptured relationships . . . hmm, or even a lawsuit.

An author may be somewhat visionary and might extrapolate future outcomes based on trends and data, but is hardly a seer per se. This introduces another aspect of biographical writing that can be rather unsettling for the author.

Have you ever written about a contemporary individual in positive, affirmative terms, but later felt let down, disappointed, or more than a little peeved, when the person later fell far short of the glowing word portrait you’d painted?

I’ve had that experience—but rarely, and have more often been tremendously encouraged to find otherwise. A recent case was of a trucker I met and conversed with, in 2009 at a Christian retreat.

Courtesy: en.wikipedia.org

Shortly after, I wrote a column article of the encounter, in which I shared some of the personal testimony that the fellow recounted to me of his healing and how he came to Christ. I didn’t use his name—I’d forgotten it anyway—and didn’t seek his permission. In February 2010 I posted an edition of that piece on this blog, entitled, ‘Prophets’ – of a Sort.

In 2014 I included a version of that story in the book, “Raise Your Gaze . . . Mindful Musings of a Grateful Heart.” I’d occasionally wonder whether the man was still alive and whether he was still mobile (prior to his healing he had severe back trouble and had lived with unrelenting pain).

The other matter of wondering concern was whether he had continued growing in his Christian walk of faith and trust in Jesus.



Courtesy: anglicansablaze.blogspot.com

Recently I saw him again and reintroduced myself. Now retired from trucking, he still loves to meet with His Christian brothers and sisters and sing and praise the Lord at his church. His back is still doing just fine. Although unable to drive now, since he suffers from macular degeneration, he cheerfully looks to God for healing of that condition. I'm thrilled that he is still "pressing on the upward way."

It’s understandable that writers who create fictional characters and the ‘lives’ they ‘live’ can feel a relational connection with them, and some even call them their babies or their kids. 

That’s different for biographers. If remaining true to the character of the individuals about whom they write and whose stories (or portions thereof that) they tell, it’s different. Biographers neither create the characters nor the circumstances in which they live their lives.

In some instances when writing a living person’s story I may begin the process already having a personal relationship with the individual. That may deepen during the process of working through the elements based on the information available, but the individual is neither my baby nor my creation, although I may rightfully regard the work produced as such.

Although I’ve had cause to grieve when learning that one of my subjects has followed a course that casts  a shadow over the earlier portrait, my recent encounter with the former trucker encourages me to not give up on painting word pictures featuring people’s real life-experiences.

He continues along the course of life that raised my gaze to give thanks to God for His gracious working in the man’s life. Redemption in action—gaze-raising joy. And that's something worth writing about!

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Peter's second book is a compilation of inspirational articles on a variety of themes from his weekly column. These are interspersed with brief expressions intended to encourage. Ebook edition is now available through Amazon.

 

ISBN: 978-0-9920074-2-3 (Angel Hope Publishing)

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Peter's first book: “Parables from the Pond” – a children's / family book (mildly educational, inspirational in orientation, character reinforcing). Finalist – Word Alive Press. ISBN: 1897373-21-X. The book has found a place in various settings with a readership ranging from kids to senior adults.

Black's inspirational column, P-Pep! appears weekly in The Guide-Advocate (of Southwestern Ontario). His articles have appeared in 50 Plus Contact and testimony, and several newspapers in Ontario.

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A Love Triangle - Tracy Krauss

I sometimes think of myself as a writing chameleon because I write for two very distinct audiences. My first writing love is romantic suspense fiction, but I also dove into the role of playwright several years ago and found that I loved it almost as well. It's a bit of love triangle - me, secular comedy plays, and Christian fiction.

I started writing way back in 1985. I was a young mom and I found I needed a creative outlet when my daughter went down for her nap. I borrowed my mother's old typewriter and clacked away for an hour or so each day. I had no idea what, if anything, would come of these stories, but it was an outlet that soon became an obsession. Sixteen years later I had one full manuscript finished and several other works in progress. I started to think that maybe, just maybe, I could find a publisher. Little did I know that the road to publication was not as easy as I thought. Another seven years, many rejections, and much heartache later, I finally signed my first contract. It was a steep learning curve - one that I am still navigating.

Around the same time that I decided to seek publication, I also went back to work as a public school teacher. I have a fine art and theatre background so when I got offered the job as the sole art and drama teacher at our local secondary school, I was sure God had placed it right in my lap. My first drama class was a mixture of grades, experience, and enthusiasm and I just couldn't find the right material for some kind of show. I decided to let the students write their own short skits and I tied them together with a set of scenes featuring aliens watching the human activity from above. 'Look Who's Watching' was a hit with the audience and spurred me on to write more plays for my students, many of which have been published with various play publishing houses.

My eldest daughter is turning 29 this summer. I can't believe that so many years have flown by since I wrote those first tentative bits of narrative. A lot has happened since. My first book And the Beat Goes On came out in 2008. Since then My Mother the Man-Eater (2010), Play It Again (2011), and Wind Over Marshdale (2012) released. A serialized novel called Neighbors is currently coming out in separate instalments and I am working collaboratively on another serialized novel called Colony Zero.

I have also been privileged to see several stage plays in print. Ebenezer's Christmas Carol (2010), Dorothy's Road Trip (2012), The Western Tale (2012), Little Red in the Hood (2012), A Midterm Eve's Phantasm (2012), and Hook's Nemesis (2013).

Finally, I recently self published a devotional book called Life Is a Highway, based on several speaking engagements, and an illustrated children's book called The Sleepytown Express, based on a 1930s song by Haven Gillespie. I also signed a contract for the sequel to Wind Over Marshdale called Lone Wolf.

During this time I've moved fifteen times, lived and worked in five provinces and territories, raised four children, homeschooled for nine years, supported my family while my husband went back to school, and went into full time ministry. Phew! My head spins just thinking about it.

My writing journey had a slow start. Sometimes I wish I would have been more proactive about seeking publication sooner. I have so many more stories to tell and time is slipping away! I just need to stop and reflect on the goodness of God, however, and consider that everything happens according to His perfect timing. I would not have been ready any sooner for the demands of promotion and online marketing that now take a considerable amount of my time. Family, church and work responsibilities simply would not have allowed it. I am grateful for the small measure of success with which God has seen fit to bless me. And I look forward to the next leg of the journey...

Tracy Krauss is a best-selling author, playwright, artist and teacher. She is a member of 'American Christian Fiction Writers', 'Inscribe Christian Writers Fellowship', and ‘The Word Guild’ as well as several writing related social networking groups. An avid reader, she also reviews books and posts most of these reviews regularly on her blog ‘Expression Express’ as well as at other locations on the web. Originally from a small prairie town, Tracy received her Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, Sask. with majors in Art, and minors in History and English. She teaches High School English, Drama and Art. Apart from her many personal creative pursuits, she also directs an amateur theatre group and leads worship at her local church. She and her husband, an ordained minister with the PAOC, have lived in many remote and unique places in Canada's north, including Churchill Manitoba - the 'polar bear capital of the world', the Yukon, and the NWT. They raised four children and were active advocates of the homeschooling movement for many years. They currently reside in beautiful Tumbler Ridge, BC, known for its waterfalls. Visit her website: tracykrauss.com

Help…I Need a New Fig Leaf! by Glynis M. Belec

     So my next writing project is high on the 'better stop procrastinating and get done' list.  I've missed the Christmas deadline so now I'm thinking [hoping, praying...] for Mother's Day!  I'm especially praying that God will use this women's devotional to minister to lots of ladies (and maybe even a few fella's) 

Here is a little sampling:

  

HELP…I NEED A NEW FIG LEAF!

“Bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh…” Encouraging stories for the descendants of Eve.

Introduction:

      When God created woman he obviously had a plan.  Adam, tired of his one-way conversations with the beasts and birds, gladly offered a rib in exchange for his helpmate, Eve (Genesis 2:18-23).

 So what did Adam and Eve do? They blew it.  Eve listened to some two-bit, conniving creature.  In an attempt to provide a little variety to their bland, vegetarian diet and to perhaps expand her gray matter a tad, Eve became one of the founding members of life, as we know it today.         

       We could have had it easy; walking around Eden, not worrying about what to wear, eat or drink; never lifting a finger to sew, clean, cook or chase after cheeky children (they, too, would have been perfect); strolling past luscious greenery chatting to the Creator; what a paradise it could have been.

           Instead, after the fall, out came the needle and thread and the fig leaves.  Tools had to be fashioned because no longer were the perfect couple allowed to live off the land in Eden.  Squatter’s rights were relinquished.

When God banished the disobedient pair, he gave them instructions to start the process of begetting. Years passed.  Before long, the earth was filled. Although Adam and Eve made a poor choice, God still loved and cared for them. What a gracious God we serve.

It was 1986.  The time was ripe and I was ready.  Through an incredible, personal experience prompted by utter despair, I fell on my knees and became an organ donor - I gave my heart to Jesus. 

Although my problems remained, my grumpy old ‘woe is me’ attitude altered and I started to count blessings instead of burdens.  For a while, though, I moaned about all the wasted years that I could have been serving the Lord until I saw that I was wasting more time moaning about how I had wasted so much time.  

Finally, I got it.  It was then I saw Adam and Eve’s goof-up as a challenge; I determined to do better.

When I look back on my own life, though, I shake my head wondering why I chose a particular path.  At the time, I am sure I thought it was a wise choice.    

 But, just as God gave Adam and Eve another chance, He gave me another chance.  He also gave me a sense of humor and, thankfully, gave my husband and children an even better one. (My dearly beloved no longer checks the wedding certificate for the fine print.) 

A sense of humor, I have discovered over the years, can benefit both body and soul.  There’s nothing like a good chuckle to lighten the moment, diffuse tension and give the body a workout - inside and out.  In fact I read somewhere that healthy laughter can also burn calories.  Now that’s my kind of aerobics. 

            Fasten up your fig leaf and come stroll for a 

while.  Allow me to introduce you to my family and let me demonstrate how God has 

used them and other everyday situations to teach me important lessons over the years. 

Look closely. You may even see a reflection of your own life.  

A Sanctified Imagination - V. Nesdoly

With our minds still full of praise for mothers, I am reminded of a Bible mother who was not only a good mother-figure (she was called a "mother in Israel"), but also an inspiration to those in any vocation, especially writers.

 "Thus let all your enemies perish, O Lord! But let those who love Him be like the sun when it comes out in full strength" was the prayer of judge Deborah (Judges 5:31). She was a woman leader of Israel who also had a vivid imagination. The "Thus" in her prayer refers to the details of her victory over Sisera as we find them in her song (Judges 5:1-31). This victory ballad is full of imaginative specifics.

Deborah describes in gory detail the incident of Jael killing Sisera with the tent peg and the hammer. She imagines Sisera's mother waiting for her son to return from battle. When he delays, Deborah envisions how this woman and her maids will explain his lateness to themselves:"Are they not finding and dividing the spoil: To every man a girl or two; For Sisera plunder of dyed garments..." (Judges 5:30).

But Deborah's most inspiring use of imagination is in Judges 4, before she ever has reason to sing that song. Then the situation is still dire. Israel under the thumb of Canaanite King Jabin (and Sisera, his army commander), hasn't seen a ray of hope in twenty years (Judges 4:3). Yet Deborah says to Barak (the commander of Israel's army): "Up! For this is the day in which the Lord has delivered Sisera into your hand. Has not the Lord gone out before you?" (Judges 4:14). Her faith in God fuels her imagination so that she sees the victory before it ever actually happens.

Deborah's use of imagination demonstrates three ways we can use our imaginations.

• To affirm our faith: 
We sanctify our imaginings as we use them in the service of faith like Deborah did when she challenged Barak to go to battle with her. This is building a visionary future on God—His person and promises—and then going into action to make it a reality.

• To communicate the human experience:
Deborah's description of Jael's actions is imagination put to use in the service of story and poetry.

• To deal with misgivings and worries: 
Deborah's speculation of how Sisera's mother is handling her son's delay shows how imagination can supply us with feelings of well-being. However this kind of imagining can easily disintegrate into worry when we  fuel it with pictures of the bad things that may be happening.

How do we employ these facets of imagination in writing?

Our articles, stories, poems, and scripts begin in our imaginations. If we write at God's bidding, we lean on Him for vision and strategies on how to go forward with our ideas, and then we take those steps with faith-filled imagination.

We use our imaginations to communicate the human experience via story, poem, script, or anecdote. Writing is using imagination to  inhabit our characters. Words are the gestures. The page is the stage.

We resolve to use our imaginations in ways that help us. What are the chances of us finishing a story or a book if we nurture the negative pictures our imaginations so readily supply, of editors throwing our submissions in the garbage, or our books garnering one-star reviews? Rather, we must choose to use imagination positively to envision (and pray into) our projects being accepted, our books published,  and our efforts making a difference in someone's life.

May we as writers use our imaginations in all the positive ways that Deborah did.

(Adapted from "A Sanctified Imagination" published on Other Food: daily devos November 20, 2011)

 - Violet Nesdoly

Website: www.violetnesdoly.com

• Personal blog promptings  
• Writerly blog Line upon line 
  
• Daily devotions for children Bible Drive-Thru
• Daily devotions for adults: Other Food: daily devos
• A poem portfolio

A praying-the-Bible prayer for writers - Nesdoly

I have, over the years, collected and memorized Bible verses that encouraged me as a writer. I'm also a great fan of praying Bible words back to God. For today's post, I have combined those two things into a prayer for writers. Pray it over yourself and your work in 2011 — and be blessed!

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Dear God, as the One who created words and who came as Word, we acknowledge that You are the creator of our tongues (the urge and ability to communicate) and the source of all wisdom about words. Today we bring to You our work of producing and spreading written words.


Help us, first, to hear from You. May Your words sink deep into our own hearts. Help us to listen to them carefully for ourselves and then afterward go and tell our blog, e-zine, magazine and book readers, "This is what the Lord God says."


Help us not only to write but to be bold to submit what we've written, for You have told us to cast our bread upon the waters with the promise that we will find it after many days. May we steward our time, talents and opportunities wisely, for from everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded, and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.


Help us to resist the urge to draw attention to our successes and praise ourselves, choosing instead to wait for You to lift us up and make us great.


May You be the one to expand our influence, the place of our tents, the curtains of our dwellings, the numbers of our blog readers, book buyers, friends, and followers. May we spare no effort but rather lengthen our cords and strengthen our stakes in excellence so that the good news of Your kingdom will spread to the left and right. As a result of our words may followers of Jesus inherit the nations and make desolate godless cities alive again.


We roll our writing work on You. May You cause our thoughts to become agreeable to Your will so that our plans will be established and succeed. We need You to guide us continually, to satisfy our souls when we feel dry, and to strengthen our bones when we are tired. Help us to be as productive as watered gardens, our words as refreshing and life-giving as springs of water.


May the beauty and delightfulness and favour of the Lord our God be upon us: confirm and establish the work of our hands, yes, the work of our hands, confirm and establish it. Amen. 

You might also like "A Blogger's Prayer" by Ann Voskamp

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The verses (using various translations - though the RefTagger widget displays NKJV) in the order which they appear: John 1:1,14; Exodus 4:11; Ezekiel 3:10-11; Ecclesiastes 11:1; Luke 12:48; Proverbs 27:22; James 4:10; 1 Chronicles 29:12; Isaiah 54:2-3; Proverbs 16:3; Isaiah 58:11; Psalm 90:16-17.

By Violet Nesdoly

(This prayer was first posted on the Inscribe Writers Online blog January 12, 2011)

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Website: www.violetnesdoly.com

• Personal blog promptings  
• Writerly blog Line upon line  where I'm running a series based on the excellent book Beyond the words (by Bonni Goldberg) -- good insights on the writing life and writer self-care. Please drop by!
  
• Daily devotions for children Bible Drive-Thru
• Daily devotions for adults: Other Food: daily devos
• A poem portfolio

Anchors to Guide and Govern - Gibson

When I responded to God’s invitation to write on the topics of faith and life in the secular media, he terrified me for a season. He allowed—for reasons still obscure to me (except for the fact that my ignorance made me bold)—the placement of my words in national and international mainstream media.

I’m a very simple woman. But regularly the call came for words and opinions I knew were far beyond my natural capability of thought. As so many have before and beside me, I felt the immediate need for increased prayer and specific anchors to guide and govern my words. The Holy Spirit and God’s Word have provided that.

Here are just a few of the verses that have stabilized me, taken from the book of Proverbs, in the New King James Version of Scripture.

They may encourage a few others, too, no matter in which venue God has called you to write or speak. But if God calls you outside of the Christian marketplace—don’t back away. He will equip you to go there. Seek Divine wisdom and brace yourself with the Word.

Ch. 16

3. Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.
9. In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.
13. Kings take pleasure in honest lips (words). They value a man who speaks the truth.
18. Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.
20. Whoever gives heed to instruction prospers, and blessed is he who trusts in the Lord.
21. The wise in heart are called discerning, and pleasant words promote instruction.
23. A wise man’s heart guides his mouth, and his lips promote instruction.
24. Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.

Ch.17

27. A man of knowledge uses words with restraint, and a man of understanding is even-tempered
28. Even a fool is thought wise if he keeps silent, and discerning if he holds his tongue.

Ch. 18

13. He who answers before listening—that is his folly and his shame.
20. From the fruit of his mouth a man’s stomach is filled; with the harvest from his lips he is satisfied.
21. The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.

Ch. 19

8. He who gets wisdom loves his own soul; he who cherishes understanding prospers.

Ch. 20

6. Many a man claims to have unfailing love, but a faithful man who can find?
15. Gold there is, and rubies in abundance, but lips that speak knowledge are a rare jewel.
27. The lamp of the Lord searches the spirit of a man; it searches out his inmost being.

Ch. 21

5. The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty.
6. A fortune made by a lying tongue is a fleeting vapor and a deadly snare.
22. A wise man attacks the city of the mighty and pulls down the stronghold in which they trust.
23. He who guards his mouth and his tongue keeps himself from calamity.

Ch.22

1. A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.
4. Humility and the fear of the Lord bring wealth and honor and life.
11. He who loves a pure heart and whose speech is gracious will have the king for his friend.
12. The eyes of the Lord keep watch over knowledge, but he frustrates the words of the unfaithful.
29. Do you see a man skilled in his work? He will serve before kings; he will not serve before obscure men.

Kathleen Gibson is author of West Nile Diary-One Couple's Triumph Over a Devastating Disease www.kathleengibson.ca

Why don't I just quit? - Nesdoly

No one has to tell writers that they're up against some pretty big obstacles these days. The latest Tsunami to hit the writing/publishing world was the news last week that some online bookstores (Amazon.com, Wal-Mart.com, Target.com) are wrestling each other down on book prices. One announces a price of no higher than 9.99. Another answers back they'll do better at 8.99. Publishers and agents are predictably in a dither and asking whither.

As a very small writer fish in this increasingly red-ink ocean, that is only the last in a series of discouragements that include:

• Stiff competition for publication. The internet has outed millions of writers and made them mad for publication. (Go to any agent's blog and take a peek at the number of followers - if they're listed. For example: Rachelle Gardner - 1321; Nathan Bransford - 2375; Pub Rants - 1319. There are a lot of eager, hungry writers  out there.)
• The need for writers to not only be able to write, but to build a platform, market, speak, network, twitter, facebook, yada, yada.
• Add to that, personal pressure from realistic family members who see the bottom line and rub one's face in the fact that this writing gig has really only turned out to be an expensive hobby.
  

It all adds up to (yikes, I never thought I'd hear myself say it) a temptation to quit.

I found my  thoughts articulated rather eloquently the other day when I was reading Nathan Bransford's blog:

"In yesterday's discussion about writers and sensitivity, Gordon Pamplona left a comment that stuck with me:

'...a lot of times the sensitivity about the writing is a stand-in for sensitivity about something else: you spent so much time chasing this pipe dream that you lose your job, your marriage, your kids; your kids don't respect you because you didn't write Harry Potter or Twilight; you charged a lot of money on the credit card for conferences and classes with no tangible results, and now the family is eating beans and rice. For many of us, writing is an addiction, no different from alcohol or drugs or gambling. And maybe people who are angry, bitter, stressed out, or despondent should take a hard look at whether this is something they should be doing--if it's gone from a hobby to something that's ruining their lives and their relationships with others.'

As a society, we often celebrate tortured and struggling artists who finally make it big despite their obstacles, and yet we don't often examine the flip side of this, which is that the vast majority of tortured and struggling artists don't actually make it. We tend to encourage everyone to write (Person 1 tells an interesting story, Person 2 says 'Wow, you should write a book about that'), and there are very few people out there willing to tell any writer they don't have what it takes and should probably try pursuing something else with their time. I'm guilty of this as well - who am I to say whether or not someone will or won't be published?

But is this the right approach? Is writing, especially when the odds are long and the cost to a personal life is high, sometimes akin to addiction? When does it cross the line from hobby to 'habit?' And should we be encouraging everyone to write?" (from "Tell me, when is writing unhealthy?")

I ruminated on that for a while - and then the thought occurred: I didn't have the luxury of just deciding to quit. Though I must never ignore the need for balance, outright quitting is a decision that's not mine to make.  Because the reason I find myself here hasn't changed from what got me here in the first place. Jesus' teaching on the stewardship of our gifts (as expressed in His story from Luke 19) hasn't been torn out of the Bible.

If I quit simply for the reasons above, I would be like  the one-mina servant coming to the master full of stuttered excuses. "Here is the thing you gave me -- this love for words and communication, idea and story, which I have invested for a while, but which I have put back in my handkerchief because... because I've only written short pieces and not had any success with books, and because I wasn't good at marketing or establishing a platform, and because the competition for publication was fierce, and because there were so many five- and ten-mina voices out there, I just knew mine wasn't necessary..."

And He will say to me, "Out of your own mouth I will judge you, you wicked servant... For I say to you, that to everyone who has will be given; and from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him."

Thus there will be only one thing that can get me to quit -- Orders from Headquarters. Otherwise I'll be here, sowing my words, hopefully for a little profit but not above sometimes giving them away for free because that's my way of obeying my Master till He gives me another assignment or puts a different talent in my hand to invest.

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Website: www.violetnesdoly.com
Personal blog promptings
Writerly blog Line upon line
Kids' daily devotions Bible Drive-Thru
A poem portfolio

Find Your Voice and Shout - Arends

Note: My blog contribution this month is geared specifically towards writers, but I hope if you are engaged in any creative endeavor--be it writing, preaching, teaching, music, visual/fine arts, team leading, coming up with Sunday school lessons, or any number of other activities--you'll be able to apply these ideas to your own unique calling and vocation.

My friend Bernie Sheahan (an extraordinary writer and the sort of person one never forgets) says the best writing advice she ever got was this: "Find your voice and shout."

Not every writing genre benefits from a strong personal voice, of course. But those of us who are mining personal experience to write fiction or reflective non-fiction can benefit from the advice Bernie received. We each need to inhabit our own skin when we write (or sing or speak or teach or relate), expressing the perspectives, senses of humour and turns of phrase that make a piece uniquely ours.

Ironically, one of the ways most of us get there is by absorbing and even temporarily copying the voices of other writers we respect. The songwriter Nick Lowe talks about this process from a musical perspective:

"… I hadn’t been writing songs very long and, like everybody else who starts out doing anything creative, you start off plundering your heroes’ style and catalogue. When you’ve exhausted that, you move on to somebody else and do the same thing with them, and the day comes when you’re rewriting your latest hero’s works, and you put in a little bit of the first guy’s thing that you ripped off, a middle eight, or a bridge, and as it goes on you include more and more of these bits and pieces that you’ve ripped off, until, suddenly, you haven’t ripped them off at all. They’ve actually become your style. And then all you need is a good idea. And then you really are in business. I remember having this idea—“What’s So Funny About Peace, Love and Understanding”—and almost falling over in astonishment that I hadn’t heard this before, that it really was an original notion."

We each become a unique amalgamation of whatever we take in. That's what makes immersing ourselves in great work so important. If you want to be a great writer, read great books. If you want to be a great painter, view great paintings. If you want to be a great songwriter, listen to great music. Conversely, if you want to be a vacuous artist of any ilk, watch reality television. (That's a tangent, but it made me laugh, so I'm leaving it in!)

So I'm going to adapt the advice Bernie was given just slightly: Listen to great voices, let them become part of your own, and then shout! If you are faithful in both the listening and speaking, you will most definitely have something unique to say.

I'll leave you with this, from Eugene Peterson:

"The Bible makes it clear that every time that there is a story of faith, it is completely original. God's creative genius is endless. He never, fatigued and unable to maintain the rigors of creativity, resorts to mass-producing copies. Each life is a fresh canvas on which he uses lines and colors, shades and lights, textures and proportions that he has never used before."

Happy Shouting!
Carolyn Arends

I blog, therefore I am at:

Songville (brand new site for songwriters)

Conversantlife.com (where I muse on Stuff That Matters)

Wrestling with Angels (where I park my Christianity Today columns and other pieces)

Carolyn Arends Newsblog (where we post goings on, twitter updates, and other news relating to my work as a recording artist and writer)

A Bag of Fish or Jesus - Laycock

My husband preached a great sermon a while ago, from John 21. The gist of it was that we are all prone to oh-so-quickly give up on God and turn back to our own resources. Just as the disciples did. Jesus had told them what to do, and where to go, but they thought He wasn't going to show up, so one of their leaders, an impetuous fellow named Peter said, "I'm going fishing." The others said, "Yeah, sounds like a good idea."

They fished for hours to no avail so when a man turns up on the shore and asks if they have any fish they all shout a resounding, "No!"

It's when that man tells them to cast their net on the other side of their boat that one of them, the well-loved John, says, "Hey - uh - I think maybe it's Jesus."

To his credit, Peter wasted no more time with the fish - he leaped out of the boat and hurried to shore. Then Jesus, who was indeed the one speaking to them, tells them to bring some of the fish they'd just caught to the fire. An interesting statement, that. Jesus already had fish roasting over the coals, yet he tells them to bring what they had just caught with their own hands, under His direction.

There are a couple of lessons to learn here. One, guard against giving up on Jesus. He will come through, He's never late, and He will always give us what we need to accomplish what He has in mind. Two, there's a principle to learn from Peter and the disciples who followed his lead. We can so easily get caught up in striving to make a living - trying to make things work out the way we want - that we can lose sight of the One for whom we are working. But as Peter discovered, when Jesus shows up, the bag of fish is suddenly of no importance. Being with Jesus is all that matters.

And there's a third principle to learn from this story. We can know that God intends to put us to work. He has given us skills - like the ability to catch fish, and write books or poetry or magazine articles - and He will use those skills to His own purposes. Part of that purpose is to teach us and bless us abundantly as we become a blessing to others. The disciples ate as much fish as they wanted that morning and had plenty left to sell. It was the fruit of their own labour but it was labour guided by their Lord, labour that taught them something about Him, labour that was indeed, life-giving.

"So, whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive and inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving." (Colossians 3:23)

Marcia Lee Laycock, author of One Smooth Stone and Focused Reflections

www.vinemarc.com

Checking my Attitude - M. Laycock

Like many who are on this list, I attended Write! Canada recently. As many have already said, it was a good conference. There were a lot of teachers there willing and able to share their expertise with new and growing writers. There were editors and publishers willing to listen to pitches and just chat, even through their lunch and dinner hours. I heard good comments about workshops and inspiring plenary sessions. The venue was beautiful and the food fantastic. The organizers had done their work well, with much attention to detail.

But there was one thing I found disturbing.

As at most writers’ conferences, the faculty were to do interviews in 15 minute slots. They posted signup sheets and eager writers swarmed into the gym to reserve time with editors, publishers and advanced writers. They were held back by the moderator, who told them that to be fair, no-one could sign up until a specific time. That's when I noticed things went a little awry.

People began jockeying for position, some even shoving and elbowing and insisting on being first. When the 'okay' was finally given it was like the proverbial feeding frenzy. I confess, as people surged to the wall my pugnacious Irish nature began to rear its ugly head. I had to back away. I had intended to sign up for an interview with an editor, but I knew if I waded into the fray my elbows would go up too.

Later, as I was moderating the interviews, calling "Time" when the 15 minutes were up, I witnessed a few more incidents that were disturbing. Some of the faculty had trouble arriving on time, so people were waiting, and the time slots got pushed further and further off schedule. Some people got bumped altogether. And some were not happy about it. One young woman hovered over the shoulder of an editor and even interrupted him to say that it was "My turn now," even though she knew the person being interviewed had only been there for a few moments.

I understand the eagerness - or should I say desperation? – that drives us to try and put our work in front of those who are in a position to take it to the next level. I understand it all too well. But perhaps there should have been a large banner across the top of the signup sheets, "Honour one another above yourselves.” (Romans 12:10b)

The week after the conference I received a note from the woman who had coordinated the moderating of the interviews. She said she had appreciated my calm spirit. I appreciated her words, but I know where that spirit came from and it wasn’t me. Without the constant whispers of God’s spirit in my ear, I’d be giving in far too often to that Irish nature I mentioned. I have to recite that verse to myself many times, sometimes many times in one day!

In fact, I found myself getting a little ‘testy’ toward the end of the conference because I was not able to attend the sessions I’d planned to. My need to assert my “rights” kept whispering that it was unfair. It took several days before I could get around that voice, repent of the attitude and be thankful for the opportunity to attend a conference of such high calibre. As I prayed the Lord whispered, “what about the opportunity to serve?” Oh, yeah, there was that.

It’s not easy to go against our nature, which constantly hollers, “me first!” But it is one of the things the Bible urges us to work at. Preferring one another is just one of the admonitions.

Doing it requires a concerted effort to depend on God. It requires tuning out the voices that tell me to demand my “rights” and tuning in the voice that says I have been given much that I might serve others. As a writer I need to trust Him to arrange the interviews and contacts, trust His timing for my manuscripts, trust His plan for my life and for my work.

As a Christian I need to keep sharpening my understanding of the scriptures that teach these things, instead of sharpening my elbows.

Marcia Lee Laycock
Author of One Smooth Stone & Focused Reflections
www.vinemarc.com

Show, Don't Tell - Arends

Last month I was going back and forth with my editor regarding revisions on a column. Arguing in defense of keeping a particular story in the piece (despite word count overage issues), I explained that I felt the illustration was important because I was trying to “balance abstract ideas with concrete embodiments.”

“I agree we should ‘balance abstract ideas with concrete embodiments’,” he said patiently and, mercifully, only a little patronizingly. “Around here, we call that ‘Show, Don’t Tell’.”

Show, Don’t Tell. It’s the writer’s mantra and mandate. (“Actually,” my editor clarified, “it’s show AND tell. Just avoid all-tell.”) We want people to see and smell and hear and touch and taste the truth we convey. Beyond getting a reader to embrace a particular idea, we hope and pray the idea will jump off the page and embrace the reader. That’s no small thing to ask of some scribbles (or fonts) on paper.

The way to a reader’s heart, mind and soul is the imagination. In this media-saturated world, if we fail to engage a person at the imagination-level, we won’t keep her for long. Fortunately, there are Imagination Scientists who study the way the human imagination works. Whenever I teach songwriting at a local college, I reference the work of a writer and researcher named Chris Blake. His intriguing article, “The Imagination of the Listener” can be found in The Craft and Business of Songwriting by John Braheny (p.46-56).

Blake notes that when the imagination receives a new cue (for example, words in a song or on paper), it constructs an image to go with that cue based on a whole host of stored previous experiences. It turns out that the strongest cues (collections of words) are simple, concrete, action-oriented images that invite the imagination to engage. Abstractions (huge and important concepts like faith, hope, justice, anger, salvation, sin and restoration) don’t work in the imagination. They actually turn it away.

Blake has fun with the famous country song “The Gambler”. Remember that one?

You got to know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em,
Know when to walk away and know when to run.
You never count your money when you’re sittin’ at the table.
There’ll be time enough for countin’ when the dealin’s done.

The song’s writer, Don Schlitz, outlines a whole philosophy of living in that song. But what if, Blake asks, Schlitz had just gone with abstractions rather than concrete images that represent them? You’d have something like:

It’s important to know when to persist in trying to achieve your goals and when to give up.
You have to know when to decide to give up what you’re doing gradually and to know when to give up quickly.
You should never make a judgment about how your life is going while it’s going on.
There’ll be plenty of time to look back to see how it all went after your life is over.

Try singing that one!

My students laugh when I give them that example. But the truth is, the vast majority of overtly spiritual music and prose takes just that approach:

I praise God for His mercy.
I am grateful for salvation.
Thank you for restoration.
God is a God of justice.

In our songwriting classes we go through our lyrics and try to replace every passive image with an active one, every general image with a specific, detailed one, and, most importantly, every abstract concept with a concrete representation of it. Lately, I’ve been trying to do the same with much of my prose. It’s hard! But I’ve come to believe that the great challenge and holy calling of those of us who aspire to convey spiritual truth with words is to show the truth we seek to tell whenever possible.

Our best teacher in this, of course, is Jesus. He showed us the tenacity of mercy in a prodigal’s horizon-scanning dad, the power of the gospel in seed and soil, and the mysteries of atonement in bread and wine. In taking this approach, He was taking after the Father who called Abraham outside on a clear night to show him his destiny in a thousand shining stars … the same Father who lets us see what His love looks like by showing us Jesus.

Carolyn Arends

www.carolynarends.com
www.conversantlife.com

now available: Wrestling With Angels
"Carolyn observes keenly, reflects deeply, and renders it all poetically. Wrestling With Angels is a book I can give to almost anyone with confidence it will speak truth in the inmost places." -- Mark Buchanan, author