Confessions of a Writer/Doodler

by Bonnie Lacy

Confession #1 ~ I am so grateful I didn’t get published when I thought I shoulda. One novel under my belt. Oh. I. Had (and still have) so much to learn. I am reading a book on writing/publishing/story at all times, whether print or ebook. Conferences like Realm Makers and others have put me in touch with more than my editor! I am determined to take some kind of class every year. This year I took David Farland’s online workshop, The Story Puzzle. (He enticed with $100 off! Money talks!) Last year I took Kevin Kaiser’s Storyseller University and I still need to apply more of his suggestions than I have. Next year? Any suggestions?

 

Confession #2 ~ I am so grateful I didn’t give up. I know I’m not where I want to be, but I have come so far from that first novel. I have a firm belief that some of the best writers/talents/artists give up. I am not the best, nor the worst. But I’m still here. Did I ever feel like giving up? Heh. Yeah, me too. Apply the Dori principle—keep on writing, keep on writing … Now I have six novels and over fifty short stories. And still so much to learn.

 

Confession #3 ~ I am a doodler. And the doodles are weird. But as I write this, I realize why they are a great lead-in to a writing sprint. I tend to doodle a little at a time—a little each day. I don’t plan–I play. Add a little here, a few lines there. Bubbles. Organic. Structure. Each day adds a little more to the mystery of the finished doodle. Just like a story. Whether you’re a pantser or plotter, a story grows upon itself, adding to the mystery of that story.

 

Examples: Check out bonlacy on Instagram. Most times the first day/first doodle is baffling. What is that? But as I let myself play (Grandson Eli always tells me, “It doesn’t have to be perfect.”) and … doodle, I let it grow and be and laugh and … well, I let the strangeness grow. Some lines are smudged—I’m not a machine—then they’d be … perfect.

 

Same for me in the story. That old rough, first draft. Ick. What is that? But the second and third … well for me, that’s where the magic happens.

 

And the strangeness grows …

 

bonnieBonnie Lacy is the author of six novels, one fiction book, devotionals, several children’s books, and over fifty short stories. Her first published novel, Released, can be found here. Rescued, Book 2 in The Great Escapee Series, is due out Fall of 2016. Visit her at: www.bonnielacy.com. Twitter: @BonnieLLacy. Instagram: bonlacy.

January 2016 Goals!

PIC1068506062Bring on the New Year! It’s time to get down to business. I have lots of plans for making 2016 the best year yet. But it’s going to take a lot of work, a lot of perseverance, and lot of prayer. No worries, I know I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!

In evaluating my accomplishments and struggles from last year, I’ve determined that I lacked a serious support system. I mostly made my goals myself, but nobody held me accountable and nobody pushed me if I was slacking. Turns out, I don’t have much will power when I get into a overwhelmed or defeatist mood.

Changes to my Approach

Some things I’m changing/improving to help me achieve more in 2016:

*I’m partnering with my good friend and fellow fantasy author, J.L. Mbewe, to hold each other accountable with our goals–both business and personal–using monthly video chats and weekly check-ins via Facebook.

*I’m going digital! This is the first year that I will have everything related to organization online. Google Calendars will hold my family calendar, writing calendar, project calendar, and menu planning (possibly cleaning) calendar. I’ll continue using ToDoIst for my to-do list, while expanding categories and use within the program. Both Google Calendars and ToDoIst can be used across devices, so I can update from wherever I am.

*I’m planning my schedule with “time boxes” in mind. (See more about this and other productivity methods here.) With time blocks, I’m giving myself permission to focus on just this ONE task/project for a set amount of time. Because I know the time is set, I don’t have to feel overwhelmed by the project as a whole (if it’s a bit one) but will be making progress; plus, I allow myself not to worry about “other things” because I know I will get to them in their time block. Best of all, it will keep stuff like social media and e-mails from being giant time suckers!

I’m combining this with a couple of other productivity methods, like 15-minute sprints (for cleaning, meal prep, e-mails, etc.) and anti-procrastination philosophies.

*Most important, I’m bringing God back into all areas of my life. I know this may sound hokey or weird, but I’ve found myself pushing God to the back burner, not waiting for or heeding or sometimes even seeking His guidance. That’s why this is a God-first year! More prayer, more listening, more Bible study to bring me into a place of close relationship with Him again.

With those 4 items in my arsenal, along with not biting off more than I can chew or taking my health for granted, I have high hopes for this year!

My Goals for January

  1. Re-install quiet times in the morning and make church a priority. I will start getting up at 6 a.m. to ensure I have time for Bible study and prayer before I start my work day around 6:30 a.m. I will also start preparing for church on Sunday the night before so that I have no excuses for not going unless someone is ill.
  2. Work with my doctor to start making lifestyle changes to improve my health. I have a doctor appointment today, the first one in over a year, with a new doctor. I need to go get my blood sugar under control as well as ensure that nothing else is out of control.
  3. Prepare Bellanok Part 3 for publication the first week in February. I need to finish writing/revising it by Jan. 10; get it back from my critiquers the following week; finish final revisions by Jan. 24; and then get it out to my proofreader/formatter. Whew! (This is what happens when you fall behind over the holidays.)
  4. Put out my first official newsletter to e-mail subscribers. (Sign up now if you haven’t already!)
The sweatshirt I'm wearing this morning!

The sweatshirt I’m wearing this morning!

Yes, I’m pushing myself this month. I need to. I need to see what I’m capable of with this new attitude. Like I said, I have high hopes for the year to come, and that will only happen if I’m healthy and wise.

What are a couple of your goals for January?

Let’s share and keep each other accountable! (If you leave your goals, I will put you on a list, which I will be praying over all month long. In next month’s goal post, I will list your name and goals at the bottom of the list and ask to see how you did! Won’t it be nice to share struggles and achievements?)

And a Spekkie New Year!

a spekkie new yearChristmas is over (phooey!), and we turn our attention to the coming year. It’s bright, and sparkly, and new. No one has messed it up yet. As we settle down to determine our aspirations and goals, it’s nice to see what others have up their sleeves.

I’ll be doing a whole set of posts on my goals and all that soon, so I won’t give away too much yet. (Sign up for my newsletter so you don’t miss the cool stuff I have planned!) I will say that I plan to conquer the small revisions on a couple of manuscripts and then write at least 2 more! And, of course, I continue to hope and pray that my editing business stays consistent (and growing). I love my jobs . . .

But what about other spekkie authors? What are their plans/goals for the New Year? I’m glad you asked . . .

 

Ronie Kendig:

  1. To be more protective of my time.
  2. As a result of being protective of my time, I will grow as a writer by having more time to learn better craft and be a stronger/better writer.
  3. To help others in the writing craft.

 

S.D. Grimm:

To finish my Children of the Blood Moon series—the first book in the series releases in October 2016, to write another novel, and to finish at least one more novella in a themed novella series that I’m starting. I know, pretty hefty goals! *cracks knuckles*

 

Amy McNew:

Writing goals for 2016:

  1. Get published!
  2. Submit more short stories, flash fiction, and articles.
  3. Finish books 2.5, and 3!

 

A.C. Williams:

My goals as an author for 2016 are mainly to keep producing great novels. I’ve got three novels that should be published in 2016, and my intention is to get three more ready for 2017. But goals need to stretch us. So one goal is continuing to write. A second goal is to take time to enjoy what I’m writing. I get really focused on what I’m doing most of the time, and pretty soon I lose the joy of storytelling. So in 2016, I want to slow down and really remember how to love the art of writing. And a third goal is to do a better job of worshipping God through my writing. Too often, writing is just something I do. I don’t think about it. I just do it. I want to continue to write, but I want to consciously thank the Lord for the ability to write. I don’t want to take it for granted, and I want to make sure that He gets the glory for everything I do. Writing isn’t hard for me. It’s remembering why I write that will stretch me in 2016.

 

Cindy Koepp:

  1. Do more marketing for the books I already have out. The first 3 came out while I was still teaching or eyeball deep in my Master’s so I didn’t do much with them. The 4th is coming out soon, and I have plans with Tomorrow Comes Media to do some interesting stuff.
  2. Write a novel, at least the draft of it. The idea for the sequel to Lines of Succession has been bouncing around in my brain.
  3. Since a serial didn’t go over real well on my blog, try flash or short fiction next.

 

C.W. Briar:

Self-publish a short-story collection, finish editing my debut novel, and have at least one short story published in an anthology.

 

Emilie Hendryx:

Finish up revisions on my manuscript Runaway, finish up my novel Thorn (first of four books), and read more craft books to continue honing my writing!

 

Nadine Brandes:

  1. Write the first draft of my next two new book ideas in a NaNoWriMo-type flash (aka: one month each.)
  2. Lighten my editing commitments so I can write more.
  3. Mentor new writers as they start the journey of editing and pitching and freaking out. 😉 I’m very passionate about this one.

 

Victoria Grace Howell:

Goodness! I have so many, but I’ll pick just three.  I want to finish my extended version of my steampunk fantasy novel Red Hood, write the first draft of the sequel of the aforementioned novel called Silver Hood, and edit the first book of my science-fiction series Subsapien.

 

Lindsay Franklin:

To finish and polish book 2 in my current series, to write book 3 in its entirety, and to decide what series I might want to work on next.

 

Kristen Stieffel:

  1. Publish my fantasy series … one way or another.
  2. Finish a trio of science fiction novellas set on Mars. The first appeared in the Medieval Mars Anthology.
  3. Develop a daily practice of writing 500 words (two pages) every morning before I start work.

 

J.L. Mbewe:

My three goals for 2016: publish Darkened Hope in the spring, write the third and final book in the Hidden Dagger trilogy, and publish Clans Divided in the fall/winter. Not so sure about that last one. That depends if there is anything to salvage from my attempt to write it during National Novel Writing Month. We shall see.

 

Josh Hardt:

  1. Read at least 12 (writing) craft books and 12 new-to-me novels. Both will help me be a better author.
  2. Finish Book One of the Vanguard Saga AND submit six short stories/flash fiction pieces to various places.
  3. Write 2 blogs a month.

 

Pam Halter:

  1. I want to finish the revisions on my fantasy novel, Fairyeater.
  2. As of Jan. 1st, 2016, I’ll be the editorial director for Bread & Jam Books (part of Fruitbearer Publishing), so I’ll be focused on learning that job and taking submissions.
  3. Getting my costume ready for Realm Makers, of course!!  😀

 

Ben Wolf:

  1. Finish three novels and one kids book.
  2. Edit my critique group’s collaborative novel so it’s ready for shopping around for publication.
  3. This is pseudo-writing-related, but I need to book a minimum of one speaking engagement per month separate from conferences so I can build my platform and speaking career that way.

 

Janeen Ippolito:

  1. Write and self-publish Character-Building From the Inside Out.
  2. Speak/teach at two events.
  3. Finish a fiction manuscript, have it professionally edited, and submit it to two publishing houses.

And now it’s YOUR turn! What are 3 of your goals for 2016?

December 2015 Goals

PIC1068506062So, we’re going to pretend that I didn’t make goals for November. Everyone okay with that? Seriously, though, it was another rough month for me. A lot of things kind of converging at the same time across the board, mostly because of illness pushing stuff back . . . again.

I didn’t accomplish any of my goals for November, but I did manage to make a little progress with my health. Yay for progress! (You know I like to keep things positive!)

Now we’re into December–the last month of the year! Can you believe it? I’m still kind of like, “It’s already 2015? Where did 2014 go?” Yes, I’m a bit behind the times, it seems. But I’m ready for Christmas as it is my favorite time of the year.

Anyway, here are my goals for December 2015:

1. Finish Bellanok: An Urgent Quest and prepare it for release. I plan to finish my edits in the next 10 days or so, and then get it off to my proofreader/formatter. While she’s got it, I’ll be making social media images and posts, organizing the release, and all that fun stuff. Yay!

2. Finish the next 2 parts of Bellanok, about 40,000 words working at 2,000 words/weekday, plus a little extra during my full work day on Saturdays. This goal is a little lofty. I don’t see being able to pull off something short of a NaNoWriMo during a busy holiday month, but it gives me a target to reach for.

3. My health is still one of my main concerns, and something God has really been convicting me about lately. So, once again, meal planning and prep is my baby step toward better health this month.

Being that December is a holiday month, I’m not going to commit to anything more than that. I want to be able to enjoy this month with family and friends and celebrate the real reason for the season.

What are YOUR goals for December?

Never Give Up! (by Ane Mulligan)

 

God invited you on this writing journey with Him, so even when discouragement hits—and it will—don’t give up. God kept the publishing door shut to me for many years. I first went to committee back in 2006. I didn’t get a contract, but I got an agent out of that trip.

I went ahead and wrote another book. The following year, my first manuscript found its way to committee again. Then the second one did. I was getting a lot of affirmation, but no contract. Then, the second book went to pub board. Then the editor retired and her hard drive got wiped clean. The one with my book on it.

Are you seeing a pattern? I was. And it told me God was telling me, “Not now. Not here.” So, I kept on writing. And writing. I had 5 completed, publishable novels by the time I finally got published.

So, if you’re languishing in that land of “Not Yet”, don’t get discouraged. Instead …

 

  • Start a new manuscript. Shelve the one that has you tied up in knots. That’s not a good way to write anyway. Rope burns aren’t pretty.
  • Write a blog post. Whine and kick cabinets, then pull up your big kid panties and get back to work.
  • Plant a garden. Plant one for me too. Digging in the dirt makes me really appreciate my clean keyboard.
  • Search on Novel Rocket for author interviews. We have a listing of all the interviews over the past 10 years. See how their journey went. You’ll find you’re not alone.
  • Try a new genre. If you write women’s fiction, try suspenseful women’s fiction.
  • Knit a scarf. If you’re going to quit, at least find something for your poor fingers to do. Otherwise, they’ll be air typing all the time and you’ll look even crazier than you do now.
  • Write a short story. Ahh, now here’s a piece of good advice. Short stories are a great place to tweak your voice, try writing first person, change genre (see above).
  • Hang out with uplifting people. They don’t pull you down.
  • Start a photography journal. A picture is worth a thousand lectures.
  • Send an encouraging email to another writer who’s discouraged. Then read what you wrote. Yeah. You really do know what to do.

 

And should your discouragement be from writers block, I’ve got good news for you. Really. You see, I’ve found from my age-gained wisdom (and yes, there’s one advantage of growing old) if you simply plant your backside in that chair and start to type, you’ll find inspiration.

One writer shared what she wrote in a spot of blockage: “What am I doing? This is absolute drivel, complete piles of steaming manure. But at least I have words on the page. Now, how did that pile of manure get there? And whose manure is it? ” She went on to say that eventually, the words began to take on meaning. Her characters took over again. They made her delete the drivel and write their story.

Whatever has you discouraged, look to the One Who invited you on this journey. He’s just waiting to inspire you again!

 

Thank you for sharing with us today, Ane! 

Ane has been gracious enough to offer a giveaway for either the Chapel Springs Cookbook or ebook of Chapel Springs Survival. Leave a comment to enter! 

 

Ane Mulligan_ headshotAbout the Author:

Ane Mulligan writes Southern-fried fiction served with a tall, sweet iced tea. She firmly believes coffee and chocolate are two of the four major food groups. Novelist and playwright, Ane is the executive director of Players Guild@Sugar Hill, a new community theater and president of the award-winning literary site, Novel Rocket. She resides in Sugar Hill, GA, with her artist husband and a dog of Biblical proportion. You can find Ane at her website, Novel Rocket, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Google+

 

Chapel Springs Survival

 

CSS Cover2A mail-order bride, a town overrun with tourists, and illegal art.  

How on earth will Claire and Chapel Springs survive?

Claire Bennett’s Operation Marriage Revival succeeded and life is good. That is until the mayor’s brother blabs a secret: Claire’s nineteen-year-old son has married a Brazilian mail order bride. When Claire tries to welcome her, she’s ridiculed, rebuffed, and rejected. Loving this girl is like hugging a prickly cactus.

Lydia Smith is happily living alone and running her spa—then the widow on the hill becomes a blushing bride. Then her groom’s adult son moves in—on everything.

From the first sighting of a country music star in The Painted Loon, Chapel Springs is inundated with stargazers, causing residents to flee the area. When her best friends put their house on the market, Claire is forced to do something or lose the closest thing to a sister she’s got. With her son’s future at stake and the town’s problems to solve, it’s Claire’s who needs a guardian angel.

 

 

 

 

Confidence in Uncertainty (by Jennifer Slattery)

cohdra_100_8769What would you do, if you knew you couldn’t possibly fail?

You’ve probably heard that question before, maybe at a conference, or perhaps you read it in a Facebook meme. We love questions like that, don’t we? They remind us of God’s incomprehensible power and faithful love. For surely, if He plants the desire within us, and if He calls us to it, the doors will begin to open fast and wide.

But what if I asked a different question? What would you do if you knew you might fail? If you knew the road would be hard and paved with setbacks? What if God was calling you to that road?

Same God. Same call. Vastly different questions. And for some, perhaps they result in vastly different answers.

But either way, the answer comes down to obedience.

When I first sensed God’s call to write, I fought Him. Oh, I dabbled in writing here and there, but my commitment, my determination? My surrender?

Not there.

I wanted to see results. I wanted guarantees—if I do X for Y amount of time, Z will happen. At the time I was going to school, pursuing a teaching degree. Then a chemistry degree. I considered geology. I could never quite settle on anything, because my heart was elsewhere. My heart was meant for story, regardless of how I fought against this.

The more I resisted God’s call, the more frustration I felt. The desire to write welled up within me until it was almost unbearable. But at this point, I’d jammed my schedule so full of classes; I didn’t have the time for much else.

In a way, I felt like Jonah. He knew what God wanted him to do, but God’s call didn’t mesh with Jonah’s plans. So he ran, hard and far, even to the point of asking sailors to throw him into the ocean.

But God pursued him and found him. Until all Jonah could do was surrender, and yet, even then, things didn’t turn out like Jonah had planned.

I was afraid, should I surrender, things wouldn’t go as I’d planned either, and I’d be left, decades later, with nothing to show for my efforts but a bunch of files on my computer.

So I asked God for reassurance, for guarantees.

Instead, He pointed me to a verse:

“I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat is planted in the soil and dies, it remains alone. But its death will produce many new kernels–a plentiful harvest of new lives” (NLT).

If I wanted to bear fruit, the kind that would last, I first had to die, truly die—to my will, my life-plan, my security.

God made it clear, I was to obey, without clinging to a safety net or forming a back-up plan, regardless of what lay ahead, whether or not I ever became published.

I was to obey simply because my Savior had asked me to.

That was back in 2009. I didn’t receive my first contract until 2013, and for four long years, God’s message to me was the same: I was to obey out of obedience alone.

Regardless of what lay ahead, where He directed me, or what became of my efforts.

His message to me today, three releases later, is the same.

But the surrender’s become easier, not because of my contracts, but because I realize in my very depths, He’s worth it.

And the divine intimacy I receive from walking in His will, that’s worth more than a thousand contracts.

Where are you in your writing journey? Have you just begun to answer the call? Whether you’ve just started writing or have dozens of titles to your name, this journey is tough and unpredictable, and if we’re not careful, the uncertainty of it all can paralyze us. But obedience and surrender? That frees us. How might focusing on obedience, rather than results, help you walk with determination and confidence?

 

BCheadshot2013About the Author:

Jennifer Slattery writes soul-stirring fiction for New Hope Publishers, Christian living articles for Crosswalk.com, and devotions for Internet Café Devotions, the group blog, Faith-filled Friends, and her personal blog. She also does content editing for Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas Firefly imprint, and loves working with authors who are serious about pursuing their calling. When not writing, reading, or editing, Jennifer loves going on mall dates with her adult daughter and coffee dates with her hilariously fun husband.

Visit with Jennifer online at JenniferSlatteryLivesOutLoud.com and connect with her on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/JenSlatte

 

Intertwined:

Abandoned by her husband for another woman, Tammy Kuhn, an organ procurement coordinator often finds herself in tense and bitter moments. After an altercation with a doctor, she is fighting to keep her job and her sanity when one late night she encounters her old flame Nick. She walks right into his moment of facing an unthinkable tragedy. Because they both have learned to find eternal purposes in every event and encounter, it doesn’t take long to discover that their lives are intertwined but the ICU is no place for romance….or is it? Could this be where life begins again?

Intertwined_N154121Intertwined, part of New Hope Publisher’s contemporary fiction line, is a great reminder of how God can turn our greatest tragedies and failures into beautiful acts of love and grace. Readers will fall in love with the realistic characters and enjoy the combination of depth, heart-felt emotion and humor that makes Jennifer’s novels so appealing. Readers will be inspired to find God in every moment and encounter in their own lives!

 

Buy it:

CBD: http://www.christianbook.com/intertwined-a-contemporary-romance-novel/jennifer-slattery/9781596694439/pd/694430?event=ESRCN

 

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Intertwined-Jennifer-Slattery/dp/1596694432/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

 

B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/intertwined-jennifer-slattery/1121268293?ean=9781596694439

 

 

November 2015 Goals

PIC1068506062I can hardly believe there are only 2 months left in 2015. It seems like just yesterday I was making plans and goals for the new year. Yet, here I am already . . .

I’m not going to make this a long post, because I’m already behind on a bunch of stuff and need all the extra time I can get to get ahead. (That in itself could be one goal–ha!)

Here are my goals for November:

  1. I want to complete Bellanok Part 2 in time to release it later this month.
  2. I have committed to NaNoWriMo (50,000 words on a new project in one month), and hope to finish Parts 3-5 of Bellanok.
  3. My husband and I are realizing our health needs to be a major focus in the coming months. I will no longer be relegating my health to the bottom of the list to “take care of everything else. This month, my focus is on menu planning. I have a menu plan and aim to stick with it!
  4. I am going to get a head start on holiday planning so I avoid any potential stress. I need to sit down and make a list of people for presents/cards, plan out our activities, and remember what the season is really all about.

What are YOUR goals for November?

ACFW . . . and Realm Makers

Wow! What a whirlwind ACFW conference this year! I really felt like it was here and gone and left me in a cloud of dust. As that dust clears, though, I think this may have been the most inspirational ACFW conference I’ve been to.

For those who may not know, ACFW stands for American Christian Fiction Writers, and they have an annual conference where hundreds of Christian writers from all genres gather together to learn, worship, and fellowship on a long weekend.

11200796_10207617348136891_6678106449078097704_nHighlights for me this year:

Meeting my roommates and spending time with them. (I didn’t know them beforehand, not even much from Facebook.)

 

Sharing with my agent and my hubby that one of the publishing houses requested a proposal for my fantasy trilogy. (Squeeeeeee!)

12002159_10206872257981054_1586155859840121746_n

Hanging out with my fellow spekkies from Realm Makers AND finding that there were several speculative fiction writers there who had not hear of Realm Makers and therefore getting to tell them about it! (Yes, that was a bad sentence.)

 

12004088_10207610882215247_5009947617500223860_nListening to the keynote speaker, Bill Myers, who is such a source of inspiration, laughter, and wisdom. I truly got the most out of his sessions than any other part of the conference this year.

 

Next year, the conference is in Nashville, much closer to my home. I’m so excited for that one!

 

Speaking of next year . . .

And about a completely different conference.

We now know the date and place for Realm Makers 2016!

 

And on that note, I’ll leave you with one last thought that I gleaned from Bill Myers.

2016-announcement-copy

“The key to my success is that I’m a crybaby. I’m a coward. And I’m a moron. But I always say YES to God.”

 

This quote is going up on my wall tomorrow and will be my inspiration for the rest of the year. Amen!

Who are You? (by Wendy Reese)

Jesus knew who He was, but made the point to ask his disciples if they knew as they gathered one night in Caesarea. Only Peter identified Him as Messiah. Before the resurrection, most of Jesus’ followers weren’t sure who He was.  To recall that same night, “… John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” (Matt: 16:14). But after the resurrection, his followers understood who He truly was and why He came.

“But, Wendy,” you ask, “What does this have to do with me?”

Here’s what I’m getting at: Do you know who you are? Unless you truly understand His identity, you won’t understand your own–and with that, the glorious gifts you possess to honor Him.

Yes, there are the spiritual gifts mentioned in Isaiah, Acts, and 1Corinthians that we all know, but what of writers, artists, dancers, and musicians, to name a few? So can we ask, “Are the arts counted as anointed to share with others?” Of course, when surrendered to the One who gave them in the first place. Then they will edify you and others as all draw closer to Jesus.

You are unique! There is only one of you. God designed you long before you were conceived. Check out Psalm 139.

My musings of God’s possible thoughts … “I’ll give her/him long legs to dance. I’ll give him/her agility to finger instruments into beautiful music. There will be writers to express imaginative imagery, challenging the doubtful to find My truth. There will be artists mixing colors to brush creative images upon blank canvases, just as I did when creating the world. And to this one I will give …”

Please forgive my pretense. Only our dear Father knows His own thoughts and words when He spoke our lives into existence for His glory. But in saying that, I feel that we sometimes misplace ourselves into false molds. Do we imitate someone else’s gifts because they’ve been noticed and have become popular?  In many instances, finding ourselves inadequate with the end result instead of drawing from the fresh, creative well of God’s provision placed within us?

What do you write? What do you paint? Do all artists paint portraits? Do all writers pen westerns? Makes me think of scriptures that say, “Sing to the Lord a new song.” Psalm 96:1 as an example.

Frank Peretti broke ground with the subject of spiritual warfare in Christian fiction. I can’t recall anyone else at that time who braved through such a difficult, but needed subject. If anything, I came away from his books better educated and spiritually insightful–hence, my own genre of speculative fiction.

Take a leap of faith! Within prayer, sincerely look at the core of your creative unction. Does it edify? Is it Word-based? Many would say unless you specifically pen Bible phrases in your stories, paint only Bible characters, or dance Israeli folk dancing, you’ve strayed away from the Truth. Really? There’s nothing better than speaking the Word of God, right? Right, but His Word has laid the foundation of everything we experience which glorifies Him.

When I sit on a beach, breathing long breaths of salty air, I listen to the swash and sway of whitewater slapping the sand. My heart swells with gratitude for the One whose creativity made it possible for me to enjoy it all. I view His Word. I smell His Word. I listen to songs that only He could create: His earth’s natural rhythm. Sometimes a soft melody of dancing waves while in another time and place, the roar of sweeping winds that drum across an open prairie, sending animals to burrow into the safety of their homes which He created for them.

Jer:33:3 says, “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.” Prophetic for Jeremiah? Yes. Prophetic about your place in this world? Yes.

Who are you?

 

WendyAuthor BIO:

W.G. Reese (Wendy) is a Southern California Beach Native who now lives in the mountainous panhandle of North Idaho.  A story teller since childhood, the wonders of God’s creative gifts has always inspired her imagination. As a lover of sci-fi/fantasy (a Trekkie and not ashamed of it)…her metaphoric writings resonate with the possibility of worlds beyond. Blessed with a loving family and friends that walk alongside, she holds no greater awe than the love of Jesus Christ.

 

Links  http://www.amazon.com/Visitor-W-G-Reese/dp/1938708571/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/963527873671518/

 

VisitorBlurb-

Christian Fantasy / Speculative Fiction

The divine blessings of Sior transformed the world of Ariel Leun into a paradise where people enjoy long lives in the company of mystical creatures. Winn, a transplant from the dark world of Draugh, reigns as a beloved King with his trusted advisor Caelan at his side, until the death of his Queen sends him spiraling into despair. Banishing Caelan and neglectful of his duties, King Winn is unaware that an old enemy, Garthpha, plots to take the throne.

Rebelling against their father’s retreat into seclusion, the heirs of Ariel Leun travel the passages of the Red Stone to Draugh where four warring Kings scheme to capture them, exploit their inner light, and deliver them to Garthpha as tribute. Can the children be rescued before their light is extinguished and evil takes the throne of Ariel Leun, plunging it into darkness?

September 2015 Goals

PIC1068506062Ah, summer is finally gone. I can smell the start of autumn in the cool night air. My frustrations with heat and humidity combined with allergies and taking on too much made for a sick Ralene for most of the summer. Also, I realized that not taking my goals and priorities seriously caused a lot of the problems.

That brings us into September. A new month–a time for change. We’re done with the craziness of summer and ready to embrace the glories of fall and prepare for my favorite time of year–the holiday season between Halloween and New Years! But I digress . . . here are my goals for September!

 

1. Rediscover my priorities and develop a schedule that reflects said priorities. I have the coming weekend to think over things and decide what is most important and how much time I need to devote to the important things–and how flexible I need to be. Then I need to draft a schedule and talk it over with my hubby.

2. Finish editing Bellanok Pt. 1 and get it ready for publishing, then write Bellanok Pt. 2 & 3. I’m going to be setting a goal of 2,000 words/day, which would be 48,000 for the month. Ambitious, especially considering I have ACFW later in the month. Eep!

3. Reinstate family night and date night. With Ray’s school hours this year and my hectic work schedule, we have let go of these precious and important experiences. So, when I make up the schedule, I will choose a night for both and start planning out some family/date fun!

 

Baby steps. Those are important for me. Big chunks make me freeze. Anyone else like that? I keep thinking I can take on big chunks, but then when I fail I think I AM A FAILURE. Instead, I need to make sure I’m setting myself up for success. And, when I do fail, it is an opportunity to try again!

 

What are your goals for September? Let’s keep each other accountable!