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Of Orchids and Dandelions
“Medicine, business, law, engineering… these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are the things that we live for.” ~ Robin Williams in Dead Poet’s Society There is one key element of my writer’s journey, which has launched me to each next level of craft mastery and publication. What is the secret? More on that in a minute. First, some context is necessary. I was a bit of a jerk growing up, or, as one person rightly said, insufferable snob. I weaved my way through life, breezing through high school with my buddies and a few years of college with the guys. I…
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A New Rhythm
I host a church small group in my home once a week, and this most recent gathering, I was in the spotlight, to give my testimony. Unfortunately, I’d gotten no sleep the night before *classic insomniac here* and was finding it difficult, in my groggy condition, to condense five decades of walking with Christ and my fellow believers on this pilgrim journey. That thought, Pilgrim Journey, gave me an idea. About a decade ago, and for six or seven years, I blogged regularly—several times a month—about my life, relationships, parenting, God—all with an emphasis on my worldview as a believing (although not very traditional) Christian. I pulled out a few…
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Of Mysteries, Sacred Things, and Finishing
“Flannery O’Connor is one of my favorite storytellers… In Mystery and Manners, she wrote of the challenges to write about religious insight in an age of modern doubt and skepticism. But times have changed since 1959 when she wrote this. Since that time, Modernism has given fully to Postmodernism, and now our culture seeks transformation instead of doubt or play. Skepticism about the spiritual is coming to its breaking point. People yearn for transformative experience. We see all around us a desire for the mystical… People seek transformation where it can be found, most notably in the gothic or shadows…”* As I zero in on the final chapters of what…
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Wrestling With the Craft, Together
My friend and fellow ICW member Angela and I had a brief FB discussion today about how we visualize our writing. This season of her journey, she compares finding the right words to Jacob wrestling the angel for the blessing. It’s a great analogy. Whereas, I’m at a phase of novel revision in which crafting, molding, refiring and refining again—wordsmithing—is how I picture my work. This made me think of all the different writing phases where we ICW writers find ourselves this holiday season, as we walk this journey together. There are proven techniques for crafting a good book or novel, and also for successfully becoming a published author. But…
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Writing That Transforms
I thought, “How cool is that? The idea that acceptance, simple grace, is the first step in a transformation.” The implications of that idea are mind-blowing...
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Write Regularly (Here’s How…and Why)
We all have those hours somewhere, we just don’t take advantage of them because resistance tells us they’re not enough – we’re not enough. But it will be enough, and so are you.
