But what if someone doesn't like what I write? What if I hurt someone's feelings? It's going to happen whether it's our intent or not, so we just have to get over ourselves.
Years ago my husband and I read Dr. Wayne Dyer's Your Erroneous Zones. Dyer said whatever we do, half the people won't like it. James Patterson, interviewed in the July 5, 2010 issue of Time Magazine, page 8, said this: "There are thousands of people who don't like what I do. Fortunately, there are millions who do."
So don't let the possibility of criticism stand in your way of seeking publication. Criticism will come. We can count on it.
Monday, June 28, 2010
Monday, May 31, 2010
Stay Away From the Freezer
I've been at the computer over an hour this morning making several false starts. It's one of those days I should probably be up steam cleaning my carpets for all the good I'm doing here. At least then I'd have something to show for my day.
When the ideas aren't flowing, we can do something creative and beneficial without guilt rather than eat our frustration away. Or at least that's what I'm telling my waistline. Besides, we're out of ice cream. I've checked. (A bit of fiction for humor).
When the ideas aren't flowing, we can do something creative and beneficial without guilt rather than eat our frustration away. Or at least that's what I'm telling my waistline. Besides, we're out of ice cream. I've checked. (A bit of fiction for humor).
Thursday, April 8, 2010
How God Works, for Writers
Do you ever write something--a letter to a friend or an article for publication--and then debate with yourself, "Send? Or sit on it?" I think something's wrong with my "send" button. My "sit-on-it" option usually wins.
This morning I was engaged in such a debate about something I'd written for a magazine for teens. When I got up from the computer to duke it out with myself while I made a pot of coffee, I left a forwarded e-mail on the screen unread. When I came back to the computer, my eyes fell on the last line. "If you pass this on, you could very well save someone a lot of pain and suffering." The article was on boiling water in the microwave, not about writing, but I got the message. Someone needed to hear what I had to say.
It's just a short piece. If accepted for publication, the pay is only $25, but publishing isn't always, or even often, about the money. Saving someone pain and suffering is reason to write and send.
This morning I was engaged in such a debate about something I'd written for a magazine for teens. When I got up from the computer to duke it out with myself while I made a pot of coffee, I left a forwarded e-mail on the screen unread. When I came back to the computer, my eyes fell on the last line. "If you pass this on, you could very well save someone a lot of pain and suffering." The article was on boiling water in the microwave, not about writing, but I got the message. Someone needed to hear what I had to say.
It's just a short piece. If accepted for publication, the pay is only $25, but publishing isn't always, or even often, about the money. Saving someone pain and suffering is reason to write and send.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Change
Last spring I wrote a post about why I write in my pajamas. Who was that woman? Surely someone I used to know.
It is now 7:00 a.m. Dressed in jeans and a black long-sleeved polyester-blend blouse with white collar, no shoes, I've been at the computer for most of the past hour. I've proofed a manuscript I want to send off today and have searched Sally Stuart's Christian Writers' Market Guide for possible markets for a piece about the process of writing. I've had coffee with my husband, and we've talked about the day's plans and the morning headlines. Duke defeated Butler. Bummer.
I'm not sure when the change occurred, when I started dressing to write, but I made the change out of consideration for my husband. When he walks out the door for work, I'd like him to have a better image of me than sitting at the computer with pink plaid sleep pants topped with an ancient pink fuzzy shirt. Over the past few months, I got a new hair style. I bought a few new outfits. I've "spruced up." Maybe it's spring. Maybe I'm coming out of a depression. Maybe I no longer have reason or time to stay in my pajamas.
That, and I overheard a woman in the water color class I'm taking make a confession. Most days, she says, she stays in her pajamas until about an hour before her husband gets home, then she puts it in high gear, dresses, rips through the house picking up, starts supper, and probably meets him at the door with a drink in hand. She didn't mention the drink, but if she can get all that done in an hour, my hat is off to her. And she's not a writer.
The myth is shattered. Ordinary people can dress like writers? What is the world coming to? Are there no boundaries?
It is now 7:00 a.m. Dressed in jeans and a black long-sleeved polyester-blend blouse with white collar, no shoes, I've been at the computer for most of the past hour. I've proofed a manuscript I want to send off today and have searched Sally Stuart's Christian Writers' Market Guide for possible markets for a piece about the process of writing. I've had coffee with my husband, and we've talked about the day's plans and the morning headlines. Duke defeated Butler. Bummer.
I'm not sure when the change occurred, when I started dressing to write, but I made the change out of consideration for my husband. When he walks out the door for work, I'd like him to have a better image of me than sitting at the computer with pink plaid sleep pants topped with an ancient pink fuzzy shirt. Over the past few months, I got a new hair style. I bought a few new outfits. I've "spruced up." Maybe it's spring. Maybe I'm coming out of a depression. Maybe I no longer have reason or time to stay in my pajamas.
That, and I overheard a woman in the water color class I'm taking make a confession. Most days, she says, she stays in her pajamas until about an hour before her husband gets home, then she puts it in high gear, dresses, rips through the house picking up, starts supper, and probably meets him at the door with a drink in hand. She didn't mention the drink, but if she can get all that done in an hour, my hat is off to her. And she's not a writer.
The myth is shattered. Ordinary people can dress like writers? What is the world coming to? Are there no boundaries?
Monday, April 5, 2010
Reading Betty
Recently when my writer friend Betty and I got together for lunch, I asked her read two articles I wanted to submit. The first piece of 250 words took her a very long time to read. Maybe she was searching for the words to tell me the article was a little off, in her opinion.
The second piece I wasn't too sure about, but Betty liked it. "Submit this one," she said. I did, and just got notice that it was accepted for publication in October, 2011. And the other piece? Well, let's just say I get a chance to find another editor who might like it better than the first one I sent it to.
The second piece I wasn't too sure about, but Betty liked it. "Submit this one," she said. I did, and just got notice that it was accepted for publication in October, 2011. And the other piece? Well, let's just say I get a chance to find another editor who might like it better than the first one I sent it to.
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Writing What I Need
You've probably heard the encouragement to write what you like to read. What about write what you need to read?
Many of us have a calling. I know a man who preaches grace. Grace grace grace grace grace, the same message week after week after week. I've had one word that has motivated my life: love. Love love love love love in word and action.
The writing I've done has primarily been to encourage the church. I've written/published devotionals, inspirational stories/encouraging word tracts. By "church," I mean the body of Christ, not a particular group, denomination or building.
Encouragement must be my calling. I'm here on the side-lines cheering others on. You can do it! I know you can do it! I believe in you! Whoa, great pass! Go, team! Then, just a few weeks ago, I heard a pastor say, you know, what the church needs is more encouragers. More encouragers? That's something I can do. Here I am, ready for action, sir.
I do what I need, I think. I need a lot of encouragement. Sometimes I need someone to stand close to my right ear and scream, YOU CAN DO IT! I KNOW YOU CAN DO IT! YOU GET OUT THERE AND GO, GIRL! Encouraging others is a way to encourage myself.
You know the hell fire and brimstone preacher who rails against sexual impurity making the front pages because, well, you know. He hasn't been practicing what he preaches. I think his sermons are calls for help. Maybe my writing is a call for help. Help me! I need some encouragement here!
We all go through stuff. And in the muddle, we need something good to read, like a book on how-to-get-out-of-this-mess-I've-created, written by someone who's already been there. Who doesn't need a good laugh? Who doesn't really need to see themselves more realistically or see others more compassionately? I do. And who doesn't need to write a really bad book to inspire others to do it better? I saw a movie like that two nights ago. They call that a plot? I could do better. So . . . ?
If you are an encourager, a how-to-er, a make-'em-double-over-in-laughter-er, one who inspires, then somebody needs you. Don't just sit there. Write something brilliant.
Many of us have a calling. I know a man who preaches grace. Grace grace grace grace grace, the same message week after week after week. I've had one word that has motivated my life: love. Love love love love love in word and action.
The writing I've done has primarily been to encourage the church. I've written/published devotionals, inspirational stories/encouraging word tracts. By "church," I mean the body of Christ, not a particular group, denomination or building.
Encouragement must be my calling. I'm here on the side-lines cheering others on. You can do it! I know you can do it! I believe in you! Whoa, great pass! Go, team! Then, just a few weeks ago, I heard a pastor say, you know, what the church needs is more encouragers. More encouragers? That's something I can do. Here I am, ready for action, sir.
I do what I need, I think. I need a lot of encouragement. Sometimes I need someone to stand close to my right ear and scream, YOU CAN DO IT! I KNOW YOU CAN DO IT! YOU GET OUT THERE AND GO, GIRL! Encouraging others is a way to encourage myself.
You know the hell fire and brimstone preacher who rails against sexual impurity making the front pages because, well, you know. He hasn't been practicing what he preaches. I think his sermons are calls for help. Maybe my writing is a call for help. Help me! I need some encouragement here!
We all go through stuff. And in the muddle, we need something good to read, like a book on how-to-get-out-of-this-mess-I've-created, written by someone who's already been there. Who doesn't need a good laugh? Who doesn't really need to see themselves more realistically or see others more compassionately? I do. And who doesn't need to write a really bad book to inspire others to do it better? I saw a movie like that two nights ago. They call that a plot? I could do better. So . . . ?
If you are an encourager, a how-to-er, a make-'em-double-over-in-laughter-er, one who inspires, then somebody needs you. Don't just sit there. Write something brilliant.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
The Big Why
Why do we write? Many write because it's their job, their source of income. They have deadlines to meet, time pressures. And we're envious. Some write out of their passion. But there are many of us who may be tempted to think our words on the page aren't significant because we're not disciplined enough to write that novel or persistent enough to see what we've written gets in print. So why do we write?
Here are a few reasons I've come up with:
- for our own pleasure
- for our own health
- for the enjoyment of others
- to entertain
- to tell a story
- to share an opinion
- to record history
- to right a wrong
- to make others laugh
- to give an update
- to be light in darkness
- to teach
- to leave a legacy
- for the children
- for our children
- for our families
- to comfort
- to lift up
- to encourage
- to edify
Some of those reasons may not give you a ready market, but if the impulse to write reverberates in your heart, yield to it. You can have a reading audience of one --or two, or two thousand, and still be significant. Your words might be just what others are waiting for -- evidence that they matter, that there is a God who knows their need and meets that need through someone else's words.
Bridge the gap. Fulfill your destiny. Write, even if at times it's just for your own edification. I've been surprised to find my own words written for another purpose come back home to encourage me.
~ ~ ~
From an e-mail received this morning in response to a note written to comfort: "You know how God does things. I just happened to be sitting in front of our computer when your e-mail popped up. What a glorious revelation. There is a smile on my face even now as I type this. Thank you so much for sharing it." The memorial service for this man's son was a week ago.
first published 11/07/08
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