Be An Encouragement!

I got an unexpected email today from a family friend. He's not someone I normally correspond with. I mean, we've never exchanged a text, a letter, or a Christmas card. We aren't Facebook friends or phone buddies. Our families just happen to be friends and he had to ask for my address from one of them.

Apparently, a chance conversation between us lingered in his mind. He wrote to encourage me about our discussion. His words poured like water on parched land. I soaked them up and read them again. The power of the written word is that I was able to do that, to savor his thoughts.

Years ago, when people corresponded by letters, many of them saved their mail. My grandmother cherished her letters and never threw one away. She was buried with all the letters my grandfather ever wrote to her. There was an art to letter writing that has been largely ignored today. And that's a shame. My friend brightened my day when he sent those thoughtful words.

The New Testament is filled with exhortations to encourage one another. In 1 Thessalonians 5:11, Paul writes, "Therefore, encourage one another and build up one another."

How many times have you thought of praising someone only you got too busy and never followed through? How many times have you brushed aside good intentions?

While you're pursuing publication, don't let a daily word count cause you to forget to encourage the people in your sphere of influence. Don't get so caught up with the people (characters) who only live inside your head that you fail to encourage those you live or work with. Write words to personally inspire those you love and admire.

~Roxanne Sherwood

A bit of writing humor

Photo from lolcats.com



My daughter Amy shared this photo with me, knowing both the editor and writer in me would appreciate it.
And now, I share it with you.
A mid-week dose of humor! Happy Wednesday!

A Full Mind and a Blank Writing Slate

“The pages are still blank, but there is a miraculous feeling of the words being there, written in invisible ink and clamoring to become visible.”—Vladimir Nabokov

My writing slate today is blank for this blog. A chapter I’m writing consumes my creativity and my mind. One quote “Birds fly because they think they can” started my creative process churning. The first 250 words of the chapter practically wrote themselves and then—nothing. Research about the specific bird featured in this chapter generated no creative ideas. Not one. Even the Bible verses seem obtuse. Yet, like talons gripping its prey, the topic refused to release me from its grip.

I wondered, How do I employ this bird’s spiritual and physical characteristics in a fresh way to apply a spiritual truth? Much of what I researched or read about the bird in question sounded trite or dull, at least to me.

I began by re-saving my research into a new document. I highlighted fascinating ideas or thoughts that grabbed my heart and deleted uninteresting information. Then I listed seven possible talking points. In the dark of the night, one talking point woke me up with a spiritual application that amazed me.

At times clarifying an idea into thoughts into writable prose moves forward at glacial speed and other times it speeds along at Mach 1, faster than the speed of typing fingers. If only we could patent Mach 1 Ink that penetrates our mind at the speed of light.

Contest Winner: Reba won the copy of Susan May Warren's latest book, Licensed for Trouble.

Licensed for Trouble by Susan May Warren (Two contests for you to enter!)

I've been a fan of author Susan May Warren's PJ Sugar series from the get-go. I'm thrilled to say she didn't disappoint me in book three, Licensed for Trouble, the final installment in the series. It's so satisfying when an author starts a series strong and finishes it so masterfully with both humor and spiritual insights.
All the questions that were left unanswered from the first two books--Nothing But Trouble and Double Trouble--get answered, with a few unexpected surprises thrown in.
Do you find out what the initials PJ stand for? Yep.
Do you find out who PJ chooses--Boone, the man from her past or Jeremy, the man who helps her see herself in a whole new way? Yep.
Does PJ get into all sorts of trouble? Well, of course she does. And along the way she dresses up as a hotdog and a turkey--I'm not kidding you!--tries to catch a bail jumper, discovers she's inherited a mansion and tries to help a handyman regain his memory.
It's life PJ Sugar style, written with Susie's flair for humor. You hate to finish the book, no matter that you're smiling because PJ's managed to overcome her self-doubts and embrace her future--and find love with the right guy. (But I'm not saying who he is!) When I got to the end, I kept returning to my favorite scenes again and again.

Leave a comment below for a chance to win a copy of Licensed for Trouble! And check out Susie's contest too for a chance to win a Kindle loaded with her PJ Sugar Series.

Enter PJ Sugar's "Sweet" Giveaway:

Licensed for Trouble, Susan's brand new PJ Sugar novel, is in stores now! To celebrate the release, we’re giving away a Kindle!! You can enter using Twitter, Facebook, or e-mail using the icons below.

One Grand Prize winner will receive a A SWEET Kindle prize package that includes:

• A brand new Kindle (Free 3G, 6”, Latest Generation)



• The entire PJ Sugar series by Susan May Warren
  
  

Oh, and enter soon! Winner will be announced on September 2nd.

Be sure to check out the blog tour here or purchase a copy of Licensed for Trouble here!

What Are You Willing to Give Up?

A young mother of two-year-old twins wanted to start a home-based business. She decided to put everything aside for a season, except for the responsibilities of caring for her young family. Having toddler twins, she'd already given up hobbies. What else could be cut from an already full schedule in order to give her business room to grow? She examined her daily and weekly schedule, then made changes to her lifestyle. She whittled down meal preparation to a minimum by rotating two weekly menus. Her husband didn't mind because she'd chosen some easy favorites. She completely stopped entertaining and didn't accept invitations. She literally didn't do anything more than take care of her family and concentrate on her career. In time, her children thrived and so did the business. Once she made a decent profit, she hired help. With a little more free time, she began finding balance and adding back into her life some of the things she'd given up, like entertaining.

For our large family, dining out was a rare luxury. My husband would eat cheaply on his business trips, then treat us to pizza with the money he'd saved. Today, with half the family working and attending college, I don't feed as many kiddos. So pizza has become standard fare for the younger boys. But I don't mind giving up preparing a home-cooked meal once a week. Not at all. That's one sacrifice I make gladly.


I don't enjoy cleaning my house but I really appreciate a neat environment. In the past, friends would look around my home and say, "Wow. You've got seven kids, yet it's so clean." I really liked the "wow." Prided myself on it, in fact. But think of all the books that might have been written, if I'd cleaned a little less, written a bit more. Well, no one says "wow" about the house today. And that's okay by me. I'm holding out for the potential some day to hear a "wow" about a book I've written.

Now, my youngest child attends preschool a few hours each day. Like nearly everyone in our fast-paced society, a long list of demands could easily fill those hours. But I refuse to use that premium writing time to de-clutter or organize my home. My motto of "work before play" meant I'd always cleaned house, then if I had time to spare, I'd write. Writing was merely a hobby I hoped would become my vocation. I must view writing as my work. So I need to take my job seriously and cut out the things--besides taking care of my family or my relationship with God--that prevent me from reaching my dream of publication.

No one reaches success in sports or business without great sacrifices of time, money, or even relationships. These decisions aren't made lightly. Yet, every day, we decide how dedicated we are about writing when we choose how to spend our time.

What hinders your writing? What changes can you to make? What are you willing sacrifice to make your dreams come true?

~Roxanne Sherwood

Finding Time to Write: Time Management or Mind Management?

“Be careful of your thoughts, they may become words at any moment.” —Iara Gassen

Two members new to a critique group asked, “Can we talk about time management?” Since the last meeting they had not found time to write. Their question made me wonder, “Is writing about time or mind management?”

In our critique group meeting we brainstormed the topic from life distracts us from writing to listing specific ways to write regularly. One member suggested that certain personality types cannot put words to paper until they’ve mulled over what they want to write and it’s perfect. Others just go for it and spill words all over the page.

Are You a Spiller or a Muller?

Being a spiller, not a muller, her observation never occurred to me. My thoughts spill out over napkins, notepads, journals, empty, torn bill envelopes, church bulletins, tithe envelopes, deposit slips—anything at hand to corral my thoughts, lest I loose them. I sleep with my computer beside my bed. I often wake in the night or at dawn with that perfect idea, sentence or paragraph spilling out of my mind. It’s just dying to be captured before escaping my memory forever.

Sometimes I think writers wait for their muse to show up. Seth Godin wrote in his blogpost Finding Inspiration Instead of It Finding You: “One approach to innovation and brainstorming is to wait for the muse to appear, to hope that it alights on your shoulder, to be ready to write down whatever comes to you. The other is to seek it out, will it to appear, train it to arrive on time and on command."

My take on Godin’s suggestion? Waiting for the muse to arrive plays into writer’s fright, giving us an excuse not to write. Sitting down and writing challenges our fears, training our muse to show up on command.

Once upon a time, my writing life and muse was mañana. My writing theme song? “Tomorrow! Tomorrow! I love ya tomorrow! You're always a day a way!” The mañana mindset stole away my writing life today. That’s when I decided to start Inkspired. I needed a critique group to hold me accountable. Being deadline driven, I also wanted regular critique deadlines to motivate me to sit down and write. At that time, I worked in a corporate setting. By the time I drove home, fixed dinner, cleaned up, and relaxed, I felt too exhausted to write. I decided to stay after work and exhaust myself writing and email the document to myself. As I dropped into bed, I’d read what I wrote.

Now that I write everyday on purpose, my mind mulls over what I’m writing while I conduct my daily routines of laundry, cleaning, gardening, cooking, and face the ups and downs of life. When mind management kicks in, does time management become less of an obstacle to writing regularly?

Figuring People Out: Birth Order and Your Characters

Photo by surely/stockxchange.com


So, there's a new man in my life and I can't figure him out.
Sure, he's just imaginary--the hero for my new work in progress (WIP). But it's driving me crazy that I can't nail his personality. Who is this guy?!
I've chatted about him in my critique group. I've even talked to my husband about him, if you can believe that!
This week I pulled out my dog-eared workbook from last year's MBT Storycrafter's Retreat. One thing bestselling author Susan May Warren suggests is to interview your character. During the interview, ask your character, "Who are you?" Keep asking why they do the things they do until you get to their motivations and values.
Okay. I've gotten over the listening to/talking back to the voices in my head thing that fiction writers do.
As I tried to get my guy--his name is Caleb--to tell me who he is, I realized he's a firstborn son. Aha! Time to do some research on birth order.
Dr. Kevin Leman wrote probably the best known book on birth order: The Birth Order Book: Why You Are the Way You Are.
Basically, the birth order theory states that your position in your family--firstborn, middle child, youngest--influences your personality. What does birth order mean for Caleb, who is a firstborn son--and, for all intents and purposes, an only child? (I'm not telling you anything more because it will give away my story. Curious?)
Traits of Firstborn Children:

• confident
• organized
• tend to be selfish
• feel as though they are never good enough (hhhmm, interesting!)
• want things their way
• reliable
• "grin and bear it" mentality
• perfectionists
• logical

One website I checked out, The Effects of Birth Order on Personality, even suggested that firstborns gravitated to jobs in law, medicine, computer programming or architecture. That doesn't mean that Caleb's going to be a doctor or a lawyer, but it's given me some things to think about.

Next time you're trying to understand a character in your WIP, ask him or her, "What's your family like? Are you the oldest or the youngest?" Then do a little research on birth order--and weave that information into the story.

Birth Order (Child Development Institute)
Birth Order (Wikipedia)
The Power of Birth Order (Time magazine)