Praying for the Victims of the Colorado Shootings

I live 8 minutes from New Life Church, the site of one of the shootings yesterday in Colorado.
Sometimes life is ... unexplainable. Painfully unexplainable.

I don't know why I tend to watch the news over and over. Maybe it's the journalist/reporter in me. I know what it's like to be on deadline and to need a story--the details, the quotes. And I remember the dance between the media and the police: How much information will they give out? (Answer: not much.)

I think sometimes I'm waiting for a bit of good news to come out of something so, so horribly tragic ... and I keep praying for the victims who've been injured, and for the security guard who saved so many lives by confronting the shooter at New Life Church.

And, yes, I know this post has nothing to do with writing--and yet, in an odd way it does. We write from our hearts, don't we? And all that is in my heart at this moment feels like unshed tears for all those who were killed yesterday--and their family and friends.

I pray for God to comfort them.

Somehow.

Where Have All The Writers Gone?

I'm at a conference all day today, so this will be short and sweet. Plus I'm under a deadline for an article due Monday and I've had my daughter home from school for almost three weeks now. Her school discovered they had a mold issue. Anyway, I'm juggling like most mom writers. And I haven't even started my Christmas shopping. I try to tell myself I work better under pressure. But actually I feel like a bag of microwave popcorn popping all over the place. Someone let me out. Okay, enough of me.

One quick question: Where are you, writers? Are you busy with Christmas baking and shopping? I've noticed no one is commenting on our blog the past couple of days. Beth and I miss hearing from you.

Do you have any burning questions we can discuss? Chime in anytime. No rules. Feel free to write on or off topic. Remember we are in the beginning phase of this blog. We'd love to know what you want to talk about.

If a Picture is Worth a Thousand Words # 5

What would you write for this photo?

We started this blog feature during NaBloPoMo, consigning it to Sundays. We decided to bring it out during the week, hoping to get some more involvement. (Things get quiet in the blogosphere during the weekends. )

So, post some comments--fiction or non-fiction.

You could always start by humming "Walking in a winter wonderland ..."

Find Your Voice

The first time I heard about my writing voice I had no clue what it was or why it mattered. The term sounded almost mystical. The word "voice" made me think of audible sounds. High and low pitched tones. Obviously my writing voice is silent and yet readers can hear it.
So how can you discover yours?

I recommend writing from your heart. Your writing voice stems from within deep you. How you think and express yourself will eventually come out through words and phrases. If you focus on trying to have a certain voice you will get stumped. I think the best way to find your writing voice is to write daily. Even if you write in a journal. And don't worry about the fact you have fragments. Put them in. And keep writing. Writing rules can be broken when it comes to incomplete sentences. I love using them. So do others like Max Lucado. Obviously too many fragments is annoying to any reader. Balance is key.

Here's a quote worth pondering from On Writing Well:

My commodity as a writer, whatever I'm writing about, is me. And your commodity is you. Don't alter your voice to fit your subject. Develop one voice that readers will recognize when they hear it on the page, a voice that is enjoyable not only in its musical line but in its avoidance of sounds that would cheapen its tone: breeziness and condescension and cliches.

And Our Second Winner Is:

Anna J!

Congrats, Anna, for entering our second giveaway. You won. Beth and I are happy to send you Jerry Jenkins newest book on writing. Please visit the link on the side called Contact Beth and give us your address. We'll ship out your book right away.

Thank you to all of you who commented during the last couple of weeks. We're glad to have new writing friends.

Be sure to post your thoughts to Beth's post earlier today. We want to know where you are.

God bless!

Okay, You Tell Me ...

X marks the spot, right?

So, where are you along the writing road?

Is it where you want to be?

If so, how did you get there? Did somebody help you? Did a particular book or workshop at writers conference help you?

If you're not where you want to be, what are your plans to get moving in the right direction?

Just curious.

Where are you?

We'll post the contest winner later today!

NaBloPoMo is Over!

All done with National Blog Posting Month!

Now, why do I still hear the sound of my fingers typing on my computer keyboard?!?!

Tiffany and I will announce the winner of our Let's Get This Blog Started Part 2 contest on Monday!