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Pumpkins, Puppies, Pirates, and Professors!
Fall has finally come! And with it come college classes! You heard me right, I’m starting college. If you had told me a few months ago I would be going to college, I wouldn’t have believed you. In fact, I might have laughed. But after much prayer and discussion, my parents and I decided this would be the best route for me. I’m getting a degree in English and Creative Writing through Liberty University Online. That means I get to stay at home and do all my class work on my laptop! No dorms! No cafeteria food! I’m pretty excited about getting started! My first day is Monday, the 21st.…
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Not Squirrels–Things We Call Distractions, But Really Aren’t
A few weeks ago, we talked about my dog Reese who loves squirrels. I compared her obsessive focus on the furry beasts to a writer’s tendency to chase “squirrels” when he should be writing. You can find that post here! Today I’d like to address another problem that has come up in my own life. That is the subject of “not-squirrels” or things we think are distractions but actually aren’t. God and Church Do you know how tempting it is to skip or shorten your devotional time so you can go write? This particularly becomes a problem on busy days. It won’t really hurt anything if we skip…
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The Power of Words
Words have rent nations, formed alliances, changed history forever. Two words bind one man and one woman in a covenantal relationship until death. They can build people up and they can tear them down again. Words have power. An immense power, even greater than that of an atomic bomb. James talks about the untamable tongue in the third chapter of his letter. He compares it to a fire. Flames can provide heat to warm us and cook our food. But they can also consume entire cities. See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity; the tongue…
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8 Books I Want To Read This Fall
It’s hard to believe it’s already fall! I’m more than ready for hot apple cider, sweaters, falling leaves, and all things plaid. (Others in my family are excited about all things pumpkin spice—coffee, popcorn, frosted flakes. 🤢) As the weather gets cooler (or is supposed to, here in Ohio weather gets a little wacky), not much could be better than curling up with a couple good books and a steaming mug of cider. I’ve picked out eight books I want to read before December. The Titanic’s Last Hero by Moody Adams (nonfiction) You might recognize this one from my 2019 TBR. I haven’t read it yet, but now seems…
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Celebrate Small Wins!+A Poet’s Dictionary Release!
context: The good guys (Snyder and co.) just captured one of the villains. “A crooked grin slanted across Snyder’s face. He was having too much fun. But he deserved to celebrate a victory. They all did. It was easy to forget they actually succeeded sometimes.” – Checkmate While I’m no longer working on Checkmate, I still like this quote. Why? Because it reminds me to celebrate small victories. As humans, we get so focused on the destination (getting published, graduating college, etc.), we forget the journey. The individual steps that make the path to the end. We forget the careful outlines, never-ending drafts, A+ assignments. We forget them all…
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Squirrel!–Dealing With Writing Distractions
Our dog Reese has a concentration problem. If food or a toy is involved, she’s all ears. But when it’s time to go outside for you-know-what, every single thing is a distraction. Birds. Bugs. Kids screaming at recess. Power tools. Squirrels. Those furry little creatures have captured her attention for countless hours. We often find her at the patio door, watching them scurry around. We all have our squirrels. Things that might be good, but take our attention from what really matters. Whether that is school work, Bible study, or writing, we need to learn to deal with and eliminate distractions. I get easily distracted by my…
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Windsong: A Poem
The wind makes its music in the trees, Rustling the branches, Rattling the leaves. It brushes its silvery fingers Through the grass, Across the colors, of stained window glass. It whistles its soothing tones Through the fields of green and yellow, Across the shining surface of a pond. Sometimes it turns into a lion, Ripping, roaring, tearing, Snarling, snapping, growling. It bats paper bags, Drives the rain, Snarls the trees. It swats crispy leaves, Snatches hats, Rips away homes. It blows in the storm clouds, Then brings in the sun. The wind plays its music, Sweet, wild tones In the evening. It…
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Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Writer–The Value of Practice
I love writing. I love music. So it only makes sense that I would use them to create an analogy. When someone decides to learn an instrument, say piano, they don’t expect to be as good as this when they first sit down, right? So why do we as writers sit down and expect to write like Tolkien on our third draft? Be Content With Baby Steps One of the first real songs you will play on an instrument is “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.” It’s nothing fantastic, but when you manage to play a recognizable tune for the first time, you have a moment of triumph. Writing is the…
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Become an Inspiration Lightning Rod
Output requires intake, and literary output requires literary intake. Wordsmithy, by Douglas Wilson, page 30. I think all of us have experienced creative burnout at some point or another in our writing journey. Whether it’s simply running out of ideas or the inability to write at all, burnout is no fun. When you face this monster, the best way to conquer it is by getting more inspiration. But finding inspiration isn’t just like sitting out in a thunderstorm and hoping to get hit by lightning. It’s more like intentionally tying yourself to a lightning rod in the middle of a storm cell. Though it’s a little less dangerous. 😉…
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Oliver Twist: A Lesson on Satisfying Endings+Meet the New Blog Mascot!
Warning: This post contains spoilers for Oliver Twist and Star Wars: A New Hope. Dickens’ classic, Oliver Twist, is a novel full of darkness and despair. But that evil is lessened by the hope found in little Oliver himself. No matter the tragedy, he maintains his sweet, hopeful innocence. Because of these incredibly dark themes, the ending needs to be bright and happy. Otherwise Dickens’ readers would be depressed for days. While I personally enjoy bittersweet endings the most, I was satisfied by the conclusion of Oliver Twist. How did Dickens pull off this “happily ever after” ending? The Good Guys Win As humans, we have God’s Law written on our…
