Originally, I'd planned this post for January, but I got carried away with my reading, and wanted to reflect on it more. But maybe February is better anyway. By now resolutions have worn thin, if not fizzled out altogether. Maybe now is a good time to reflect on who we are, what we do, and why we do it?

 

 I've known Madeline L'Engle's work since my children were young and we read A Wrinkle in Time. I confess, I always associated her with those books, and I never thought much more about her work. That changed last November.

I was attending a Zoom workshop, and the presenter mentioned a quote that intrigued me. He couldn't remember the source of it. One of the beauties of Zoom workshops is that you're already at the computer and Google is right at hand. A quick search resulted in Madeline L'Engle as the source.

Close, but no banana.*

A closer reading revealed it was Madeline L'Engle quoting Jean Rhys.

I'll come to the quote in a moment, but first I want to share the book that my Googling produced - Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith and Art by Madeline L'Engle

 

 

This is the blurb from Amazon:

This is the quote:

“If the work comes to the artist and says, 'Here I am, serve me,' then the job of the artist, great or small, is to serve. The amount of the artist's talent is not what it is about. Jean Rhys said to an interviewer in the Paris Review, 'Listen to me. All of writing is a huge lake. There are great rivers that feed the lake, like Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky. And there are mere trickles, like Jean Rhys. All that matters is feeding the lake. I don't matter. The lake matters. You must keep feeding the lake'.”

 There are multiple ways to interpret that quote. My takeaway, I suspect, was not what Ms. L'Engle intended, so I'll save that for the end.

That passage is followed by this: "To feed the lake is to serve, to be a servant."

Sometimes we talk about writing for God, our audience of One. But I wonder, as you are sitting at your keyboard, are you thinking of your work as service? Should you be? Who or what are you serving? Just some questions to ponder.

I particularly liked what I discovered following that "lake" quote.  It referred to the discipline necessarily inherent in our service And one of the things I have learned is the importance of discipline in my writing. How many times have we been told that if we want to be writers, we must take our calling seriously, we must work diligently?

Ms. L'Engle  addressed that necessary discipline with this quote:

"Someone wrote, 'The principal part of faith is patience,' and this applies, too, to art of all disciplines. We must work every day, whether we feel like it or not, otherwise when it comes time to go out of the way and listen to work, we will not be able to heed it."

 

 

Back to the quote and my workshop -  I would like to offer another interpretation, probably not the intended one, but one that resonated with me. When these words were quoted in the workshop, they were completely out of context:

All of writing is a huge lake. There are great rivers that feed the lake, like Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky. And there are mere trickles, like Jean Rhys. All that matters is feeding the lake. I don't matter. The lake matters. You must keep feeding the lake'.”

 

The sections in bold were what captured me - that sense of community, of being a part of something so much bigger than my small self.  They made me feel, in some ineffable way, to be part of a grander existence, a community of writers, all feeding the lake of story. It was only in researching the original context of the quote, and reading from the book, that I learned so much more about that idea of creation as service to which Ms. L'Engle referred.

But maybe we can have it as both - because acting as partners in service allows us to be more productive, more    attentive, and the results just might amaze us.

So, when your discipline is flagging, when your words are halting rather than flowing, when you're feeling more like a trickle than a great river, try thinking of yourself as part of that larger community of creatives, a servant sharing an important message, a part of a lake that allows all to float.

And find the faith to keep trying.

Photos from Pixabay
 

 *I decided to Google that phrase too, just to make sure it wasn't  insensitive slang. Turns out it's an Australian phase. Who knew, Mate?

 

by Mindy Obenhaus

Did you ever get growing pains when you were a child? My youngest son sure did. He’d have a hard time getting to sleep because his legs always hurt. He’s now 6’2”, so that could explain things.

What about spiritual growing pains? You know, when God decides He wants to grow us.

That’s where I find myself right now.

While I’m walking the path, I believe, God has set before me, He’s recently suggested a slight deviation from the course I had planned. Not verbally, mind you, but through a series of events. This amended route I feel He’s pointing me to is going to be more challenging than what I’m used to. It’s going to require some adjustments in the routine I’ve grown comfortable with. I’m going to have to work at it.

Kind of like weight training. I enjoy weight training. But when I become accustomed to a certain weight and start thinking it’s easy, that’s when it’s time for me step things up a notch. Which means increasing the amount of weight I’m lifting. And it’s not easy. Matter of fact, it’s downright hard. For a while. Then, as I build more muscle, it gets easier.

And so it is with our spiritual life. God doesn’t want us to be comfortable. On the contrary, He wants to push us out of our comfort zones.

How we respond is up to us.

We can…

Fight it – Been there, done that. When I was writing my fourth book, there was something God wanted in that story, but I knew it was going to be very emotional to write. So I ignored it. Bottom line, I had to rewrite that book three times. The third time, I did what God had been telling me to do all along. Not only did my editor love it, I had no revisions. If I would have listened and done it God’s way the first time, I could’ve saved myself a whole lot of time and stress.

Carefully consider – This is my modus operandi. I want to be certain that what I’m sensing truly is from God and not my own foolish desires. And having an honest discussion with Him is the only way I’m going to know. Expressing my concerns and fears. He already knows them anyway. Then I have to be willing to listen and remain watchful for those little signposts He puts in my path, pointing me in the way I should go.

Jump right in – I rarely do this unless I know beyond a shadow of a doubt. Which, most often, doesn’t come until I’ve carefully considered. But occasionally, I just know God is saying, “Go!.”  For some with more faith, though, this may be right where they start. They’re so in tune with God, they don’t even stop to think about self, they just do. I don’t know about you, but that’s what I aspire to.

After nearly colliding with more than one signpost, I know where God is leading me. And while I know it’s not going to be easy, He’s already confirming my decision. Letting me know that He’s got me right where He wants me. And that’s always a good place to be.

 How do you approach things when you feel as though God is trying to stretch you? 

 I've often called myself a "pantser".

Once published, you have to come up with plans for stories to gain contracts... unless you're like Super A-List Author Person but for us normals, you need a plan and it was in coming up with those plans that I realized I'm not a pantser... or a "plantser", putting together plans and seat-of-the-pants writing.

I'm an inspired author. Most (not all) of my books flow from an idea that kind of overtakes my brain and I let it simmer.... or the whole stinkin' idea falls into my lap and I hit the "take-off" button and go for it.

And now I'm wondering where others fall on that spectrum.

I've talked before about how stories unfold in my head... It's not a muse. I believe it's a Holy Spirit blessing that my head clears cobwebs overnight and I've often awakened with how to solve my plot problems. Like Sleep Sorting System, right? And sometimes with a whole book/plot/series that's righted itself overnight.... but it's not always a sleeping thing, often it's a wherever I am thing and that's what happened with this future mystery series.

When it happens I actually see the story, the characters, the premise, as if it's one idea blossoming in a bubble while other bubbles or pages pop up and intersect. Only there are no bubbles, it's not visual, it's there, in my head and I see and feel the story.

Maybe weird... maybe innate "talent" or gift from God? That's my guess, that my mother probably had this quirk and I know one of my daughters has this gift... so it's clearly written in our genes. (One of the good things written in our genes, the strong thread of mental illness from my mother's side is also there, so we're living proof of the power of dominant genes... or recessive gene mash-ups. But that's a whole other blog.)

Here's the difference feels between plotting out/working a story and being blessed with it:

I was working on a profile for an independent mystery series set to launch in 12 to 18 months. I'll write these stories between contracts and Wishing Bridge 5 "Reclaiming Hope in Wishing Bridge", and I want at least four mysteries done before I release book one.... I wanted light, warm, poignant, fun and fast-paced mysteries and I set up the series, wrote the opening chapters, edited, then set them aside for holidays.... 

And then I got an idea.

An amazing idea. It was a combination of things people said and did that made me think of it and I loved it. LOVED IT! 

I could see these characters, these mysteries, the progression of the series, the openness, the warmth of history blended with modern times, the growth of industry like I saw in Ken Burns "Baseball" documentary, how history affected far more than those living it... 

And book one is almost writing itself. 

There was such a difference in the linear path of the story, the characters, the series projection and how smoothly it went that I decided to blog about it because writing isn't easy. When you're heading toward book/novella #70 and ideas have been used and re-used and re-structured, you want to hit the ground running with something that not only excites  you but will excite the readers! 

And this will... because it's quirky enough, fun enough, warm and inviting enough and threaded with enough mystery to make you wonder.... and enough history to make you appreciate what's gone before you.

I may never write that other series because it doesn't have these elements, not in the same way... and yet, it might roll over me at some point, as part of another plan, another day, another time. I've done that with books before and it's amazing how no good work goes to waste if you're actively writing!

This was like technical elements waging war against inspirational elements. 

Or maybe it's just easier for me to write this one because I can envision it?  I'm not opposed to that possibility! 

So that's what I want to talk about today. Do you work on waves of inspiration? Or do you story-build like I see in so many workshops. (Which, most of you know, I avoid because I'd rather write... but again, that's another blog. :)

Let's chat it up and I have a blessing for someone today....

A copy of Jesus Calling, going out to someone. Just mention you'd love to have it in your comment because I know some of you already have it....

And a copy of Embracing Light in Wishing Bridge, book four of my "Wishing Bridge" series. 

Let me know if you already have it and I can sub in a book of your choice that I have in stock here.

Sending blessings of winter.... snowy here, finally, and cold... and that's way better than mud, my friends! 

Bestselling author Ruthy Logan Herne is loving the quiet of winter on her crazy busy pumpkin farm in Western New York because she actually gets time to write more than once a day and that's not a bad thing! She loves God, her family, her country, dogs, chocolate and Diet Mtn Dew... and is regularly seen with coffee. She's the co-owner and manager of Blodgett Family Farm and she loves sharing the crazy parts of farm life and writing and family with her Facebook friends. She loves hearing from readers and writers so email her at loganherne@gmail.com. 

 by guest blogger and multi-published author Louise Gouge.

People often ask authors how they got started writing and where they get their story ideas. I love to answer both questions because for me they go hand-in-hand.

 Since early childhood, I have seen a story in just about every situation. It’s never taken much to stir my imagination. So one day as I was contemplating my soon-to-be empty nest (I was a stay-at-home mom), I looked out my window and saw a young boy tossing a football with a young man. They were obviously having a great time. As always, the “what if” questions came to mind. What if they are father and son? What if the boy doesn’t know the man is his father? Why doesn’t he know? Who’s the mother? What does the father do for a living? The mother? How does she support her son?

 As with most of my imaginings, this one simmered in my brain for several days until a friend, also a soon-to-be empty nester, and I sat down over lunch to chat about what we would do with all our time after the children left home. I told her about my latest imaginings. She told me to go home and write that story right away. So I did!

 Characters and conflict seemed to flow from my fingers onto…wait for it…an electric typewriter. Always a poor typist, I threw away a lot of paper, Xed out many lines, and generally made a mess of the manuscript. Did I mention this was in 1985? I hadn’t even heard of word processing computers. Were they a thing back then? Despite my typing struggles, I kept on writing.

 I decided the father was an NFL quarterback, the mother a waitress in a diner. The boy was a twelve-year-old who idolized the man he didn’t know was his father. How would he react when he found out?

 Moving toward finishing the book, I asked all sorts of people for help. A football expert. My doctor. A busy waitress. And always my loving husband, David. Finally the book was finished.

 To make a long story short, I decided to go back to college to make sure I’d done a good job of writing my all-American story. After graduation, I edited the book with what I’d learned and then found a publisher. In 1994, my first novel, Once There Was a Way Back Home, was published by Crossway Books. In 1998, the sequel, The Homecoming, was published by the same company. Over the subsequent years, I have been blessed to have 25 novels published. (Click here to see my booklist.)

 Fast forward to 2017. My beloved David, who supported me all those years, encouraged me to revisit those first two books. He loved the story as much as I do. Because the publisher had long ago reverted the copyrights to me, so I could do as I pleased with them. I dug in and brought them into the twenty-first century. Computers. Cell phones. Digital TV. Alexa! So many things we didn’t have in 1995, all had to be incorporated into the books. What fun!

 So much fun, in fact, that I decided to change the characters’ names and tweak a few of the plot elements. The result? Winning Amber. My amazing daughter-in-law designed a cover, and we were set to go. Winning Amber is now available on Kindle and in print.

 Now you know how I got started writing, and you’ve heard about just one of my inspirations. Who knows? Maybe tomorrow I’ll write about the wife of Moby Dick’s Captain Ahab. Oh, wait. I already did that in Ahab’s Bride. Maybe a Jane Austen-inspired series about ladies’ companions? Been there, done that in my Regency Companions series. Maybe a series of westerns about where I used to live in Colorado. Done! Four Stones Ranch! So many inspirations. So many stories to write!

 Oh, and that typewriter? If I had to write my books on it, I think I would have given up a long time ago. I’m still a terrible typist. What would I do without my computer and…wait for it…backspacing and “delete”? Maybe you can relate to that.

 

Winning Amber

Winning is all important to him, in the game…and in love.

 Single mother Amber works hard to raise her son, Noah, on her wages and tips at a small Colorado diner. With medical bills to pay, they both wear secondhand clothes and do without the modern technology Noah’s classmates have. The last thing Amber ever expected was for Noah’s father to show up and preach at her about his newfound religion, especially since Drew didn’t even know Noah existed. Now will the rich and famous NFL quarterback try to take her son away from her? With no one to defend her, is it time for her to run away…again?

 Drew Buxton has always gotten what he wants. Money, girls, a successful career as the NFL’s most popular quarterback, he’s had it all…until a family betrayal and tragedy caused him to rethink his entire life and turn to God. Now he seeks to make amends to the people he’s harmed on his road to success, including the high school classmate who tutored him through his toughest classes. He doesn’t expect her to welcome his visit, nor does he expect the shock of learning he has a son. This changes everything. Now there isn’t anything he won’t do to improve his son’s life, no matter how much Amber resists.

LINK TO FINDING "WINNING AMBER" ON AMAZON: Buy It Here! 

Florida author Louise M. Gouge writes contemporary and historical romance fiction, winning the prestigious IRCA for Hannah Rose (2005) and placing as a finalist four times, and placing the 2012 Laurel Wreath

 

 

By Guest Kerrie Flanagan

It’s the third week of January. Do you know where your WIP is?

If you’re like me, you’re looking at the goals you made two weeks ago and cringing. What happened to the enthusiasm? What happened to the resolve?

Nothing is quite so defeating as feeling like a failure. Again.

But I'm here to tell you you're not a failure.

Just stop for a minute. Take a deep breath.


What many of us feel during the first couple weeks of January is burnout. We’ve just finished the busiest and most emotionally charged two months of the year (November and December) with all the busyness, projects, money spent, decorations being dragged out of storage (and shoved back in,) too much sugar, not enough sleep, runny noses, and long dark nights.

I think you have the picture.

And then the New Year comes and we’re so READY to get back to “normal” that we makes all kinds of plans, draw up schedules, and jump into an entirely different – but just as busy and emotionally charged – season as the previous two months have been.

What suffers? (Besides our immune system?)

Our creativity.

Writing – the most cherished expression of our creativity – has become work. Hard work. The joy is gone. Slogging words onto the page is like running up a sand dune. We go to the well, but it’s dry. Maybe a few drops of water – enough to meet today’s word count goal – but it isn’t refreshing. “Who is even going to read this stuff?” asks our pesky inner voice.



The solution? Let’s refill that well.

After all, you still have the enthusiasm for your writing, right? And you know how to pull up your big girl panties and move on after a hiccup in your plans (BTW, thanks to Ruthy for that persistent image!) We just need to prime the pump.



Sometimes the best way to fill that well of creativity is to step away from the computer. Sometimes we just need to let our minds play.

Here is my strategy:

1) Reading is a big love of mine – I’m sure it’s a huge part of your life, too. For my reading goal this year, I’m revisiting my old friends: my collection of favorite childhood books. I read ten Happy Hollister books in a row before picking up my copy of Little Women. Coming up is the Swallowdale series by Arthur Ramsome, Maud Hart Lovelace’s Betsy books, Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House series. And many, many more. Revisiting my best friends from childhood moistens the parched ground at the bottom of the well.



2) Outside. Breathing fresh air and getting some exercise as I walk Jack wakes up my brain. Every morning. Even when it’s below zero. There was a time when I would listen to a podcast or an audio book while I walked the dog, but I’ve learned to listen to the quiet and watch the world around me. Story ideas play through my mind as I let nature’s quiet take over. Drip by drip, the well fills.


 
3) I'm addicted to cross stitch. In fact, I love all needle arts. Last week I got out my smocking pleater (that has been in storage since hubby bought it for me for Christmas a few years ago) and re-learned how to smock by watching YouTube videos. The spark kindled by my daily hour I spend cross stitching was flamed into life when I set myself down to learn this skill I hadn’t practiced for thirty years. The well bubbles up to overflowing.



I know your next question: "When do I do all this stuff? My schedule is so busy that I barely have time to write, and you want me to do more?"



Just like we need to make time for writing, we can make time to refill our creative wells. Your means of filling that well will be different than mine, but I’m sure there’s something that you would love to spend a few minutes a day doing – or an hour once a week.

And just like we need to sacrifice something in our lives for writing, we need to sacrifice something to make time for filling our wells.

But the best part is that often that thing that refills our well is something social. Taking a painting class with a friend, or a cooking class with your sister, or a morning walk with your spouse. Connecting with others may be the most effective way to keep that well from running dry in the first place.



So, what do you think? What ways have you found to keep your creative well flowing?

By the way, decluttering is also one of the best ways to refill my well - and I'd like to declutter some books! One commenter will win one of my print books of their choice. Check out the list on my website (click here to find the book list) and let me know which book you'd like in the comments!