A Step in the Write Direction
May 26,
2014
Update: The two Step in the Write Direction books are now combined and
sent to the new publisher. I was excited this last week to receive an order for
25 of the existing Student editions for a local Christian school which will use
it as a text in the fall….I also finished adding discussion questions to The Freedom of Letting Go, and that has
gone to another new publisher. (Note: I bought the remaining inventory
which I’m selling at a reduced price. If you would like to use this in a small
group study at your church, I will send you the discussion questions
separately.)…The next two Mondays
I’ll be in Oklahoma. I’m going to write my two blogs ahead of time and set a
time to be mailed. (If you don’t get them, you know I wasn’t that smart!)… Saturday, May 31, I’m teaching at a
writers’ workshop in Wagoner, OK. On Sunday, our oldest granddaughter will
get her district minister’s license, and the next Saturday, our youngest granddaughter
will graduate high school. Summer
news: I have two daylong writers’ workshops scheduled this summer in
Michigan: July 12 at Houghton Lake,
and July 19 in Adrian. If you know
anyone in these parts, have them email me for more information.
Thought for
Today:
From
childhood’s hour I have not been
As others
were—I have not seen
As others
saw—I could not bring
My passions
from a common spring—
—“Alone,” Edgar Allan
Poe
Song for Today:
If we could see, if we
could know
We often day,
But God in love a veil doth
throw
Across our way.
We cannot see what lies
before,
And so we cling to Him the
more,
He leads us till this life
is o’er,
Trust and obey.
—“If We Could See Beyond Today,”
Norman J. Clayton
Laugh for Today: A blonde was caught putting Clearasil around the jail. When
asked why she said she had heard it prevents breakouts. (sorry blonde
readers!)
Writers’ Tips: (Week #2 from my
yet unpublished writers devotional book):
Have You Jumped Yet?
We
have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we
had at first (Hebrews 3:14).
Our
six-year-old granddaughter was taking swimming lessons. One requirement to
receive a certificate was to jump off the diving board, but she was afraid.
Every
day we asked our daughter and son-in-law, “Has Heather jumped yet?” Every day
they replied, “Not yet.”
But
the day finally came. Heather jumped…and jumped…and jumped.
An
old adage says that a journey of a thousand miles begins with one step. I’ve
often shared in workshops that I do not like freeways. I’m fine getting on where
they begin, but I don’t like entering farther up the road where I have to merge
with ongoing traffic.
As
a writer, you have to start somewhere, so start at the beginning—with the
basics. The story is told of Vince Lombardi, the renowned football coach, who
gathered his players together in the locker room after a particularly bad loss.
“We need to get back to the basics,” he told them. Holding up an object, he
said, “This, men, is a football!”
Individuals
in one writer’s group set personal goals to be met by the next meeting. One new
writer proudly announced at a meeting, “I addressed an envelope.” It was a
beginning!
What
is the first step for you? To take an English class in night school? Perhaps a
creative writing class, or a class in the specific field of writing you think
you would enjoy—short stories, novel writing, non-fiction, or children’s. Maybe
you need help to learn the computer. Another option is to join a local writer’s
group—and don’t be afraid to ask questions.
Subscribe
to writer’s magazines (i.e., The Writer, Writer’s Digest, The Christian
Communicator). Make plans to attend a writer’s conference.
A.A.
Milne of Winnie the Pooh fame says,
Time is swift, it races by;
Opportunities are born and die…
Still you wait and will not try—
A bird with wings who dares not rise
and fly.
Have
you jumped yet?
Today
I am going to make a start. I will:
Have a good
week spreading the
gospel through
the printed page.
Donna Clark
Goodrich
dgood648@aol.com
www.thewritersfriend.net
http://donna-goodrich.blogspot.com
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