The Right to Write

I remember as a kid being fascinated with words. I loved their feel as they rolled around on my tongue. I loved their slender shapes sprawled on the page. In fact, I became so enamored with words that by junior high I would sneak a dictionary into my room and spend the afternoon reading nothing but words.

Words like defervescence and boride and academe. Words like penicillamine and featherstitch and quire. And thus, is it any wonder my favorite book was The Phantom Tollbooth, by Norman Juster? (Which, by the way, if you've not read you simply must!)

But in the midst of all these wondrous words, I began to feel smaller and smaller. In the midst of their power, I began to doubt my ability to string them together in stories people would want to read. I still wonder that at times. Do you?

Yet, there is a special something deep in my heart that tells me the God of our spirits feels otherwise. He, who creates universes, knows a thing or two about the import of creativity. And He fashioned us in His image. Do I (or perhaps you) really think He would fail to tuck away within us the creative gift? Could it be possible we, in this one area, are NOT like our Father in Heaven?

I think not! Thus, the next time I feel impotent in my ability to self-express, I will shun the thought. And I hope you will, too. We are created in God's image ... and as such, we have the gift of creativity. We have the right to write! May we use that gift well, working with all these wondrous words.

Faith, Hope, and Charity

Remembering Why We Write

My first book contract came at the worst possible time. My husband was living in the east and I was in the west, unable to join him until our western lives got wrapped up. My oldest daughter was getting married and I was packing and preparing for a wedding all at once. I had a very demanding calling. And then unexpectedly, I had to write a book on deadline.

One day I found myself feeling stressed and frustrated. I was behind in everything, the calling was getting harder, and the book wasn’t going. As I stared at the computer I felt ready to give up. I shot off an unhappy email to Patricia (yes, our Patricia) asking why I ever thought I wanted to be a writer in the first place. At the moment, it seemed like the least desirable career in the world.

Much to my surprise, she responded just moments later. I looked at a list of ten blessings that came into my life because I’m a writer. I wondered how she made that list so fast. Then I started to laugh. I recognized the list because I had written it myself some time ago. Patricia had challenged me to make the list. She made one too and we swapped lists. She had saved mine and in my moment of frustration, returned it to me.

We all write for different reasons, and we’ve all had different results. I’m guessing, though, that you could find ten ways writing has blessed your life. Write them down and put them in a safe place to refer to when you’ve gotten one too many rejection letters or the writing is going badly.

Or, send it to a friend who can return it in your moment of need.

Ten More Ways to Know You're a Writer

by Patricia Wiles

(Lori's post is so true for us! I couldn't resist sharing a few of my own quirks.)

10. You dream in stories, and when you wake up (even if it's the middle of the night) you grab something -- anything -- to write the dream down, because if you don't you'll forget it.

9. You have rituals you must perform or objects you must have on your desk in order to write. (I have my "Remember Who You Are" token from Terrie hanging on my desk at work, and I start my day with a soda and a bag of pretzels.)

8. Your friends are either imaginary (because they're in your mind) or invisible (because they're on the internet).

7. You may not recall the terminology used to describe proper grammar when writing, but find you know as if by instinct when something "sounds" right -- or when it doesn't.

6. You become so focused when working on a project you forget to do important things like eat lunch, feed the cat, blow out the candles you lit for ambiance, remove the laundry that's in the dryer ...

5. When you get a rejection letter, you cry. You swear never to send your story out again. You decide to pack up all your writing books. Then, a couple of days later, you realize if you just tweaked a couple of elements in your submission ... and before you know it, you're stamping another SASE.

4. You spoil movies and TV for your non-writer friends. When a character gets a book published and it goes on the market right away, you laugh and say, "That's so fake. That's not the way it is AT ALL." Then you proceed to tell them all about the submission and rejection process. Like they even care.

3. You realize a good book is the result of a good relationship between the author and the editor.

2. You get excited when a new office supply store opens in town.

And, the number one way (at least for me)...

1. You clean out your closet and find you still have copies of The Writer you bought in 1996, and you realize that after all these years, you still haven't given up hope -- and you're still writing.

Sarah Jane's Very Best Story Ever

By Lori NawynFrom the back cover of the book Sarah Jane's Very Best Story Ever:

"Sarah Jane Van Komen was a most amazing storyteller. Now what made her such an amazing storyteller was that she always knew exactly the right kind of story to tell. Sarah's simple tales began when she first started to speak. Those tales carried children, as well as adults, into her gifted imagination of wonderment and purpose.

Many admirers, friends, and family members were brokenhearted at her tragic death in an automobile accident when she was only sixteen years old. However, not long after her death her mother began to record the occasions of people calling her to report that Sarah had indeed come back and told them stories in their dreams. The common thread in all the reports was that the story or message Sarah brought them was one of purpose and peace. This story is one such story, and Sarah believes that it is her Very Best Story Ever. All of the events in this story talking about Sarah really happened.

Sarah claims that the entire story is true."

I never knew Sarah Jane Van Komen while she was alive, yet she is a person I can say I am much the better for having known about. I know her from the book Sarah Jane's Very Best Story Ever, a book compiled by her mother, Janie Van Komen, which details Sarah's life, death, and return to our Father in Heaven. Sunday night, while I sat in a packed audience listening to Janie speak about Sarah, I savored the comforting surety that heaven and earth are not so far apart and that miracles still occur. I am grateful for the power of the spoken and written word to bear witness.

Thank you, Janie. Thank you, Sarah.