A Talent to Write

The first one came and said, 'Sir, your mina has earned ten more.' 'Well done, my good servant!' his master replied.

-- Jesus (Luke 19:16-17a)

What struck me tonight about this passage--and the other one like it in Matthew 25--is the proportion of the "money" that was earned in comparison to what was given. In this version, the master gives one mina, and the servant earns ten more. So, the master supplies only 9% of the final value. Now, a mina isn't a piddly amount; it's three months wages, a quarter of your annual income. There's no way any sort of investment could be made without that initial gift. But still, most of the end result, though accomplished through the master's gift, really comes down to the hard work of the servant earning it.

I came across a blog entry a while ago and saved it, mainly for these two quotes:

• The ability to write well is not a gift.
• Writing well is not a gift reserved for the few but a set of skills that can be learned by anyone.

I do happen to believe (based on the Scripture above) that the ability to write is a gift, and that certain people are specifically called by God to write. And yet, the call to invest that initial deposit is what produces the ability to write well. It is a skill that can be learned and improved through practice and study.

My role may not be to be the next Shakespeare (or Asimov, or even Ingermanson), but I am called to write. However much God has invested in me, I am responsible for turning it into much more, for His glory. I must accept that this writing is more than a hobby, it is a ministry as holy as missionary or preacher, for it is what He has purposed me to do.

What do you think about this? Do you feel that a calling has been placed on your life to write? What's your reaction to the one mina invested/ten minas earned parable?

be Willing to be Intentional about Deliberate word choice

We had a discussion last night at group whether the word in someone's piece should be "willingly" or "willfully", and we never came to a conclusion on which was the right word. So I took some time to look up the words, and in the process rediscovered what I believe to be one of the greatest vocabulary tools out there.

I'm not sure what the official name of it is, but it's half-dictionary, half-thesaurus. Maybe it's best explained by the example I encountered:

Synonyms of "voluntary":
These adjectives mean being or resulting from one's own free will.

• Voluntary implies the operation of unforced choice: "Ignorance, when it is voluntary, is criminal" (Samuel Johnson).
• Intentional applies to something undertaken to further a plan or realize an aim: "I will abstain from all intentional wrongdoing and harm" (Hippocratic Oath).
• Deliberate stresses premeditation and full awareness of the character and consequences of one's acts: taking deliberate and decisive action.
• Willful implies deliberate, headstrong persistence in a self-determined course of action: a willful waste of time.
• Willing suggests ready or cheerful acquiescence in the proposals or requirements of another: "The first requisite of a good citizen ... is that he shall be able and willing to pull his weight" (Theodore Roosevelt).

From: The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Through: Dictionary.com

I love getting a list of synonyms in this format, because it illuminates the nuances of each word, and enables me to choose the perfect word for what I'm trying to convey. So, please cheerfully accept [be willing] my proposal and act to achieve your aim [be intentional] of creating a masterpiece by performing premeditated [deliberate] research into your choice of words.

So, what's your favorite tool or resource to turn to while working to improve your writing?

P.S.: I've changed my mind and now believe "willingly" is the better choice.

Where Are We? - a Writing Exercise

In my world travels, I happened upon a society that was very peculiar. I couldn’t say exactly how, but I was drawn to them. I didn’t quite fit in, but I couldn’t make myself leave either. It was very strange indeed.

Upon my arrival, I noticed that they didn’t have any hotels, motels or Inns. I wasn’t sure what to do, but I knew I was getting hungry, so I stopped at the local diner. I was greeted by everyone – workers and patrons alike. I took a seat at the bar and ordered a club sandwich with fries and a chocolate milkshake. “You might want to look at the menu, honey.” The waitress said. “We don’t serve anything like that.”

How could a diner not have club sandwiches and chocolate milkshakes? I opened the menu – it was only two pages. I looked around. Had I mistakenly walked into a health food place? No, it was a diner all right, but the only things on the menu were meat, fruits, veggies, and whole grains. “I guess I’ll have a wrap with turkey, tomato and lettuce. Could you put a little mayo on it as well.”

“What’s mayo?”

“Never mind. What do you have to moisten it a bit?”

“Oil and vinegar?”

“Okay, I’ll have that. And to drink…” I flipped the menu to the back page for a list of beverages. “I’ll have a strawberry smoothie.”

“Commin’ right up.” She said with a smile.

Once she had placed my order, she came back and introduced herself. “Names Doris, by the way. Your new around here, huh?”

“What gave it away?”

“You just passin’ though, or will you be with us for a while?”

“I was actually planning to stay for a few days, but I didn’t see any hotels.”

“What’s a hotel?”

“Are you serious? A hotel is a place that you can stay when you’re passing through a place.”

“Oh no, we don’t have anything like that. Around here, we just stay at someone’s house.”

“But, I don’t know anyone here.”
“That doesn’t matter. They’ll put you up for as long as you want. They’ll feed you too and if you need clothes or something, they can provide that.”

“How much does it cost?”

She looked at me with a bewildered expression on her face. “Nothing.”

“A stranger is going to put me up for free?”

“Yeah, how do you do it?”

“I pay for a hotel.”

“Well, then this is better, right?”

“I’ll let you know.” I was skeptical to say the least. I love my space and I was not really happy to have to live with a stranger for any length of time. “So, do I just start making random calls from the phone book, or what?”

Before I know what she was doing, Doris made an announcement to the entire diner. “Hey, folks! Does anyone have a room for this young lady?”

There were about 4 different responses. They all laughed and then calmly, very politely decided that Dominick and his wife, Lacy would be my caretakers. They sidled up next to me at the bar. I was already hating this.

We exchanged pleasantries and they left me with directions to their house and a key to the front door! They said to come and go as I pleased. My room is the first one on the right at the top of the steps. I sat and stared at them as they left the diner. I kept watching the empty doorway long after they had gone.

“Here’s your food, sweetie pie.” Doris said.
I ate in silence, trying to digest what had just happened along with my food.

Where are we?

Writing exercise:

There is a society in which all the people are godly people. They live their lives exactly the way the Bible says that they should. Then, you drop in. What do you see and hear? How do you fit in? How is it different than the world in which we are now living? How is it the same?

Feel free to post your answers here in the comments section, e-mail it to the group, or come to the mall next Thursday at 7:30 to discuss.

Self-Publishing

In the process of downloading and reading the writings for tomorrow's meeting, I noticed that Google had very nicely put some ads related to book publishing alongside the e-mail. Well, one caught my attention and I decided to check it out.

https://www.createspace.com/Products/BooksOnDemand.jsp

Basically, they'll post your book to Amazon, allow you to set your own price, print it each time someone buys a copy, and seemingly all for a percentage of each sale plus the cost of one book delivered to you as your proof.

I haven't tried it yet (helps to have something written to publish), but it sounds pretty good. Of course, the one thing they're not doing is getting the word out for you, or putting on the shelves of a bookstore.

Anyone else know of or recommend other on-demand or self-publishing outfits?

Procrastination

I'm going through the book "Write His Answer by Marlene Bagnull and I finally got to chapter 9 which is all about procrastination. I am a HUGE procrastinatory person!
Here are the things I do to procrastinate when I'm supposed to be writing (this is a confession):

• organize my desk
• make lists of things I need to do
• check my e-mail
• read a book about writing
• clean

I spend my days thinking about writing, longing to write, excited about the ideas swimming around in my head. "I will write." I tell myself. "Right after this one last thing." And then I see something else, but it won't take very long so I figure right after that, the rest of the afternoon will be dedicated to my writing. But then, guess what? Yep, one more thing. And then, the day is over and I'm bloated with all the ideas that did not find their way onto my computer screen or into one of my many notebooks.

I've joked about procrastination, told myself to get over it, made resolutions to just sit down and write. I've never thought of it as sin. But, that is exactly what it is. Matt 21:28 - 32 tells the story about two brothers who were both asked by their Father to go out and work in the field. One said he would go, the other said that he would not. They both changed their minds. It doesn't matter what we say, only what we actually do.

I have been asked by my Father to go out and work (write) and I said that I would.

James 4:17 says "Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins."

Lord, I confess I have squandered my time and I have not valued my writing as You do. I know that you've called me to write. I want to stop sinning against You. Thank you for the privilege of writing Your truth into this world. Please help me with my unbelief and with my schedule. You are a real and mighty God, able to meet us right where we are. I praise You Lord, the greatest artist.

Any other procrastinators out there? What do you do to procrastinate?

Lessons from NaNoville

On Thursday night, I reached an official total of 50,279 words. Yay! Thank you thank you thank you to all of you who supported me this month. You are the wind beneath my wings! I would have given up a long time ago without your constant encouragement, prayers, e-mails, and face book encounters.

So, what did I learn? Well, first of all it's nice to say that now I've actually done everything I tell you guys to do on a constant basis. Write. When it sounds stupid, write. When it doesn't make any sense, write.

I had some moments where the words just flowed and they actually made sense when placed beside one another. Other times, there was no flow, just a barrage of seemingly disjointed thoughts that may, in the most abstract sense, go together if the planets are aligned exactly right.

If you stop when your writing feels like you're walking up hill in the snow with no shoes, then you will never crest that hill and enjoy the times when writing is like sled riding down the hill. Every time you start, you'll still be at the bottom of the hill.

At the very end, once I had reached my epilogue and I still had over 2,000 words to write, I just started making things up - telling stories that were very verbose and didn't really belong there. I decided to give up on my entire plot and just write to get the last words in. Guess what happened? The very last sentence of my crappy epilogue is one of my favorite sentences. I think it's going to be the first sentence of the book. So, Natalie Goldberg is right when she says to burn through first thoughts to get to the good stuff. If I had given up or waited until I had something fabulous to say, I never would have discovered the gem that is the last sentence.

I didn't know what was deep down inside of my mind until I got rid of the shallow stuff on the top. If there is a story living inside you, sit down and start writing. Give yourself fully to the story and it will write itself. Your characters will lead the way - they are waiting to amaze you with the adventures in their lives.

If the Lord has called you to write, what are you waiting for? He will equip you, but you have to take the fist step in faith. Set goals, sit down, and write.

Do you have any writing ah-ha moments that you would like to share? Any tips for what to do when the going gets tough?