An Outpouring

You have to learn to pace yourself
Pressure
You're just like everybody else
Pressure
You've only had to run so far
So good
But you will come to a place
Where the only thing you feel
Are loaded guns in your face
And you'll have to deal with
Pressure
-- Billy Joel

So, here we are. Writers. We have a pull on our hearts to put pen to paper (or fingers to keys) and craft a tale of truth or fiction out of our imaginations. There are words to be used that no one else can write, and yet time and time again we stare at the clean and white, not knowing even how to start. And when we do staple the letters down to the page, we always seem to get them in the wrong order.

How heavy of a weight when we cannot seem to do the thing we must do. Heavier still is it if we feel the weight of God's calling on our writing. We need to use our words to glorify Almighty God, to show Him to the fallen world! How will we ever live up to that?

And then a fellow writer reminds me of the true perspective:

He doesn’t call me on this adventure called life so that I can, with my deep pools of awesomeness, release some sort of handcuffs He’s wearing. He calls me on this adventure because He knows I love adventures and He enjoys seeing me do things I love.

Maybe he's right and God really is saying:

"Let me be clear. I am God. I am complete. I do not need your additions. I want your work to be an overflow of love. I want to pour so much love and strength and truth into you that you cannot help but do things. Add to the world. Add to the people around you. Overflow on them what I give to you. Not because I need you to do something but because you can’t help but go out and share the love I am overflowing in you."

If that is true (and I'm starting to believe it is), we are not burdened by the call to write, but are blessed with the opportunity to write. We don't have to write; we get to write. Let's celebrate and pen some words overflowing from His love.

Fun New Site

I was cleaning out my inbox this morning when I found an e-mail from Courtney from forever ago. She sent me this link: http://www.poewar.com/ which is now located in the left margin under "Check These Out". It contains freelance writing opportunities, exercises, writing tips, interviews, and more. I hope it helps to light the path on your writing journey.

If you read anything inspiring, or have a breakthrough, please let us know. Let's build each other up by sharing our encouraging news.

New Blog

Please note the new blog posted under "Must Reads" in the left margin. Resting on the Alter chronicals the adventures of Jimmy Ballanger, a long time member of Scribe's Alley. Enjoy!

Practice What You Preach

For this is what the high and lofty One says he who lives forever, whose name is holy: "I live in a high and holy place, but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite." Isaiah 57:15 (NIV)


The following was taken from The Writer's Block by Jason Rekulak:


Take a common cliché and write as though it were a literal truth. Describe a character who is "fat as a cow" or "skinny as a rail." Invent a fashion model who becomes "green with envy," or a cardiologist whose "heart swells with pride." Suspend left-brain impulses toward logic and common sense.

Your Right to Trite

You may be filled with fright
That you will pen something trite
Or release a full-blown blight
When first you start to write.

Believe I know your plight
For I have fought the fight
Of dreading endless spite
For things I strive to write.

Let me be your shining knight
And get your heart to just take flight;
Producing junk is just alright
When you first begin to write.

For when finished you may right,
Edit away with all your might.
Then your work will be a'ight
And be proud of what you write.

Food for Thought

Quote: If my doctor told me I had only six minutes to live, I wouldn't brood. I'd type a little faster. -Issac Asimov

The following was taken from The Writer's Block by Jason Rekulak:

Clichés are a common pitfall for many beginning writers, and the easiest way to avoid them is to read and read and read - as much as you can, fiction and biography and journalism and anything else you can get your hands on. By processing thousands of pages through your subconscious, you'll develop a "cliché radar" that will zero in on phrases like "heart of gold" and "light as a feather" (Etymologists take note: the word cliché dates back to eighteenth century France and early newspaper publications; typesetters wold keep commonly used phrases and expressions on easy-access blocks called clichés.)

Letters from an Editor

I came across this interview with a successful literary agent, and thought it was worth sharing. Here's one thing that jumped out to me:

For thirty years I have observed fiction careers. I’ve seen them succeed and fail. The more I see, the more I feel that novelists fall into two broad categories: those whose desire is to be published, and those whose passion is to spin stories. I think of these as status seekers and storytellers.

You can’t tell the difference right away, but over the course of a career it always emerges. Status seekers focus on self-promotion and obsess about the industry. Storytellers ignore that stuff and focus on improving their novels. Guess who succeeds and who fails?

He also has a new book out called "The Fire in Fiction". It's been added to my wish list, though I've got WAY too many books to order this quite yet.