So many divisive incidents constantly bombard our lives and hearts these days. I won’t write out the long list I’m thinking of as I don’t want to bombard you with them. In thinking about a post this week, I wanted to address the kindness we should offer each other and strangers. If I had written that post, it would have been so long no one would read it. Continue reading
Tag: Quotes
Whatever your life endeavors might be — writing, acting, parenting, marriage, teaching, ministry— take to heart the words of those who have been successful before us. And enjoy!
THEY SAY EVERYTHING HAPPENS FOR A REASON.
Everything. I want to know why it happens. Especially this week. Last Saturday! January 24th! Today!
I thought my injuries sustained in a fall on some stairs on January 24th were healing. I left town with husband Bob last Friday for a two and a half day writing conference on the Oregon coast. Common sense kept my mind busy for days deciding whether or not to travel, but I was feeling better. As we travelled, I even mentioned how much better my hip and back were feeling.
Fast forward to Saturday afternoon when the pain returned with a vengeance. A vengeance so deep and intense I became shaky and nauseous. My first thought was how thankful I was Bob had driven to the coast with me. My second thought: Why now? I called Bob at the condo where we stayed and asked him to pick me up. That officially ended the conference for me.
STILL NO REASON FOR WHY THIS HAPPENED.
Irritation, frustration, anger, and apprehension mixed to create emotional turmoil from this pain re-entering my life. Why was it back? How was I going to get this week’s work done? How soon would I be able to see my doctor? And what would I tell my readers and followers?
Nothing much has improved. I still have no answers, and I don’t see the doctor until Friday morning. But the bottom line is: Sometimes life just happens, and there is nothing we can do about it.
No attempt meant to extract sympathy from you, but I have one place comfortable for sitting and from there I’m writing and reading. I feel imprisoned. Last evening I threatened sleeping there because getting out of our bed is painful, but at the end of the day I needed a change of scenery.
This disruption in my day-to-day activities may keep me from posting as often as I would like as well as the newsletter, not to mention less activity on social media.
A TAKEAWAY.
The message I want to send above all else is that despite what life throws our way, expected or unexpected, there is a reason for it. We may never discover or know the reason behind it, but rest assured there is a reason.
Perhaps the resulting experience will teach us something. Maybe we’ll grow as a result of the unexpected that came along. Or it may be something we should have learned from previous experiences but didn’t.
Next time something surprises you don’t just ask why. Stop and ask yourself what you’re supposed to receive as a result of this unexpected occurrence. Then exercise awareness. You may be pleasantly surprised by what happens next.
How do you handle the unexpected? Do you believe there is a reason behind everything that happens in your life? Share with the rest of us in the comment section below.
If you’re a parent, or perhaps you have relatives or friends who are parents, do you ever wonder why no one warns about what parenting entails? If they did, the human race would eventually die off. Simple as that. Deceptive, yes. Helpful, no.
The same may be true of the craft we enjoy–writing. Have you noticed how many things you never knew about writing before you started writing? There are many, but for purposes of saving time and getting back to our beloved craft, I’ll limit this list to five points.
1. Writing is a solitary activity.
Did anyone tell you this? No? I didn’t think so. No one told me either. I’m not certain why I didn’t realize it myself. Perhaps I had visions of writers gathering in coffee houses or quiet tiny cafes as Hemingway did in his day. But that is not the case. If I’m writing, I’m usually in a “room of her own” with the door closed to keep out the dancing cat who prefers to tap on the keyboard. Or I’m in a room at a local writing house and there alone.
But no one told me it would be like this!
“Writing is a solitary business. It takes over your life. In some sense, a writer has no life of his own. Even when he’s there, he’s not really there.” ― Paul Auster, The New York Trilogy
2. How long it takes to write a book.
No, not a single soul took the time to say, “You know this could take years.” Yes, there are those who have devoted years, sometimes a decade or more, to completing a novel or memoir. It may take you or me that long. We must be committed and/or dedicated to the task at hand to complete this work we’ve started now. It means writing every day, day in and day out.
But no one told me I might spend the rest of my life writing my memoir when I retired in 2006 and undertook this project!
3. It always takes more than one draft.
Who knew? You want to write a book so you sit down and you write. You finish the first draft and think you’re done and ready for an editor. But wait! That’s just your first draft. There’s more!
Many writers tried to tell us this but unfortunately we didn’t find their books until after we started our first project or we chose to ignore their sage wisdom:
The first draft of anything is shit. ~Ernest Hemingway
Almost all good writing begins with terrible first efforts. You need to start somewhere. ~ Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird
If it sounds like writing, then rewrite it. ~ Elmore Leonard
If we aspire to come close to any of these illustrious writers, we need to heed their warnings and remember that a first draft isn’t a finished manuscript.
4. How many drafts you will write, revise, and edit before your manuscript is ready for a professional edit.
Yes, those quoted above tried to tell us there would be multiple drafts. After completing your first draft set it aside for a couple of days. Then go back and read it. Next step is edit, revise, repeat–several times. Whether you print it out or do this on your computer screen matters not. The words are the same. Just edit, revise and repeat. It’s somewhat like doing the laundry–killing your darlings and then cleaning up afterward.
In the days before computers, imagine the numbers of trees killed in an attempt by an author to write one book. Or think what recycling would be like if we were still using typewriters and sheet after sheet of paper. It would be an enormous task to dispose of all that paper today and continue to do our “greenest” to keep the environment healthy. Multiply the number of authors writing today by the number of pages in the average manuscript, and you’re talking billions and billions of reams of paper. At least today, we can do most of that before printing out a copy of our manuscript.
5. You need to build a platform.
No one mentioned carpentry, did they? Nope, never. I don’t care for carpentry. With a hammer and nails, I generally hurt myself. But that’s not what “build a platform” means.
In reality, building a platform is like branding a product you’re going to sell. In this case, you and your book are your product. It involves time spent on social media connecting with other writers and readers, blogging, networking, and more. But you say you just want to write. Well, that’s what most writers want to do. If you want to sell your book, it’s going to take some extra effort out there in the big wide world of social media, or as it’s called in the writing business building a platform.
A platform is a “stage” that gives you and your message leverage and visibility. ~ Jeff Goins, Why Building Your Own Platform Is Essential
There are many other things I learned after the fact. But none of them nor these five above will keep me from enjoying the writing life.
To write each day is pure joy. To find a reader who on reading my words experiences my joy, now that is bliss.
What about your writing life? What things have you learned that you didn’t know before you started writing? Join in a discussion below.
And keep writing!
