Unavoidable...

"It was unavoidable, my writing. I feel I had no choice in the matter, no more than I had about an unfortunate bone structure and a healthy head of hair."

--Maureen Howard

Organizational Tip from Cyndy Salzman

Ready to organize your life and your writing? Every week writer, speaker, and organizational expert Cyndy Salzmann will offer a tip for writers. Her first tip is below. You can find out more about Cyndy on her website.

Today's tip:

Good intentions. For most writers under tight deadlines, when it comes to having a daily devotional time, the proverbial "road" is paved with them. As I struggled with this issue in my own life recently, a scenario began to form in my mind…

What if Jesus was making an appearance in town next month? How long would I stand in line for a ticket? What price would I pay? Would I be willing to interrupt my writing schedule to attend?

The answer to all of these questions was easy. I’d stand in the rain for a week to hear Jesus teach from His Word. I'd even risk missing a deadline to have the chance for a one-on-one session to chat about the things on my mind. But if this was true, why couldn't I find time for Him in my day?

If you are experiencing a similar struggle, I'll give you the same challenge a wise friend once gave me. She said, “Cyndy do you have seven minutes in your day that you could set aside to spend with God?” Here’s how she suggested spending it…

1. For the first 30 seconds ask God to quiet your heart and give you a teachable spirit. Ask Him to protect the next few minutes from interruptions.

2. Then -- spend the next four minutes reading the Bible. Read whatever you like. Start at the beginning and read a little each day. Or let the book fall open and start reading. Second Timothy 3:16 tells as that all Scripture is "God breathed" and useful for teaching and training in righteousness.

3. Then -- for the remaining time (2 ½ minutes) PRAY. Here’s a formula to keep you on track… it’s P-R-A-Y…

P - Praise. Praise God for who He is what He means to You.

R - Repent. Confess your sins – and accept God's forgiveness. It was bought by a high price – the suffering and death of God’s own son

A - Ask. Ask God to provide what you need. Pray about the big things and the little things. One time I asked for a better attitude about laundry (I hate laundry…) and God led me to Genesis 2:20 which says "They were naked and not ashamed." It made me smile and realize that getting the laundry done on time wasn’t the big deal I was making it.

Y – Yield. This is the hardest for most of us. Allow God to set your to-do list by saying Lord, THY will be done – not MY will.

So, how about you? Do you have seven minutes you can carve out of your writing schedule to spend with God? If your answer is yes, here's what your Creator -- the One who knows the number of hairs on your head – promises in return…

"I will always lead you. I will satisfy your needs in dry lands and give strength to your bones. You will be like a garden that has much water, like a spring that never runs dry." Isaiah 58:11

Love Letter...

"I am a little pencil in the hand of a writing God who is sending a love letter to the world."

-–Mother Teresa

Tricia’s Thoughts:
The words we write can make a difference in transforming our world. Our difference in the world can equally transform our words.

Sub-creators...

Work places us into the stream of divine action, for it is here that we must fully express our creation in the image of God. We are 'sub-creators' . . .


--Richard Foster

Improve Your Circulation

Health and the Writer
By Camy Tang

While working full time and writing, it became hard for me to stay in shape. This wasn't a vain observation--I have genetic health problems that exploded when I started spending all my time with butt glued to computer chair. The work environment also didn't help since I spent some time eating out for lunch with coworkers. My friends who are stay-at-home-moms had similar problems with the stress of kids and the lure of fast food dinners.

I researched and figured out a bunch of tips and tricks to help me stay in shape without carving out of my precious writing time. I also found some tips to help me have just general better health. Pick and choose which of these will work for you.

Improve your circulation

Take breaks often to improve your body’s circulation. You’ll stretch your muscles as well as improving blood flow. Stretch your back, neck, and wrists—about once every 30-60 minutes, more if needed. Also, if you follow a regular, light exercise program (more on that in future columns), your circulation will improve even when you're sitting, and help your body resist repetitive motion injury.

An easy way to break is to take a walk around the building, in the yard, around the block, up and down the hall. Walk to the farther restroom when you take a bathroom break. Dash up and down the stairs a couple times. Walk out to your car and back. It only takes 5-10 minutes, and it will dramatically improve your circulation.

Here are a few exercises you can do in your chair: Swing your arms or stretch them above your head. Squeeze a stress ball, a tennis ball, or a rubber ball to improve your grip strength and increase circulation to your hands. Perform a few seated leg raises. Rotate your ankle.

Check out Camy’s website
And Camy’s blog

Emotional Response

The purpose of fiction is to evoke emotion. Readers want to laugh, cry, mourn, rejoice, wet their pants. If you consider your favorite fiction novel surely it does one of the above. Non-fiction must relay information. Fiction must stir an emotional response.

I could say more, but I'll refer to someone who says it better. Here is a quote by Gene Olson, author of Sweet Agony: A Writing Manual of Sorts.

“Writing is thinking on paper but that’s only Phase I. Phase II is a transfer process; the information on the paper must register in the mind of the reader. Most writing, like in a daily newspaper, never gets beyond Phase II.

"The best writing advances to Phase III—emotion. This polished product succeeds not because of its informational content but because it transmits feeling. It causes readers to laugh or cry or curse.

“A reader wants to respond emotionally. Feeling is an important girder in the bridge the writer must build between his own mind and that of the reader. If a writer fails to stir emotion, he is likely to bore his reader and then even the information load is likely to sink out of sight.

“A reader demands to be stirred, not just informed."

When readers tell me my novels made them laugh or cry I always ask about the specific parts. Then I nod my head in agreement—for those are the parts that made me laugh or cry as I wrote them.

We Have a Winner!

For the month of April and May I will draw a name (every Friday) from those who post COMMENTS on this blog, and they will win a free copy of my book. I'm doing this:

1) To draw more writers to this site--which I hope will become a valuable archive of encouragement, help, and inspirtation.

2) To encourage comments. (I'd love for this to be a place where we build a "community" to encourage and inspire each other.)

3) To introduce more people to my books (at no cost to them even!).

4) Because my love-language is gift giving. It makes me happy to give stuff away!

This week's winner is Paul. Check out his blog here.

Paul will recieve a copy of any one of my books autographed to him or a friend.

If you're interested in being entered into next week's drawing, be sure to comment!

Tricia Goyer

P.S. A special thanks goes to my son, Nathan, who drew the name this week!

Remembering

"They straightened out the Mississippi River in places, to make room for houses and liveable acreage. Occasionally the river floods these places...but in fact it is not flooding; it is remembering.
...All water has a perfect memory and is forever trying to get back to where it was. Writers are like that: remembering where we were, what valley we ran through, what the banks were like, the light that was there, and the route back to our original place."

--Toni Morrison

Breathing Life...

"A writer begins by breathing life into his characters. But if you are very lucky, they breathe life into you."

--Caryl Phillips

Style...

The art of clear, effective and readable writing. The rhythm that makes a sentence sound right to the mental ear. The ruthless cutting out of phrases that only clutter and impede this special music. And always, always, the patient, painstaking search for the perfect combination of words and phrases that will create this mental music and express what is to be said in the most moving and effective way.

--Writing Articles from the Heart, Marjorie Holmes, p. 132

Tricia’s Thoughts:
One of my first writing teachers taught me to “write big.” He suggested in the first writing draft to let the words flow from your fingertips, as to not break the creative flow. His next suggestion was to then “cut 20%.” Whether book or article, he believed that 20% of your manuscript consisted of unnecessary words. It’s a system that’s worked well for me. In novel writing, that 20% may be scenes that don’t progress the story or flowery description. In article writing, it may be clichés, repeated key words, or sentences that perhaps say the same thing twice. Following these steps always makes my writing tighter . . . and puts a smile on my editor’s face.

Health and the Writer by Camy Tang

While working full time and writing, it became hard for me to stay in shape. This wasn't a vain observation--I have genetic health problems that exploded when I started spending all my time with my butt glued to a computer chair. The work environment also didn't help since I spent some time eating out for lunch with coworkers. My friends who are stay-at-home-moms had similar problems with the stress of kids and the lure of fast food dinners.

I researched and figured out a bunch of tips and tricks to help me stay in shape without carving out of my precious writing time. I also found some tips to help me have just general better health. Pick and choose which of these will work for you.

Ergonomics:

Make sure your workstation is comfortable—not to hot or too cold, all your writing necessities placed in easy reach. Your efficiency will soar when your writing space is set up properly around you.

Arrange your furniture to minimize joint and tendon stress. When typing, your knees and elbows should be at 90 degree angles, your shoulders relaxed, lower back adequately supported. When using the mouse, your arm shouldn't reach or crook. The monitor should be directly in front of you, not to the side, with your eyes falling at approximately 1/3 from the top of the screen.

Check out Camy’s website at: http://www.camytang.com/
And Camy’s blog: http://www.camys-loft.blogspot.com/

ANNOUNCEMENT and Free books!

Do you miss getting WriterQuotes in your in-box?

Be sure to check out the FeedBlitz subscription on the left. When you subscribe to FeedBlitz the quotes will be mailed to your in-box. You can unsubscribe any time.

Also, every Monday fellow novelist Camy Tang will be my guest columnist offering Health and the Writer. Here's an introduction from Camy:

"While working full time and writing, it became hard for me to stay in shape. This wasn't a vain observation--I have genetic health problems that exploded when I started spending all my time with butt glued to computer chair. The work environment also didn't help since I spent some time eating out for lunch with coworkers. My friends who are stay-at-home-moms had similar problems with the stress of kids and the lure of fast food dinners.

"I researched and figured out a bunch of tips and tricks to help me stay in shape without carving out of my precious writing time. I also found some tips to help me have just general better health."

I think you'll enjoy Camy's tips . . . I know I will!

Plus FREE BOOKS. During the months of April and May, if you COMMENT on the WriterQuotes blog your name will be entered into a drawing each Friday. If your name is picked you'll win any one of my books--autographed for you or a friend of your choice.

Finally, be sure to check out my other blogs:

It's Real Life
Gen X Parents

and . . .

And be sure to visit out my newly launched website: Unforgettable Stories of World War Two.

This website was created as a way to share some of the wonderful, true stories I've discovered during my research. More stories will be added weekly, and I think you'll enjoy them.

(Of course, my main website can still be found here.)

I'm looking forward to connecting with you on this blog. I would love for it to be a place where we can communicate about our writing lives!

Lonely Business

Writing is a lonely business: you, the computer and God.

--DiAnn Mills

The Transitive Property of Writing

Because so many events of life leave people feeling unfulfilled, a story that offers a powerful fulfillment can create tremendous inner feeling of relief, a cessation of conflicted, and unresolved feelings and ideas for a story’s audience. When the hero saves the world, we share that ability and experience. When the underdog rises up to defeat an oppressor, we experience that we can defeat that which oppresses us in life. When the unloved finds true love, we share that experience of love. In those moments, the inner voices that whisper to us that our lives lack meaning, that we will never escape that which oppresses us, or that we don’t deserve to be loved, are silenced.

--Bill Johnson, A Story is a Promise: Good Things to Know Before You Write that Screenplay, Novel, or Play, p. 32

Tricia’s Thoughts:
I was never too great at math, but I do remember that in algebra the transitive property means that if a=b and b=c, then a=c.

In writing, the transitive property can be referred to as the emotions of conflict, relief, or fulfillment that transfers from the author’s mind, through the page, to the reader. If story = resolution and resolution = emotional fulfillment, then story = emotional fulfillment to readers whose life events don’t often end up with such neat and tidy conclusions.

The unspeakable...

Stories share the characteristics of scene and details, of plot and suspense, of characters, whether they’re factual; loosely based on true events, or invented. Stories can be shaped into poems, short stories, novels, personal essays, memoirs, hybrids, and crossovers . . . Stories have the power to say the unspeakable.

Meg Files, write from life, p. 5

Talent...

“Talent is long patience.”

Gustave Flaubert

Idiot or a genius...

“Words on paper lie there in mute splendor, staring coldly back, silently labeling you an idiot or a genius.”

Gene Olson, Sweet Agony: A Writing Manual of Sorts P. 14

Indulge...read for fun

Read for fun.
Most writers undoubtedly start out as avid readers, but, somewhere along the way, they often lose the joy under the mounds of books, magazines, press releases, studies, and manuscripts they have to read for their jobs. Don’t forget to indulge your love of poetry, adventure novels, or fashion magazines. This pleasure doesn’t even have to be a guilty one. You’re actually working, since you’re rejuvenating your love of the language.

--Linda Wasmer Andrews, The ASJA Guide to Freelance Writing, p. 306

Not a bridegroom...

Contrary to what most students want and expect a teacher is not a bridegroom; he can open the door to truth, but he cannot carry you across the threshold and deposit you safely on the other side.

~Sydney J. Harris

Ambiguity...

Ambiguity occurs when the writer does not trust her own experience with emotions enough and therefore ignores what it really feels like to be sad or in love or angry. A hefty part of writing is being able to explore our own inner lives, to tap into our own emotions and histories, to revisit things that perhaps are unpleasant . . .
One way we fall into ambiguity is by labeling an emotion rather than honestly exploring it. You can avoid this by studying a model from literature. Who is one of your favorite characters? What is his emotional journey? How does the writer take you along without falling into ambiguity? You will see that the character was created without emotional shortcuts or cryptic language to label his emotional self. Clarity and honesty brought this character to life, and that is how you will create believable emotional lives for your characters.

--Ann Hood, Creation Character Emotions, p. 10

One of the hardest challenges of fiction writing is getting our character’s emotions across through dialogue, the character’s actions, or numerous other devices without stating what that emotion is. Yet when we allow our characters to experience their own reactions—whatever they may be—the more likely our readers will be pulled into those same emotions.

I’ve had many times when a reader has approached me saying, “Your story made me cry.”

I usually probe further to learn what scene stirred such emotion, and I’m pleased when the person is able to relate the scene back in great detail. Yet even before the person answers the question, I have a few ideas of which scene it will be. How do I know? Those were the scenes that I wrote with tears streaming down my own face, hardly able to see my computer screen through a haze of teardrops.

After all, if I as the writer do not experience the range of emotions with my character . . . how can I expect my readers to?

Demons...

Real writers talk about their own lives, their own deepest fears and terrors and passions, in the midst of telling their “fictional” tales. If that seems too difficult or awkward, leave that material alone for now.

Over the course of time, you will find yourself going more and more deeply into what you need to get said. You will make friends with your demons, learn how to lead them out of their dusty cages—teach them to sing at your bidding and for your pleasure. But for now, write about what’s comfortable to write about. Let the demons lie. They won’t go anywhere: they’ll be there when you are ready to start taming them. Ultimately, other writers, other brave spirits, will give you the courage you need.

--Steve Kowit, In the Palm of Your Hand, p. 48

Ruthless yet tender...

It is my belief that if we truly honor the story in us by being ruthless yet tender in its telling, we have reached into other hearts as well.

--Charlene Baumbich, ASJA member, journalist, and novelist

It Shows...

Understand that you can have in your writing no qualities which you do not honestly entertain in yourself. Understand that you cannot keep out of your writing the indication of the evil or shallowness you entertain in your self. If you love to have a servant stand behind your chair at dinner, it will appear in your writing—or if you possess a vile opinion of women, or if you grudge anything, or doubt immortality—these will appear by what you leave unsaid more than by what you say. There is no trick or cunning, no art or recipe, by which you can have in your writing what you do not possess in yourself.

~Walt Whitman (Journal entry 1855-56)