Cups...

We are cups, constantly and quietly being filled. The trick is, knowing how to tip ourselves over and let the beautiful stuff out.

--Ray Bradbury

Write...

Write while the heat is in you. The writer who postpones the recording of his thoughts uses an iron which has cooled to burn a hole with. He cannot inflame the minds of his audience.

~~Henry David Thoreau: Quotations about Writing

Health and the Writer by Camy Tang

Whether you’re a writer who also works a full-time job or are a busy stay-at-home-mom, it’s hard to stay healthy. 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.

Try to cut back on refined sugar

You’ve heard all the hype about why refined sugar is bad for you, but you just can’t stop those sodas and candies and cookies and...

It’s not just the calories. Sugar depresses your immune system, and if you have kids, that just means you’ll get sick even more often than you already do.

Sugar can cause mood swings, fatigue, and headaches, which certainly aren’t inductive to churning out powerful prose. The nature of sugar itself can mess with your body chemistry if you eat too much of it, and if you’re sedentary.

Problem is, we’re writers. Our profession naturally means we’re sedentary. We can’t exactly type out a novel while jogging with the dog.

However, there are ways we can cut back on sugar and make up for the necessities of the writer’s life.

(I personally don’t support artificial sweeteners, because as a biologist, I know that there’s no way to really know what all those fake chemicals are doing to our cells. We also recently had three church members discover they had cancer.)

I know you have that case of Dr. Pepper in the fridge. Or maybe it’s Coke or Pepsi. Regardless of your poison, try to limit the number of cans you drink. Pour your soda into a glass of ice to water it down a little AND chill it even more so that you drink it slower. Use a straw to also prolong the time it takes you to consume a can.

Take baby steps. Try to cut back on a can a week. Then maybe two cans a week. And so forth.

Try not to keep candy, cookies, and cakes in the house. If you do, put it someplace where you won’t see it all the time, like the top shelf of the pantry or the back of the fridge.

Be smart--don’t keep a bowl of M&Ms at your desk. Keep all that stuff out of sight.

I personally know it’s not easy to cut sugar out of our lives entirely, and I’m not suggesting that. After all, we need some kind of reward for finishing that chapter, or that page! Where would a writer be without chocolate?

However, be sensible and try to cut back on that stuff. You might actually see your writing efficiency improve.

Camy Tang is a novelist also fighting the battle of the bulge. Find out more about her and her books at http://www.camytang.com/, or enjoy the read on her blog at http://camys-loft.blogspot.com/.

Better...

"If you're a singer, you lose your voice. A baseball player loses his arm. A writer gets more knowledge, and if he's good, the older he gets, the better he writes." --Mickey Spillane

Tricia’s Thoughts:
Have you ever considered how blessed we are to be in our chosen profession? Writers get to keep writing long past what many consider retirement age. God reminds me of this often. Especially on those days when I have to run to the store for milk, take two sons opposite directions for basketball games, and help my daughter with her math homework. (Okay, actually her dad helps her with her math because I’ve forgotten how to do base five. But I’m good at editing her reports!)

Since I’m in my 30s, I could possibly have up to fifty more years to write. Fifty years! There’s no use getting stressed over one day that doesn’t meet my expectations. God knows what each day, each year holds. Think about this the next time your day doesn’t go as planned.

Happy Writing!
Tricia Goyer
www.thegoyers.com

From Dust and Ashes (January 2003)
10 Minutes to Showtime! (October 2003)
Night Song (September 2004)
Life Interrupted (July 2004)
Dawn of A Thousand Nights (September 2005)
Arms of Deliverance (July 2006)
Generation NeXt Parenting (September 2006)
Valley of Betrayal (February 2007)
Generation Next Marriage (Summer 2007)
Shadow of Treason (September 2007)


Do you have a writing quote you’d like to share? Send it to amy@triciagoyer.com

I’d feel honored if you’d forward this message to your writer friends!

Persistence...

This quote was sent to me by my writing-friend, Glenda Schoonmaker

"Keep at it! The one talent that's indispensable to a writer is persistence. You must write the book, else there is no book. It will not finish itself. Do not try to commit art. Just tell the story." –Tom Clancy

Tricia’s Thoughts:

At least once a week I receive an email from a new writer. “I’m not sure about my writing. Not sure if I should keep going. I’ve been rejected again. Should I keep going?”

The answer is “yes.” There are one thousand things that intimidate us about writing. Being good enough at the craft, understanding the mechanics well enough, questioning if the words on the page make sense at all.

Persistence is the only thing that differs between the writing dropouts and the career novelists. For every book that graces the store shelves is a writer who set his or her chin and continued on, despite the doubts that plagued them.

One day at a time...

“When I face the desolate impossibility of writing 500 pages, a sick sense of failure falls on me, and I know I can never do it. Then gradually, I write one page and then another. One day's works is all I can permit myself to contemplate.” –John Steinbeck

Tricia’s Thoughts:
Races are won one step at a time. Orchestras play note by note. The page writes book.

Don’t get overwhelmed with the whole process. Even seasoned writers get weak knees thinking of all the work that goes into writing book. Focus on the page you’re working on with confidence and with prayer. One by one, the pages will be written.

Giving it Your Best Shot...

"My aim is to put down on paper what I see and what I feel in the best and simplest way."
– Ernest Hemingway

Tricia’s Thoughts:
Yesterday I was blessed to teach ten, homeschooling students, grades 6-9, the basics of fiction writing. I broke the lessons into basic elements such as characterization and dialogue, and then I gave the students time to write and apply the concepts they just learned. I was blown away with the quality of their writing! It was fresh. It was truthful. I was impressed.

Of course, since these students only read their contributions out loud, I’m sure the pages were filled with misspellings, and grammar and punctuation errors, but it didn’t matter. They reminded me again what writing was all about—having fun, being simple and truthful, and giving it your best shot.

Health and the Writer by Camy Tang

Whether you’re a writer who also works a full-time job or are a busy stay-at-home-mom, it’s hard to stay healthy. 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.

Don't procrastinate.

I admit, I’m a huge procrastinator, especially when it comes to exercise. I’m just plain lazy.

But part of my procrastinator-itis is that I keep lying to myself:

“I’ll feel more like exercising tomorrow.”

“I’ll have more time to exercise later in the day.”

“I need to do this one thing first, then I’ll exercise.” (Distraction is a big problem for me and it just feeds my procrastination.)

“Exercise isn’t really that important if I eat less today.”

Isn’t lying a sin? And surely lying to myself isn’t less a sin than lying to someone else, right?

The problem is that overcoming procrastination usually takes a great deal of mental energy. I don’t know about you, but my brain is fried most of my waking hours.

That’s why they always say exercise is best done with a friend or with people who can keep you accountable. Even if it’s just an online buddy who can e-mail you each day for your buddy-system check-in.

So conquer your procrastination by buddying-up.

My particular procrastination is so bad that I, er, need several buddies...

Camy Tang is a novelist also fighting the battle of the bulge. Find out more about her and her books at http://www.camytang.com/, or enjoy the read on her blog at http://camys-loft.blogspot.com/.

C.S. Lewis...

“Don't say it was ‘delightful’; make us say ‘delightful’ when we’ve read the description. You see, all those words (horrifying, wonderful, hideous, exquisite) are only like saying to your readers 'Please, will you do the job for me?’ ”
–C.S. Lewis

Tricia’s Thoughts:
One thing that inspires me most as a writer is to read about other Christian authors. Their joys, their struggles, and their successes that come when they persist, seeking God’s wisdom and strength.

One of my favorite writers is C.S. Lewis. (I’m sure many of you feel the same!) Every night our family’s bedtime routine includes my husband reading a chapter from a fiction book. We’ve read the Narnia series at least three times, and I’m itching to have our family swept away to that magical world once again.

Why are we so entranced with C.S. Lewis? It’s because he succeeds at what he urges other writers to do. Lewis does the work. He doesn’t offer simple descriptions, but instead takes us into his world. C.S. Lewis makes us say “delightful” the moment we’re transported through the Wardrobe.

Here’s a bonus quote:
“ ‘You would not have called to me unless I had been calling to you,’ said the Lion.”
-- C.S. Lewis (The Silver Chair)

For more information about C.S. Lewis’ writing, check out the website developed by his step-son: http://cslewis.drzeus.net/

Fiction Vs. Non-fiction

When I ask a group of professional writers to state the essential difference between nonfiction and fiction, most are unable to do so . . . Let us state the difference in the simplest way.

Nonfiction conveys information.
Fiction evokes emotion.

Because the intended results are so different, the mind-sets required for writing fiction and nonfiction are different. In fiction, when information obtrudes the experience of the story pauses. Raw information comes across as an interruption, the author filling in. The fiction writer must avoid anything that distracts from the experience even momentarily. A failure to understand this difference between nonfiction and fiction is a major reason for the rejection of novels.
--Sol Stein, On Writing, p. 7

Tricia’s Thoughts:
This is one of the clearest explanations of the difference between fiction and non-fiction and I couldn’t wait to share it! Fiction evokes emotion. Fear. Excitement. Joy. Sorrow. Success! Thinking of this, how does that change your ideas about your story?

Heart and Soul...

“When I begin to lose heart, it does me good to recall a lesson in the dignity of art which I learned years ago at a theater in Assisi, in Italy. Helena and I had gone to see an evening of pantomime and no one else showed up. The two of us made up the entire audience. When the lights dimmed, we were joined by the usher and the ticket seller. Yet despite the fact that there were more people on stage than in the audience, the actors worked as hard as if the were basking in the glory of al full house on opening night. They put their hearts and souls into the performance and it was marvelous.”
--Eduardo Galeano, in The Book of Embraces

Tricia’s Thoughts:

Who do you write for? Will you put your heart and into your work even if you know it would never be a bestseller? Would you write as diligently if you knew only two would read your words? Or would you give all for simply an audience of One?

Don’t lose heart. Give it your all. With every word. Every story.

Part of the Body...

“We all feed the lake. That is what is important. It is a corporate act. During my time in the theatre I knew what it was to be part of such an enlarging of the human potential, and though I was never more than a bit play or an understudy, I knew the truth of Stanislavsky’s words: “There are no small roles. There are only small players.” And I had the joy of being an instrument in the great orchestra of a play, learning from the play (how much Chekov taught me during the run of The Cherry Orchard), from the older actors and actresses. I was part of the Body. That’s what it’s all about.

--Madeleine L’Engle, in Walking on Water

Tricia’s Thoughts:

In this quote, Madeleine L’Engle is speaking of theatre, but my mind couldn’t help to move to writing. I’m blessed to be at a point in my life where I consider many writers as friends—both those who’ve been writing longer than I’ve been alive, and those who are just beginning to discover the joy of putting words on paper. Their words, together, feed the lake. And they feed my soul. I learn from them all, and I am changed. Being a writer is being part of the Body. Perhaps you feel like a disconnected member, but know there’s a place for you. Attend writer’s conferences, join local or online groups. You are needed as much as you need.

Health and the Writer by Camy Tang

Whether you’re a writer who also works a full-time job or are a busy stay-at-home-mom, it’s hard to stay healthy. 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.

Portion check

Even if you’re eating low-fat, high-fiber foods, watch that you’re not undoing your new healthy lifestyle by eating too much of a good thing.

A serving of chicken is the size of a deck of cards, not a whole breast.

One serving of pasta is 1/2 cup cooked.

One serving of juice is 3/4 cup.

One serving of a bagel is half a bagel.

One serving of rice is 1/2 cup.

Check what size a portion is supposed to be, and try measuring or weighing your food until you can eyeball it. And even then (since my eyeball tends to grow after a few weeks), go back to measuring or weighing every so often to keep yourself in check.

Camy Tang is a novelist also fighting the battle of the bulge. Find out more about her and her books at http://www.camytang.com/, or enjoy the read on her blog at http://camys-loft.blogspot.com/.

Self-revelations...

“It is in their 'good' characters that novelists make, unawares, the most shocking self-revelations.” –C.S. Lewis

Tricia’s Thoughts:
One of the most intriguing writing tasks is getting to know my characters. They all start as “heroic” people, but the deeper I dig (with the help of “Writing the Breakout Novel” by Donald Maas) the more hang-ups I discover within that person.

This quote by C.S. Lewis rings true concerning the characters I create—so many times their hang-ups are my own. And perhaps some of their strengths too.

Someone once told me that writing is cheaper than therapy. I don’t know how it works, but writing does have a way of bringing out the most shocking self-realizations.

Writing is an adventure...

"Writing is an adventure. To begin with, it is a toy and an amusement. Then it becomes a mistress, then it becomes a master, then it becomes a tyrant. The last phase is that just as you are about to be reconciled to your servitude, you kill the monster and fling him to the public."

-- Winston Churchill

The Writer as Conductor...

“The novelist is like the conductor of an orchestra, his back to the audience, his face invisible, summoning the experience of music for the people he cannot see. The writer as conductor also gets to compose the music and play all of the instruments, a task less formidable that it seems. What it requires is the conscious practice of providing an extraordinary experience for the reader, who should be oblivious to the fact that he is seeing words on paper.” Sol Stein, On Writing, p. 8

Tricia’s Thoughts:

Reading this makes a lot of sense to me, “The writer as conductor also gets to compose the music and play all of the instruments.” And how are we trained to play these instruments well? We keep our ears open to the cadence of dialogue. Our eyes alert to seeing the world in beautiful and unique ways. We read the prose of others and study what they do best. And we continue to be a student of those willing to teach us their craft—whether it’s through articles, books, or even blog spots on writing. We also practice. Like a violinist who practices hours each day, should we do any less?

Health and the Writer by Camy Tang

Whether you’re a writer who also works a full-time job or are a busy stay-at-home-mom, it’s hard to stay healthy. 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.

A small change—complex carbohydrates

Making just a small change from simple sugars to complex carbohydrates can drastically improve your health.

Simple sugars are stuff like white flour, pasta, rice, cake. They’re shunted directly to your hips, baby. They also can cause your blood sugar to crash, which will inspire more eating.

Complex carbohydrates are foods that contain fiber, like whole grain breads and cereals, brown rice, fresh fruit, veggies.

These days, it’s easy to make small substitutions in our diets from simple sugars to complex carbohydrates.

Instead of all white rice, make it half-and-half white rice and brown rice. Buy whole-grain breads instead of white bread. Serve fresh fruit for dessert a couple nights a week instead of brownies or cookies. Increase the amount of vegetables in each meal by a third.

Make small changes—it’ll have positive long-term effects.


Camy Tang is a novelist also fighting the battle of the bulge. Find out more about her and her books at http://www.camytang.com/, or enjoy the read on her blog at http://camys-loft.blogspot.com/.

How much to write...

There's no hard and fast rule on how much to write per day. I know great writers who produce just 3-4 polished pages a day. I write only on deadline and I schedule 20 finished pages a day, but then need to go back and polish later. If I get my 20 pages done by noon, great. If it takes till midnight, so be it. I can't allow myself to fall behind. The best rule of thumb is to keep your seat in the chair and work for as long as you have energy, but never submit anything until you know you can't make it better.

–Jerry Jenkins, on a writer’s chat: http://www.crosswalk.com/community/chat/1265123.html

Tricia’s Thoughts:
I am amazed by all the new writers striving to be published. I belong to numerous on-line writers groups and there are many fantastic, dedicated men and women out there who strive to see their work in print. How can they get there? The advice from Jerry Jenkins, best selling author of the Left Behind series rings home with me: “Never submit anything until you know you can’t make it better.” The competition is tough, and only those who are willing to become the best of the best will succeed.

On panic...

I met a guy once who had some nerve damage in his neck from a diving accident. Then one morning he woke up and felt like he couldn't breathe. They took him to the ER and found that he was actually getting air into his lungs. No problem there. But his nerves were telling his brain, "No oxygen in lungs. Panic!" He's learned to live with that feeling every second of his life.That's a little like writing. On EVERY single book I've ever written, there's come a time when I was convinced the thing was going to be a train wreck, that it simply could not be done, that this would be the book that sent my pathetic little career crashing into the cliffs in a flaming heap of jagged metal. It's not a good feeling, but it beats feeling like you can't breathe. So I've learned to live with that feeling. And it makes it all the sweeter at 3 AM on the night before the book is due, when I hit Send on my email and blast that puppy off to my editor and go collapse in bed in a flaming heap of jagged metal.

--Randy Ingermanson, author of DOUBLE VISION

Check out Randy’s website at www.rsingermanson.com

Tricia’s Thoughts:

I always tell my kids all the time, “If earth were perfect, we wouldn’t need heaven.” And as Randy reminds us, if the writing weren’t so tough, the joy of finishing wouldn’t be so grand. Writing is hard work, and there are time ALL of us panic, thinking we’re never going to succeed this time. Yet when the work is done, the joy is that much sweeter because of it.

Persistence and God...

Here is a quote I found while researching for my new book on Marriage, it's taken from Sharon Jaynes book, Dreams of a Woman.

"Calvin Coolidge said, "Nothing n this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Educatoin will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan 'press on' has solved and always will solve the probelms of the human race.
While this is a wonderful quote, I'd like to modify Mr. Coolidge's words of encouragement. God is the only One who is omnipotent, but persistance and determination while relying on His power are a holy combination that's hard to beat!"

Tricia's thoughts:
Press ON!

Health and the Writer by Camy Tang

Whether you’re a writer who also works a full-time job or are a busy stay-at-home-mom, it’s hard to stay healthy. 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.

When you can, walk

If you can, get in about 30 minutes of walking a day. It’s a nice time to relax and de-stress. Or you can use it to walk the dog and get him in shape, too. Or you can play music on your MP3 player. Or you can listen to an audiobook or a workshop on MP3.

If it’s raining or snowing, walk around the house. Denise Austin has a “Walk Away the Pounds” indoor walking video. Or heck, just pop in any short exercise video and just do it! Even 15 or 20 minutes is great for your metabolism and energy levels.

If you can’t fit in 30 minutes for walking or exercise, then take small segments during the day to get in a little extra walking. You don’t need your fancy-shmancy walking shoes.

Stop the taxi a few blocks short and walk the rest of the way. Park at the far end of the parking lot. Take the stairs. Walk to your child’s school and make them walk back with you. Walk to the post office. Walk to the grocery store (assuming you don’t have twenty bags of groceries to take back with you).

If you sit at a computer or desk all day, take ten minutes out of every hour to take a short walk. Go use the bathroom, take a hike around the building. Walking will also be good for your lower back if you don’t have an ergonomic chair.

eDiets has this statistic: “A study in the Journal of the American Medical Association showed that walking briskly for half an hour just six times a month cut the risk of premature death in men and women by 44 percent.”

So walk!

Camy Tang is a novelist also fighting the battle of the bulge. Find out more about her and her books at http://www.camytang.com/, or enjoy the read on her blog at http://camys-loft.blogspot.com/.