The Writing Life
It’s okay if you don’t know which way to go. You can always ask for directions. – Write Right
When you don’t know what to do with your work, ask for directions. You don’t have to have all the answers. No one ever said a piece of fiction or a painting had to come out perfectly formed.
Running by yourself has its benefits. You can think about things. You work through a troublesome spot in your novel or poem. You connect all four of the books you’re reading, including Dracula and Writing Down the Bones.
[Read more…] about How to be a Better Writer: Get a Running Partner
I believe I am called to excellence. Most other people probably do, too. I may differ, however, in the “why” of it. I pursue excellence because God is excellent. He excels at everything He does, has done, will do. Because He tells me to model my life after Him, I choose the way of excellence.
[Read more…] about How to be a Better Writer: Pursue Excellence
Community isn’t found; it’s built. Once built, you have to fight for it each and every day. [Read more…] about Fight for Community
Do not covet your ideas. Give away everything you know, and more will come back to you…The problem with hoarding is you end up living off your reserves. Eventually you’ll become stale. If you give away everything you have, you are left with nothing. This forces you to look, to be aware, to replenish. – from Paul Arden’s It’s Not How Good You Are, It’s How Good You Want To Be
My friend Esther frames Vonnegut’s saying differently: do the things that make your soul happy. She and I are quiet for a moment – an oddity for the two of us – and reflect on what her statement means in the context of our conversation. She and I aren’t speaking of a short-term happiness but of a long-term one, one that is rooted in pursuing God and resting in Him.