voices from the wilderness
Well, it's October, and you know what that means: yellow leaves, a chill in the air, and a growing buzz about NaNoWriMo. If that just looked like a goofy jumble of letters and not a word, allow me to explain. NaNoWriMo is National Novel Writing Month, a yearly event where people from around the world … Continue reading Thinking of NaNoWriMo? The Truth About Writing a Novel in a Month
There's a time to hang on. And finally, there's a time for change. Just as we get used to the slow hum of summer, September comes along to shake things up. At least in northeast Minnesota, it's the wild card of the year.
You're the author, and you're in control of the story. If you want to keep writing, I think you can make it happen. If you want to be done, you have the power to make that choice too. It's up to you to weigh the pros and cons and decide whether your manuscript is worth your precious time.
There's a lot of writer advice out there that errs on the side of keeping it up at all costs. "You can work through anything!" "Never quit!" "Think of how good it will feel when you actually finish this manuscript!" Well, I'm here to say that not all manuscripts are meant to be finished. And some of them should be quit.
Since moving to Minnesota’s North Shore I’ve had people ask what it’s really like to live here year-round. In this month-by-month journal, I take you through the full year to give you a glimpse of What it’s Really Like. Natalie Babbitt wrote in Tuck Everlasting that the first week of August "hangs at the very top of … Continue reading North Shore Life: What’s it Really Like? | August
But if you're wanting to take your writing to the next level, you're going to have to learn to deal with Suck Days. It might not be easy, but here are four things I've found that make the Suck Days not only more manageable, but something you can use to your advantage.
Since moving to Minnesota's North Shore I've had people ask what it's really like to live here year-round. In this month-by-month journal, I take you through the full year to give you a glimpse of What it's Really Like. Oh, July. Sweet midsummer. That time when the earth hums with activity: with bumblebee parties in … Continue reading North Shore Life: What’s it Really Like? | July
But I took this message too far, to the point where I believed that caring for myself was at odds with caring for others, and that my worth to God was directly dependent on how much he "used" me to save people around me.
In fact, my reluctance to own the title "writer" may have actually held me back from the kind of bold moves that I secretly wanted to take.
So given that reality that some people and some marriages are not okay, what are we going to do about it? Reach out to those who are hurting and provide ways to help them heal? Or show contempt at those who reach out while pretending to have no issues so more people will be drawn to your religion?
