Writer's Little Book of Wisdom reviewed by Moonine Sue Watson

Writer’s Little Book of Wisdom by John Long is written by a best-selling author who shares three hundred and two thoughts about writing. The book is full of pearls of wisdom he’s gathered from other authors and various sources.

I think I won this book as a door prize at a writers’ workshop. I found it when I was looking through a stack of books. I was curious and pulled it out to take with me to my doctor’s appointment, where experience has taught me to always bring something to read while I wait my turn.

The title page has a sentence beneath the title stating:
A treasury of tips and warnings for every writer and aspiring writer-the traps to avoid and gold mines to explore.

His introduction hit me between the eyes. He mentions how some people spend so much time learning techniques and studying how to write that they never get around to actually writing. I’m guilty as charged. Right away, I decided it was no accident that I’d stumbled across this little book tucked in among my many stacks of “to read” books.

Item number one was “Art without practice is nothing.”
Number two was “Sit down every day and write.”

I figured with the introduction and the first two items being exactly the encouragement I needed, the rest of the book would be filled with further good advice.

I was not disappointed. I’m going to keep this little book next to my computer for a nugget of truth each day as I “Sit down every day and write.”

I've Got Clutter!

It seems no matter how hard I try to organize my writing time, I eventually fail. I've tried to use time management techniques, schedules, and my PDA alarm, reminding me to get busy. I keep praying God will help me realize where I go wrong. He answered my prayer.

Clean-up the clutter!

from clutter to clarity, simplifying life from the inside out, by Nancy Twigg has helped me get real with my problem.

Mrs. Twigg defines clutter as: anything that complicates your life and prevents you from living in peace as you live out your purpose.

Now I know one of my purposes in life is to write. I'll be the first to admit that the reason I don't write more often is because writing makes me feel guilty when my house is messy. So, I spend my time cleaning and doing laundry and then try to make time for a couple of days during the week to write.

How's that working?

Not so great.

Why?

Because I've Got Clutter!

One thing, which Mrs. Twigg describes in her book is that clutter is a symptom of an emotional problem. Discontent is a reality in our world and in our lives. Clutter then becomes a symptom of our discontent. So, how do we go about finding contentment in our discontent world?

Once we adjust our attitude the next thing we work on is our schedule. In our busy society, we cram every moment of the day with activities. So, now not only is our attitude cluttered, but our lives are too! We have to learn how to say and mean a very powerful word, "NO".

Those of us who have problems with our attitudes being cluttered, our lives being cluttered, we also have problems with our finances being cluttered. Learning to live in freedom is the last section where we can at last find contentment in our budgets.

Now that I'm transforming into a creature who is content to possess just what she needs, I'm finding more time to write. Perhaps, from clutter to clarity, isn't a book written on the craft of writing, however it will help you to find the time to write.

This book can be found at Amazon.com. Here is the link: http://www.amazon.com/Clutter-Clarity-Simplifying-Life-Inside/dp/0784721106

The Writer's Idea Book by Jack Heffron

Stumped for a new idea?
Too blocked-in from junk to think creatively?
The Writer's Idea Book stimulates the creative juices and gets you rolling again. I've owned this book for six years and use it to jump-start stories. Heffron gives several prompts within each chapter as food for thought.
A for-instance on page 59 says "Show the change in a character by showing how a once-loved hobby or object or activity now holds no interest to that character."
Heffron doesn't only tell his readers to write about our longing, but he tells us to compare our longings to a place. Describing hope is impossible without comparison. He suggests thinking of a time of suffering and how we weathered the storm. What feelings went through our mind?
He asks us to write a short description of something and then "go long" by expanding it to twice the original length.
Each short chapter with unusual titles such as "Minding Other People's Business" and "Vast is the Power of Cities" begins with an inspirational and thought-provoking quote. He tantillizes our imagination, then gives his prompts.
I have several pages dog-eared (I know, not nice), but I use it whenever my mind quits thinking as it does when I've been away from my writing too long. It's my creative accelerator.

Hinds Feet on High Places

Hannah Hurnard (1905-1990)
1955 Christian Literature Crusade

My oldest sister was an avid reader throughout her short life. Once she established a relationship with a book, she couldn’t part with it. The walls of her home were literally lined with shelves of books that she read and re-read many times.

While I share my sister’s passion for reading, (inherited from our father), I recycle most of my books. I do have a couple shelves of books that I have a “relationship” with. However, I can’t seem to keep one of my favorite titles in stock. The lesson of this particular story is so powerful that I have given several copies away—mostly to women—with prayers that the message would impact the next person as much as it had me.

The book is Hinds Feet on High Places by Hannah Hurnard. Hannah published this best seller when she was fifty, which encourages this writer immensely. Hannah was raised as a Quaker and spent much of her life in missionary pursuits, witnessing to Jews in Palestine from 1932 until Israel became a nation in 1948. This experience inspired another book, Watchmen on the Walls.

Hinds Feet on High Places was written while Hannah still had a true heart for the Lord; long before she accepted the doctrine of universal salvation and even went on to dabble in the New Age. Sadly, she would later be scorned in evangelical circles.

Hannah took her title from Habakkuk 3:19; “The Lord GOD is my strength, and He has made my feet like hinds' feet, and makes me walk on my high places. (NAS) It’s an allegory pertaining to the challenges and triumphs of the devoted Christian’s walk with Christ, in the time honored fashion of the John Bunyon classic, The Pilgrim’s Progress. Hannah’s theme, however, is taken from the biblical book of Song of Songs or Song of Solomon.

From her home in the Valley of Humiliation, our long suffering heroine, Much Afraid can see the High Places where the King lives. Much Afraid has crippled feet that makes her work difficult and tedious, and she longs to be free of the drudgery. Like everyone else in the valley, Much Afraid works for Chief Shepherd, who makes his way between the valley and the high places with miraculous speed and agility.

Much Afraid belongs to the Fearing Clan, and it is decided that she will marry her cousin, Craven Fear. When she appeals to the Shepherd for help, he places a Seed of Love in Much Afraid’s heart and offers to lead her out of the Valley of Humilation to the High Places, with the help of Sorrow and Suffering. Of course, she recoils at the notion of taking the hands of such travel mates. The seeds must blossom, because no one can enter the High Places lest love blossoms in the heart. Although the Shepherd cannot make the perilous journey with her, he promises Much Afraid that he will be near and all she need do is to call out his name.

When the path becomes steep, Much Afraid stumbles along the way because of her crippled feet. Interestingly, a “hind” refers to a female red deer, compared to a male deer called a “hart.” A hind is described as being very sure footed in the mountains, lending much significance to Hannah’s prophetic title. Choosing titles is a particular challenge for this writer. A title like this—woven so deeply in the fabric of the plot—makes me almost covet a gift for titling like Hannah’s.

Predictably, Much Afraid will face hazards along the way, such as the Shores of Loneliness, Precipice of Injury, the Forest of Danger and Tribulation, and the Valley of Loss. She eventually takes the hand of Pride, and the Shepherd must be called upon to drive this demon away. I won’t spoil the rest of the story for you.

Hind’s Feet in High Places inspires me as a writer to present scriptural principle in fiction with appealing plots, out of the ordinary characters, and a powerful message crafted so subtly that my reader will congratulate themselves for arriving at their own profound conclusions.

Hind’s Feet in High Places is a love story. Our relationship with the Shepherd and our Christian walk should be passionate love stories, like the Song of Solomon. How sad that many preachers and teachers avoid these ardent passages of Scripture. Christ’s love for us shouldn’t make us blush but rather sing out our devotion from the steeple.

I encourage anyone with a romantic heart and a passionate spirit for the Lord to purchase a few copies of this book—you’ll want a few to give away.

Write His Answer by Marlene Bagnull

And the Lord said to me, "Write my answer on a billboard, large and clear, so that anyone can read it at a glance and rush to tell the others." Habakkuk 2:2

This scripture begins the devotional for writers, Write His Answer. Ms. Bagnull voice is gentle and encouraging. And for this writer, it is what I needed after years of harsh criticism. Knowing someone else had been in the trenches and knew exactly how low I felt was the balm for my soul.

The book breaks devotions into small daily inspirational truths. The author uses personal experience to shine light on her message of hope.

One of my favorite lines from one of her devotions, she says, "We are literature missionaries." Wow! Could something I say or show in my character's emotion actually lead people closer to the Lord? I know that it is God's purpose for my life to write Christian fiction, but could His will include something as great as becoming a literature missionary?

If you want to know what God wants you to do, ask him, and he will gladly tell you. James 1:5.

For a time I struggled with what genre God wanted me to write. I knew in my heart that writing hot & steamy was not becoming of a Christian nor was it right to lead readers into lustful thoughts, causing them to sin. But what about secular fiction? Clean fiction?

I finally surrendered my will to Him. Finding His will for my life brought me peace. However, I felt self-conscience and inadequate proclaiming His truth. Ms. Bagnull summed up exactly what I felt.

"Why don't you just give up?" the Evil One Hissed, "you don't have what it takes. You're only setting yourself up for heartache. What makes you think God can use you anyway?"

Several years and about thirty rejection slips later, the book I had tried so hard to sell at that conference was finally accepted for publication. What enabled me to persevere? I knew that I knew God had called me to write. I clung to the promise that I would be "rooted deeply in the soil and bear fruit for God" (2 Kings 19:30). And God faithfully honored His promise.

Now I know it is God's will for me to write Christian fiction, so then I can relax and live in peace that He will fulfill a good work in me even to the point of publication.

Every time I read this daily devotional I remember my calling through Ms. Bagnull's encouraging words. One day will come when the Lord will use my voice to write His answer on the billboards of bookshelves.

Beginnings, Middles, and Ends by Nancy Kress reviewed by Moonine Sue Watson

The book I am currently reading is called Beginnings, Middles and Ends by Nancy Kress. The book is part of The Elements of Fiction Writing series from Writer's Digest Books.

According to the "About the Author Section" of the book "Nancy Kress is an author of five novels and two collections of short stories. She is a two-time winner of the Nebula Award given by the Science Fiction Writers of America for the best series of the year. She is fiction columnist for Writer's Digest magagzine and frequently teaches writing at various universities."

Ms. Kress divided her book into three sections titled "Beginnings", "Middles", and "Ends".


For the "Beginning" section, she stresses how important the first three paragraphs of any story are to the writer seeking publication. Editors are busy people and have developed the ability to tell in that short amount of writing whether it is worthwhile to continue reading. Ms. Kress encourages the writer to polish and work on that section until it is as well-crafted as the writer can make it. She provides examples and suggestions on how to improve those paragraphs. She then gives examples of how to move to the next scene. At the end of each chapter she provides exercises for the writer to complete.

One piece of advice I appreciated was how important it is to move on with a story rather than revising the first three chapters over and over. Failing to move on means never completing a book. I liked the suggestion of rewriting a scene from five different directions to find the one that tells the story best.

I am eager to continue learning more about how to improve my writing as I read the rest of the book.

For an unpublished writer like myself, I plan to read the whole book and do the exercises to find out how to improve what I've written.

For the new writer, this is a wonderful way to start out writing, with suggestions that will start her/him down the road to developing an effective writing craft.

For the writer closer to publication or even the published writer, this book would help identify areas of weaknesses and offer remedies for the problems. Another strategy would be to read the chapters for the area that seems to be the most difficult for the author.

I plan to keep this book within easy reach in order to refer to it often.

Getting Into Character

Summer is busy. This week I'm keeping grandsons aged 5 & 10 & they keep Grandma hopping. Thought I'd take a minute to tell of a book I purchased last Septemeber at the ACFW conference in Dallas. "Getting Into Character" by Brandilyn Collins. If you've read one of her fiction mysteries, you know Brandilyn knows her characterization techniques. In fact, my suggestion would be read this book, then go to one of her fiction books and see how she utilizes her own techniques. No better way to reinforce what you learn.
Her subtitle is "Seven Secrets a Novelist can Learn from Actors." These seven aren't secrets exactly, but Brandilyn explains them, giving examples that work, to make your computer/brain activate where you understand. My personal favorite is "personalizing" and I've used that one several times already. I remember the assignment when Diann Mills at her workshop asked us to write about the lowest time in our lives. Personalizing creates emotion, and yes, I have trouble building emotion so that little key is priceless.
Well, that's all for today. I hear two small voices yelling "Mimi, let's go swimming again. Mimi, where are you?"
Happy writing all and make us fall in love with your characters.
Janet K. Brown