More than Writers

Do you use writing prompts? I’ve used random letter, word, phrase, and even number generators to trigger ideas. For the random word and phrase ones, I use what emerges as a title or theme. Coming up with characters is fantastic fun but I like to mix up my approach to doing that. Pixabay image. Sometimes they can be a starting point. If a phrase comes up which is a cliche, my instinct as a flash fiction writer is to use it as a shortcut (cliches carry a lot of meaning in few words) but ideally subvert it. One of my stories is called Punish The Innocent . You would usually think in terms of Punish The Guilty, but you can have fun adapting phrases to your own purposes. Always a good question but mixing up how you write your stories can be fun. Pixabay image. How on earth can you use random number generators in fiction, I hear you cry? My approach is to take the number generated - e.g.  314 - and use it either as:- 1.  A countdown to something spectacular. In t...

The lawn at the entry to Trinity College, where the book event was held. The lawn was dug over by Extinction Rebellion protestors - but that’s another story! Picture credit The Telegraph. I had the privilege, at the beginning of this week, of attending an event featuring a new volume of poems entitled ‘After Prayer’ by the poet Malcolm Guite. The opening sequence in the book is a thought-provoking collection of twenty-seven sonnets by Malcolm, each of which is a response to one of the phrases in George Herbert’s sonnet ‘Prayer’. At least two of those phrases will probably resonate with people who have never, or only in passing, encountered George Herbert’s work: ‘Heaven in ordinarie’ and for entirely different reasons, ‘something understood’. Malcolm guided us through his and Herbert’s work with skill, joy and an infectious Godliness. It was good to be there. Whoever organised the launch had thought wonderfully creatively about the venue, holding it in the chapel...

There is something special about reading in a foreign language. Somehow it can make the words feel more powerful, more memorable. In secondary school we read Macbeth during English classes, and for many years a friend and I would start our plan-making with, “Where shall we three meet again? In thunder, lightning or in rain?”  The other one would answer with the next lines, and we would laugh like only teenage girls can. In Dutch, it would just sound silly, but the foreign sounds of the words made it ‘cool’. A few weeks ago we visited a large Christian bookshop in the middle of the Netherlands. Books everywhere, not just Christian ones, but all clean and wholesome. The children’s section is massive, making me feel sad, as well as wonder how fast my kids could learn to read in Dutch... Many of the titles have been translated from English, a job that makes me shudder. I have done one translation project, and it was hard work. For one thing, it was for the ex-Dutch market, so t...

I’ve recently started to learn biblical Hebrew. Oh my goodness, it’s difficult! Learning the names of the letters, the vowel symbols, word endings, and so on. So much to absorb. Even once I’ve grasped the consonant and vowel sounds, every word I (attempt to) read needs to be painstakingly sounded out, letter by letter. And then, once I’ve worked out how to pronounce it, I still need to work out what it means – is it masculine or feminine, singular or plural, present or past…? But it’s fascinating, and I’m hoping that, at some stage, probably way in the distant future, I might be able to read portions of Scripture in the language it was written in. Grammar has always fascinated me – the way language works, the rules, the exceptions. My children think I’m weird (and I probably am, but that’s a whole other issue…), but I guess that’s one of the reasons I love the job I do – writing, editing, speaking; making words work for me; communicating a message in such a way as to be sur...

Nobody ever knew about my imaginary friend. She had a name, but that is classified information. Revealing such detail would diminish her. She was beautiful and much cleverer than me – always around when needed but never intrusive. At times she became less accessible, her features elusive no matter how hard I tried. Attempts to entice her back seemed to push her further away. If I had told anyone about her they would have said she wasn't real. That's why I kept her hidden. It's difficult to explain, but although she didn't have a body you could touch, or a voice you could hear, her presence was powerful. I can't remember how old I was when she first appeared or why she came. Maybe I was about seven? I named her after my favourite Enid Blyton character. Later I renamed her. It was easy enough – no bureaucracy as in real life. Together we invented a world without prohibition.  You could have dark hair one day and blond the next. You could wear whatever you li...

I saw in my dream that as Writer made his way towards the City of Published Words , he fell into a great Slough . And because of the mighty burden of Unwritten Book upon his shoulders, he could not climb out again, but continually slid back. He called out to one that stood by, What do they call this terrible place? For I sink down and cannot mount again. And he that stood by said that some called it the Bog of Writer’s Block, and some the Fen of Procrastination, but privily we call it the Slough of Despond . Presently he was aware of a crowd of men and women that stood a little way off from the Slough, calling out with cheerful voices. And some cried, Dig deeper, man, for you are but at the surface. And others cried, A hundred words before breakfast, and Carve out time! And some sang Nay-no! Rhyme-oh! and other like incomprehensible ditties. And Writer cried out, what am I to do, for my burden is intolerable? And one reproached him, saying, Be not so preachy! Then as he floundered ...

The Prince of Peace by Rebecca Seaton 'He leads me beside quiet waters' Psalm 23:2     Jesus is often called the Prince of Peace. There are several songs where He is called that and many occasions in the Bible where He is seen bringing peace. It is also something people often give testimony about, as being peaceful in today’s hectic society is something many struggle with and it’s often very significant when God gives us a different response to those around us.     What does it mean? The idea of being at peace sometimes conjures up an image of total calm, almost oblivious to one’s surroundings. Or is it more the ability to see something different, to be calm despite circumstances?      When Jesus calmed the storm ( Matthew 8:23-27; Mark 4:35-41), He brought total peace – the storm disappeared at His command. To one of the thieves on the cross, however, He brought peace about what happens after death – there was n...

“We went to a museum ” said my niece. She was telling me about half term with my parents. “And it was really busy. There were too many people and I couldn’t see anything .” I said what a shame it was that she hadn’t seen any of the special things at the museum. “I did see them,” she said, “Oupa (Grandpa) lifted me up, and then I could see.” Oupa lifted me up, and then I could see. Sometimes, I think the writing world can feel rather crowded. There are so many books out there! We can’t see. Other books, or writers, or deadlines, or longing for deadlines, get in the way. And we lose sight of what we are doing. And we end up not being able to see anything . Surrounded by writing, and books, and writers, and life, we can’t see anything . And perhaps we end up losing sight of God in it all. We can’t see the wood for the trees, as the saying goes. We need an Oupa to lift us up, so we can see. But who is our Oupa? If this were Sunday School, I guess you’d all b...

[For I always pray to] the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, that He may grant you a spirit of wisdom and revelation [of insight into mysteries and secrets] in the [deep and intimate] knowledge of Him, By having the eyes of your heart flooded with light, so that you can know and understand the hope to which He has called you, and how rich is His glorious inheritance in the saints (His set-apart ones).  Eph. 1:17-18                                                                                 In this new year, new decade, there is a sense of release, not just from ...