More than Writers

One of my jobs as ACW Webmaster is to post details of members’ books on the ACW website.  Unfortunately, there is not enough time for me to read all of them, so what stick in my mind are titles.  (No, this is not a how-to post on writing titles for your writing.  You can read on… safely.) Don’t Fuss, Trust God, Don’t Fuss by Ruth Bamforth, about which I uploaded information on the Christian Living page ( https://christianwriters.co.uk/christian-living/ ), is a collection of sermons given by her father, The Reverend Stuart Bamforth.  I have not read this one (Sorry, Ruth), although it’s on my TBR list.  The title is so magnificent in itself that I almost don’t want to open it.  Right now, as I’m fretting about all the things I need to do before travelling to WOWIG (the ACW Jubilee at The Hayes in Derbyshire) next Friday, including (paid) working three whole days beforehand, it does me good to remind myself not to fuss and just trust God to get everything do...

Not yet. How often do we use those words? Sometimes they sound quite resigned, as we know it will happen, just not today. When we brought Goldie home, our Labrador puppy, she needed a bath. I expected that as a typical waterdog, she’d swim six lengths breaststroke around the bath and another five lengths backstroke, finishing off with a couple of butterfly strokes. To my surprise, she was not impressed with baths or water at all, staring at me with the saddest puppy eyes imaginable. After several weeks, she is now happy to stick her front paws and nose in the kids’ tiny pool outside. When I mentioned this to others they said, “Not yet. It takes a while for them to get used to water.” Who knew? Editing is another ‘not yet’. My first thought? How hard can it be to find wayward commas, spare exclamation marks and the odd misspelt word? Hard apparently, and although Onwards & Upwards did a fabulous job with Sapphire Beach, it definitely took longer and was way more complex than run...

Image Credit:  Images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos. There are no hard rules for getting the most from a writing workshop but I’ve found the following tips handy. Go with an open mind. I’ve gone to workshops not obviously in my field yet discovered information I’ve found useful later. Notebooks and pens are still useful. Sometimes it’s quicker to take something down the old school way. Neither are there any worries about your PC battery dying or if there are enough power points so you can re-charge (the machine, rather than you. We have tea and coffee!). If writing exercises are set, give them a go. You’ve got nothing to lose trying and may find you have a story, or at least the beginning of one, emerging you can finish at home. Do finish those exercises later, polish them, and get them out there. I’ve had work published that way.  Don’t worry about reading exercises out if the tutor asks. Nobody expects perfection. What you’ve just jotted down can only be a firs...

O Death, Where Is Thy Sting ? 1 Corinthians 15:55a [KJV] On Sunday, May 22nd, 2022, I had cause to think about death reflectively because it came right to my door step. Many of us might have written devotions, dirges or used death as a tool to eliminate a character in writing so that the effect of grief is impacted. I lost my parents years ago but I wasn’t personally there in their last moments as I had been with my darling sister, Elizabeth. How many of you have watched a plant, a loved pet or a loved one die in stages?   God gave me this most unusual experience for His glory. Death has lost its sting! The other day, I was greatly amused when Brendan talked about weeping over the last chapters of his edits.   Some readers weep when a beloved character dies. Yes, I have felt raw anger towards writers for taking away a beloved character, especially if the character was a Christian. I had expected     God to heal or restore life because He is a miracle working God....

As I've sat at my computer today trying to get important words down on cyber space, my new Hearing dog Bailey keeps coming up and nudging me.   He wants attention. He wants fun He wants me to play with him and chase him with his toy. I try to ignore him and concentrate on writing but that can be tricky when he keeps plonking his head on my lap and gazing at me. I usually succumb and start to chase him or play tug of war with his toy, all the while thinking rather guiltily 'Oh I should be writing, never mind, I'll do it in a minute!'  If my blog were my dog it would be easier. Sometimes I think about the writing as something I need to do.  I've got to meet a deadline, I've got to create something inspiring in a few hours or minutes.  I've got to find the words and sew them together.   There can be so many 'I've got to's' that I lose the joy of just loving words, sitting with ideas and shaping them into something concrete.   My dog wants attent...

  My last two blog posts have been about celebrating anniversaries and there was one more anniversary this month. Perhaps the biggest celebration of all. A couple of weeks ago we celebrated the first anniversary of being grandparents, as our darling grandson reached his first birthday. We had a lovely bee-themed celebration with close family and friends. Little man had little idea of what all the fuss was about, but appreciated his bee cake and his favourite present – a mini broom and dustpan set! We are really privileged to be closely involved in our grandson’s life and it is a joy to watch him grow and develop. He has a unique character and a unique language, and his own ways of getting what he wants! Like most one- year- olds he has first teeth appearing, but he has yet to take his first steps unaided. That is not to say   that he isn’t trying to walk. He definitely is on a mission to do so and he is up on his feet as much as possible. Watching him learn to walk has inspi...

  This evening, we watched Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe interviewed by Emma Barnett. I strongly recommend this piece of broadcasting. We all know the story, but the key thing is to see it told by Nazanin, who is the epitome of dignity, courage, truthfulness, and restraint. Very early in the interview she was asked what sustained her in her eight and a half months of solitary confinement: one thing was the love of her daughter Gabriella, the other was her faith. Yes, her Muslim faith. I hope that does not lose her the interest of Christians. Image from Change.org What has this to do with writing? I think it calls for things to be acknowledged and things to be said, especially by men. There is an outstanding specimen of womanhood at the centre of this story, with varying examples of manhood surrounding her, as it were. Her husband Richard stands out, of course, as a hero, for his dogged campaign for her release. It was moving to hear Nazanin acknowledge how what he did has deepened thei...

  The Fruits of the Spirit for Writers (Part Two) by Rebecca Seaton Following on from last month, I’ve been looking at some of the fruits of the Spirit that could seem more wishy-washy at first glance but are actually far from it…                                                      My author mug: an example of a friend's faithful support. Kindness seems an obvious one. With #BeKind trending across social media, the intention to be kind is certainly there. However, actually living it is much harder – and much less evident in the world. God empowers us to be kind, something that has a particularly significant impact when giving feedback. It is possible to give criticism without attack and this can build up a fellow writer in the same way God convicts us but does not condemn.   Goodness is often confused with kindness but is more abou...

Yesterday, I had the privilege of being part of a special day. The church was celebrating its 60 th anniversary, and was holding an exhibition of memories. I was asked to produce a display. Displays are not really my forte, but this one had two very specific things they wanted me to include: My wheelchair My books Both things I have, so could easily display: But why those specific things? Because my wheelchair journey and my book journey both began when I attended that church. It was that church who prayed for me after surgery left me paralysed from the waist down. It was that church who watched me struggle to learn to walk again. It was that church who were alongside me when I finally accepted that I needed a wheelchair. In the hard times, they were there. It was that church who celebrated my first book with me. In the joy-full times, they were there. I’m reminded of Psalm 139: 9&10: If I rise on the wings of the dawn, If my writing is going brilliantly, a...

  Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it. For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened. For we who have believed enter that rest…                                                Hebrews 4:1-4   When you read this, I had hoped to catch up with the sun on a cruise around the Greek islands, and in Crete visit Spinalonga an island where people with leprosy were sent until 1960s and takes centre stage in Victoria Hislop’s book 'The Island'.  Unfortunately, due to an infected seroma we had no choice but to cancel, but I will get there one day for the...