More than Writers

‘Exercise is good for you.’ Open any newspaper or magazine at this time of year and you will read several articles promoting this message. Readers will be encouraged to exercise in order to lose weight, boost their physical fitness and also their mental health. Have you thought about how exercise could benefit your writing, walking in particular? I thoroughly recommend walking for getting your mind going. Out in the cold damp winter air, with the wind in your face, sloshing through dewy grass in walking boots or wellies, you have time to think. Permission to think, even. What else you can do whilst looking across a muddy ploughed field in the middle of the countryside? Moreover, there is something about the steady rhythm of plonking down one foot after the other, which seems to generate and develop ideas in creative heads. Swimming can work in the same way I know of several ACW members who explore and develop characters and plot lines in their minds as they pummel up an...

  Image from Pixabay I love new ideas, wild plans, and elaborate schemes. The details that come along for the ride aren’t as loved, but my enthusiasm can usually handle them. Stories can be that way too. It’s how many of my books ended up (slightly) dystopian by accident. I’m not into Dystopian Fiction, but when there’s people living underground, a shortage of fresh DNA and those kinds of details, it soon pulls you into a dystopian setting! A while ago, Katherine Blessan started talking about a Dystopian book group, and it all sounded brilliant and a wild scheme, so definitely up my street, never mind the details of needing dystopian books, exclusive content and people to enjoy it with… Now, several months later and a lot of incredibly hard work on Katherine and Lydia Jenkins as well as others’ part, our book club is ready to roll in a few days! It’s been set up on Reamstories , which looks great as a platform, totally new to me! My days are filled with my children’s details,...

Image Credits:  Images created in Book Brush using Pixabay images Firstly, may I wish you a Happy New Year and to say I hope your writing plans go well in 2025.   The New Year, and the period leading to it, is a time for reflection on the last twelve months and what we would like to see happen in the next twelve. That doesn’t just apply to our writing.    I think it is a good idea to take time out to evaluate where we are at writing wise and to work out what our next steps will be. Setting goals at all means you are more likely to achieve them even if you take baby steps. Those baby steps are not such a bad thing. Each step forward means progress. Little progresses mount up over time.   And noting that kind of progress (a story online here, a letter in print there, getting a piece of writing done ready for editing and all sorts of writing things) is a wonderful counter argument to the insidious whispers from whatever is responsible for Imposter Syndrome. So the ...

  WONDERING AND PONDERING Did you wonder how many Christmas cards you had this year, or did you ponder whom you might have left off your card list? Have you read C.S Lewis? How did he arrive at the idea of the gender of each of God’s three personalities? Maybe over this sentence, “God made man in His image…” Did God ponder over Adam or Eve coming first? Or do you ponder why angels assigned to each person on earth remain invisible? I guess, like me, that you have gone into such thoughts in your writing when you ponder who to be the villain. Have you also wondered if your characters were getting the starlight over your hero or if your proposed 80,000-word length was becoming 100,000? Many people have wondered what gifts to get for their loved ones this season. It can be difficult if you must ponder cash or gifts for children, grandchildren, siblings, and brethren from the fellowship of Christ’s family. Have you begun to contemplate the New Year in terms of self-examination? I a...

 Over this Christmas the wise men from the East and their epic journey following the star to find the Christ child came to my mind, with the question, how much am I willing to lay down to seek Jesus and worship Him? These were highly educated men, determined and passionate in their quest.  Their journey was long, hard and dangerous.  How could they be so willing to let go of everything they knew to follow a star?   From the wise men my thoughts turned to the star itself and to all it represents to us.   The calling of the Holy Spirit, the essence of God’s glory, the courage to take steps; persevering on a path, the passion to search and find . . . All of these are inherent to us living out our callings as Jesus’ lovers and as writers I was reminded of my contributory reflection in the ACW Christmas Anthology, Merry Christmas Everyone.   In my piece, ‘A Star’s View of Christmas’ I personified the star who reflects on his true nature as the manifestatio...

When did you start to write? It’s a question I am frequently asked. I expect I am not alone with this request. How many times have you been asked this question? As for me, I have lost count and as for the answer to the enquiry, there are many. I started to write, or at least learn to write, at about five years old. I’m sure this is the same for most of us, so I assume this is not the answer the person expects to hear. As a child living in fear and growing up with domestic violence, I had no interest in reading and my desire for creative writing didn’t exist. As for poetry, I didn’t understand it and I detested it. My bad behaviour resulted in me being kicked out of school (no surprise there). In my teenage years, I met girls on holiday and stayed in touch with them via ‘love letters’. Was this when I started to write? Not really. I sent handwritten letters to apply for an engineering apprenticeship. Thirteen in total and I was offered twelve opportunities to choose from. I could write ...

  Happy Christmas! It has been an absolute joy to have my blog date fall on Christmas Day. This is the 4th time I have blogged on this date, and it is the last. In fact this is the last regular More Than Writers blog that I am going to share. You may see my name from time to time, as an occasional guest blogger, but the time has come for me to step back and make room for some new voices. I have loved being a part of this blog and I want to thank every one of you who has read, liked and commented on my blogs. It has been a huge encouragement to me!  I was wondering what to write as a farewell blog. I wonder if you will indulge me, as I think I would like to write about the One whose birthday it is. None of us would be here without Him, and it is all about Him and for Him. The following is an extract from Christ Illuminated , my Advent Devotional based on the names of Jesus in the Bible. JESUS “And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name  Je...

  I’ve been thinking about Joseph this Christmas. We’re told that Joseph believed in God and sought to do what was right. But when things happened that seemed very wrong, he quashed his first instinct and said yes to God.    His obedience wasn’t as visibly spectacular as Noah’s. But continuing his betrothal to Mary would have led to some raised eyebrows and plenty of gossip.  It must have been hard for Joseph to hold onto his dream from God, not to start to doubt what he had seen. Not to be suspicious of Mary. I think he might have been pleased to get away from the gossip and chat and go to Bethlehem, where people wouldn’t know who he and Mary were. But maybe he also felt guilty, dragging Mary on a long journey so close to the baby being born. I wonder how much Joseph understood. How much he was just taking on trust. Have you ever had a word or a vision from God that seemed right and true? I remember being so encouraged, at a time where I was facin...