More than Writers

Last month I reached a significant milestone on my writing journey – ten years since I began blogging and shared my words with others for the first time.       When I hit “publish” on that first post, I had no idea what I was doing or what to expect, but I sensed God’s call to write, and it has been an interesting journey.        As I’ve reflected on it, my mind has been drawn to some of the journeys we read of in the Bible and the lessons they have to teach us about journeying with God as we seek to obey his calling.        Firstly, journeys often involve stepping out in faith. God doesn’t usually give us a detailed road map. Abraham was called to leave his home and go to the land God was showing him, but he received no specific plan of the route he was to take. Similarly, as the Israelites travelled to the Promised Land, God led them by a pillar of cloud and fire. Rather than knowing the whole route in advance, they had...

  The last few weeks have been a time of reflection and remembering for our church as we prepared for a significant milestone last Sunday – our pastor’s final service before moving to take up a new position.       For any church, this would be a substantial change, but as our nine-year-old church plant has never existed with any other pastor, I think it is particularly daunting. However, amidst all the praying, planning, and emotional goodbyes, the opportunity to reflect has been helpful.       It has been encouraging to take time to remember the history of our church – the ups and downs, and the many ways we have seen God working. It has also been reinvigorating to remember why our church was planted in the first place, to recall our vision for our community, to reflect on what led us each to be part of it.       I think for many of us this period of remembering and reflecting has been helpful in reinforcing our cal...

I don't think that writing is as easy as I thought it would be. I love it, but it can be difficult.  Sometimes, disappointed, and I am tempted to just leave it alone. But I know that life is full of disappointments. I remember the dawning realisation that I would be unlikely to be marrying Han Solo anytime soon – even though I had actually queued all the way around the Empire Cinema for well over an hour to see him in Star Wars. (Do you remember queuing to see a film? Those were the days.) Then there was the time I came second in the school English Essay Competition, which meant winning a rubbish book about Tutankhamun rather than the full set of Nancy Drew Mysteries awarded to the winner.  In my constant quest to be more productive and consistent as a writer, I have listened to lots of advice – for instance, Anne Lamott's “Stop NOT writing”. True and excellent, but not helping with consistency. We have invested in a desk, which is no mean feat in a two-bedroom apartment, and ...

  One of the most challenging issues I’ve dealt with in my almost ten years of blogging is the question of how much and what aspects of my personal life to share.       Since much of my writing consists of reflections on faith or the Bible rooted in everyday life, it is a question that comes up regularly, and it is one which also impacts various other types of writing, most obviously memoir writing.       When I began blogging, my solution was simple – use a pseudonym. Of course I had to anonymise certain details, but mostly I could share from the heart with little editing, which I found freeing and refreshing.       However, a year into blogging, I was challenged that rather than hiding behind a pseudonym, I needed to own my words and my story, so I switched my blog to my real name. I don’t regret the choice, but it did mean taking greater care over what I chose to share.       Then, as I began...

   My previous blog posts have hinted at my existential dilemma relating to my unexpected autism diagnosis at 58 while waiting for an ADHD assessment. Positively, it explained why I found it impossible to sit on one side of the introvert/extrovert debate. My real conflict was a recent shift of balance due to the lack of energy from an auto-immune form of arthritis. Without that energy, I was unable to satisfy the extroverted ADHD side of myself, which inadvertently curtailed many of my activities that brought me joy. Instead, I was left with my introverted autistic self in a lack-lustre recovery mode.  After a long period of flailing myself with the refrain, “Will the real ‘me’ stand up?”, I had a revelation this week. I’ve been dipping into the reflections in ‘40 days with Labyrinths’ by Fay Rowland. In her chapter on Martha and Mary, their two approaches to Jesus’ visit were laid out: Martha chose to run around and make sure everyone else had what they needed to enjoy t...

  Earlier this week, I caught up on a Bible podcast I follow. As I listened to the discussion on the passages from Holy Week, I was struck by two women who each make a brief appearance and by Jesus’ response to them.       We read of the first woman in Mark 12:41-44. As Jesus sits in the Temple, several wealthy people give generously to the offering. When a poor widow donates two small coins, her offering looks paltry, but Jesus declares that actually she has given more than everyone else. While the others gave a fraction of their abundance, the widow gave all she had.       Mark 14:1-9 tells us of the second woman. As Jesus reclines at the dinner table, the woman appears with a jar of expensive perfume, which she breaks, pouring the perfume all over Jesus’ head. Others criticise her, calling it a waste, but Jesus honours the woman for her actions. He recognises that she is anointing him for burial ahead of his death, and he declares, “Sh...

I live in a Norfolk village with a wonderful community. You would imagine that would be conducive to writing – peaceful and quiet. But it’s not. There’s always something going on – activities I could take part in every morning, afternoon and evening, seven days a week. Then there’s the community café, the social club at the Village Hall and the local pub as well as all the church activities.  Despite this, I had managed to carve out, and diary, a couple of hours each day which I set aside to write. However, my routine was broken recently. Being active in the village, I know a large percentage of the people who live here, many of them old. The stumbling block was when I attended three funerals in six days. They weren’t special friends but people that I would miss seeing and talking to. I was miserable and I couldn’t write. Then I felt guilty. It’s the same on Good Friday and Holy Saturday. I don’t even expect myself to write then but I still feel guilty. Nobody has told me I need to...

I’m taking a break from my WIP to write this blog. Having signed a contract in January, I have until the end of this month to deliver the manuscript. It’s a thrilling time, to be sure, but it’s come with a set of stresses. The first curve ball into the schedule came when I realised – with little notice – that I was leading a writing retreat in February. (It’s a long story, but suffice to say it wasn’t my fault!) That meant that I had to spend a week prepping new material as well as the actual week of the event. It was wonderful, everyone was blessed; but I was slightly behind. Of perhaps more pertinence is that I have been writing this particular book since October 2019. I’m not usually this slow, but one factor, genuinely, is that there was a sense that I had to live it a bit more before I could write it. That’s fine. I don’t mind God telling me what to do. Equally, though, I’d developed a habit that whenever I got to a tricky bit, I had the strongest urge (which I followed blindly, n...

  A few years ago, I was tasked with compiling and editing a newsletter for a Christian charity, and I asked someone to provide a story of 100-150 words, so when the piece I received was 300 words long, my first reaction was frustration.       However, once I began editing, it was a surprisingly easy task. As I condensed several words into one or deleted entire sentences which seemed superfluous, I felt a real sense of satisfaction. Without very much effort, I got the piece down to under 150 words without losing any of the meaning, and it was a much better and tighter story.       A lot of my writing time this month has been spent in a similar fashion, although this time with my own writing, which has been much more difficult, but still very satisfying.       I have been working on a children’s Bible reading resource , and the format has fixed word counts for each section – mostly 20-30 words, though in one section I...

On the 17th of the month, More than Writers welcomes members from ACW writing group Green Pastures Christian Writers. This month, we have a quirky take on writing by Rachel Snell. Now, about this book. Well, not just one, because there are many, aren’t there? Possibly too many. (I’ve heard they’re pulping them down, and making the pages into other things that they can sell.) I suspect there are more books on the planet than there are people, in dozens and dozens of different languages. I’m told books are a dying thing now, because everything is online, and anyway nobody can focus more than a few seconds on anything, so what good would a book be?  I’ve heard as well there are writers who have a garage full of books they’ve self-published and never sold. I was once advised not to write a book about myself and my difficulties, because ‘there were enough of that sort already’. I believed it at the time, but maybe only then… I own loads of books myself, just like I guess some other peop...

‘Rhythm’ has meant different things to me at different times. As a child, it was all about the spelling – though you have to admit its shape and symmetry is lovely once you’ve cracked it. As a music teacher, my job was to teach and explain it: ‘long and short notes in a pattern’. Now I’m a writer, it means something else again. I have the privilege of spending the bulk of my time working on my various writing projects. My typical schedule is to be at my desk by 9am, deal with ACW admin, then start writing. A break around 11.15 for coffee, then lunch at 12.45, followed by some time reading. Back to writing until 3pm, when I pause for a nice cup of Darjeeling, then finish when my brain is fried – which is certainly by 4.30, if not before. So far, so good; but what I’ve described is not so much ‘rhythm’ as ‘timetable’. The latter is an impersonal, abstract thing. You could copy its pattern for yourselves, see where it gets you. Rhythm, though, has something more organic, holistic, synerge...

  I remember the first time I attended a gathering of writers. As I looked at the table of books people had brought to sell, it was overwhelming. It seemed as if everyone else there was a published author, whereas I was “just a blogger.”  Fortunately, my feelings of inadequacy were quickly dispelled as everyone was friendly and welcoming. I learned a lot, but I was also surprised to be able to help others who had questions about blogging.  Several years later, I have shared pieces in various anthologies, but mostly I am still “just a blogger.” However, it is now a title I own with pride as I have experienced so many of the benefits of blogging.  Here are just a few:  Blogging helps to establish a habit of writing and posting. However frequently you decide to post on your blog, the key is consistency. I always find deadlines helpful, even if they are self-imposed. Without a deadline, the danger is either that I will never get started or that my quest for ...