More than Writers

The Western Wall (or Wailing Wall) in Jerusalem, where Jews make their intercessions.  Accredited to https://www.flickr.com/photos/alex-david/5288593871 In many churches, intercessions are written and delivered by lay church members. Your minister (or whoever compiles service rotas) will waylay you one Sunday, saying, “You’re okay to do intercessions next week, aren’t you?” And no guidance will be given. This is how I started and, whilst I would never presume to ‘teach’ anyone how to write anything, I have, over the years, composed a sort of ‘how to’ for myself. Intercessions are different from private prayers, because you are praying with others for others. The Oxford English Dictionary’s definition of ‘intercede’ is ‘to act or interpose on behalf of someone’. Don't... Introduce yourself.  The congregation should be allowed to concentrate on the prayers, not on you. Drone on for too long.   People’s concentration is short.   About 600-700 words is right. Del...

  Image of a 'cosy space' from Pixabay I had to look twice when first seeing the word Cosy Crime, wondering how a murder story could be seen as cosy. But apparently, it’s a lovely subgenre, one I enjoy reading a lot. I even accidentally started writing one a couple of years ago, prompted by a course on Writing Funny by Fran Hill. Not long ago, the wonderful History Writers group led by Wendy H. Jones had a guest speaker in talking about Cosy Crime, a brilliant and inspiring talk. I had no idea what classed a book as cosy or not, but apparently lack of gore, not focussed on the police procedure but rather, on the main characters who figure out the whodunnit. The main characters are amateurs, ideally, and there should be a good dollop of humour in the story. I decided to start another short story, using the cosy crime idea and set in early 1800s, but within the first few paragraphs, I began to worry. It didn’t feel very cosy as my main character slithered along a wet path thr...

January seems to be the longest month but we’re almost out of it, folks, so hang on in there! The problem is the weather is not usually great and spring is ages away.  Still, one of my roses is blooming, the winter jasmine looks lovely, and I have a determined little primrose in flower.  There is much in common between our Christian lives and our writing ones. Both call for persistence, determination, an acceptance things will be tough, and the need to keep going. We don’t need to be alone.  We need Jesus’s support and that from other Christians. For writing, we need the support of other writers and resources to help us develop. Our Christian and writing lives should be seen as a marathon. It helps to determine what you would like to see as “getting there”. To begin with, I wrote stories to prove to myself I could. It was only later I actively sought publication and learned more of the craft to increase my chances. I did the latter via reading writing magazines and craft ...

   Sport your book’s title!  “On Clouds of Words”  “Who made God? " the "unloved child" asked. It was “a whisper,” but "Deborah and Jael" heard. "Jane and Jill, children of Margaret and Edgar, looked away. “Where does God live?” and “Is God very strong?” “David” asked. We need “The Silencer” and “T for Tolerance”, “Rosie” groaned. “God is everywhere”, and “The unloved Wife” answered, feeling “Braver”. “What If” “It’s a darkly hidden secret” or “Open secrets”? “Man of Glass” threw in.   “God has a passionate spirit”, “Martha Martha” replied. ” When Jesus met the Hippies”, they became “New creatures” with “Wings of faith” and “Breaking free”, even “With hope in dark places”. “Still Emily” said.  “Funnily enough”, “Even the wanderer reborn” was like, “Walking Bradley’s history”, “Baby Baby”, said. “It was time to shine” so “The Runaway” sang Lydia’s song”. ”Acquilla” spoke of ”Home truths”  and “ Mystical circles”,. “We are the c...

One of the most profound verses in the Bible is also the shortest.  'Jesus wept' (Luke 11:35) I tend to be rather more detailed in my own writing so I find the shortness and abruptness of that statement deeply engaging.  It invites me to identify with Jesus' sorrow, his friends sorrow too and to thus put a handle on my own. It's a tremendous privilege to be able to use words to express things that many can find no outlet for. I 'm  in a season of loss at the moment, missing my mum who died a year ago this week and also missing my lovely retired Hearing dog, Goldie who was put to sleep last Thursday.  I have wept and still am weeping as memories suddenly catch me. I see his picture on the wall and feel the ache of loss.  Friends reminisce and I feel the prickling of tears and my words thicken in my throat.  'He was just a dog,' some may say and in a similar way we can try to make small every person's heartbreak, but words help us convey what that heartbre...

Last night I dreamt that someone was reading the Bible. Most of the text was red and I said, “Wow! Jesus said a lot. That reminds me of my exercise books from school.” Most of my books were filled with the dreaded red ink. I don’t remember any words of encouragement, concern, or support. Every teacher wrote - ‘Messy, wrong, redo, unclear, needs improvement, makes no sense, not enough detail, no, and TRY HARDER!’ Did you ever receive comments of this nature? How did it make you feel? I like to think that the education system has changed since my school days in the 70s. How can you try harder when you have already tried your best? I often hear of writers who fear sending their manuscripts to be edited, fearful of the red ink. There isn’t an actual phobia of red ink, but one may be considered as ‘ rhodophobic’ (the fear of red) or ‘atelophobic’ (the fear of imperfections). As Christian writers, we need to encourage each other, but how do we know who to help? Charlie Mackesy , in...

  Virginia Woolf famously said that to write a woman needs ‘a room of one’s own’. She didn’t mean just physical space. ‘A room of one’s own’ is shorthand for freedom from both practical demands and financial concerns. I’m not saying I need a housekeeper and a wealthy benefactor! But I know what Woolf means. To write I need space. Not physical space necessarily, although that is nice. But space in terms of time and mental energy. I can edit when I have the odd spare hour, as long as those those spare hours come fairly close together. Otherwise I forget the focus of the current round of editing. But to write something new, or do a bigger re-write, I need time and mental space. Is that just me? Some people are skilled at shutting off their responsibilities, anxieties and burgeoning to-do list, and focussing on the task in hand. That’s not something I’ve ever been able to do, not really. And definitely not well enough to create something from my imagination. That ...

  Nudges by Rebecca Seaton            Today is my last MTW blog and I wanted to start with reminding myself why I started. Taking a break has been a difficult decision but essentially comes down to having to prioritise my commitments. I have a demanding job and already struggle to find time for my own writing and really want to push on with that this year. On the flip side, I also recognise that me leaving is an opportunity for someone else to take this on, with fresh ideas. When I did so, seven years ago, I was responding to a couple of nudges from God, so thought I would finish by looking at nudges to encourage others. Recognising a nudge: It can be an unexpected thought. Something that seems to pop into our mind. It often comes from different sources and doesn’t go away. A nudge from God often niggles! Reasons we don’t always respond Essentially, it’s fear. Many of us suffer with imposter syndrome and fear of failure, so it’s e...

 In my MTW blog last November, I apologised for being early to advent. Well, no one seemed to mind (not enough to let me know, anyway!), so I am going to make the leap that no one will mind (enough to let me know, anyway) if I extend Christmas-mentions in this blog. At the beginning of this year, I was shopping with my niece. She saw a pen in the post-Christmas bargain box, and said that I should use it for my writing. I’m currently in the early stages of editing a manuscript so, as I edit, I am making notes using a Christmas Tree pen. And I am thankful for it.     Last weekend, I went to the theatre to see Twelfth Night . There was a line that particularly struck me, and I’ll quote it here. Music plays, and Viola is asked, ‘how dost thou like this tune?’ It was the reply that struck me: It gives a very echo to the seat Where Love is throned   The Lord is in His holy temple; the Lord’s throne is in heaven Psalm 11:4   God, who is love...