More than Writers

Do you own books to which you return again and again? In difficult or troubling times, are there authors whose words are able to comfort and encourage you? One such for me is the late Jennifer Rees Larcombe. If, like me, you’re a fan, you may recognise my title this month as that of one of her many books. I come back to her autobiography, “Journey Into God’s Heart” again and again. It’s been the straw at which I clutch more times than I can remember. I’ve been privileged to hear her speak and to go to her house for prayer and fellowship on a number of occasions. She really was the most wonderful and special person and the world is poorer for her leaving it. As I was thinking what to write this month, that feeling of putting our weight on something we cannot see and trying not to lean on our own understanding wouldn’t go away.   I’ve spent much of this week filling in a spreadsheet for my tax return. There’s nothing creative about it and I always put it off, but actually, going th...

This month, in the Member Showcase spot, is our own Blog- and Webmaster extraordinaire, Wendy H Jones, who always astounds me with her boundless energy and enthusiasm. For some reason she didn’t feel she could conduct her own interview … I know you’ve travelled to many places around the world. Which has been your favourite place to visit? This is a hard one as I have loved them all. They are all unique and I love the adventure of finding out more about the country and the people. If I had to choose just one then I would have to say Nepal. The people there are lovely and it is so different to anywhere else in the world where my travels have taken me. I also worked with the Ghurka families in Hong Kong so that was an added level of interest for me. Which your least favourite place? I don’t think I have a least favourite place. Everywhere has its charm and is different. I have found something to enjoy, and love, in every single country I have visited. Who is you...

As a writer I am fast finding out how busy life can be. Life, and everything involved in it, can take us away from writing. As a Christian, I am fast discovering, the same applies. I am sure most writers would identify with this. Before we know it, we are exhausted and both writing, and spending time with God has been squeezed out. Now I am not saying we should ignore life and retreat into our own little world. That is not a healthy attitude to have either. We were born to be social creatures, and we need to spend time with other people. However, sometimes it is good to step off the conveyor belt and take stock of what is going on in our lives.  This has got me thinking about retreats, both writing and spiritual. There are many excellent organisations which arrange these and a quick google search will bring up many. In fact, Christian author and speaker Amy Boucher Pye is leading one at El Palmeral, Spain as I type. Unfortunately I was not able to attend this, but I am sur...

At the moment my thoughts are consumed by setting up a writing group. As an ACW member I am aware that there are currently no ACW affiliated writing groups in Scotland. This is no ones fault, and is largely to do with geography. The land of haggis and heather is a large place, with a population scattered throughout the land. There is the Scottish Fellowship of Christian Writers, of which I am a member. This is an outstanding organisation, but again, due to geographical constraints, only has writers days twice a year. Many people in my church are writers and would like to be part of a daytime writing group. Therefore, being an enthusiastic individual, I decided to combine the two and set up a group called City Writers. This outstanding mane is a combination of two things. Firstly it is held in the library of City Church Dundee. Secondly, Dundee, is in Dundee City. Genius. I should be a writer. City Writers will be held once a month initially, on the first Monday of every month. It...

Today on the blog I welcome back writer and podcaster, Andrew Chamberlain as a guest blogger. Andrew is a successful podcaster and today he gives us an overview of eight top podcasts for writers. I already download two of these and I will certainly be looking for the others.  Eight Podcasts for Writers Podcasts are a great (and free) resource for writers who want to learn more about the craft, listen to some good writing, and pick up tips on how to present and market their own work. These podcasts all deliver on at least one of these objectives, and all of them can be accessed at the websites below, or from iTunes. I should declare an interest at this point; number three on the list, The Creative Writer’s Toolbelt is the podcast that I present on a fortnightly basis. My aim with the podcast is to provide practical, accessible advice that writers can apply straight away to their own writing. So my eight recommendations are: 1. Writing excuses www.writingexcus...

Member’s Showcase – Angela  Hobday Today we welcome Angela Hobday to the Blog. Angela, as you will know from her previous excellent blog post, writes as Annie Try. Thank you for agreeing to be interviewed for the monthly showcase. I’m going to start with the quick fire round, so make yourself comfortable in our lovely virtual leather chair and off we go: What’s your favourite food? Salmon, roasted or pan-fried with fresh vegetables, probably – but I love traditional foods like roasts and shepherd’s pie, the latter with lashings of melted cheese on top. Favourite dessert is my daughter-in-law’s homemade ice-cream. It has the wow factor! What is your favourite colour? Definitely soft greeny-blues or bluey-greens. Sea colours. If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would it be? There are loads of places. I enjoy islands or coastal places. Also I was enchanted by San Gimignano in Tuscany and want to revisit. I love Venice too. I have yet to see the Norwegia...

Today's post is brought to you by Wendy H. Jones As writers we are always trying to hone, and improve, our craft. There are many books on writing out there and I have several. This one I have found to be particularly useful. The Tagline for the book is More than 5000 overused words and phrases and alternatives to them. This, in a nutshell, is what the book does. But please do not be fooled into thinking this book is simple or would not be useful. It is a pure nugget amongst many books for writers. The book is divided into two parts: Part 1 - gives examples of the hackneyed phrases which have slipped into everyday English. It then goes on to explain why these are tired and outdated. It then goes on to talk about the different forms of English - uneducated, everyday and elegant - and how these can be improved. Part 2 - The bulk of the book is given over to this. This is where the 5000 words and phrases come in. These are provided in alphabetical order for easy refer...

Today's post is by Wendy H. Jones I appreciate this is a writers blog, but as the name of the blog suggests we are More Than Writers. In today's blog we are also readers. A writer who does not read would be very difficult to find. I am a voracious reader and I would pretty much read the back of a cornflakes packet if it was all that was available. However, I've been saved from cornflake hell by this excellent book by Charles Marsh. This book is not a quick read. It is 528 pages long and has fairly small writing. However, every single page is fascinating. This is a detailed and in depth look at the life of Dietrich Bonhoefer. However, this book is so interesting it kept me reading, and reading until I and finished it. The way it is written makes it easy to read and the prose flows well. Marsh has obviously done his research as this book is packed with fascinating insight and detail about Bonhoeffer's life The book works on multiple levels as it is so much mor...

As individuals, and as writers, I am sure we all make plans about how our day, week, month, year or life will pan out. We set off each day with the best of intentions knowing what we will be doing. However, as my fellow Scot Rabbie Burns says, 'The best laid schemes o' mice an' men gang aft a-gley'. For the non Scots amongst us this means that no matter what plans we put in place things will often go wrong. How often have we woken up in the morning knowing how our day is going to pan out. We are going to spend the whole day writing. Then, before we've even had our plate of weeetabix, (other cereals and gluten free alternatives are available) life comes along and disrupts our day. The cat is sick on the kitchen floor, whilst cleaning this up the tap breaks and floods the kitchen. In the middle of phoning a plumber, the kids turn up, sent home from school because the heating has broken down. You get the picture. I live alone with no pets and yet somehow many ...

There is great excitement in the Association of Writers today as this is the start of a new adventure for us. Our brand new, shiny, informative and inspirational blog. I am Wendy H. Jones and I am the webmaster for ACW. I will also be one of the regular contributors to the blog. I am a crime writer, as well as a voracious reader and live in Dundee, Scotland. I am looking forward to being a part of this journey with both ACW and, of course, you the reader. The blog will have 25 regular contributors from amongst the ACW members. Whilst we don't all write specifically for a Christian market, we all have three things in common - we love God, writing and reading, perhaps not in equal measure but it is close. The other thing we have in common is that we are excited about the prospect of sharing our collected skills and knowledge with others. I feel honoured to be involved with the Association of Christian Writers and to blog  alongside so many experienced and excellent writers. W...