Tag: preparation

Categories
Devotions for Writers

Beginnings and Endings

devotions

In the beginning.

Genesis 1:1

Aren’t those delicious words? “In the beginning God…” Wouldn’t you have loved to be there when He crafted the rays of the sun and the dips in the moon? Wouldn’t you have chuckled with Him when God stretched the giraffe’s neck and the elephant’s nose? How about when Adam catalogued creation? How did he think of rhinoceros and chimpanzee?

God’s creativity knew no limits as He spoke the world into existence and molded a human out of the dust of the earth. But it was not a scattered plan. No, 1 Corinthians 14:33 says God is a God of order, and I like to think that means He has an organized plan (Jeremiah 29:11). Take for instance the order of creation. He didn’t form plants first, no, He provided the boundaries of time (Genesis 1:5), space (Genesis 1:8), and land (Genesis 1:10).

What does that  have to do with our words?

When we have a system for writing, it also becomes a work of art.

Exercise:

What do you do to prepare to write? Some options might include

  • Hang a sign on your door to notify family it’s a work zone.
  • Read a writing devotional to prime the pump.
  • Prepare your favorite beverage to sip while pondering words.
  • Review the Writers’ Guidelines for the article you’ll write.
  • Sketch out an outline to guide your progression of thoughts.
  • Write a goal for your story, to propel the direction taken.
  • Visualize your intended readers, to speak to their needs.

What do you do to prime the pump?

The story is told of a desert wanderer who stumbled upon a well. A note was posted on a bucket of water with instructions to pour it out on the handle and to pump water into the empty bucket for an endless supply. Can you imagine the dilemma of parched lips and a full bucket of water? However, overcoming the impulse to satisfy a craving results in a bucket overflowing for the next weary traveler. Prime the pump by

  • Reading the works of other writers.
  • Doing a mind-dump to clear your brain of other projects.
  • Journaling a daily writing prompt.

When you create a solid beginning for your works in progress, your words will sing with a satisfying ending and wrap up your thoughts and organize your plan. Invite the Author of words to the process and you’ll stand in awe of His creativity!

What helps you prepare to write?

Over 140 of Sally Ferguson’s devotionals have been published in Pathways to God (Warner Press). She’s also written for Light From The Word, Chautauqua Mirror, Just Between Us, Adult Span Curriculum, Thriving Family, Upgrade with Dawn and ezinearticles.com. Prose Contest Winner at 2017 Greater Philly Christian Writers Conference.

Sally loves organizing retreats and seeing relationships blossom in time away from the daily routine. Her ebook, How to Plan a Women’s Retreat is available on Amazon.

Sally Ferguson lives in the beautiful countryside of Jamestown, NY with her husband and her dad.

Visit Sally’s blog at www.sallyferguson.net

Categories
The Intentional Writer

What to Do When the Conference Is Over

The intentional writer

A few days ago Annette’s Embrace the Wait column listed good strategies to prepare for a writers’ conference. Conferences are important investments in our writing career, so it makes sense to start well by preparing ahead of time.

It also makes sense to end well, which means thinking about what you do after the conference is over.

Here are seven post-conference strategies to get the most out of your investment

  1. Send thank yous. Send a brief email to every professional you met with, thanking them for their time and their advice. You may also send thank yous to conference hosts and anyone else that seems appropriate.
  2. Follow up on contacts. Dig out the business cards you collected and follow your new writing friends on social media. Even better, send them a brief personal message that will help them remember who you are. You never know which contacts will turn out to be important a few months or years from now.
  3. Follow through on submissions. Right away. Do not procrastinate. (In fact, having your query/proposal/sample chapters polished and formatted should be part of your pre-conference checklist so you are ready to take advantage of these opportunities.) Sending your promised materials promptly shows busy agents and editors that you are professional, disciplined, and prompt. It also puts you in the front of the line, when they can still remember who you are and why they wanted to see your work.
  4. Give yourself time to recover. Conferences can be exhausting, physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. Yes, you may be pumped to go home and try all the wonderful things you learned, but be patient. Practice good self-care by allowing your writer self to recover for a day or two before starting a blog or completely revamping your website.
  5. Organize your notes. Go through all the materials you acquired during the conference. File course materials where you can find them for later reference. If you do not have a workable system for storing information so you can find it again, this is a good time to create one.
  6. Choose One Thing to implement right away.  Conferences can fill us with motivation and inspire us to try new and wonderful techniques, but attempting too much too soon usually leads to frustration and a lack of focus. You will be more successful if you select one or two practical strategies or ideas to implement. Choose ones that particularly resonated with you or that apply to exactly where you happen to be in your current project. Once you get that going, you can return to your notes and apply something else.
  7. Journal your thoughts. It may be helpful to spend some time pondering your experiences and journaling about them. Pay attention to what excited you the most, what struck fear into you, and what caused a pang of some other emotion. Think through the reasons for those emotions and ponder what to do if those emotions are holding you back. You may also find it helpful to list all the key takeaways you learned, or list the wonderful people you met and jot down a note or two about what you discussed with them. Whatever will help you put useful information into long-term memory.

May your next writers’ conference be the best one yet.

Award-winning writer Lisa E. Betz believes that everyone has a unique story to tell the world. She loves inspiring fellow writers to be more intentional about developing their craft and courageous in sharing their words. Lisa shares her words through speaking, leading Bible studies, writing historical mysteries, and blogging about living intentionally.

You can find her on Facebook  LisaEBetzWriter Twitter @LisaEBetz and Pinterest Lisa E Betz Intentional Living.

Categories
Guest Posts

A Devotion for Writers: Apprenticeship

“Prepare…put on your armor!”

Jeremiah 46:3-4 (NIV)

Do you remember playing dress-up as a child? Little girls wear grown-up shoes, tripping over their feet. Little boys don vests and hats, imitating the men in their lives. My children loved to play dress-up. Nightgowns became turbans. Umbrellas became shields. Bed sheets served as tents in faraway deserts. The art of play introduced them to the world of the grown-ups they would follow.

As writers, we are not so very old ourselves, are we? Others have gone before us to lead the way. Their works have honed our view of the literary world, and we have become their apprentices. They have taught us to sharpen our spears in order to garner respect in the writing community for the Christian viewpoint. Their example led us to a high standard where we polish our skills and prepare for the work of presenting God’s Word.  

How will you get ready for your battle with words?

Will you read works on the writing craft? Will you attend a writers’ conference? Will you enlist a critique partner?

Whom do you seek to inspire? Is your target audience male or female, child or YA, fiction or non-fiction?

What is your goal? Make it SMART: specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely. Then tackle it with determination and preparation! 

Further investigation into the Jeremiah passage reminds us that it doesn’t matter what size our battle (or topic) is, we are still to prepare.

What do you need to do to prepare?

Do you have enough background information for your story? Is the research complete for your article?

Maybe you’re worried about public response to your stance, or criticism of how you tackle a project? What do you need to do in order to shore up your confidence? More research? More prayer? Assemble a prayer team to help you in the battle.

Jeremiah 46:4 says, “Take your positions with helmets on!” Maybe this is a reminder to guard against being offended by opposing viewpoints. Or, maybe, as in Ephesians 6:17, the helmet of salvation is to give the grounding we need against doubt in what we have the ability to say.

It’s your job as an apprentice to prepare.

Be bold today. Prepare…and be bold!

Exercise: What “master” would you choose to study under as an “apprentice”?

Read the works of an author you respect. What grabs your attention? What do you want to imitate? Why is this author of particular interest to you?

Over 140 of Sally Ferguson’s devotionals have been published in Pathways to God (Warner Press). She’s also written for Light From The Word, Chautauqua Mirror, Just Between Us, Adult Span Curriculum, Thriving Family, Upgrade with Dawn and ezinearticles.com. Prose Contest Winner at 2017 Greater Philly Christian Writers Conference.

Sally loves organizing retreats and seeing relationships blossom in time away from the daily routine. Her ebook, How to Plan a Women’s Retreat is available on Amazon. 

Sally Ferguson lives in the beautiful countryside of Jamestown, NY with her husband and her dad.

Visit Sally’s blog at www.sallyferguson.net

Categories
The Intentional Writer

Promotion is Coming

The intentional writer

If there’s one thing I’ve learned in life it’s this—promotion always takes preparation.

That truth was never more evident in my life than when I took a magazine feature writing position at a worldwide ministry, only to be informed I’d actually be doing something entirely different…and I wasn’t thrilled about it.

My editor explained that they had a greater need for another ghostwriter, so I would be fulfilling that role. During my years at Indiana University Journalism School, I’d been told to “find my voice.” So, I’d been working hard every day since college graduation to do just that. Now, my new boss was telling me: “Lose your voice, and find somebody else’s.”

That just didn’t make sense to me.

“Let me get this straight,” I answered. “I’m going to be taking somebody else’s thoughts and words from a sermon or a presentation, and then I’m going to write an article weaving all of those thoughts together in that person’s voice? With no byline?”

“Exactly,” my Editor answered. “That’s why it’s called ‘ghostwriting.’ You are invisible.”

Little did I know, not only was God working out some of that stubborn pride from my heart, but also He was preparing me for a role that would be a great blessing in my life—spiritually, professionally and financially. I was able to learn to ghostwrite while getting paid to do so—all the while being mentored by one of the best ghostwriters in the business who happened to work two offices over from me. It wasn’t an especially easy season in my life, but it was a season of preparation, though I didn’t know it then.

A few years later, I was offered the assignment of a lifetime, ghostwriting a book for a celebrity I greatly respected. That book ended up being a New York Times Bestseller, which opened up numerous ghostwriting doors for me. Over the years, I’ve been able to ghostwrite for many wonderful people, and it’s been a privilege to help them tell their stories.

But I wouldn’t have had those awesome opportunities without that season of preparation at the worldwide ministry.

You know, there are examples of preparation proceeding promotion throughout God’s Word. Take Esther, for example. She was just living her life as a lovely young Jewish girl in Persia when she ran smack dab into her destiny—becoming the Queen and ultimately saving the Jews from annihilation. However, in order for her to step into that destiny, she had to go through a year’s worth of beauty treatments. (Esther chapter 2) During that season, God was preparing her both spiritually and physically for what was to come. Had she not gone through those 12 months of preparation, she wouldn’t have been in position for that promotion.

So, let me ask you, are you experiencing a season of preparation? If so, don’t be discouraged or grow weary in the waiting. Just know that you are being prepared for promotion, and rejoice in it!

Michelle Medlock Adams is an inspirational speaker, award-winning journalist and best-selling author of more than 80 books, earning top honors from the Associated Press, the Society of Professional Journalists and the Hoosier State Press Association. Since graduating with a journalism degree from Indiana University, Michelle has written more than 1,500 articles for newspapers, magazines and websites; acted as a stringer for the Associated Press; written for a worldwide ministry; helped pen a New York Times Bestseller; served as a TV host for TBN’s “Joy in Our Town” show; and blogged for Guideposts. Today, she is President of Platinum Literary Services—a premier full-service literary firm—and she serves as chairman of the board for Serious Writer Inc., and teaches courses for Serious Writer Academy.   Michelle is married to her high school sweetheart, Jeff, and they have two grown daughters, Abby and Allyson, two son-in-laws, and one grandson, as well as a miniature dachshund, a rescue Shepherd/Collie mix, and two cats. When not writing or teaching, Michelle enjoys bass fishing and cheering on the Indiana University Basketball team and the Chicago Cubbies .