Words Live Long - Elaine Ingalls Hogg

We're pleased to have Elaine Ingalls Hogg as our Guest Blogger today on InScribe Writers Online.


I am trying something new this winter, something I wish had been available to me when I started writing a few years ago. I’ve had little formal experience in beginning this new adventure, but it feels right for me to try.

What am I going to do and how does it apply to my writing? Well, I’m not sure but on two occasions this week I’ve experienced promptings which have caused me to wonder. Are these signs, I’ve asked myself, signs to encourage me to try again, to carve out a few minutes in my day in order to find some time to write? You see, family commitments and illnesses this year have slowed my writings to a trickle.

My first prompting came to my attention through a posting on Facebook. My niece, who lives several thousand kilometres away from me, messaged me saying while she was visiting at her parents’ home over Christmas she read the story From My Window Seat, The Story of My Ancestors.  She went on to say, "And in doing so, I have learned more valuable and far greater things, because of you. I Love You, Auntie!”

 Sarah Maude Shepherd

This surprised me seeing distance has kept us apart for so many years. I wrote the story she was reading a few years ago. It’s not a published book or a grand magazine article, just a simple story of my great grandmother who sat in a big wooden armchair by her window and read her Bible. I wanted my younger brothers to 'meet' this godly woman even though she had died long before they were born. Now my niece was learning about Sarah Maude Shepherd’s life and faith too.

Another reminder to encourage me to get back to writing came today, early this morning in the middle of chaos in my kitchen. It came by the way of a phone call from Florida from a woman I had met at the church I attend in my home town of Sussex, New Brunswick. She told of picking up some old books at a second hand store and today she read a devotional I wrote five years ago for The Upper Room. She called to say the words had been an encouragement to her.

On New Year’s Eve my friend Lea shared her dream of becoming a writer. ”I’m not sure if I’m ready to write or who would want to read it, but it is something I’ve been thinking about.” Lea has a story to tell, a story of a broken home, of a pre-Christmas fire a few years ago that took three members of her family, a story of a number of other hardships that would have defeated most people, but Lea is one of the friendliest and most thoughtful people I know for she has allowed God to direct her path.

Perhaps you are like Lea, you’re a 'wanna be' writer; you have all these thoughts romping around in your head but family commitments, illness, young children or not knowing where to begin has kept you from actually getting words down on paper.

I understand these thoughts for this past year other commitments have left me with very little time to write, something I did faithfully for twelve years. But after hearing Lea’s story and the other promptings mentioned above, I’ve made a decision. I’m going to offer to be a mentor to anyone in my community who wants to write their stories for their family or their friends. Who knows, maybe they will be the ones to bless a faraway friend or family member in the near future.

Elaine Ingalls Hogg
Award-winning author and inspirational speaker


author@nb.sympatico.ca
http://elainehogg.com
Blog: http://elainehogg.wordpress.com
Read Janet Sketchley's interview with me on her blog here