Where Are You? Guest post by Brenda Wood

Where are You, dear InScribe writers? I'm told this blog doesn't have a full roster of writers this year, and I'm wondering... Why? 

If this sounds like a chastisement, take note…it is. (But a kind one, I hope.) 

May I suggest that some folks are just along for the ride? They enjoy all that Inscribe provides but they do not care to contribute anything toward its success!

Did they decide to follow the latest hullabaloo about making money somewhere else? Did they hear that blogging wasn’t where the action is? Or that writers shouldn’t scribble unless someone pays them for it? Do you know where you make money? You make money by writing and yes, often writing for free.

Is it possible that instead of writing, some members cluster in groups to publish titles online or post pictures with the herd? I’ve followed this trail too many times and it is a big waste.  We are called to WRITE!

I want to laugh out loud every time someone finds out that I’m an author. The first question is, “How did you get published?” I ask them what they’ve written and the answer is consistent. “Well, I haven’t written anything yet but I need to know how to get published!”

Publish your heart out on sites that pay you a pittance for your words. Oh yes, a paltry sum on a page so crowded with writers that no one reads your stuff! Buy books that tell you how to sell. (Hint) You’d be better off writing one!

Do you know how I became a published author? I got there by writing anywhere and everywhere. Google 'Brenda J Wood' and you’ll find pages of my publications. I have a huge online presence and most of it came from free writing.

God called us to be writers. Do we honestly take every opportunity to do that? Or are we waiting for the big moment when we're 'discovered'? Well folks, in order to be discovered, people have to read your words. So... take a chance and write for InScribe!

Brenda J Wood - 

Author, speaker and Hopestreamradio.com contributor, Brenda J Wood has been an author and motivational speaker for more years than she cares to admit. She is known for her common sense wisdom, sense of humour and quirky comments. She calls herself the ‘ABC girl’ because she’s survived and written about the ‘ABC’s of abuse, bulimia, cancer, death, entertainment, food, gluttony and humour. Since she’s written books on each of these topics, she hopes the ‘E’ word of her next book stands for something like Energy or Entertainment, but definitely not Exams or Epsom salts!

A few of her favourite things include grandchildren, guest speaking, writing, sewing, a warm fire, a good book, and pounding the pavement on early morning walks. Brenda has authored many books but is very excited about the upcoming - My Affair with Cancer, a fundraiser for the Georgian Bay Cancer Centre in Penetanguishene. Her other books include:

The Food Lover’s Devotional, food for both body and soul

Gentle Humour with Jesus, devotions for the light-hearted

The Pregnant Pause of Grief, the first trimester of widowhood

Meeting Myself, snippets from a binging and bulging mind.

Heartfelt Devotionals, 366 devotions for common sense living.

God, Gluttony & You

Brenda’s Children’s books include:

The Big Red Chair –a book for grieving children

Mother Peebles Problem Pebbles

The Plate Family Dishes Up

Brenda J Wood, author and motivational speaker
http://heartfeltdevotionals.com
http://www.twitter.com/size10hopefil
https://www.facebook.com/brendawoodspeaker

NEW Website AND Spring Events!

Our website has a beautiful new look! 

Hop over and check it out.

Our goal in revamping the website is to be more responsive, more functional, more user friendly, and just more appealing! Please let us know how you think we're doing. Your feedback is welcome!

ALSO...

Coming this Spring, several new “Virtual Events”! We want to highlight some new ways of connection and content. Stay tuned for more details, so check your email inbox and FaceBook. If you aren't part of our FB group, please ask to be invited here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/75980688935

Nice to View You - Bruce Atchison

One highlight for me during the past year was the virtual InScribe Fall Conference. I didn't attend past conferences because of my difficulty in finding transportation and the cost of a hotel.

What a joy it was to see the faces of writers whom I had only known from their e-mail messages. I know that face-to-face meetings would have worked better for many folks but I loved staying home and avoiding all the bother of travel.

No doubt, the early Christians would have loved to have met virtually. It allows conversations to happen in real time. Back then, letters took months to travel to their recipients. As we read in 2 John 1:12 and 13 (Bible in Basic English), "Having much to say to you, it is not my purpose to put it all down with paper and ink: but I am hoping to come to you, and to have talk with you face to face, so that your joy may be full."

And though we can't touch one another, we can at least blow virtual, holy kisses. As Paul instructed in Romans 16:16 (BBE), "Give one another a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ send their love to you." 

Before COVID-19, we gave each other holy hugs. We can't do that at present but we may do so again if these lock-downs end in our lifetimes. Even so, those with computers and tablets can use apps to virtually visit each other. 

Imagine doing online what James 1:27 (BBE) describes. "The religion which is holy and free from evil in the eyes of our God and Father is this: to take care of children who have no fathers and of widows who are in trouble, and to keep oneself untouched by the world."

But there will be one visitor who won't need electronic gadgets to visit us. In fact, we won't want or need anything this world can give us. We read in 2 Thessalonians 4:16 and 17 (BBE) why that will be. "Because the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a word of authority, with the voice of the chief angel, with the sound of a horn: and the dead in Christ will come to life first; Then we who are still living will be taken up together with them into the clouds to see the Lord in the air: and so will we be for ever with the Lord." Amen!

Finding Community by Lorilee Guenter

 

Once upon a time, not so long ago, a writer tried to hone her craft alone in a room. Writing is a solitary activity. She read books on the craft, in addition to the numerous books she read over the years for enjoyment. She never expected to desire to write and the writing sat in piles and binders, some edited, some not. It had no where to go beyond her writing closet.

With encouragement from her family, she started a blog and wrote on it from time to time. A few people found it and read her words. Now there was a reason to continue to hone her skills. She plodded on without consistency. Those who knew her continued to encourage her and she continued to dabble with the written word. Sometimes, solitary activity is a struggle, even when you know there is a purpose, a reason, to continue.

Consider Elijah. At one point he became discouraged because he thought he was the only one who had not worshipped idols. He still trusted God, but he was tired and lonely. God showed him that there were others and not only a few other but 7000. Although God is enough, He made us to need others also. (1 Kings 19).

The writer in the above story never considered she was alone in the same way Elijah did. She knew there were and are many writers who put pen to paper or fingers on a keyboard while glorifying God. However, she did not know how to find a place among them. She desired a community.

I think this story could be descriptive of many new writers. While the act of writing is a solitary activity, we need a community in which to grow in our faith and our craft. We need a place where we can encourage and be encouraged. Inscribe is one such place. Since becoming part of this community, I have become braver in sharing my writing. I shared bits and pieces before with people I knew. Now I share with more consistency and depth. I still write lighthearted, surface pieces since we need to have fun, however I don't shy away from sharing beyond those and showing my serious side. 

I took a huge step early on in my time with Inscribe and attended a writer's retreat. What a joy to share a time of prayer and learning with other writers. Perhaps the biggest benefit, which has spurred on my writing most, is reading the encouraging words others share. The blog, the magazine, the challenges, and the prayer make this an encouraging community. It is a place to grow. 

I am thankful for those who keep this community running, who encourage us, and who challenge us. I hope others who are looking for a community of writers find a home here as I have.

You Get Me - Marnie Pohlmann

Inscribe Christian Writers,

You get me 
        as I sit at the edge of a room and watch the people…

  when I feel inadequate in a room of authors...

        struggling to find just the right word; it’s on the tip of my tongue but won’t fall onto the paper…   

        while I rush to meet a deadline whether I feel like writing or not…    

        as I ask that my writing time be respected, even if it looks like I am just staring blankly out the window…       

        when I feel the urge to take out a pen to correct the spelling or grammar on a sign at the mall…

        those moments I’m inspired by nature but forget the thought when I finally locate a working pen…

        as I share that odd humour of writers searching for non-cliche descriptions, like seeing unicorn happiness bursting all around me in the tri-coloured foam of the car wash…       

        those times I set an alarm but snooze it to finish typing my thought rather than move onto my next task, because I am finally in the writing zone.

You get me.

Inscribe Christian Writers, you get me, so I feel I belong. 
And because you get me, I can trust what you teach me.

 You teach me
   a variety of genres so I can find the one that stirs my soul…

        how to write to entertain and teach…              

        to write for a theme, an assignment, or a desire…

        about writing to a deadline and to word count…

        punctuation and grammar (so I put a period in the proper place in a quote or in a parenthetical sentence…) 

        to send something for publication because the worst that can happen is they say no…

        about growing thicker skin by entering a Word Challenge or contest and accepting the critique offered…

        where to find opportunities to write…

        it’s okay to not arrive at a finish but, at some point, I need to put my words “out there” anyway…

        to just enjoy writing and not publishing, while also encouraging me to share my words…

        that I can view writing groups as a team, not a competition. 

You teach me.

Inscribe  Christian Writers, you get me, you teach me, and, although we are from different backgrounds, churches, cultures, and traditions,

 You disciple me 
   to be in God’s Word…

        to be true to God’s Word in my words…

        to pray for my writing, for your writing, and for you…

   to allow God to inspire my words and craft…        

        to trust God with the results of my writing…

        to use writing for God’s glory, not in what I write but in how I write...

        in my life walk with God.

You disciple me.

 Inscribe Christian Writers, 
    you disciple me, 
    you teach me, 
    you get me.

 Thank you.

Marnie Pohlmann is an Inscribe-inspired Christian Writer from northern BC.

The Family of Inscribe by Sharon Heagy

 

The rain pounded on my windshield and waves of spray from passing semi-trailers washed over the car as I drove down Anthony Henday Drive in Edmonton, Alberta.  No matter to what speeds the windshield wipers were set, the windows would not clear.  I had overstayed what was to be a short visit at my cousin’s in St. Albert and now it was dark and stormy. I was in foreign territory on an unknown expressway, white knuckling it toward an exit I may or may not find, amid heavy traffic of all shapes and sizes. How did I get here? Would it be worth it?

My first trip to a Christian Writer’s event associated with Inscribe took place one spring in Saskatoon.  It was called His Imprint and was hosted by a writers’ group of the same name.  I remember the excitement of finally being able to attend a Christian writers’ conference.  Most were held in the fall and since we are farmers, the conferences always coincided with our harvest season and I was unable to attend.  All my notes from that first conference are still in my files, as is the registration brochure. Every person I met that weekend was a gift and I sat in that church and vacuumed information like a big black hole. But like a black hole, the void wasn’t filled with just one conference and I was left wanting more.

More workshop opportunities opened in Saskatoon and Moose Jaw and I attended hungrily. I joined the ranks of Inscribe along the way and then finally one year when the crops were harvested early, I was able to attend the Fall Conference I had heard so much about.

Now here I was, cruising through the pouring rain, trying to keep up to traffic and talking very loudly to the Lord, like He was hard of hearing and couldn’t hear me over the surrounding din as I asked Him to help me change lanes. Then, suddenly, I was there.  At the Sawridge Inn on the south side of Edmonton.

I rushed in to the front desk and registered, flew over to the elevator and tapped my foot impatiently as I waited for the doors to open.  Up on my floor I scrambled to my room, unlocking it only long enough to dump off my stuff.  Back to the elevator and more toe tapping. Down to the meeting rooms, bursting with anxious anticipation. Finally arriving at the registration area…. only to find the few folks that were left were bidding each other good night.  They gently told me I would have to wait until morning. Oh, well. I was here and tomorrow would be a fresh start.

The next morning I headed downstairs for the first session titled ‘Spiritual Warfare and the Writer’ and I came face to face with a lady who had been emailing me once a month with scripture-based prayers.  I remember the first one I ever received and how it had moved me to tears to think that a total stranger would pray for me and how God had given her exactly the scriptures I needed at the time.  And here she was in the flesh. *

In every session I met writers who had published pieces in Fellowscript that had encouraged and instructed this ‘would be’ author.  I found and formed connections with people in each session and felt the stirrings of friendships that I still hope will grow and deepen over time.  I had the honour to meet the esteemed treasurer and get a snippet of the person she was and her vital commitment and contribution to Inscribe and I am so glad to have had that privilege.

Those of us attending were given a unique opportunity to celebrate the launch of the Christmas anthology. We were blessed to have the authors read from their own creations as we sat back and soaked it all in. What a wonderful conference. What amazing people.

On the itinerary page of the conference that year was a statement of purpose that read, “Inscribe exists to stimulate, encourage and support Christians who write, advance effective Christian writing and promote the influence of all Christians who write.”  But it is so much more.  Inscribe connects not only as an organization but on a personal and spiritual level. It goes beyond the writer and ministers to the human being with the utmost respect, reassurance and edification on an individual and personal level.  Inscribe provides a cohesive group and a safe place for writers of all Christian faiths to share ideas, receive inspiration and gain kind constructive criticism.

May God’s hand of favour continue to be with Inscribe and may we always seek Him first as the organization grows, morphs and adapts into whatever instrument God would have it be. And may those of us who are members set aside a specific time to pray, as the Holy Spirit directs, for the executive and for all those who keep the wheels turning for our benefit and, most importantly, to the Glory of God.

May we always recognize what a gift it is to belong to such a wonderful family.

 

*I have purposely left out names as there are far too many people who have touched my life and the lives of others in the Inscribe family and I would not want to omit any one of them.

To My Fellow Jars of Clay ~ Valerie Ronald

 

 

A collection of clay pots — that is what comprises InScribe Christian Writers’ Fellowship. Some squat, some slender, some new, some old, some chipped, some whole. We rattle up against each other, spilling the contents of our clay pots onto the pages we write, creating a colorful concoction with a single purpose: to communicate God to others.

"For God, who said, 'Let brilliant light shine out of darkness,' is the one who has cascaded His light into us—the brilliant dawning light of the glorious knowledge of God as we gaze into the face of Jesus Christ. We are like common clay jars that carry this glorious treasure within, so that the extraordinary overflow of power will be seen as God’s, not ours." (2 Cor. 4:6-7 The Passion Translation)

So how have you, my fellow jars of clay, inspired this common, cracked-but-still-standing pot in her writing journey?

When I moved to the prairies in 2002, I was invited to join the Manitoba Christian Writers Association. There I experienced the benefits of gathering with like-minded writers. My writing had been a way for me to process my inner life, but now came the challenge to try new genres and topics. At our monthly meetings I learned about methods, markets, ministry and motivation. I also made new friends with those who could relate to the common joys and woes of being a writer.

As InScribe Christian Writers’ Fellowship was referenced often at our meetings, I decided to explore their website. Unlike many writing resources, it did not overwhelm me with unreachable goals or over-used professional jargon. I found other writers like myself, common clay jars desiring to overflow the glorious treasure of God within to a needy world. Once a member, I waited eagerly for the quarterly FellowScript magazine to arrive, full of helpful articles and devotionals, news of contests and events, which opened up possibilities for taking my writing to the next level. I was offered the challenge of writing an article for FellowScript to theme, stretching me out of my usual genre. More articles ensued, as well as placing first in a contest and acceptance of several pieces for an upcoming anthology. I was gratified to have a place on the FellowScript shelf.

Like many writers, I suffer from insecurity about my work. I know myself to be a common clay pot, imperfect, meant for ordinary tasks and prone to chips and cracks. I have a hard time seeing past the flaws and weaknesses. But I also believe God when He says He uses simple jars of clay like you and I to carry His glorious treasure so the extraordinary overflow of power will be seen as His, not ours.

I believe Him because I have experienced that power through your words. Every day when I check my Facebook page and see a new post on the InScribe Writers Online blog, I am eager to hear what you have to say. You are made up of many unique voices, with varied life journeys and abilities, willing to tip over your clay jar so God’s Spirit can splash on the rest of us. I applaud you for this. It takes courage to share with others what goes on in your heart. Your bravery has inspired me to be an overflowing jar of clay too.

InScribe Christian Writers’ Fellowship is not just about writers helping each other with their craft. Because we share a common belief in Jesus, our words come soaked in His Spirit, ministering to those in our group in ways we are not even aware of. Our stories resonate with themes of struggle, joy, loss, love, and much more. We learn about life with God from each other, as well as learning about writing.

Clay is part of the earth, pliable and porous, moldable however the Potter sees fit. Even when a clay pot is marred He can form it into another pot, shaping it as seems best to Him. Every pot is uniquely designed to fulfill a purpose. No two are alike, except for the fingerprints of God imprinted on each one.

InScribe has shelves of singular clay pots brave enough to spill out their God-inspired contents to a world desperate for good news. Sharing a place on the shelf with all of you is a privilege, a joy, an inspiration that has helped move me from a day-dreaming scribbler to a published author, from a solitary scribe to a fellow spiritual sojourner.

            

Valerie's devotionals can be read on her blog https://scriptordeus.wordpress.com

AH FREEDOM MOMENTS by Joylene M Bailey

Image by Shad0wfall from Pixabay 

My first introduction to Inscribe Christian Writers’ Fellowship was at a Fall Conference many years ago. 

I don’t know exactly what I was expecting about these people. Frazzle-haired intellectuals wandering around muttering to themselves as they scribbled in notebooks? Impeccably dressed socialites gathered in small groups, name-dropping and talking about their latest book awards?

“Dahling, I spoke to Joanne yesterday – you know, Rowling? She’s coming to my fete on Friday next. Everyone will be there. Stephen King said he’d pop in for a minute or two, and Robert Munsch, of course. You should come.”

Imagine, if you will, me walking into that first assembly hall and finding, to my surprise, that ICWF people were … regular people. In fact, I couldn’t distinguish them from any other people I knew. They dressed like regular people, combed their hair like respectable persons would, and conversed in regular language that one didn’t need a dictionary to decipher. They even talked to me.

Huh, well whaddaya know? These writers are regular people.

It was a wonderfully enlightening moment. But there are two other moments in my interactions with InScribe that far outweigh all the rest, because they shifted my atmosphere. 

First moment: Don’t remember the Who, the When, or the Where. But the What was the Who who said, If you write, then you’re a writer. 

Seven words. That’s all it took. It was the confirmation I’d been looking for, for many many years. Permission to call myself a writer! Even though I'd never been published.

Second moment: In my mind's eye, I can see the Who but don’t remember his name. The Where was a WorDshop in Calgary. The When is fuzzy. 

The What was a workshop where the Who was telling us about the experience of writing his __th novel; how he never knew where his story was going, being an intuitive writer, but this time an important character just got up and left the story three-quarters of the way through, and never came back.

I sat there stunned at three of his words: an intuitive writer. 

That’s how I write! It must be okay. 

Until that point, I’d been ashamed to admit that I seldom work from an outline. I sometimes have a rough idea of where I’m heading but basically the story unfolds as it unfolds. At last, affirmation that the way I wrote was a legitimate way of writing.

These two moments, Confirmation and Affirmation, were AH moments for me. 

Not the OH! of surprise, or the AHA! of Eureka, but a relieving sigh. The release of pent-up anxiety I’d been carrying, over something I loved and couldn’t seem to quit doing – writing! 

Ahhh.

Since then, I’ve had a freedom in my writing that I’d never experienced before those moments. 

Yes, InScribe is to me all the things mentioned in previous posts: Community, Encouragement, Training, Networking, Friendships, Fun... But more than anything, I’m grateful for the two moments that forever shifted my atmosphere.

~~~~~

Joy is a regular person who manages to keep her hair combed most of the time. Except when she's close to a deadline. She doesn't know J.K. Rowling, Stephen King, or Robert Munsch personally but enjoys their work very much. She writes from a tiny cluttered study in the home she shares with The Cowboy and Babe, Jubal the Snowman, Reggie his pet reindeer, and his friend Beverly Mouse, who is afraid of almost everything. 

Find more of her writing at Scraps of Joy.

A Beloved Relationship with InScribe by Alan Anderson

 

Our Story Begins

 

The letters hurried to get in line, to make sense of what they were all about. Author Dad’s mind unscrambled itself to bring their thoughts to the front. One letter nudged another as confusion took over for a moment. Miss Question Mark said, “Hey, don’t you know “i” comes before “e” except after “c”? We have to make sense when we get ready for the world to read us.”

 

 

Little Comma paused and asked, what is the world? His big sister, Question Mark, answered. “The world is where we go when we leave Dad’s brain, you know, where he creates us. We do not have to be afraid. Dad is careful where he sends us in the world. We are to go to a special place. It’s a place that already loves us.”

 

 

Comma sat still and didn’t say a word for a moment. His tail curled, and he smiled. When he was about to burst his exclamation point, he asked his sister, Question, where is this special place? Question answered, “Dad found us a home called, InScribe Christian Writers’ Fellowship.”

 

 

The news about InScribe traveled fast. One little letter exclaimed, “I’m so excited I could p!” All the other letters scurried to get together and before they knew it, there was a run -on sentence and things were getting crazy and brother Quotation Marks couldn’t figure out who said what and finally yelled, “Dad, we need your help!”

 

 

Author Dad woke up from his daydream, shook his head, and took a deep breath. “Okay everyone, InScribe is expecting us and I want you all to behave.” We can find a home with InScribe Christian Writers’ Fellowship. They are a group where all letters and quotation marks matter. We can find our way into the world with InScribe’s help.

 

 

The stories, poems. Blog posts and other masterpieces sensed each other’s built up enthusiasm. Dad proofread and finished his final preparation as he readied himself. Before he sent his first words, an InScribe Blog post, to meet the InScribe family, he took another deep breath and pressed “publish.” All the letters, words, sentences, and paragraphs of the Blog post shouted, “Let’s do this!” With a prayer to God, Dad said, please God, bless our new family and help us fit in.

 

 

Our Story Continues

 

The above brief story is my tribute to our InScribe family. In all honesty, I love this group. From my membership welcome letter of November 2014, from Ruth, to today, I have always sensed a kinship with the group.

 

 

I began to post on our InScribe Blog on a regular basis in February 2015. I cannot recall the theme, but I called the post, “Reflections of An Adult Orphan.” This message was an homage to my parents. In this post I stated 

 

Many times, when I am writing, I sense closeness to my parents. This prompts a longing in me to see them again. As an adult orphan who is attempting to be a writer, I try to honour my parents through a sense of vulnerability, transparency, and stark truth. This evokes a deep joy within me, for I know my parents would be proud of each word I write.

 

 

Feb. 2021 will mark my sixth year of monthly posts for our Blog. I still hold to “a sense of vulnerability, transparency, and stark truth,” as I write. Thank you, my InScribe family of writers, for the encouragement you have given me through the years.

 

 

Alan lives in Deroche, B.C. with his wife, Terry. He contributed stories to Good Grief People by Angel Hope Publishing, 2017 and Story by Story: The Power of a Writer, Unstoppable Writers Publishing, 2018. Alan has also written articles for FellowScript Magazine. Blog: https://scarredjoy.ca. Alan is the Provincial Rep. Liaison and BC Rep for InScribe.

 

https://scarredjoy.ca/

January 2021 Reflections - Denise Falk

It's January 2021.  It's the year … well, ‘after’. The year after the whole world stopped. 2020 was the year of isolation, of social distancing, of canceled plans, vacations, weddings and all other usual and normal activities of human life. It was the year many lost businesses, jobs, savings, investments and loved ones. One tiny virus brought our mighty world to its knees. Despite our big technologies, our vast infrastructure networks, satellites, GPS, and bitcoin, the Lord allowed a virus to remind us that we were not in control. Never before in modern history has anything impacted us on the global scale that CO-VID 19 has, and it's not over. 

You and I are here at this time together because we are family, unified by the blood of Jesus Christ, gathered around shared talents, skills and interests. In the past year, I have seen this group successfully face this storm together. This coming year, over any other time behind us, we will need each other even greater still. 

Inscribe represents another family for me, and you are needed. I need you. We all need each other in a way we never imagined we would have before 2020. This year we have to be clear and intentional in our commitments and how we spend our time. We are choosing to be Inscribe members, and to be in this family for the purpose of sharing, practicing and growing our writing talents, so that we can stand as one and be a light in this dark time, using those talents as a lighthouse of our Saviour’s love to a hurting world. 

The door is currently open, and a waiting world is looking for answers, for connection, for peace. But the door is starting to close, we can see restrictions on religious expression tightening and freedom of speech being rapidly redefined. We are in a new era of ‘cancel culture’ so we must act quickly. We must keep on writing and asking that the Lord bless and use our writing to reach others because even in these times of shut down, of physical, social, commerce and speech restrictions, the body of Christ is continuing to grow! 

Now is our time brothers and sisters!  Without delay, let's bind together, seek Jesus’ face, and stand strong in our faith. Let’s get our pens on paper and our fingers on the keyboard. This is the time to use the talents God has blessed us with, for his purpose, and his glory. So, let's see to each other’s best, and make it our continued mission to serve each other like no other time in history.   

There is a foundation of love being expressed for each other in Inscribe, for we are family, united in our faith in Jesus. And as the Apostle Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 13:13, three things remain for all of eternity, that of faith, hope and love. And there is nothing of higher value than love. And there is nothing in the entire universe, including a virus, that can separate us from that love (Romans 8:31-39). 

I am looking forward to learning how to serve you this year. 

Denise Falk is a new writer on this blog. Welcome Denise!

Be Better - Gloria Guest

For this month’s theme I thought I would get my inspiration from the first letter of each word as I enjoy the  acrostic format and think it’s a great way to condense a lot of information. Inscribe has offered me so much over the years that it is too much to write in long form.

 

I is for Inspiration. I am always inspired by Inscribe. Whether it is a post from another writer or a conference speaker or something written in Fellowship Magazine or just a one on one chat with another member I come away inspired to be better at what I do.

N is for New Writing Friends. Without Inscribe I would know only a handful of other writers. I’m not the reaching out kind of person but Inscribe has given me an opportunity to slowly start interacting with more writers over the years. Bobbie Junior was one of my first writer friends through Inscribe and her input and impact will continue on.

S is for Scribbling. Inscribe has encouraged me to ‘just write.’ I haven’t been as successful at that as I always hope to be but I don’t plan to quit. This year I want to get back to my journaling. I’m working on a small project with a poem about Saskatchewan that I wrote years ago (another S word) that I hope to turn into a small book. Small is an important S word also. We don’t have to start big. We can start small. That is something that Inscribe has taught me. I also started back with this monthly blog as I liked the discipline and interaction and the chance to ‘scribble’ that it provides me.

C is for Conferences. I’ve been fortunate to attend two of Inscribe’s conferences. I was first introduced to them when not a member yet, by Pam Mytroen who would return from one full of enthusiasm and encouragement. Pam and I were from the same town and attended a small writers group together. Eventually she convinced me that it was worth attending. I enjoyed both immensely; meeting new people, listening to speakers, my blue pencil session with Bobbie Junior and so much more. I hope to attend more in the future. Also great have been any ‘mini’ workshops I’ve been able to attend here in southern Saskatchewan. Anywhere that writers gather, especially Inscribe writers is bound to be fun and inspiring.

R is for Right Now as in there is no time like the present to improve one’s writing or to work on that article/book/story. This is something I am learning by watching the rest of you. I am so inspired with how much so many of you accomplish. Yet I still need to go at my own pace and consider all of my responsibilities (a great R word) in balance. This is such a tricky thing to do. Any and all suggestions are welcome!

 

I is for Informative. One of the main things that Inscribe has done for me is to provide me with so much information in the writing world. Information that I may never have sought out myself.

 

B is for Be Better. As I just said I want to be better and Inscribe offers many opportunities to do that. I especially enjoyed my chance to get something published in the Christmas Anthology. Publishing has been a roadblock for me. I tend to write it and push it up on a dusty shelf somewhere or lose it in the overrun files on my computer. But with encouragement from Inscribe (and my friend Pam Mytroen –she should have her own letter LOL) I did send something in and it was accepted. Thank you Inscribe and thank you Pam.

 

E is for Enjoyment. I felt I’d already covered the word encouragement and really if it’s not enjoyable I doubt any of us would do it. I find my involvement with Inscribe enjoyable, friendly and interactive. All things I need in my personal life and in my writing life. At the moment, E also stands for Editing as I’m currently enrolled in a Grammar class (my weakness, along with publishing) from Simon Fraser University, with the aim of one day obtaining my Editing Certificate. Good grammar is a cornerstone of all good writing, so it is something that will also help me ‘be better’ in my writing also.

I’ve enjoyed this little exercise and probably got more out of it than you did reading it. Thank you for reading. And thank you for being a part of Inscribe which I consider my writing family J

 

 * Gloria has been an Inscribe member since 2012 and has written blog posts and published a story in Christmas Stories and More. Watch for her upcoming story in their Easter Anthology. She also is a past reporter where she has many published news articles and columns. Currently she is working towards her Editing Certificate. Her most recent writing project is a small poetry book about the province of Saskatchewan, a place she has come to love and cherish.