An Ordinary Writer by Wendy L. Macdonald

 Sandi gave the following prompt for July: 

"My Writing Path Defined

In November 2021, we wrote about defining moments in our lives and writing. Brenda Leyland combined a number of defining moments in her writing life and posted, ‘A Writing Path Defined.’ 

Combine key moments/events that were crucial in defining you as a growing and/or proficient writer (no matter what stage you are at now).

Weave them together into your writing path."

The writing tapestry God weaves for each of us is as unique as we are. Mine hasn't had and probably never will have flashy colors in it. I'm an ordinary writer whose goal is to inspire faith that overrides fear.

The first thread that hinted I was going to be a writer was my fascination with writing poetry at a young age. My poems still aren't fancy nor worthy of being traditionally published. But they help me sort out my thoughts and feelings. I began writing poems and puppet plays when I was a preteen. My puppets were created using paper mâché and scraps of fabric from my mom’s stash of leftovers. My first poem was written on a piece of paper that blew into our backyard while I was watching my mother hang out laundry.  

The next thread that stands out in my past is a comment my grade seven teacher said when I described something through my love of nature. She said, “Wendy, you’re good at making metaphors.” Since I was experiencing bullying that year, I treasured her words and tucked them into my heart. 

The third thread was a bookstore gift certificate I was awarded by my grade 8 English teacher. She was strict with the class and taught us well. While she didn’t tolerate shenanigans, she was generous in rewarding hardworking students. She never shamed anyone. But she smiled warmly when we followed the rules. Several years later I found out she was a Christian. Interestingly, I bought the book Christy (by Catherine Marshall) with the certificate she gave me. 

The next thread woven into my journey to writing was in my grade nine English class when we were given the task of creating an anthology of our own poetry. Although I adored this project, I wrote depressing poems. Since I wasn’t in a close relationship with Jesus, and my family life was stressful, it’s no wonder the cover I chose for the assignment was dreary too.

Over a decade later while living in a remote seaside village with my husband, I was introduced to Catherine Marshall’s nonfiction books when a pastor’s wife highly recommended them. The author—though gone to heaven by then—quickly became my mentor in studying the Bible. She also inspired me to write deeply and honestly in my journals. Catherine Marshall’s willingness to let readers know she struggled along with us made me trust her and love her more. It was while reading her books that I realized I wanted to be an inspirational writer too.

But life got busy. 

Although I kept writing in my journal, my hopes of becoming a writer were set aside as work, house renovations, a move to the country, and three babies took most of my time and attention. Thinking I needed to return to college first before I could become a writer, I gave up my dream. And when I discovered there was a Christian writing course I could do through the mail, my plan was intercepted by plans to homeschool my children instead. (I’m sure all those classics I read aloud to my family helped me almost as much as a course would have.)  

Eight years later when I joined Facebook, my craving to write was stirred once again. So, I started blogging. Blogging led to taking online classes and to reading how-to blogs and books about writing and the publishing world. 

I don’t know what the future holds for me. But I do know God already knows which additional threads will be woven into my writing life. He asks His writers to abide in Him so that a steady flow of His inspiration flows through their pens. That’s enough for me to know for now. I know His plans are always good. 

I look forward to reading your posts, dear InScribers. Hearing how a writer began his/her journey is always a delightful read. And by the way, I enjoyed reading all the other posts you’ve done too. Reading is one of the best (and most fun) ways we can improve our writing.

Blessings ~ Wendy Mac

Faith Writing Mentor by Wendy L. Macdonald

One of my high school English teachers introduced me to my favourite faith writing mentor. She doesn’t know she did because it was an inadvertent introduction. You see, my English teacher awarded me with a bookstore gift certificate because I was a studious student who loved words. Reading them. Writing them.

    

So I was delighted to cash in my certificate as I walked across the wood floors of the local bookshop that was located in an old brick building downtown.

Although the first book I read of this beloved author was a novel, I later went on to read her books about faith. Her writing gave me glimpses of her journals as she shared from the heart. This author’s words helped me become more intimate in my conversations with the Lord. She introduced me to the blessing of praying about big and small details in my life and in the lives of those I love.

Faith permeated her heart, her journals, her books, and her life.

This author became my mentor as I wrote at my desk under an ocean view window in the beach house we rented. For my newlywed husband and I had said yes to an adventure that pulled us away from our hometown and planted us in the middle of a northern coastal village.

While missing my friends back home, faith writing became the passion that comforted and filled me as I read books and wrote in my journal. Because I was a new writer and a new Christian, much of what I wrote wasn’t worth quoting. But even faith writers have to write a bunch of rubbish before anything worth sharing glitters.

And I can’t help but believe my decades of filling up journals will one day birth a gift in me that can be shared with other believers.

In case you haven’t guessed which author I’m referring to, here’s a giveaway hint: she wrote Christy.

Have you read any of Catherine Marshall’s nonfiction books? I’m nosey-to-know. Which writer has been a mentor to you?

P.S. I wonder if my high school teacher prayed for me to choose an inspirational book; because, years later, I discovered she was a Christian. Maybe it wasn’t an inadvertent introduction after all.  

Faith Blessings ~ Wendy Mac 

Wendy L. Macdonald is an inspirational blogger and podcaster who loves to photograph nature on Vancouver Island. Her byline is: “My faith is not shallow because I’ve been rescued from the deep.” Her main website is wendylmacdonald.com where she enjoys interacting with readers.  

Who Started It All For Your Creative Spirit? By Sandi Somers

Prompt: Who started lighting the fire for your creative spirit and inspired you to write? How old were you? Tell us about the person who pointed the way for you and helped form you as a writer of faith. It could be a person you knew, or it could be an author you read. Tell us about the impact and why that impact mattered.

Catherine Marshall (1914-1983)

Spiritual Mentor

I first read Catherine Marshall’s books as a young adult, books such Beyond Ourselves and Something More, as well as her first novel, Christy.  

Her writing fed into my starved spirit a deeper intimacy with Jesus and God’s power. I read her books again and again. Her discussion on themes such as inner healing, guidance, and the work of the Holy Spirit, challenged me to believe God in ways I had never before imagined.

Literary Mentor

At the same time, Marshall’s powerful writing inspired me to write vividly. She told powerful stories of people and their faith and I studied how she integrated story with God’s action in the lives of people.

I particularly benefitted from the way she discovered spiritual themes.

As she began writing a biography of her husband, A Man Called Peter, she asked herself, “Why am I writing this book? What am I trying to accomplish?”

Immediately she knew that the hero of the biography had to be Jesus Christ, not Peter Marshall. “Jesus Christ would have to tower as the central figure of the book,” she wrote. “I saw that the life of no human being has lasting significance apart from his relationship to God. “

As a result, she asked herself two questions about each chapter:

·        What is the theme, the cohesive idea?

·        What will this chapter tell people about God that they really want to know?

The impact of her book was astronomic. Thousands were led to experience God in a new way. Many people wrote how God spoke directly into their particular needs.

While I have had other literary mentors since then, Catherine Marshall’s example also paved the way for me to ask God specifically to:

·        Confirm that my writing projects would be according to His plans.

·        Bring the right people into my life at the right time to implement components of the dream.

·        Fill me with His words to touch the lives of those in my generation and in the next.

Like Marshall, I claimed the verses in 1 John 5:14-15.

 This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.  And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.

Now it’s your turn. Let us know about the one who inspired you.