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.

The Importance of Writing Communities by Steph Beth Nickel

 

Although writing is seen as a solitary pursuit … Although many writers would consider themselves introverts … Although there is much we can learn on our own …

Belonging to a writing community such as InScribe Christian Writers’ Fellowship benefits us in many ways.

Today, let’s touch on five of them.

Community

We were created for community. And a community of likeminded individuals facing the same challenges and victories? That’s priceless.

A writers’ community reassures you that you’re not alone. When you sit down and look at the blank page or blinking cursor, you can rest assured that you’re not the only one trying to get your thoughts sorted. You’re not the only one drawing a blank as to what to write. You’re not the only one questioning your choice of creative expression.

Plus, being part of a writers’ community gives you people with whom to celebrate victories others wouldn’t even recognize as such. When you share, “I pushed through and wrote 200 words today,” it may not mean much to those who don’t write, but to those who do … Those who don’t write may not understand your nervousness when you say, “I just clicked Publish on my first self-published novel,” but your fellow writers will offer words of encouragement and a virtual hand to hold. And when you sign with an agent after years of querying, you’ll hear the cheer go up from across the kilometres.

Community is important to all of us.

Collaboration

What better place to find a coauthor for your book, a cohost for your podcast, or a critique partner for your unpublished words than a community such as InScribe?

Belonging to the same writers’ organization gives you a point of contact, a reason to reach out and develop a friendship that may grow into a professional partnership … or a professional partnership that may develop into a lifelong friendship.

Confidence

You may be familiar with the term “imposter syndrome.” You may ask yourself, “Why on earth am I here, surrounded by all these experienced writers, editors, and publishers?” Being surrounded by those who have far more experience than you do can make you feel like an imposter.

But it may surprise you to discover that there are best-selling authors who suffer from imposter syndrome from time to time. When they release a new book, they may ask themselves, “What if it doesn’t do as well as my last book?” “What if I disappoint my readers?” “What if my best writing years are behind me?”

What we learn from our fellow writers and other professionals in a writing community can build our confidence to continue to pursue our writing goals and dreams even if we feel we’re on shaky ground.

Commitment

Belonging to InScribe, or a similar organization, gives you the opportunity to “give back.” You can make a commitment to write for the blog. (Both this and the professional InScribe blogs have openings.) There are many volunteers who serve on the executive. This is yet another way you can make a commitment to the organization and your fellow community members. Keep an eye on the FellowScript magazine for these and other opportunities.

Courage

You may find it odd that courage made the list, but belonging to a writers’ community can increase your bravery in many ways.

Your willingness to try new things, to make a commitment to the organization, will develop your confidence and courage to “put yourself out there.”

As you get to know other members of the community, you may very well come across people you’d like to work with and develop the courage to ask if they are interested in collaborating with you. (It’s best to start by working on a short-term project to see if you work well together and to address any potential problems before committing to writing a book together or cohosting a podcast.)

And imposter syndrome? Fellow community members can give you the courage to press on when you’re tempted to give up on your writing. Plus, you can do the same for others.

If 2020 taught us anything, it’s the importance of connecting with others, of being part of a community. And being part of a supportive writing community can help us get through 2021 and beyond.

What benefits have you found from being part of InScribe?

Always an Adventure by Steph Beth Nickel

I am in agreement with Bryan Norford, that we, as Christians, ought to pray before putting pen to paper or fingers to keyboard. In fact, we ought to pray before undertaking any task—especially one as important as communicating with our readers.

A crucial part of our prayer life is following where God leads. Sometimes, He responds to a specific prayer and His direction is clear. Sometimes, we pray more generic prayers and only see His leading as we look back over the course of our life. The Lord has directed my path and answered my prayers in ways I never expected.