One Project or Balancing Multiples? By Sandi Somers

Are you a person who can balance several writing projects? Or do you prefer to work on only one project? This question came up a number of years ago when I didn’t know how to organize my time to polish several assignments that were on my plate. 

I began searching for how other writers and artists managed their projects. 

Isaac Asimov, who wrote over 500 books, kept five or six typewriters in his workroom, each with a page inserted in readiness. He rotated from one project to another with whatever momentarily piqued his interest.  

Philip Yancey focussed on writing one book at a time. When he was writing a column for Christianity Today, he enjoyed taking one day off a month to write the column. (One day! It would take me a week!)

Vincent Van Gogh set up as many as 14 canvases of the same scene, drawing clouds and natural landscapes as the light changed during the day.

Madeleine L’Engle combined writing one book with adding ideas and journal entries to several others she had in mind. Then when she was ready to begin a new work, she chose the one with the most complete ideas.

Grace Fox, speaker at our Fall Conferences, batches her work for speaking engagements, book proposals, podcasts, books, etc. She works, for example, two days on one project, three days on another.

 

As well as discovering how authors and artists worked, I‘ve gleaned wisdom, some from our own InScribers. I’ll pass them on to you. 

Discover how many projects you can manage. Alan Anderson said he chose three. (Sorry, Alan, I can’t find the blog post where you wrote this—but I remembered it.) On the other hand, Steph Beth Nickel emailed me that she is a writer-juggler who loves to “keep all the plates spinning. ... Most of the time, having several projects on the go at once energizes me. Most of the time.”   

But in general, maintain at least two projects. When you get bogged down with one, switching to another will enliven your spirits. Marcia Laycock needed to take a break from working on a major novel, so she wrote a delightful children’s book, Merrigold’s Very Best Home, that refreshed her and won awards. 

Ray Bradbury said that sometimes a major project needs to be set aside and incubate for up to a year. When you come back to it, you’ll see it with fresh eyes.  

If your current project is revising and editing, continuing to write new material will keep your creative juices flowing.

Along with the above strategies, Tracy Krauss wrote in one blog post the necessity of keeping balance in all things.  

Like a complex machine, we must strike a balance between marketing, promotion, and business activities…and the actual writing side of things. All of these writing-related activities must then fit into the greater balance of life…work, family, church, household chores, devotional life...  

But above all, we need to draw on the Lord's strength. As Steph Beth said that she needs to, “rely on the Holy Spirit to lead and guide and to provide me with the wherewithal I need to accomplish the tasks at hand.”

I’m reminded of Scripture which says: “May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us; establish the work of our hands for us—yes, establish the work of our hands” (Psalm 90:17 NIV). He will do it.

I’d like to know: How many projects or project components can you handle simultaneously? What strategies have you discovered? How do you balance your time and energy? How do you and God partner in this process?

Image by Getty

  

 

The Power of Our Words by Sandi Somers

Our theme this month has many implications. When I began to draft this post, it was difficult to choose concepts from the many meanings of the power of words.

*

Our words may be easy, but they are never neutral.

In our April blog posts on our names, one theme that resonated with me was how others spoke our names. Parents often spoke our names in tenderness. Other children made jokes of our names. Sometimes, as Katie Gerke wrote… “My name was always a good yelling name when my mom wanted me to come into the house…She definitely meant business when she added on the Gerke. “KATIE MARTHA GERKE GET IN THE HOUSE RIGHT NOW!”

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We can never get our words back – for good or ill. 

Charles Simeon (1759-1836), a pastor in England, faced opposition from his congregation. They spread rumors about him and rejected his ministry. But Simeon, filled with the Spirit, coped with gossip by never believing the rumors unless they were true. His aim was “always to believe, that if the other side were heard, a very different account would be given.”

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Sometimes we experience a poverty of words

When I arrived in Colombia to teach missionary children, I didn’t speak Spanish, other than to greet people. I felt helpless, reduced to early childhood when I didn't have words to describe things, to express my feelings, much less talk about abstract ideas.

On the other hand, trying to express feelings of wonder leaves me speechless. The wonder of God’s Creation on my early morning walks. A novel experience. Something surprising. Something unexpected. God’s new words to me.

*

God gives us words beyond our own wisdom.

I once read the story of Isobel Kuhn (1901-1957), a missionary to China, who was to give a talk for students at a Moody Bible Institute party. She ran out of time to prepare. Instead of going to the dinner, she stayed in her room to pray and meditate on her message.

She later said, "Quietly, point-by-point, (God) outlined for me the devotional message I needed....It was an unforgettable experience and an unforeseen lesson."

20 years later, Isobel overheard someone say that a message from some party years ago stood out in his memory. He described what Isobel had said and then added, "I forget who led it, but...the devotional message blessed my soul. I've never forgotten it."

Isobel didn’t reveal her identity, but she was thrilled that God had used her words in such a powerful way.

*

God, the Living Word, through the power of the Spirit, is the source of our gifts of words as we write.

Valerie Ronald wrote: “The Word, that Divine Expression, Jesus Christ, has been spoken into the world…As writers who are Christians, we have been gifted with a sacred task. It is not to write, but to listen. Listen for the stirrings of God in all the world around us, then let that sound become a symphony of words declaring His glory.”

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May each of us live a deep purpose to speak of the love of God and to love others above all else. May our words shine as a bright light to the world around us – a brightness that exudes joy, peace and comfort that can only come from knowing the heart of our great God. Shannon Nickerson

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My prayer for you that you will praise God for giving you the gift of words and language in all their beauty and power. May you use these gifts wisely and for God's glory, to heal, build, to encourage others.

 “The preparations of the heart belong to us but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord” Proverbs 16:1

*

 Note: A special thanks to our InScribe writer who inspired this post:

 Valerie Ronald wrote how God inspires her writing: “I enjoy the mystery of how God guides my writing…I am always energized as I write, knowing the living Word is inspiring my words.”

An Invitation to Prayer by Sandi Somers

InScriber Bryan Norford once wrote on how he is driven to pray each day before writing: "Lord, my thinking and understanding is so often fallen and distorted. I desperately need your insight and wisdom, that as I write, I may clearly express your thoughts and desires.”

How does Bryan’s quote resonate with you?

Artists’ Morning Prayer

“In the morning, O Lord, you hear my voice.

“In the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation” (Psalm 5:3 NIV).

Have you ever begun your prayer time feeling your thoughts are very general? I certainly have. However, I’ve learned a lot from David’s Morning Prayer in Psalm 5:3.

Let’s unpack that verse and explore what David meant as he prayed.

David begins with acknowledging that God hears him—in other words, he praises God.

For me, it was a wonderful experience when, several years ago on my morning prayer walk, I began my prayer by focusing more on God, praising Him for His many attributes and His love, a love beyond anything we can imagine.

          David next lay his requests before God. In writing those words, he used the Hebrew image from the morning sacrifices. “I lay my requests before you,” means an “ordered strategy”. Each morning the Levites reverently laid wood on the altar, each in its own place. Carefully they cut the sacrifices and placed them in order. Hi prayers were to be intentional, his requests well-thought out and specific.

         

 Just as David recognized an “ordered strategy” for his prayers, so I needed a prepared strategy to pray specifically for others, then to bring my artistic work before Him.

          In the last year, I’ve begun writing a list of points at the top of my blog draft as a reminder to pray each time I open my document and plan to write. This prayer includes:

·        Giving thanks for the abilities He has placed in me, the desire to write and the development of my skills and ministry

·        Surrendering my art to Christ for the Spirit’s enabling

·        Praying for the specific challenges that my writing presents as I begin writing or revising—the thoughts or images or structure, for example—those aspects of writing where I need the Spirit’s illumination that day.

·        Praying more diligently that the light of Christ would come into the lives and situations of my readers

Praying in this manner brought strength and peace, and a greater awareness of the Spirit’s guidance.

          Turning back to David’s prayer, he concluded by waiting before God in expectation. He knew God would answer him.

          What encouragement! Writer Madeleine L’Engle so aptly described this expectation: “Before we practice our art (for the day), let’s learn to practice the art of listening to what God has to say to us as artists,” she wrote.  This waiting before God is essential for creativity, inspiration, and a sense of direction.

Prayer warrior Dick Eastman adds: “The more specific and complete (our) petitions, the more faith we receive for its answer.”

 Over time, I’ve seen the Spirit infuse my mind with:

·        Words and images that spring to mind

·        Clues or directions as to where my writing should go

·        Structure: I was amazed last year when the Spirit began giving me a visual image of the outline for my writing piece. Even though I needed to fill in the details through hard work, the Spirit was guiding me in an area that I sometimes find difficult: structuring and organizing my work.

I concur with InScriber JackPopjes’ wisdom: “The ideas for these blog posts and their development into a well-rounded article do not come from my mind but through it. Each part comes from another Mind. It is the Creator Himself who puts the ideas into my head and leads me to expand and develop the piece.”

As we pray to develop an “ordered strategy”, we will demonstrate a deep dependence on the Holy Spirit who will give us both order and insight.

          What about you? What is your morning prayer like? How does the Spirit infuse your mind and your writing?

On Journals and Writers’ Notebooks by Sandi Somers

This month our writers discuss their experiences with writing in journals and/or notebooks. InScriber Violet Nesdoly gave us a prompt when she wrote: "the very act of noticing and writing things down makes us more observant, alert people—all part of the package we need to be successful writers.” 

“Write the vision…” Habakkuk 2:2

My journals and notebooks

Over my life I’ve had different kinds of journals: travel journals, including one from my two years in South America; several binders full of cultural perceptions and classroom interactions while teaching ESL; and a journal of praise which focuses on the positive side of writing. I keep a notebook handy for writing ideas for this IWO blog.

I also have an almost-daily journal, in which I explore and process dilemmas and how God is speaking to me through scripture in my quiet time. Writing helps sort through my thoughts, and I come to a deeper understanding than I would have without writing.

A wonderful benefit of journal writing is that often gem thoughts become the raw material for articles and blogs. For example, while writing an article for our InScribe Christmas Anthology, my writing seemed flat. With divine timing, God led me to a forgotten version I had written some years before. There I found more vivid descriptions, more immediate emotions and clearer details which strengthened that article (it was accepted, by the way).

On the Values and Varieties in Journals/Writers’ Notebooks

Journals and writers’ notebooks are very individual, and the varieties and values are endless: ten minute freewrites of "moments in memory "; an idea journal which you can carry with you; a quotation journal; a submission journal; a dream journal. Or your journal can be the first draft of a memoir, story or other article.

           

Over the years I’ve collected a number of journal/notebook ideas and approaches from various writers. Here are a few.

Julia Cameron, in The Artist’s Way, advocates “morning pages”: three pages of free writing first thing every morning. Doing so, she says, taps into our left brain’s creativity and inner wisdom without concern for that “inner critic”.  Many writers follow her advice.

Judy Reeves advocates another daily approach: writing practice. Her book, A Writer’s Book of Days, includes focused prompts, one prompt for every day of the year.  Writing from prompts, she says, is a discipline that improves writing as well as gladdens our spirit and adds to the quality of life. 

Violet Nesdoly switched from journal writing to a writer’s notebook. Rather than a process of fluid writing of journals, she said a notebook is a place to keep track of: details of life, ideas for future projects, lists, dialog, telling details in a scene, and more. (Read her article filled with practical ideas here.) 

Joan Didion’s notebooks are a “flotsam and jetsam” of ideas. She often wrote just words, locations, time of day, or brief notations—sometimes wondering on rereading why these details had been so important in the first place. She would probably never use these erratic thoughts in her writing, but they often brought back vivid memories and moods from those earlier times--memories she was otherwise likely to forget. (Read her article, “On Keeping a Notebook” here).

Writers have creatively woven journal entries into books or articles. Madeline L’Engle and her family spent one summer on a USA cross-country camping trip. At the end of each day she pulled her typewriter from the car and journaled the family’s excursions. Later this trip became the basis for a children’s adventure novel, The Moon by Night. (As I read the novel, I easily noticed the connection between her family’s travel and the adventures in the novel.)

As Christ followers, we often journal our daily devotions, spending time alone with God and opening ourselves to whatever God want us to hear. Janice Elsheimer, in The Creative Call, called her journal the “artists’ daybook” (a name I’ve adopted). Writing daily for ourselves alone, we come to hear the voice of the Spirit and “understand more clearly the relationship between journaling and listening, between listening and being an artist.”

Jack Popjes, past-president of InScribe, has incorporated a unique approach to journaling daily devotions:  he writes his regular prayer requests as conversations with God—question-and-answer format. Writing his prayers this way helps him keep track of his requests and God’s answers.  The additional benefit, he wrote, is that he’s also practicing his writing craft. (You can read his article, “Let Your Fingers Do the Talking,” in our InScribe anthology, 7 Essential Habits of Christian Writers.)

In conclusion, Phyllis Theroux in The Journal Keeper wrote that your journal or notebook “should be a wise friend…Choose what you think has some merit or lasting value, so that when you reread (it) in years to come, it will continue to nourish you."

 What varieties of journals/notebooks do have, and what value do you place on yours?

PS Writing this blog has been inspiring. My daily journal had come almost to a standstill, but last week new ideas began flowing and I resumed my morning pages with a renewed vigor. Hmm, I think I’ll try Jack’s conversations with God, too!

Further resources In her blog on notebooks, Amy Ludwig Vanderwater’s guests explain different ways they use notebooks. (Check it here)    Famous authors discuss the importance of keeping a journal (Read here) Here’s another read on keeping a notebook or three.

Breathing New Life into Unfinished Projects by Sandi Somers

Brenda Leyland, in an article called, “The Hindrance of Unfinished Projects” said, “A half-done project is much like starting a race and then dropping out before you get to the finish line. What Olympian would even consider such a thing?”  (In FellowScript, November 2012, p. 4)

                                                

Uncluttering Our Minds

What happens to our minds when we have half-completed projects?

           

I know. I’ve done it.

 I’ve had to put writing projects on hold while working on others. But my mind is sometimes still back with the first projects: mulling over ideas, jotting notes as I listened to sermons, writing thoughts in my journal—even grabbing scraps of paper to record a fleeting thought. (I once pasted these scraps of paper in my journal, giving them the title: “Unfinished Symphonies”.) It’s as if my mind knows there’s more I could say.

Russian psychologist, Bluma Zeigarnik

I experienced what is known as the Zeigarnik Effect: we remember unfinished tasks more than completed ones because we need to keep them in mind until we experience closure. If we hang on to too many unfinished projects, our minds become cluttered. Anxiety builds. We become preoccupied. We forget simple tasks. We can become so paralyzed that we don’t accomplish much at all. 

So how do we tackle those projects and untangle our minds? What are immediate and long-term strategies to get to the finish line? Although we don't have complete answers, our writers this month will give us a wide selection of experiences and strategies to help us.

Here follows suggestions I've learned over the last months and years.

From There to Here: The Way Forward

Begin with prayer. I began preparing for this month’s topic by reading Richard Foster’s book Prayer: Finding the Heart’s True Home. He said we need vigorous prayer for “a vision to create new solutions to old problems…We must pray for God to make a way where there is no way (to) “dream new dreams and see new visions.”

Recognize how our personalities and habits affect our patterns of finishing (or not). Some people have greater organizational and efficiency skills than others. They work boldly toward their goal, while ones like me need time to think issues through before making decisions.  But sometimes we don’t finish because of uncertainty, fear, or even procrastination. Recognizing where we are is an important step.

Work towards mastery of our craft. Musicians, artists, and writers say it takes seven to ten years, or 10,000 hours, to develop optimum skills and efficiency.  It takes patience and perseverance to develop good writing skills. I found that diagnosing and listing those areas where I need more mastery provided good insight and motivation. Taking courses, receiving coaching, entering contests with constructive critiquing, and submitting what I’ve completed, all develop my skills and help me to finish a project.

Revise. Revise. Revise. “All good writing is rewriting,” is wise advice. Even Billy Graham revised his sermons up to twelve times. Our first drafts are just our initial thoughts. But the real work comes with revising.  In revising, I’m shaping my thoughts, developing insights, and adding depth and meaning.  At the same time, I’m learning how to bring my work to a satisfying conclusion.

Set realistic goals. This too is part of the learning process. Several years ago I planned to write far too many articles in a week or month. But I'm gradually learning how much I can accomplish and can plan more reasonable steps.

Develop the discipline of focus. Focusing means letting go of distractions while trying to write. Social media. TV. The laundry (it can wait). I particularly get distracted by the “Shiny Object Syndrome”, where I can’t resist writing some new exciting idea before finishing the old project, especially when we hit a snag or get mired in the middle. Harnessing those shiny objects is key. Write about them first thing as “warm-ups”. Write them in our journals. Incorporate them into our current projects. Or even let them go.

Choose the next project wisely. I’ve found Madeleine L’Engle’s process very helpful. She envisioned books she would someday write and compared her ideas to soups in different pots simmering on the back of her stove. Whenever an idea popped into her mind, she added these thoughts to the appropriate “soup”—like adding an onion or carrot to the real thing. Then when she was ready to begin a new book, she’d bring forward the most complete “soup pot” and begin writing.  God will help us choose each project in its proper order.

Take the challenge to change.  Change may not come easily. James Clear contends that small but consistent changes increase our chances of success (read his article here). Goethe advised, “Whatever you do, or dream you can, begin it and finish it. Boldness has genius and power and magic in it.” The writer of Proverbs wrote, “Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and he will establish your plans” (Proverbs 16:3 NIV). When we take courage and trust God to begin where we are, God will empower and energize us.

                       

Accept God’s promise. Know that God always leads us! “For I am about to do something new,” He said. “See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland (Isaiah 43:18-19 NLT).

What is that new thing for you?

What does God want you to forget and not dwell on?

How does God want you to begin where you are?

 “Dear Lord, I…invite you into these unfinished areas of my life…Shine your Light and show me how I got here in the first place, and how I can remove the hindrances. I long to accomplish the plans and purposes you have set before me. Thank you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.” (Brenda Leyland)

God is the God of breakthroughs.

PS  Read these practical ideas on decluttering your writing. Also read Jeff Goins’ article here. Well worth reading! 

Finding Kairos by Connie Inglis

When I first read the prompt for this month I felt like I had little to say other than, "Yes, without question, I feel God's pleasure when I write." End of blog post.

But the longer I pondered it, the more ideas the Spirit put in my head to the point that so many thoughts were spilling over that I wasn't sure how to connect them all. Isn't that so typical of the way God works? To first inspire us in some way, and then to ask us to WORK it out? To use the gifts and abilities He's given us to bring His inspiration to fruition? For me these are two sides of the same coin and do relate to the topic at hand. I believe we can feel His pleasure no matter if the coin is heads--His inspiration in our mind--or tails--getting our tails in gear and doing the work. (A little side note. The nickel grabbed my attention because of the beaver and the English idiom: busy as a beaver. I know, I'm quirky that way.)

The first idea that the Spirit gave me was this: Actually feeling His pleasure depends on me, on my emotional state. God's pleasure, on the other hand, does not depend on me, on us, because His pleasure in us NEVER changes. His delight in us, His love for us, is constant and unconditional. Zephaniah 3:17 says it so well (This is a picture of my granddaughter. She too delights in running):

The longer I think about this, the more overwhelmed I become at how out-of-this-world ineffable that truth really is. Which also means I can feel His pleasure in enjoyable times, like when I am writing, but also in painful times, in times of struggle. HIS pleasure is always waiting for me, wanting to be felt.

Then the Spirit reminded me of the beautiful word picture of this in Luke 15: the parable of the lost son. The father's love for, his delight in his lost son does not waver. Each day he goes out and watches and waits and when his son returns home, the father shows delight in his son, throws his arms around him and then throws him a party. The son feels his father's pleasure. How like our Father is this picture? We, like the son, and like Eric Liddell, can run to Him and for Him and feel His pleasure. It waits for us. (image is of Rembrandt's work, "The Return of the Prodigal Son.")

So, if God delights in me always, if He finds pleasure in me as His child, then I believe He truly desires that I seek and find that place where I am "feeling His pleasure" anytime--all the time. This is where the Spirit reminded me of what it means to be in kairos time in contrast to chronos time.

I was introduced to kairos vs chronos time a few years ago when I read Mark Buchanan's book, The Rest of God: Restoring your Soul by Restoring Sabbath. We are familiar with chronos i.e. chronological or sequential time that is measurable. Buchanan states that, "Chronos is the presiding deity of the driven." Kairos, on the other hand, has no English equivalent. Wikipedia defines it as, "a time lapse, a moment of indeterminate time in which everything happens." Buchanan calls it, "the scent of eternity in our hearts," and Madeleine L'Engle in her book Walking on Water calls it, "Real time. God's time. That time which breaks through chronos with a shock of joy..." And then she says, "the artist at work is in kairos." I think Eric Liddell would have said that when he ran he was in kairos time. It is often when I am creating, whether with words or paints, that I sense God's delight, a taste of eternity--kairos time.

I hope this blog makes sense to you--that you get the connections I was trying to make. And that you are reminded once again of how much God loves you and delights in you and that His desire is for us to feel His pleasure often, whether we are running or writing or cleaning up kid messes or caring for a parent with dementia. And when we feel His pleasure we are given a little taste of eternity, we are in kairos time. 

Epiphany in Infancy by Connie Inglis

                          (The Adoration of the Magi by Jacob Jordaens)

Epiphany: (Oxford Dictionary)
1. The manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles as represented by the Magi.
2. A moment of sudden and great revelation or realization.

I do not think it coincidental that these are the two definitions of the word epiphany. I see them as  related. The Great Revelation of Christ to the magi--that "magical" awareness 2000+ years ago that this infant was God in human form--is not difficult to connect to that same "magical" realization that happens for us in a moment of epiphany. I believe it to be a Holy Spirit-driven awareness, an awareness that is not exclusive but inclusive. That's why I like Jordaen's version of this event--it is not just the magi that are there, but the simple townsfolk, people like me, who are there too, taking in that epiphanic moment.
 
The greatest epiphany in my life came when I tasted God's love and turned my life over to Jesus. Since then I have had a number of epiphanic moments in my faith walk. In my writing, however, there was no sudden burst of awareness but a subtle drawing to a desire.  My epiphanic moment arrived in infancy and has grown over time.

I shared in a previous post that I first started writing when I was nine or ten years old. I was working on a science fiction story, complete with illustrations, when one day I came home to find my mom had accidentally thrown away all my work that I had kept hidden in a manila envelope in the closet. I was devastated and sad and my pen remained silent for the next 35 years (Other than inconsistent journaling). And just like Jesus' birth came at a time in Jewish history when God had been silent, so my moment of inspiration came at a time when God seemed far away and I was in need of some encouragement. Surprisingly, the words flowed with ease and spilled out on to the page.

It was early 2006--the year our firstborn would be graduating from high school, returning to Canada and going on to secondary education while the rest of us remained in Thailand. It was a time of uncertainty for us as parents and yes, fear. But it was also a time when all three of our children were coming into their own, particularly with their giftedness in art: our daughters in fine art, our son in graphic art (Art on left by daughters Mykal and Kendra). It took me back to my childhood and my love for writing and art. The creativity I thought I had lost but now saw in my children, pulled me back into its realm. I was inspired or, as Madeleine L'Engle puts it, "in-spirited." It truly was Spirit-driven in its infancy. And God has kept me there, quietly helping me develop in it ever since. My epiphany i.e. His epiphany, came in the form of the following poem, a poem dedicated to my children:

THE ARTIST

The artist’s eye

            --seeing the unseen

Dip. Stroke.

Turning on the

            Light bending a brush with 1,000 colours—

            to a cataract world.

Gray-scale becomes

azure, magenta, chartreuse.

The artist’s ear

            --hearing the still, small Voice

Weave. Blot.

A single ink dot meaningless,

            but corporately—masterfully

            fortissimo to a deafened world.

Muffled becomes

pure yellow, blue, red.

The artist’s touch

            --molding the Supra-dimensional

Fire. Bisque. Fire.

A lump spinning on a wheel,

            driven emotion takes form through

            unique fingerprints—controlled strength.

Dull clod becomes

smooth, lustrous, unblemished.

The artist

            Creator-charged—

breathes life into the medium

and takes your breath away.