The First Twig ~ Valerie Ronald

                                                                           

                                                                                                                                   painting by Peter Ward ©

In a tree just outside my living room window, a pair of blue jays is nesting. I watch them flitting about the branches of the sturdy cedar for a few days. They bring twigs and bits of string, even a shoelace, to tuck into a three-branched crook of the tree until a nest takes shape. They can’t see me on the other side of the glass but I have a birds-eye view of their homemaking. Eventually they take turns sitting on their eggs and soon I hope to see baby blue jays peeping over the edge of the nest.

I marvel at how God perfectly designed my blue jay neighbors to seek out a safe, hidden place to build a nest. Although it looks rickety, their nest withstands some strong winds and rains, so they chose well. They had the urge to create a nest, and so began with a single twig. Watching them reminds me of my writing process, especially the formative stage of a new project.

That moment ˗˗ that first “twig”, is what makes my heart sing as a writer ˗˗ the instant when my imagination is caught by a what if.

What if ˗˗ someone’s life is changed when they take up residence in an old church?  

What if ˗˗ the daffodil farm where I used to walk is the setting where an old heart wound is healed?

What if ˗˗ my husband’s worn leather work glove is a picture of a life filled with the Holy Spirit?

What if ˗˗ God is asking me to write my own life story, even the painful parts, so others may learn about Him?

Without that initial moment of God-given inspiration, I could not put a single word on a page. Whether I am seeking a theme for an assigned writing project or just sending out my writer’s radar for new ideas, when the moment hits, I know it. I feel an almost physical jolt of energy, or the proverbial light bulb flashing on, when God gifts me with a new writing idea. I even have a name for such a phenomenon. A shining moment.  

After decades of writing, I have developed my own writer’s eye, or way of looking at and experiencing aspects of life around me as a potential writing subject. How can I incorporate that little girl’s laugh I overhear into a playground scene? Is there a new way to describe the autumn foliage I enjoy every year? How does a prairie thunderstorm mirror turmoil in a character?

Since fresh inspiration is important to me as a writer, then I must actively look for those shining moments. I must “listen to the silence, stay open to the voice of the Spirit”, as Madeleine L’Engle wrote.1 That is my part of the process. God’s part is to touch the creative portion of my brain with new inspiration. When the two parts come together, my heart sings in anticipation of the creative process and my mind races ahead to how it will develop. 

The work of writing is dependent on the original inspiration, the first “twig” placed in the tree to create a home out of words. Then begins the laborious process of building on the original idea. I propose that God sparks me with joy when He gifts me with new inspiration so that the energy from that initial spark will carry me through the hard work to completion. He makes my heart sing with creative passion, as only He can. I like to think I make His heart sing too, when I hatch original stories to offer the world.   

“All of us who have given birth to a story know that it is ultimately mystery, closely knit to God’s own creative activities which did not stop at the beginning of the universe. God is constantly creating, in us, through us, with us, and to co-create with God is our human calling. It is the calling for all of us, His creatures, but it is perhaps more conscious with the Christian artist.” - Madeleine L’Engle, Walking on Water


1Walking On Water, Madeleine L’Engle, Harold Shaw Pub. 1980

 

  More of Valerie's work can be read on her blog.

https://wordpress.scriptordeus.com/

A Writer's Fantasy by Loretta Bouillon

 

 

We are pleased to welcome InScribe member Loretta Bouillon as our Guest Blogger today.

  

 

What if I had a whole year free to completely focus on my writing with an unlimited budget for resources? What would that look like?

This is a fantasy that has replayed in my mind often; however, in this fantasy, I seem to be a tiny bit older living the life of an empty nester. My hats, as I wear them now, would be changed. No longer would I be a homeschooling mother/teacher, a manager of social engagements, a manager of personal development courses, a chauffeur, a cook for many, a laundress and a youth group coordinator (I may be missing a few!).

Waking up to my morning brew and turning on my praise music would begin my day with the Lord. I would also study my bible, read my devotion book, write to God a bit in my journal and ask direction for my day. I would take care of any practical tasks that needed to be done in order to make me feel organized enough to sit down for a while. It has been a strong belief of mine – prodded by my past many years of craving a moment of silence – that an inspirational writers’ nook would be ideal. For example… a place that I could actually leave all my writing-related belongings and know that it would remain untouched until the next time I sat down to write! Beginning there with a daily entry in my blog, I would then move onto another writing piece in progress. This would be the routine of a typical day.

Having my own laptop (not shared with one of my children), would be fantastic. Perhaps even owning my own iPad, so I could read every email with Inscribe and other resources, would result in myself being more connected into a network of writers.

Let me indulge me fantasy a little more here. Not having to be concerned about time or financial resources would allow me to travel to the exact locations of different scenes in my novel. This way I could accurately write with ease and experience the sights, sounds, and smells of each setting. I would visit the most interesting coffee shops in each venue, as that is where I find the most inspiration with my writing.

I would look forward to the luxury of long uninterrupted chunks of time to complete some piece of writing to fruition. In my present life, I have bits and pieces of many writing projects divided between a couple of children’s laptops, some on my pink USB stick and still other bits of writing in journals (yet to be transcribed into type).

Not having to choose between the two, I would attend both Inscribe Writer’s Conference and the Surrey International Writer’s Conference. Perhaps I could even take more than one writing course at a time, and maybe even live in a city where I could have the option of taking a course in a classroom with other writers and not online.

Even though this is a picture of my perfect writing year, here are my realities: I love my life right now. My children are growing into young adults. I already have one leaving in the fall for university and in five years they will all be gone. Most of my writing is inspired by life with my teens and all their wonderful friends. I am truly blessed to have the luxury of time to be able to homeschool them, assist them in developing their God-given gifts, shepherd their hearts, getting to know and love their friends as well as becoming their friend as well as parent. I do not want these years to end and although I know life is moving in that direction, and I do look forward to my fantasy writing life, I cherish my life just as it is now!


Loretta Bouillon has homeschooled her children for the past 18 years. Her works in progress include two children's picture books, a parenting book, and a novel. Find her blog at http://lorettabouillon.wordpress.com/

The 'What-Ifs' Gone Wild by Nicola Frankensee

 

 

 

We are pleased to welcome InScribe member Nicola (Henrietta) Frankensee as our Guest Blogger today.

Ever since God what-iffed the dimensions into being with a Word and gave His people the privilege of intimacy with Him in the use of their own words we have been what-iffing worlds into literature. I think He revels in our imaginations, though they can never do more than reflect His Greater reality.

The ancients imagined Valhalla and Olympia and Nirvana. They created characters--Gilgemesh, Bathsett, Hercules and Ah Bolom Tzacab to populate these worlds and stretch themselves beyond the earth-bound human story.

In western civilisation, using a Christian worldview, Shakespeare the Grimm Brothers and Hans Christian Andersen wrote about elves and fairies and talking animals. In modern times we look to C.S. Lewis and Tolkien as the fathers of modern Christian fantasy. We have The Gospel According to Star Wars. Speculative Fiction is alive and well among Christian authors and publishers.

So what is Speculative Fiction? It is 'what-ifs' gone wild!

• What if Jesus doesn’t come before the year 3000?
• What if He does and it’s before the tribulation? What if He comes after the tribulation?
• What if Time is set in stone and a traveler couldn’t disturb or influence events in the past or future?
• What if the traveler could and did, by design or accident?
• What if a well seasoned Christian met a stranger with suggestively elongated upper canines?
• What if aliens or robots or elves or clones or any assortment of them ruled the earth?
• What if alien police sought to research/experiment with human law by kidnapping a super sleuth to solve their unsolvable crimes?
• What if we could survive a trip through a Black Hole?
• What if animals were better at remembering and worshiping God than humans?

These questions collect and are published under titles like Fantasy, Science Fiction, End Times Fiction, Steam Punk, Time Travel, Ghost Stories and Paranormal Fiction. I find new subcategories all the time.

Friend Google cheerfully lists 5 710 000 hits to the 'Speculative Fiction' query and 670 000 hits for Christian Speculative Fiction, though this changes every day. One of the first links I followed has proven my favourite, Speculativefaith.com. I’ll leave it up to you to follow other links. Be prepared for the bizarre!

There are 114 publishers of Christian Speculative Fiction presently listed on the speculative faith website and more coming up all the time. Though in its infancy and generally published by independent houses, the fan base is hearty and loyal and always hungry for new reading. And even by the short list of what-ifs in this article it is easy to see there are more stories to be written.

Since a blog acquaintance suggested my story came within these parameters, I have reveled in the discussions, controversies, stories and generous companionship of this genre. Bravely going where no Christian Writer has gone before, much joy has been added to my writing life with heretofore undescribed species and situations, and I look forward to where the elves and dwarves and pixies might lead me. I will personally leave the horror and paranormal genres to braver souls!

At the last God gave one man, John, a peek at the what-ifs He has in store for our future, proving again that no author can out-create the Alpha and Omega of Imagination. To His praise and glory He is not threatened by our attempts to use the gift of language and imagination that He so generously shares.

Nicola Frankensee (aka Henrietta) was born in South Africa and has lived in England and Canada. She has told stories all her life and hopes one day to share her Magnum Opus, which is called Leoshine with a wider audience.