The three R's by Lorilee Guenter

Write, revise, release. Most of the time, I have little trouble with the first R: write. If the idea is present, I can pick up my pen and spill ink across the page as I meet characters. I play with connections and clarify thoughts for essay or meditations. Sometimes the writing is only worthy of my journal page. Other times the stories and essays are worth another look.

Revise, revise, revise, there are days this feels like a bad word. It is the punishment for rambling. Other days I embrace it. Revision becomes a chance to consider the lessons held on the page. I learn more about the characters as I look at the gaps in the story. I see the teaching God is doing as He brings seemingly disparate ideas together in an essay. Revision in a way becomes an opportunity to relearn as I refine.

The time I spend refining a piece of writing varies. My longer stories have been through many revisions. They have had a few readers but mainly reside on my computer. Only one novel length story has been handed off to trusted early readers. I know the comments and critique from these readers is valuable for improving my writing. They ask good questions. They point out awkward passages and gaps in the story. I return to revision and in spite of the most recent feedback, refrain from releasing it.

I scrutinise and revise my shorter pieces as well. Nothing is released without revision. I find that the short pieces cycle through the revision stage fewer times. It is easier to hold the whole in mind as I consider the chosen word over a possible substitute. I also find it easier to catch gaps and repetition when the piece can be read in a single sitting. Even so, these are usually examined many times.

The hardest of the three steps is release. I want to release well written, well edited writing. I strive to improve my skills and thereby improve the readability of each story and essay. Since there is always room for improvement, there is always a reason to scrutinise each piece one more time before I release it. I have learned to overcome this hurdle and release some of my small articles, poems and stories. I have yet to release a longer story into the wild. I am once again revising the novel that is closest to its release. I don't know how many times I have looked at it. Some of the chapters are at the point where I add a word I removed on the previous read through or vice versa. Still I subject the story to another read.

As I stumble with releasing my story, the product of my imagination, I am reminded that God didn't give me a spirit of fear (2 Timothy 1:7). Holding on to writing that needs outside eyes for improvement is not an act of courage but of fear. Likewise hoarding stories that are ready to send to an editor and then following through to publishing them, is steeped in some amount of fear. There are many "what ifs" that can stand in the way of taking the next steps. However, at some point the next step is not further revision. Instead, it is trusting that God will take the words where He wants them to go. Sitting on my shelf unread, they are a weight. Released, they may encourage, entertain or challenge others.

I think it is time for me to move from revision to release on at least one project. There are more stories waiting for the refining process and still more to be written. Hopefully you'll join me by taking the next step with your writing, whatever that step might be. 

I'm looking forward to a fourth stage: respond. I know if I take a step of courage the next step will become closer and closer.

Lorilee Guenter has moved from only writing in her journal to sharing small pieces of writing with the world. Now she is preparing to move from "just one more revision" to receiving a professional edit of her story. It's the next step.

C is for Contests & Critiques by Carol Harrison

 

C is for Contests and Critiques

From the time I began reluctantly writing my first book, Amee’s Story, I felt like I had forgotten so much about writing and English lessons, I felt stuck. How could I ever get past the first few sentences, let alone the first chapter? I typed in words. I deleted them and began again. Then I connected with other Christian writers. I stepped outside my comfort zone of hiding the writing attempts and asked for critique on chapter one.

Putting your piece of writing in front of someone else and asking for a critique can make you feel vulnerable. What if they think nothing is any good? What if questions flitted through my mind. But what did I have to lose? Being stuck didn’t help. Gulping back my fears, I submitted this writing to the opinion of others. It helped me get unstuck.

Through the years, I have still felt inadequate too many times. There is always more to learn. I’ve also realized that it’s difficult, if not impossible, to see some of the common errors in my own writing that I can pick out in a piece written by someone else. We all see what we know should be in our own writing, whether extra words or missing ones.

I meet with other writers to encourage and be encouraged, to learn and to share knowledge I’ve gained. Yes, critique is still part of my writing journey. Recently, another writer and myself meet about once a month. We send each other about 4,000 words of writing. We spend time reading and critiquing each other’s work and then get together to review why we suggested the changes we did. We also make sure we let each other know the parts of the writing we enjoyed the most. It has been an exercise in learning and growing in the craft.

C is also for contests, another way of moving out of my comfort zone and receiving

feedback to help me improve my abilities. I entered Amee’s Story in the Word Guild contest the year after it was published. I wanted to receive the judge’s comments to see what worked and what could be improved as I moved forward with writing. It took a lot of courage to send the book away. Imagine my surprise to find out my book was a semi finalist in the Memoir category. Even though it did not win, I received excellent feedback from the judge which I referred back to as I wrote other pieces.

Since then I’ve entered other contests. A local writing group I belong to has two contests every year which are blind judged by a published author. At first I entered the prose and poetry because we needed to make sure we had at least five pieces in each one in order for the contest to proceed. Obligation to help coloured my reason for entering, especially poetry. But once again the judge’s comments proved so valuable, I began entering them for the purpose of receiving those helpful comments.

Inscribe Christian Writers’ Fellowship provides us with opportunities to enter our writing into the fall contest each year in a number of categories. Blind judging allows unbiased comments. I haven’t entered every year. At first, I couldn’t make myself move out of that comfort zone and send my writing away to be judged. Then, I wanted to receive feedback from a judge to know how I could improve and what I did well. I entered the Devotional category because I felt most comfortable with that genre. Since then, I’ve branched out to try others. It’s a wonderful opportunity to learn and grow.

I enter a contest and wait in eager anticipation for the results. Yes, being in the top three is a goal each time but mostly I can’t wait to read the judge’s comments even on pieces that have made those top places.

Contests and critiques are opportunities to stretch us out of our comfort zones while offering advice on ways to improve my writing. It won’t be long before the Inscribe Fall Contest is open. We’ll discover the categories offered this year. Are we ready to write entries for the contest? After all C is for critiques, contests, and moving out of our comfort zone. 

 Carol Harrison writes from her home in Saskatoon, SK. Fear still grips when she sends submissions for contests but she finds them valuable learning tools for this craft of writing.

Death by Criticism, Life by Critique

“Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.”—Proverbs 27:17 RSV

Being a writer or any other type of creative includes some form of evaluation. A criticism or critique may be via an editor, writing buddy, beta writer, writing group member or even a family member etc. Perhaps I should have mentioned most of these sources might be more prone to give a good constructive critique of one's writing. I appreciate those who critique my writing. Criticism is another thing altogether in my mind.

For at least my first twenty years of life I received intense criticism about almost everything I did or tried to accomplish. Without coming off as being dramatic I have to say these years were ones I hoped I would survive. A lesson I learned from years of being criticized is criticism is always negative.

Criticism is something someone else says about you or your work that does not have your benefit in mind. Criticism can be crushing. Criticism can kill your spirit. This became my response at least. For instance, I loved writing composition and English courses at school. I cherished my teachers who encouraged my writing. At home was a different story. I never shared what I wrote with my family for fear of criticism. I always wished this wasn’t the case, but it was.

I have always loved to write. As I have shared in other posts, in my younger years and even into adulthood, I was a closet writer. Fear kept me from sharing my writing. The fear stemmed from pointed words acting as if arrows piercing my heart.

Even today I am sensitive to criticism. On the other hand, I try not to allow criticism to harm me. At such times I pause, take a deep breath and consider the source of the critic. I know I do not allow the words of a critic to hurt my heart anymore.

A summation of my response to criticism of my writing:

1.   Criticism does not have my best in mind.

2.   Criticism may kill my spirit.

3.   Criticism comes from a critical heart.

4.   Criticism disempowers me as a writer if I allow it.

5.   Criticism denies the beauty of the message I desire to convey.

6.   Criticism is shortsighted and sees only what the critic wants to see if anything.

7.   A critic says, “listen to me, you need to quit writing,” while I know I am to listen to God. He is the One who called me.

Contrary to my response to criticism I am always open to my work being critiqued. I want to improve or enhance my writing, therefore, a critique is welcome.

 

Here is an idea of my response to honest critiques of my writing:

1.     A critique allows me to walk with my head up and not feel beat up.

2.     I still know my writing is worth the effort to work on.

3.     A critique reminds me I am not alone in my writing.

4.     I become more confident in the words I write and the message I am conveying.

5.     A critique encourages me not to be afraid to critique someone else’s writing.

6.     Although my writing is a calling from God, I rely on other writers to help me sharpen my skill.

7.      An honest critique and an honest response to it are life-giving and spur me on in my writing.

When I have an opportunity to critique the work of fellow writers I pray I help build up their skill and calling. We are in this together, therefore, let us build each other up.

https://scarredjoy.ca/

Dealing with Hurtful Words- Carol Harrison

Hurts run deep and stick around when I have been wounded by words and devastated by detractors. Real and perceived criticism of my writing floods into my mind like the rushing rapids in the Niagara Gorge. Year later old hurts can surface as the negative monkey voice in my head reminisces on them and tries to convince me to just give up.
 
The fact they happen is nothing new but how I deal with them changed over the years as I learned valuable lessons through different sources than I might have expected. 

The words my grade twelve English teacher penned at the end of my short story, "You have an unrealistic point of view." negated the good mark and lack of lots of red pen edits on the paper. The story I had worked hard on until I liked the result felt torn apart.

 His words devastated me, took on a life of their own and I thought he meant I had no writing ability. I never asked for clarification. I never discussed it with anyone else. I assumed I knew what those words meant. With the clarity of hindsight, I realize I hid my love of writing for years because of my own perceptions.

Critiques done well should be like the sandwich approach Toastmasters use in evaluations. These begin with positives such as skills we already possess as speakers or writers. The filling contains what we could improve on and how to accomplish these things. They evaluator ends on a positive note to encourage the speaker to continue working on their craft and speak again. I believe this same method works well for critiques of our writing and provides some great lessons in how I can deal with the negative reactions to my writing and quiet my own internal negativity.

Evaluations and critiques are one person's point of view and include their own biases and perceptions. They also are based on knowledge they have in a certain genre of writing.  In applying this to my grade twelve teacher's comment I now realize he referred not to my writing ability but to the world view I used in my story which did not agree with or reflect his own view of how characters might react.
 He thought Christianity unrealistic. Yet his edits and marks reflected how much I had accomplished in the grammar, verb tense agreement and plot structure based on his background and knowledge.

Critiques do not always follow this pattern of positivity.  I sat with a poet for some feedback on a poem, not my usual genre. I liked the imagery of these few lines and had several people enjoy it. The person told me something I already knew, "It's not a rhyming poem." They also added, "It's not really free verse either."  I asked for more explanation because I really wanted to learn. They had nothing to offer except to keep working on it. Their final thought, "Maybe just write it as a paragraph." Ouch.
Rejection of my attempt at poetry made me hide it away, forgetting the positives I heard from readers. It took years until I tried to write a poem again and the negative words from that critique overpowered my attempts to continue learning.

Another lesson I learned is to never give up. Keep learning. Keep writing. Keep trying to look for the positives even when the negative words threaten to make you give up. I took more workshops on various aspects of writing including poetry. I edited that first poem and put it away for a few more years. Then I submitted it to a magazine who published it this year. This reinforced the lesson of a critique being one person's opinion and the need to continue to learn and not give up.

Well done critiques are not critical but meant to nudge us into a new mindset, teach us and help us improve our writing. I began writing and requested ideas to help get me unstuck. A published author asked me who I planned to write this story for and if I really wanted to hear her thoughts or just receive a pat on the back. I told her I wanted to learn. She offered suggestions of things to cut and where to begin in a very curt manner. I must admit my first thought was, "Who does she think she is? this is my story."  My second thought, "Wait a minute you asked her for advice. You can start a new file and try it. If it doesn't work go back to your original copy."  I tried the story her way and it worked. It began to flow and grabbed the reader's attention. She knew what she was talking about. 

Rejection hurts and words can wound deeply. We feel pummeled by the raging waters of criticism. The effects might stay with us longer than we care to admit. We can put these into perspective by not allowing negative remarks and criticism from a single source to deter us from pursuing our passion for using our God-given abilities to write even if that style may differ from someone else's preference.

I  strive to learn from judges' comments in contests I enter as well as editors corrections instead of view them as an attack on my writing. It puts me into a more positive mindset. 

When the sting of harsh, hurtful words, negative comments on my work make me feel like giving up
I need to remember the words from Colossians 3:17 which says, "And whatever you do whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus giving thanks to God the Father through him."

My writing remains a work in progress with more to learn from others who have traveled this journey longer than I have. When the waters of doubt and hurt bombard me, I trust God to help me weather the storm by anchoring my roots deep into the Rock.

Carol Harrison is a speaker, published author and coach who lives in Saskatoon, SK. She believes in the importance of life long learning. Telling stories has been an important part of most of her life. Now she puts some of them on paper too.  Her passion is sharing real-life experiences and God's Word to help others find a glimmer of hope and a glimpse of joy. 

12 Benefits of Belonging to a Writers' Group by Steph Beth Nickel

As a founding member of WWC (Women Writing for Christ), the last 10+ years have been an adventure; one I've been able to share with incredible friends and fellow writers.

Here are a dozen reasons you may want to join (or form) a writers' group:

1. Spend time with people who "get you."

Have you ever been excited about something you've read or something you've written only to share it with those whose eyes glaze over? It's nice when that doesn't happen.

2. Benefit from encouragement.

I'm not talking about flattery, but genuine, authentic encouragement. It's wonderful to spend time with fellow writers who will spur you on to develop your skills and who will point out what you do well and kindly let you know what you can improve.

3. Be challenged to learn new skills.

Whether it's in the form of recommended reading, critiques, or freewriting sessions, there are many ways you can learn as a member of a writers' group. You may even want to take turns teaching lessons. There's nothing like hunting up info to share to increase your knowledge.

4. Grow more courageous. 

Even experienced authors often find it unnerving to share their writing with others. You're in good company.

5. Learn how to take constructive criticism.

It isn't easy to hear what others say about your work, especially if they tell you what you could improve as well as what you did well. But it is a great way to develop as a writer. I've often said writers must be able to pour out their hearts on the page but have hides as thick as an alligator's.

6. Learn to critique others' writing.

It's surprising how much you can learn from critiquing another's work. It will help you improve your writing as well as theirs. Just a note ... It's best to find out what the other person wants you to focus on. A critique is not an edit.

7. Stretch your writing muscles with freewriting sessions.

While other members of WWC find this a real challenge, I love freewriting sessions ... maybe because I see journaling as "rambling until I stumble across truth." Plus, I think it's amazing how we all create completely different pieces from the same writing prompt. (There is no critiquing allowed at this stage. Otherwise, we'd be too timid to write whatever comes to mind and we definitely wouldn't want to share it.)

8. Get your creative juices flowing.

Being around other writers can inspire you to make the time to write no matter how crazy busy life gets. It also helps if you are expected to take something you've written to the next meeting.

9. Be challenged to write something you never considered before.

As I mentioned, each of us will start with the same prompt and produce entirely different pieces, from poems to short stories to nonfiction works. What fun!

10. Make connections with writers beyond your group.

The four founding members of WWC attended Write Canada over a decade ago ... in matching t-shirts no less. Talk about energizing! Even if you find the idea of attending a workshop or conference overwhelming, it's the perfect place to learn new skills and network with others in the writing world.

11. Publish.

It was through the founder of our group, Ruth Waring, that I met Deb Willows. Deb and I went on to coauthor her award-winning memoir, Living Beyond My Circumstances. And who did I want at the launch? Members of WWC, of course.

12. Discover the thrill of "rejoicing with those who rejoice."

It isn't only about your writing successes; it's about celebrating those of other group members as well. The best writers' groups, in my opinion, are those made up of true friends who will challenge you to become all you can be and who will throw a party when you reach a milestone along the way.

To the ladies of WWC ... You are treasured gifts from God Himself. I'm thankful for each of you. 

Please note that I'm also thankful for each InScribe member I've had the privilege of interacting with. Our connection is a result of my membership in WWC. (I love how the Lord weaves our lives together.) 

And by extension, I'm thankful for each of you who is reading this. Without readers, where would writers be anyway?