T is for Travel Journal by Carol Harrison

 

I don’t travel often, but when I do I keep a travel journal. I record sights I see, people I meet or watch, and thoughts and ideas to keep the memory alive through photos and written words. By keeping a travel journal it becomes easier to recall little details you noticed and share them with others if you choose to do so. Travel journal plus photos equals well-rounded collections of memories of the story of your adventure.

 Another part in my travel journal is jotting Scripture that I’m reminded of by what I’m seeing and experiencing. In 2018, my husband and I went on a cross-Canada train trip that took place over the course of two months. I journaled along the way, capturing thoughts, sights, and people I met to help me remember the details of the adventure.

 After we returned home, I read through that journal and found I had almost fifty Bible passages or verses highlighted on various days throughout the trip. I used these verses and thoughts about them to write over forty devotionals which I published in a little book called On Track.

But a travel journal can also help with other types of writing than just devotionals. When we people watch, we get glimpses into character traits and what people might look and dress like. Travel journals become a wealth of research into characters, locations, travel methods, and how it affected you and might affect a character in one of your stories. How much time did it take to get from place to place? What did you see along the way? What interactions did you have with people or with guides when you were sightseeing?

 One example of this from my travel journals came from standing on a high mountain in Jasper National Park and walking a little way to the summit from the tram station. I can look back at photos to be reminded of the scenery, but those don’t tell me how cold I felt. They can’t tell me how the wind felt like it might push me off the mountain if I left the path and went too close to the edge. Only through documenting what I saw, felt, heard, and experienced do I get the full picture of what a character would experience in that type of situation. It helps with believable characters, feelings, and emotions, as well as small details about the location.

 Looking through travel journals for research purposes is still a work in progress for me. How about you? Do you keep a travel journal when you head out on an adventure? What have you gleaned from it by rereading it? If you haven’t kept a travel journal, I encourage you to try it. You might be surprised at the wealth of research information and how it jogs your memory as you share your stories.

 

Carol Harrison writes from her home in Saskatoon, SK but loves to hear and read stories from many locations. 

K is for Keepsakes by Carol Harrison

 

K is for Keepsakes

Do you have keepsakes, family memorabilia, or special trinkets displayed in your home? Maybe they are tucked away instead of out gathering dust. Do you know the story behind the piece. Many will have a story you think of every time you look at the piece. When someone asks you the significance or why you have the piece, what do you tell them? Other questions you might ask yourself include:

1.     Why was that piece kept?

2.     How did you end up with it?

3.     Why do you keep it?

4.     Does it inspire a story?

 I happen to have a number of these types of pieces displayed in my home and some packed away. I enjoy looking at them but I like the stories associated with them even more. My children remind me that I need to jot the stories down so they will know the significance if I am no longer here to tell them. I plan to do that. Someday.

When we think of old photos in a box, we think of story or research possibilities for a story. After all, a photo gives you a representation of an era, of clothing, of houses, cars, or even family pets. Even if we don’t know who the people are in the photo anymore because no one has written details on the back, we can put it in a research pile.

One photo I have is from the early 1900’s. It is a studio portrait which means the person was significant to someone and had the funds to pay for the professional photo. I found it in my grandmother’s photos after she passed away. I had never seen it before. In fact none of the family could remember seeing it or hearing any details about it. We turned it over and found a faint white marking on the back. It said, “Roy’s fiancé”. Roy was my grandfather but this photo was not my grandmother. Who was this person? When had grandpa been engaged to her? Why did they break up? I longed for more information but then thought about how there could be a story to be told based on one photo. A project for sometime.

But what about those other pieces. It may be an ornament, a teapot, an autograph book, or anything else that you’ve kept and has a story to attach to it. What can you do with those stories?

I have one pair of little ornamental china shoes that sparked a devotional. I called it Broken but Loved.

A little pair of white, ornamental china shoes decorated with pink and blue china roses sat on the shelf to be admired. Years ago they had been a gift from two daughters to their mother. Then one day, Grandpa used them to entertain Lainey, the first grandchild. He decided to dress up her doll in the best finery he could find. He took down those special china shoes and tried to place one on the doll's foot. It did not fit. He kept pressing, trying to make it work. Suddenly, the shoe lay in pieces, totally ruined. He would have to throw it out. But Grandma picked up the broken pieces. Carefully, piece by piece, she restored the shoe to its original shape. She placed the pair of china shoes back on the shelf. One shoe's perfectness sat in stark contrast to the cracks where the pieces had been painstakingly glued together, marring the other little shoe. 

            Years passed. The glue in the cracks turned brown with age. Grandpa passed away. Lainey grew up and had children of her own. Grandma repeated the story many times. More years passed. Grandma became old and planned to move to a small apartment. As she sorted through her things and the lifetime of memories they represented, she took the china shoes from the shelf and offered them to Lainey, at least the good shoe. Grandma thought she should have thrown away the other one years ago but she had never been able to do it. Maybe now was the time.

            Lainey insisted the pair stay together just as she remembered them. Together they represented a story that would not be the same without both shoes. Grandma gave Lainey a huge hug and the pair of little china shoes.

            Many more years have passed. Grandma is no longer here but those china shoes sit on a shelf in Lainey's home. The story is still told of the broken shoe mended in love.

             God wants to mend each of us just as Grandma did that little shoe. We are imperfect, broken vessels, but God doesn't throw us away. He waits patiently for us to bring the broken pieces of our lives to Him. Then He takes those pieces and lovingly mends them with His love, mercy and forgiveness.

            As we look at the mends in our lives, we see the brown of the glue, the imperfections, but God sees us like the first little unbroken shoe, whole and perfect. Every sin, flaw and imperfection are covered by the blood Jesus shed for us on the cross. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new."

            In our brokenness we are deeply loved by God.

 

Whatever stories, devotionals, research ideas, or poems might come from the keepsakes you have, need to be written down for future generations or even to encourage someone else. K is for keepsakes and the stories they spark.

Carol Harrison loves to listen to and tell stories from her home in Saskatoon, SK. She's working at recording some of the family stories from the keepsakes that decorate her house. Sometimes they get shared beyond the family.

Education, Entertainment, and Encouragement by Steph Beth Nickel

 

There may not be as many reasons to write as there are writers, but there are several.

We may write to educate our readers, entertain them, or encourage them.

At times we may write to do all three.

Some of us may be writing about serious academic or personal issues. These topics often lend themselves to an educational approach.

However...

Many readers retain valuable information much longer if it is presented in an entertaining and/or encouraging way.

A combination of two or all three of these reasons to write is seen across virtually all nonfiction and fiction works.

Among them...

MEMOIR

The best memoirs entertain and educate readers. And, hopefully, they provide encouragement as well, especially to readers who have experienced something similar to the author.

DEVOTIONALS

Most, if not all, devotional writers want to encourage readers to draw closer to the Lord and educate them about biblical principles. It is common to include a personal anecdote, which, at times, may be entertaining as well as encouraging.

JOURNALISTIC ARTICLES

Primarily journalistic pieces are for educational purposes. However, in this day and age, there has been a plethora of responses to the outcry for uplifting news items. More than ever before, there is the opportunity to encourage and entertain as well as educate with this type of writing.

HISTORICAL FICTION

It's obvious with this genre that although the writer's main purpose is not likely to educate, readers are bound to learn something about the era in which the story is set (as long as the writer has done their research). As with virtually all genre fiction, the writer is likely seeking to entertain their readers. Encouragement may come, but it is often not in the forefront of the writer's mind.

SPECULATIVE FICTION

Perhaps surprisingly, education may weave its way through the speculative fiction story. They often serve as cautionary tales of how things could go horribly wrong if we continue on our current course. Many stories that would fall under the speculative fiction category may seem purely entertaining, which is not a bad thing. However, each reader brings his or her perspective to whatever they read. So, a writer's spec fiction may end up educating and encouraging as well as entertaining.

Have you given much thought to your number one reason for writing? Is it to educate, entertain, or encourage? Or is it something else. Bonus points if it begins with this month's letter, E.

Steph Beth Nickel writes speculative YA fiction to entertain and encourage. She writes devotionals to encourage and educate. She co-writes memoir to educate and encourage. She writes a wide variety of things because she is eclectically interested. (Note: "Eclectic" is yet another E word.)

Writing That Makes My Heart Sing by Steph Beth Nickel

It was far easier to think of works by other authors that make my heart sing, some of which I share below, than it was to think of my own writing that qualifies. Still, I wanted to share a few aspects of the writing process that I enjoy.

SURPRISE! When I sit down at my computer with the seed of a new idea and start to write and things come together more quickly and more surprisingly than I thought they would, I'm reminded of the adventure that writing can be.

And at the other end of the process...When God uses something I've written to encourage, instruct, or entertain a reader, I am absolutely, positively over the moon. Is there a better feeling than that?

Sidenote: Revising my work to make it better is necessary and can be very rewarding—when the work is done—but the song that comes to mind during this process is “The Song That Never Ends” by puppeteer Sherry Lewis. <grin>

And now a few notes about works by other authors...

Memoir that draws me in can make my heart sing, although, at times, the tune and lyrics are sombre and heart wrenching. Punching the Air, a memoir by Ibi Zoboi and Yusef Salaam, is written in verse and goes straight to the heart. Warning: language.

And speaking of poetry...

Whether it's thought-provoking, such as Punching the Air, or a lighthearted children's book by an author such as P.D. Eastman or Dr. Seuss, verse can make my heart sing and, sometimes, a smile spread across my face. Even at 61, I love a well-written picture book.

After reading No Wonder They Call Him the Savior, I dubbed Max Lucado a poet who writes in prose. Lucado has a way of taking the simple yet profound truths of God's Word and painting a mental picture that allows these truths to sink deep into my spirit.

Devotionals that the Lord uses to give me fresh perspective on familiar passages and remind me of the awesomeness of Truth are the most life-changing nonfiction works I have the privilege of reading. Bonus: I know many of the authors, and that gives me an even greater sense of connectedness.

I enjoy a wide variety of fiction genres: suspense, cozy mysteries, sweet romances, clean romcoms, fantasies…

Fiction that grabs me by the throat and won't let go is my favourite. Frank Peretti's This Present Darkness is the first book I can remember taking with me wherever I went—although, I pretty much always had a Nancy Drew Mystery close at hand for much of my youth. I even tried to wash the dishes while reading Peretti’s book. (I'm definitely thankful for the advent of audiobooks, which makes consuming content so much easier while doing other tasks.)

And, as I mentioned earlier...

When a portion of scripture seems to jump off the page, whether to convict or encourage me, my heart sings, knowing the God of the Universe speaks to His children through words penned hundreds, some thousands, of years ago.

 

Photo by Karen on Unsplash

Into the Unknown, With Hope by Marcia Lee Laycock

Into the Unknown, With Hope

None of us knows what will happen a year from now, or a month from now, or even tomorrow. Circumstances can hit at any moment and bowl us over like the proverbial pins we love to knock down for amusement. Sometimes it can seem like there’s a celestial bowling game going on and we are all the brunt of it.

A friend woke up on New Year’s Day to find their basement flooded and water spewing out of a split pipe. A young woman carrying twins is told to abort one because they cannot both survive. A community is wiped out by fire while another shudders under an abnormal deep freeze. Wars erupt and millions die of a virus that seems impossible to stop. If I did not believe there was a God beyond us who is in control of it all I would often be in despair. But then that young mom gives birth to those twins. A flower blooms unexpectedly in the desert that amazes all who see it. A man’s terminal cancer inexplicably disappears.

It is the safe arrival of those beautiful little babies, one of whom would not be alive but for a mother who said no, that keeps my head up and my heart soaring. And that single flower blooming in a far-off desert. And that father who is able to join his family for another Christmas dinner. And as long as there are such things in the world there is a will to go on, there is hope. As Sam Ganges said to Frodo when they were at the height of hopelessness – “… because there’s good in the world, and it’s worth fighting for.” That goodness spurs gratitude which lifts our eyes above our circumstances to the face of a loving God. That love ricochets through the universe, touching the hearts of those who are on the verge of giving up, as someone near them reaches out a hand to help them stand again.

After every natural disaster we hear of heroic deeds that are lauded through media around the world. The bravery and resilience and nobility of man is evident to all at such times and sometimes someone even wonders where such things come from. Beauty, nobility, creativity, heroism, pure unadulterated kindness. Are they sourced from the depths of mankind or from the depths of something, someone, beyond us?

As we launch into 2022 such questions bear pondering and answering. Some of us will frown and shake our heads because the answers seem unsearchable, unknowable. Some of us will smile because we’ve felt the love of a great and merciful God and seen His hand at work and known that He stands with us no matter what circumstances befall us. We smile because we can know where the nobility and kindness come from; we can know this God who is the source of it all.

As we launch into 2022 perhaps the only resolution we should have is to get to know Him even more as we take yet another step into the unknown, with hope.

 

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