Works In Progress by Tandy Balson

Two years ago I went on a cruise with my daughter. One day an area of the ship had a sign up saying Works in Progress. To ensure the passengers didn’t attempt to access that area there was also a security guard close to the sign. They were serious about not having the work disturbed.

There are times I’d like a sign and security guard when I have a work or several works in progress.  The trouble is, most of my interruptions come from me!

Sometimes the words don’t flow and I look for distractions to keep me from feeling like a failure. Avoidance doesn’t work forever and sooner or later I need to focus on my writing. When I force myself to sit down and actually start, things aren’t nearly as bad as I’d feared.

Other times I have an abundance of ideas. I will write a few lines, give the piece a working title and save it in a draft file. These drafts may give me a starting place on the days I’ve run out of fresh inspiration. The trick is to make enough notes so I remember what my original idea was.

At the moment, I have a few works in progress that I need to get on with. It’s time to set out my sign, position my inner security guard and get serious about eliminating distractions. Maybe then I can make some progress.

Do You Have Commitment Issues? by Nina Faye Morey

Do you struggle with unfinished writing projects? A survey by a popular writing blog revealed that 72% of writers answered “yes” to this question http://thewritepractice.com/finish-projects/. I can certainly count myself among them. Several unfinished Works in Progress (WIP) patiently wait in my computer files for me to return to them and revive our once loyal and loving relationship.

I start out with the best of intentions when our relationship is fresh and uncomplicated. I make a solemn promise to stick with my current WIP through thick and thin. In spite of my strong commitment, it doesn’t take long before things go wrong. The WIP begins to display its faults and no longer looks as attractive to me as it did when we were first courting. Once our relationship starts to fall apart, I begin to have doubts about whether this WIP is the right one for me.

Before I know it, our relationship has slid further downhill as my WIP grows stubborn and irritating. I find myself becoming more negative and critical towards it with each passing day. Soon I’m easily tempted to stray whenever other appealing ideas whisper seductively in my ear. It becomes increasingly difficult for me to resist the urge to throw myself into these promising new relationships. After all, if I tie myself down to this WIP, I’ll be passing up the chance to take advantage of all these other wonderful opportunities.

However, by now I’ve started to feel rather guilty about breaking up with my current WIP. Perhaps I should shoulder some of the blame. So what do I need to do to avoid this temptation to stray and stay faithful to my current WIP? Well, perhaps I need an attitude adjustment. Maybe it’s my behaviour that needs to change if we are to be successful in sustaining our relationship. So I decided to do some research to discover what was at the root of my commitment problem and develop some strategies to deal with it.

My research helped me recognize that my tendency to flirt with seductive new ideas was the result rather than the cause of my commitment phobia. Two particularly persistent troublemakers were those evil twins, procrastination and perfectionism. Together they conspired to keep me from remaining faithful to my current WIP. Their bullying behaviour was disruptive and dispiriting. It distracted me from my WIP and deterred me from achieving my goals. Fortunately, two of my oldest and dearest friends, patience and persistence, showed up to rescue me from their clutches and set me back on the “write” path.

In addition, I discovered it would take a lot of dedication, determination, and discipline on my part to maintain and nurture my relationship with my current WIP. However, there’s no need for me to struggle with all of these commitment issues on my own. Fortunately, I know that I can pray to God and ask Him for help and direction. If I listen for His voice and trust in Him, He will guide me along the “write” path so I can fulfill my commitment to the WIP He originally chose for me.

Whether you turn to the right or to the left,

your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying,

“This is the way; walk in it.”

~Isaiah 30:21(NIV)

So now when those tempting new ideas come calling, I politely take note of them. However, I keep my promise to stay faithful and ensure that my heart and calendar remain open to fulfill my commitment to my current WIP.

So Many WIPs... So Little Time - Tracy Krauss

In preparation to write this post I did a quick count of my works in progress and discovered I have nine novels in my 'WIP' file waiting to be completed. Several of these are unpolished 'Nanowrimo' projects. A couple have several completed chapters, while others are little more than an outline with some random dialogue sprinkled in.

Added to this is my desire to republish two of my previous novels whose rights have reverted back to me. There are changes that I've longed to make but did not have the right to do so until recently. (Example: I'm sick of the 'Sonny and Cher' references in regard to my book AND THE BEAT GOES ON...!)

As well, I've got five plays that I want to polish and submit. They've all been produced and performed but I haven't gotten around to submitting them anywhere. I also have plans to compile many of the old blog posts from my 'Expression Express' blog (which is no more, by the way...) and put them into a little book.

I think for me the problem is less about getting around to finishing a project and more about the fact that I have too many. "So many books and so little time!" seems to be my constant cry.

I try to set attainable goals for myself each year, and although I don't always get to everything on my list, I find setting deadlines for myself - arbitrary though they might be - helps me to stay on track rather than procrastinate. (Another tip: move the TV to an out of the way location.)

As you can see from my list for 2017, I'm not entirely on track, but it's not a total wash out either. (The orange highlighted bits are complete. The rest... well, there's still time this year!) Perhaps I was a bit unrealistic in my expectations, but I really want to crash through that pile of unfinished projects and knock as many down as I can!

My goal? Come Nanowrimo time I won't feel guilty about starting yet another new project. :)

_______________________

Tracy Krauss has been obsessively clacking away for more than thirty years in her quest to get all those stories out of her head. Visit her website for more about her many books and plays. tracykrauss.com  -fiction on the edge without crossing the line-

Conversations will Begin Again by Linda Aleta Tame

I’ve always loved writing poetry. For years I neglected the craft, and now the joy of returning to it is indescribable. It makes me so happy! Sometimes it makes me sad too, and that's okay.  It’s all good.

I’m currently working on a book of poetry, entitled Rim of the Visible World. The collection will include several sections, a few of which are entitled: “Here We Come A Ghazaling,” “Echoes,” “A Bit of Ham” and “Rim of the Visible World.”

The idea for this book came about during a poetry class I attended. For homework, my professor assigned the exercise of simply sitting in silence, doing nothing, for at least an hour a day. Admittedly, I didn’t always do my homework, but when I did, I felt tranquil and able to sift my thoughts. No small feat in my world!

I've tried to continue this process of quieting my spirit, during which bits and pieces of memory, beauty, humour, faith and so on surface and eventually find their place on the page. I think the goal of writing this particular book is primarily to indulge myself, take the liberty to explore a realm that seems mystical to me. Though somewhat selfish, I think it's a good place to start. I’d be delighted if others enjoy my explorations too, so another goal would be publication. I hope to have the manuscript completed by the end of this year.

The piece I’ve included here was written as I grieved the loss of two brothers and a sister to cancer.  The loss is beyond words, no matter how poetic, but in a measure the words bring comfort, and perhaps they'll unite other grieving hearts. 

There is Not Silence

after John Thompson’s Translations of René Char’s –

Eternity at Lourmarin Albert Camus

We have ceased to speak

with those we love,

but there is not silence.

And there will never be.

The rhythm has not changed,

of song and step,

or that simple smile

consisting of one sustained beat. 

A bond so close never falters.

The power of love 
transforms insolent darkness 
into glorious light. 

When that hovering menace

has once and for all,

victimized its last,

love will overwhelm

the perceived severance,

into harmony

with all the parts

of the whole, 
and the conversations will 
begin again.

In memory of three beautiful people who were incredibly loved:  

Clark McCrae, Terry McCrae, and Karen McCrae

Who Is My Neighbor? Tracy Krauss

With this question, I am sure you are expecting some kind of reference to the story of the 'Good Samaritan'. While it is one of my favorite Bible stories, I'm actually going to tell you about a current writing project called NEIGHBORS - a series of short novella length stories that I'm writing published by Helping Hands Press.

This series is dedicated to anyone who has ever had to pull up stakes and move, or to anyone who feels like they don’t fit. As a person who has moved multiple times, I know how hard it can be. The good news is, if God is with you, you are always at home.

The story itself takes place in Calgary and was inspired by my love of 'people watching'. Airports, waiting rooms, shopping malls –these are ripe fields for the student of human nature. It was during one of these ‘research’ sessions that I started a list of possible characters that might make an appearance in one of my novels. As I began to flesh some of these people out, it dawned on me that I had an entire community. What if they lived in the same neighbourhood where they could interact? I soon realized that several characters had their own unique story to tell, perhaps not long enough for a full-length novel, but perfect for a series. Thus NEIGHBORS took shape.

To date, the first three volumes have been released and there are six more to come. Volume 1- New In the Neighborhood is about displaced rancher Lester Tibbett, who has moved to the city with his teenaged sister to get a job on a construction crew. Life is far more complicated than what he is used to, especially when he finds himself attracted to a mysterious woman who is out of his reach.

Volume 2 Stuck In the Neighborhood is told from Professor Sherri Chan's point of view. As the youngest member on the faculty of a small college, she has always taken pride in her ability to rise to any challenge, until her boyfriend proposes and her life goes into a tailspin.

In Volume 3 Sneaking Around the Neighborhood, Lester's younger sister Patsi gets into trouble when she starts hanging around with a rich friend from school and her handsome older brother.

Volume 4 Working the Neighborhood should be releasing this month and Volume 5 Back In the Neighborhood is in the production queue. Four more installments round out the series with the possibility of another entire book if all goes well.

I hope you enjoy meeting this varied, sometimes quirky, cast. Welcome to the neighborhood!

Tracy Krauss is a multi-published author, playwright, artist and teacher, with several best selling and award winning novels to her credit. Tracy received her Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Saskatchewan with majors in Art, and minors in History and English. Apart from her many creative pursuits, she directs an amateur theater group and leads worship at her local church. She and her husband, an ordained minister, have lived in many remote and unique places in Canada's north, and currently live in northern British Columbia. For more visit her website: http://tracykrauss.com

 

 

Showcase Your Current Project by Sandi Somers

This month we are challenged to write about our current project (or projects­). Is it a new project or something you’ve been working on? How did you get the idea? What are you discovering as your writing is unfolding? When do you plan to have this work finished?

Then showcase a few paragraphs of your writing. On the other hand, perhaps you don’t have any works in progress. You’re in between, wondering what to do next. Or your life has turned upside down and you’re unable to write. Either way, tell us about what’s happening for you. Here’s my “work in progress”.

Focus on Finishing

Summer is approaching, a busier time for me: I connect more with my family, I travel more, and I work in my garden and flower beds. Knowing my writing time often gets interrupted during summer, last month I asked God, “What writing shall I do this summer?”

Into those questions God’s words of peace breathed like a summer breeze. Then the Spirit gently said to “focus on finishing” some of those personal essays, vignettes and devotionals filling up my computer folders.

And so I have begun. Working on individual drafts may seem disjointed as I work first on a devotional, then on a memoir piece, then on an article on writing, but this process is giving me freedom to think one item at a time.

As I shape with more sensory details, deeper meanings, and more insights into God’s ways, I see how my writing is improving. And as I print out hard copies and place them in my binder, I experience an endorphin lift; the pieces are beginning to accumulate. One day they will fit into longer projects I have in mind, but for now, I’m content to let the work unfold gradually.

My Writing Sample

 

This month we were also invited to showcase our work. The following excerpt comes from my visit to Jerusalem where at the Pool of Bethesda, Jesus healed the invalid from thirty-eight years of suffering.

In my story, Joash, the name I gave the invalid (meaning “God has given”), had been resting, eyes closed, absorbing the warmth of the sun.

Suddenly an unexpected coolness like a cloud crossed his face. Opening his eyes, he saw a stranger with intense brown eyes crouching down near him. “How long have you been coming to the pool?” the stranger asked. “How did you become lame?”

“Those eyes,” Joash thought. “So compassionate, so penetrating!”

Immediately the frustration of his thirty-eight years burst like an old wine skin. “Sir,” Joash said, “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to crawl down to the edge, someone else gets ahead of me.” All the while the stranger’s eyes looked deep into his own.

As Joash finished his story, he became calm. It had been good to speak to someone who had paid attention to him. Really listened. He felt whole.

(I proceed through the story of Jesus’ healing, and then ask reflective questions, which include the following:)

1. Psychologists know that people often need to speak their frustration before they can see the issue clearly. Have you released your feelings to someone or to God? What happened?

2. Visualize Jesus standing near you. See the compassion in his eyes as he asks, “I have something new for you. Do you want my healing?” What is the new thing you want him to do for you? How do you respond to him?

Now over to you. Tell us about your works in progress.