Faith Through Autism - Shirley Williams

We're pleased to once again have Shirley as our Guest Blogger on InScribe Writers Online.



Recently we commemorated World Autism Month, and I would like to share a family experience and how God put it all into perspective!

As we stroll around our local ‘arena walking track’ tonight, a hockey game plays below. We listen to cheers and music and watch boys our son Joe’s age, win against the visiting team. The noise is too loud for Joe, so he puts on his large red headphones. (Unfortunately these are the only ones he can wear). Everyone notices him as we walk around the track; especially other teenage boys. They watch as he comes around to their side of the arena; waiting, it seems for a chance to get him alone and tease him for looking different. This would not the first time Joe might be teased/bullied on this track, at school, or in our community.

Joe doesn’t have to wear headphones to get attention as he walks. Though he is fifteen, he walks like a younger child. He skips along, humming, or reciting movies along the way. Joe is different from other teenage boys his age; different because our dear son Joseph has autism.

Sometimes reality catches up with me as we walk around the track and through life. The reality that our son IS not normal, as other boys his age. Without autism he could be playing with the hockey team; but instead he walks friendless along the track with us.

It brings a tear to my eye as I compare Joe with the other boys as we walk, noticing stares toward him (regardless of headphones), knowing that he is so easily victimized, and being very aware of our huge lifelong responsibility. As I ponder this, these thoughts soon give way, to thoughts of how very special Joe is, regardless of his differences, and how God has given us so much love for him!

I recall how he can quickly recite information on history, movies and most animals and dinosaurs! He is compassionate, innocent, honest and funny. Joe is an awesome artist and wants to become an animation film producer someday. Joe is Joe all day long; he doesn’t play emotional games. He truly is who he is. This is so refreshing in today’s society.

Joe doesn’t skate or do well on a team. He’d rather do things alone or with a few others. His sensitivities make it difficult for him to live in today’s world; though live in it he must. He is doing his best to adapt to a world that is ‘too noisy, too bright and too overwhelming’ for him. He will navigate the world differently than most of us, but with help and love, he will be ALL THAT HE CAN BE someday. Thank God, that is enough, regardless of what the world says. Joe will never be another ‘Wayne Gretzky' but neither will those boys ever have a fantastic mind for memory or detail that Joe has. When I review the differences, though disturbing at first, then interesting, I realize that Joe and each of these boys have different gifts, abilities and purposes; very special and unique paths for each one.

Sometimes I struggle accepting Joe’s special needs, but mostly, I rejoice in his special abilities and how well he is doing. I can see that God has a special purpose for Joe, the boy’s hockey team, the hecklers and for all of us. We are all ‘a work in progress’. May we all accept, appreciate and be patient with the unique process each one of us goes through in life, special needs or not! (See Jeremiah 29:11-13)

Collaboration On The Road To Publication - Ruth L. Snyder

I'm working on my final assignment for the course "Shape, Write, and Sell Your Novel" with the Long Ridge Writers' Group. The assignment focuses on putting together a traditional query package to send to potential publishers and/or agents. A couple days after I researched possible markets, I received an email from Kathy Macias, an acquaintance through The Christian PEN. She was looking for writers interested in writing a short story of 8-9,000 words as part of a Christmas project. I sent an email back requesting more information. As of July 8th, I'm officially part of the Kathy Macias 12 Days of Christmas Series. My deadline is November 1, 2013 and my story will be released in e-book format on December 1, 2013.

Here's my synopsis of the story I'm writing:
It's Christmas time, but Cecile is surrounded by heat, dust, strangers, and death. If she'd accepted Colin's proposal and stayed in Canada, she would be enjoying a "normal" Christmas. Instead, she's stranded in the middle of the Kalahari Desert, serving as the lone nurse at a mission clinic, faced with medical emergencies she wasn't trained to deal with. Little has changed despite months of hard work. Cecile has never been a quitter, but she's tempted to just pack it in and return home. She wants her life to make a difference. Did she mistake God's calling in her life?

So far, the process has been wonderful. There are twelve authors involved (including Marcia Laycock and me). We have contact with each other through email and questions/comments fly back and forth on a regular basis. Once the publisher, Helping Hands Press, received our contracts, we were invited to choose our cover pictures on shutterstock. We were also introduced to Giovanni Gelati, first through email and then through phone calls. He gave us an overview of the process and a list of things he needs from us as authors so that our stories can be promoted effectively. (He encouraged me to look at this process as a marathon, not a sprint.) The cover for the series will be released shortly and Kathy Macias' story will be released as the first in the series on September 1st. After that, a new story in the series will be released every 15 days. If sales warrant, the stories will also be released in paperback format.

Part of the publishing agreement is that each of us will "have and grow the following social media: Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, Amazon Author Page, Pinterest, Blog/Website." We also agree to make appearances on The G-ZONE blogtalk radio show on a monthly or bi-monthly basis and provide a guest post or Q &A at least twice a month for use on social networks. We are also strongly encouraged to support each other by writing reviews and posting them on the release date and interacting on the Helping Hands Press Facebook Page. If we have any questions along the way, we are coached and encouraged. Instead of focusing solely on developing our own platform, we are able to help each other and increase the size of our platform reach.

I'm looking forward to what God has for me and the other writers on this collaborative journey!

What has been your experience with publication? Did you feel alone or supported on your journey? I'd love to hear from you.

 Ruth L. Snyder and her husband, Kendall, live in scenic northeastern Alberta with their five young children. Ruth has had several articles published and is working on her first novel.

www.ruthlsnyder.com
www.twitter.com/wwjdr
www.facebook.com/ruthlsnyder

InScribers Review: The Art of the Personal Essay - Bonnie Way

My first published works were personal essays or creative nonfiction, although I didn't know either of those terms at the time.  I simply wrote short stories about my sheep, but many other writers have used personal experiences as a jumping off point for sharing their message with the world.

One of the best books I've encountered as a student of writing is Philip Lopate's anthology The Art of the Personal Essay.  This was a textbook for my creative nonfiction course in university, but I've since returned to it to review Philip's advice as I write.  In this neat collection, personal essayist Phillip Lopate explores the history of the genre and presents work by great writers from Seneca to the modern day.

The Personal Essays

The essays appear in the anthology in chronological order, from the “forerunners” such as Seneca and Plutarch to modern writers such as Annie Dillard and Richard Selzer.  There is a second table of contents that organizes the essays by theme (e.g., city life, country living, food, death) and by form (e.g., humour, lecture, memoir).

Lopate provides a brief introduction for each author whose work is included in the anthology.  These introductions provide some biographical information about the author as well as a brief analysis of their writing style.  For example, Lopate mentions that the two essays included by Virginia Woolf “show her characteristic movement toward reverie as well as her penchant for shifting angles of vision.”

What is the Personal Essay?

Lopate’s lengthy introduction to the anthology is a thorough examination of the form of the personal essay.  He says that the personal essay is “one of the most approachable and diverting types of literature we possess.”  He then lists several qualities of the personal essay, using examples from the essays chosen.

“Personal essay” is a relatively new term in the writing world.  Many of the earliest writers in this anthology certainly wouldn’t have referred to their works as “personal essays.”  Lopate provides an explanation for why certain essays met the criteria of his anthology while others (often by the same writers) didn’t.  For example, Seneca’s essays were originally written as letters, but Lopate includes them because they were intended for a wider audience and have a very personal tone.

Writing Personal Essays

The writer interested in how to write a personal essay could use this anthology as a textbook for the genre.  Lopate’s introduction is a thorough lesson in the form.  The selected essays offer an excellent picture of the genre and an idea of what other personal essayists have done.

A writer should study both the introduction and the essays.  Consider how each of the selected essays apply the principles Lopate discusses in the introduction.  Examine each essayists’ style—what makes Natalia Ginzburg’s writing vastly different from Edward Hoagland’s?  Try to imitate an essayist’s style.  Consider the subject matter tackled by each essayist.  Look at the form and structure of the essays.

About Phillip Lopate

Phillip Lopate has written three personal essay collections himself, as well as novels, poetry, and a memoir.  He has edited several anthologies and his essays have appeared in numerous magazines.  He is also the recipient of many writing awards.  For twelve years, he taught writing to children in schools.  He is now a creative writing instructor at the university level.

If you are a writer of personal essays or creative nonfiction, I highly recommend The Art of the Personal Essay.  Philip's advice will help writers of any experience to hone their words and share their message with their audience.  As a bonus, most of the essays are extremely enjoyable to read, so have fun while you are learning!

~ © Bonnie Way

Generations Passing... by Bobbi Junior

Canada turned 146 on July 1, 2013.

Today I watched a video dedicated to the Prairie Sentinels, iconic grain elevators that lined railways and guarded prairie towns for the past three generations.

The song is filled with nostalgia, and it tugs at my heart-strings.

As I watched the pictures, random thoughts came to mind.

These people were immigrants. Many didn't speak the language. There were no ESL classes for newcomers.

They suffered injury and illness. No universal health care for them. If there was a doctor in wagon distance, the nearest hospital could still be over a day away.

They survived winter based on how well they managed summer and the growing season. Natural consequences had meaning for adults, as well as kids.

Often I get e-mails comparing the old days of my youth with the way things are today.  It strikes me that perhaps the definition of 'good old days' is 'that which is familiar'. Grain elevators marked the prairies for three short generations. From my perspective, they've existed forever, a lifetime! For children born 146 years ago, and for children who will be born today, Prairie Sentinels have no meaning. Is that wrong?

I have to wonder. Do we serve ourselves by dwelling on things of the past as though there was something magical, precious, life-giving, life-honoring about them? Or would we serve ourselves better by looking at today and choosing to dwell on those things that  are right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy? Philippians 4:8

Today. Not yesterday. Yesterday really is gone. Remember? Yes. Compare? No.

Today. One day, this day is all we have - as a nation, as a person. May we not disparage today, but rather search for and extol the good things our God-given intelligence and curiosity have allowed us to create.

The question I ask is not, "What have we lost?" but rather, "How can we honour what we now have?"

While Bobbi has been writing for several decades, sharing her words in a public forum is relatively new.  In 2011 her mother's progression into dementia could no longer be ignored. One day she demanded, "Someone needs to write about this!" Bobbi began to share snippets of her mother's story in a blog, and is now documenting her mother's journey in a manuscript: The Reluctant Caregiver.  www.bobbijunior.com