Seeking Silence by Ruth L. Snyder

We live in a hectic, sometimes frenetic, and usually noisy, world. I don't know about you, but I find it a challenge to slice out quiet, thoughtful times in my day. It's easy to allow phone calls, e-mail, Facebook, and other people to drive our agenda. None of these things are wrong. In fact, most of them are necessary. The problem comes when we go rushing through life so fast that we don't even have time to think about what's truly important to us. The urgent claims our attention and priorities fall by the wayside.

"These things will destroy the human race: politics without principle, progress without compassion, wealth without work, learning without silence, religion without fearlessness and worship without awareness." - Anthony de Mello

As a Christian, I find it necessary to guard my silent or quiet times. I'm a morning person, so getting up at 5:30 works best for me. In those quiet, pre-dawn hours I have the opportunity to sit in silence. Notice I said "opportunity." Even then, I have to consciously choose silence. It's very easy to start answering e-mails or reading updates on Facebook and get distracted from spending quiet time with my Creator and Saviour. I have to commit to reading Scripture, to presenting myself and my day to Jesus and asking for His guidance, strength, and wisdom. I have to force myself to be quiet, to be still, to listen. I've found it helps to have my planner and a notebook beside me. Often thoughts flit from one thing to another - I need to phone this person, I have to buy some yogurt for lunches, etc. If I write those thoughts down, it clears my mind and allows me to focus.

"Silence is the element in which great things fashion themselves together." -Thomas Carlyle

As a writer, I also need to cultivate silence. I have five young children and a husband and the responsibilities they bring. My writing time used to be late at night when everyone was in bed. Now it is early in the morning or when my husband's at work and my children are at school. Writing is work that is best done in solitude and silence. Writers need time to think, time to organize their thoughts, time to consider whether something is best said or left unsaid.

"And they write innumerable books; being too vain and distracted for silence: seeking everyone after his own elevation, and dodging his emptiness" - T.S. Elliot

What about you? How do you seek silence and maintain godly priorities in your life?

Ruth L. Snyder lives in northeastern Alberta with her husband and five young children. She enjoys writing about her walk with God, adoption, and special needs. Her novella, Cecile's Christmas Miracle, is available from Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

www.ruthlsnyder.com

Time To Recharge by Bruce Atchison

The beginning of a new year might be the start of work for some but for authors such as myself, it's a time to rest and regroup. Because we work so hard to publicize our books during November and December, we need to rest a while and recharge our creative cells.

I've often found that I become more creative after taking a rest from writing. Going full blast at a project sometimes results in little being accomplished. The time I spent trying to bulldoze my way through the writing process could have been much better used to rest and recharge.

Even some of our machines need a break. At the beginning of each year, I shred my bills from two years ago. The problem is that the shredder gets too hot and shuts itself off before it catches fire. Sometimes we tend to run our brains like that. When our minds get mushy and easily distracted, we need to stop what we're doing and come back the next day with a rested brain.

I've noticed that when I spend time away from my blogs and my search for book promotion opportunities, my emotional energy soars. During the Christmas holidays, for example, I stayed home and watched DVDs. After New Year's Day, I felt like getting back to work.

We can all benefit from well-timed rests. A balanced approach to one's work is so much wiser than pressing the pedal to the metal non-stop. Even our Lord Jesus Christ had to take breaks from his ministry in order to speak with his father and replenish his strength. Our biology is also set up for resting one day out of seven. So the next time you feel emotionally and inspirationally drained, take a rest. It'll do you a world of good.


Bruce Atchison is a legally-blind freelance writer as well as the author of How I Was Razed, Deliverance from Jericho, and When a Man Loves a Rabbit. He lives in a small Alberta hamlet with his house rabbit, Deborah.

Hibernation--A Good Thing Or A Bad Thing by Ruth Sakstad

I ended up taking an unplanned hibernation from writing during the last week of December and the first few weeks in January due to the stomach flu. This is my idea of a hibernation being a bad thing.

I don’t recall too many times in my life when I was too weak to pick up a pen and write, but that is what happened. Sometimes I couldn’t even think clearly. During part of this imposed hibernation, I was afraid I might never be able to pick up a pen and write again. I hated those thoughts. But I must admit they were there.

There are good types of hibernation, like when a word (like a wheat seed) is planted in my heart but it takes time to germinate before it becomes an article or a novel. These are exciting hibernation times because I know there will be a good harvest. I just need to remember that the seed needs to stay where it is and not keep digging it up to see if it is ready yet.

I am glad to say my bad hibernation period is now over and I am finding myself free to write again. This fills my heart with joy because I believe God has called me to write.

May your times of bad hibernation where you are unable to write be short and far between. And may your times of good hibernation be fruitful and bring you joy.

A Time and Space to Write - Bonnie Way

A soft, irregular clicking sounds fills the den.  A square, white computer screen casts its glow over me.  My eyes dart to the clock display in the bottom right of the screen, calculating the time since the baby went down for her nap and how much longer I might have to write.  My ears are tuned to the sound of the baby monitor sitting behind me.  Silence still and so the clacking continues.

Writing time can be hard to find as a mom.  I've often used naptimes, typing feverishly while the baby sleeps, thankful for each moment I have to write without a small writer sitting on my lap trying to help hit buttons on the keyboard.  As my daughters have gotten older, I've also stolen moments to write when they are playing with each other (again, typing hastily while listening to the sound of their play, ready to intervene should the sounds cease to be happy) or watching a movie together (if I'm under deadline and need that writing time) or having time with Daddy.

I often find myself envying my fellow writing students who aren't moms and can write whenever they want.  Then I have to remind myself that I started my blog before I was a mom—when I was a single young woman who still found it hard to find time to write.  There will always be something more pressing upon our time, some chore or task that demands to be done and pushes aside the writing.  The key as writers who also wear other hats (such as mom) is to keep making time to write.

Canadian author Cassie Stocks says, "Don’t tell yourself that once the children are grown, or the renovations complete, that then you’ll start writing. Start now, write around the dirty dishes, write about the dirty dishes.  The right time to write is when you sit in the chair."

Many of my creative writing instructors have talked about finding a schedule to write.  Knowing that you'll be sitting in the computer chair from 8 am to 10 am to write often makes the ideas flow.  For me, that's more of a rough routine than a schedule, but I do know that I can think about and plan articles, stories and blog posts while driving or doing dishes or walking them to the park and then, when I have that time at the computer, type like crazy.

Sometimes, finding that time to actually write requires being creative.  I asked fellow Inscriber Dayna Mazzuca how she manages to write while homeschooling two kids.  She answered, "I don’t find the time; I make the time or my husband gives me the time.  If I have to take the time, then I do our schooling in the morning and send my kids upstairs to do extra computer time (they have very limited computer time) or watch a movie.  Normally I have a writing day while they have a community class on Tuesday mornings.  In the afternoon, I have something low-key for them to do so I can keep writing."

So whether your writing routine is daily or weekly, whether you have kids distracting you from writing or something else, make sure you find that time to sit in the chair with your computer (or notebook) and write.  We are writers and writers write.

Where do you write and how do you make the time to fit it into your other tasks and jobs?