Spurtster by Glynis Belec

I'm a Journal Spurtster.

In other words, I journal in spurts. When I am going through challenges, trials, troubles, frustrations,
periods of questioning, times of refreshing - I pull out my journal and free write. What a great way to pour out emotion and hone in on how a particular situation made me feel at the time. Then there are desert times where I write nothing in my journals.

I would love to brag about how dedicated I am and how I consistently blog every evening at the close of the day. Sigh. It's my intention, but it takes a big pinch for me to do that. I am pretty good at writing in two of my journals, though. (Although, lately I have been a bit delinquent with those.)

One of them is loosely titled, Trekking through the Word and the other one is What's in my Bible?

Trekking through the Word is a journal where I take a little passage and read. I began at Genesis, and write my own commentary on what I 'get out' of that passage; or maybe how God speaks to me or directs me.

The next one, What's in my Bible, is based on my pack-rat tendencies. In my bible (thank goodness I have a big bible cover) one can find everything from funeral cards, to handwritten notes from students, to art work from grandchildren, to poetry, sermon notes, to inspiring quotes, to cards, to - well you name it, I've got it. When it stockpiles and my Bible cover bulges, I clean it out and put my treasures in a box by my bed. Then when I write in my What's in my Bible journal, I comment on what 'it' is and then I reflect on the person or persons involved and what they mean to me or how they have affected my life or whatever comes to mind. I love doing this and it helps me preserve memories.

When I was going through chemotherapy for cancer nine years ago, I was such a diligent journaller and how happy I am that I was. When I look back in my many journals over two years, I cannot believe how much I poured onto the page. I remember a lot of the situations, but let me tell you, I would never have remembered all the emotions attached to the situation if I hadn't written it all down. I wrote poetry a lot. I shared some deep-seated thoughts that I don't think I would have ever remembered without it staring me in the face on the written page. My mind can capture events but it is weak to remind me of feelings - other than something superficial. I still have to write that book based on my journals! But even if it takes me a few more years, I still have the written evidence that will never be fabricated.

That said, journalling isn't for everyone. And I don't think writers need to feel obligated or apologetic if they choose not to journal. What works for one, doesn't necessarily feel right for another. And it certainly isn't anything to do with laziness. Maybe exhaustion, but not laziness! I can't journal at any time of the day except night time. This might sound a little cockeyed but I have to be in bed to journal. And if I am plum exhausted, journal is not high on my list of priorities.

But when I am ready to journal, I love how words pour from my hand onto the page. And don't even get me started about sermon notes. When I'm listening to a sermon, I take notes. It's my way of decreasing distraction and oh, how I love to reread and reflect. But that's a whole different story (and a whole big box of 'other' books!)

I wonder sometimes, about what will happen to my journals (and my big box of sermon notes) when I am dancing in heaven. I suppose it won't much matter at that point. My children did not inherit my pack-rat tendencies. Hmmm. Just a minute. I have a granddaughter who actually loves to collect. Maybe I can make a note in my will ...

Let this be recorded for a generation to come, so that a people yet to be created may praise the Lord:

Psalm 102:18

I'd Rather Be Sleeping by Susan Barclay

I’ve mentioned before that I’m a pantser. That is to say, I write by the seat of my pants – whatever comes to mind, I write, and let the words flow out. Apart from the occasional “block,” writing comes fairly naturally to me as one of the gifts with which God has blessed me. This may not be what you want to hear, but it’s true. 

If someone asks, as they recently did, how I know how to deposit the right detail at the right time – for pacing, say – I find myself at a loss to explain, as I have no real thought-out process. I write, read my work aloud, revise, repeat.

I can see the value in writing in a journal or notebook. I just never have one on hand, nor am I the type of person to wake up in the middle of the night and write down an idea. I’ll have an idea all right; I’ll even wake up and mull it over. But that’s where the action ends for me. I’m not going to leap out of bed or even roll over and grab a pen and paper off my nightstand to write it down. I can’t say it’s laziness as much as tiredness. I’d rather go back to sleep.

Does this mean I’m less observant or alert? Maybe. But I guess I’m okay with that. I’m still writing and, for the most part, writing well. A greater challenge for me is the submitting to publishers and agents part. Let’s chat about that!

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Please visit Susan at www.susan-barclay.blogspot.ca

Green Thumb Writers by Steph Beth Nickel

Remember the colour wheel your art teacher used in high school? If you forget what it looks like, you can check it out on Google images—which is what I did.

See that pretty green segment? Go straight across from it and you’ll discover red on the opposite side of the wheel. That’s the colour of my thumb—at least in the area of gardening.

Some wives complain that their husband doesn’t buy them flowers. Personally, I buy them for my hubby because he can keep them alive. I am quite content to look at our lovely flower gardens and refer to them as “Dave’s Gardens.”

While I don’t feel compelled to learn to keep plants and flowers alive, I have been called to plant and water seed—just like every other Christ follower has.

Let’s take a look at 1 Corinthians 3:5-9 in the English Standard Version: “What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted. Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. For we are God's fellow workers. You are God's field, God's building."

The Corinthian believers were divided. There were those who claimed to follow Apollos. Others claimed to follow Paul. Still others claimed to follow Jesus. Seems they didn’t understand that Paul and Apollos were only the gardeners.

And while we’re not first century church leaders, we, too, are responsible to plant and water, trusting God to bring forth the harvest.

Of course there are countless ways to do our part, but here are half a dozen ways to become a Green Thumb Writer:

1. I know it seems self-evident—at least it should to writers who are Christian—but let’s remember to go to God in prayer and ask Him where He wants us to plant and water with our words.

2. Learn to discern the difference between a diversion and an opportunity. Let’s again think in gardening terms. What would your garden look like if you pulled a weed here, planted a flower there, and watered random patches? I’m no expert, as I mentioned previously, but even I know it wouldn’t result in much of a garden.

While that shiny new writing idea may very well be a God thing, we mustn’t forget to do the backbreaking work of sticking with a writing project until it’s as lush and beautiful as we can make it.

3. It’s important to keep developing your writing skills. Books. Courses. Conferences. I would add podcasts and online communities to the list as well.

Each year my hubby adds another feature to his gardens. And when he’s looking for inspiration, instruction, and ideas, he does his research.

4. What good would Dave’s research do if he never applied it? What if he thought, “Oh, I can’t start that project because I don’t know everything there is to know about it”?

The same is true about scattering our words to the four winds. Will there always be more to learn? Absolutely. Should that stop us from putting our work out there? Definitely not.

5. Gardening is serious business. For some, a successful harvest is the difference between eating and going hungry. Even the beauty of a lush flower garden can nourish in other ways.

Our writing is also serious business and requires hours of dedication and hard work. But our words can nourish and bring beauty to the world. Let’s commit to doing so.

6. Also, let’s remember to thank God when our words fall on fertile ground. What an awesome call to be His fellow workers!

While I’ll never likely develop a green thumb when it comes to working in the yard, I do pray that the Lord will change my red thumb to green when it comes to working in His garden.

On Journals and Writers’ Notebooks by Sandi Somers

This month our writers discuss their experiences with writing in journals and/or notebooks. InScriber Violet Nesdoly gave us a prompt when she wrote: "the very act of noticing and writing things down makes us more observant, alert people—all part of the package we need to be successful writers.” 

“Write the vision…” Habakkuk 2:2

My journals and notebooks

Over my life I’ve had different kinds of journals: travel journals, including one from my two years in South America; several binders full of cultural perceptions and classroom interactions while teaching ESL; and a journal of praise which focuses on the positive side of writing. I keep a notebook handy for writing ideas for this IWO blog.

I also have an almost-daily journal, in which I explore and process dilemmas and how God is speaking to me through scripture in my quiet time. Writing helps sort through my thoughts, and I come to a deeper understanding than I would have without writing.

A wonderful benefit of journal writing is that often gem thoughts become the raw material for articles and blogs. For example, while writing an article for our InScribe Christmas Anthology, my writing seemed flat. With divine timing, God led me to a forgotten version I had written some years before. There I found more vivid descriptions, more immediate emotions and clearer details which strengthened that article (it was accepted, by the way).

On the Values and Varieties in Journals/Writers’ Notebooks

Journals and writers’ notebooks are very individual, and the varieties and values are endless: ten minute freewrites of "moments in memory "; an idea journal which you can carry with you; a quotation journal; a submission journal; a dream journal. Or your journal can be the first draft of a memoir, story or other article.

           

Over the years I’ve collected a number of journal/notebook ideas and approaches from various writers. Here are a few.

Julia Cameron, in The Artist’s Way, advocates “morning pages”: three pages of free writing first thing every morning. Doing so, she says, taps into our left brain’s creativity and inner wisdom without concern for that “inner critic”.  Many writers follow her advice.

Judy Reeves advocates another daily approach: writing practice. Her book, A Writer’s Book of Days, includes focused prompts, one prompt for every day of the year.  Writing from prompts, she says, is a discipline that improves writing as well as gladdens our spirit and adds to the quality of life. 

Violet Nesdoly switched from journal writing to a writer’s notebook. Rather than a process of fluid writing of journals, she said a notebook is a place to keep track of: details of life, ideas for future projects, lists, dialog, telling details in a scene, and more. (Read her article filled with practical ideas here.) 

Joan Didion’s notebooks are a “flotsam and jetsam” of ideas. She often wrote just words, locations, time of day, or brief notations—sometimes wondering on rereading why these details had been so important in the first place. She would probably never use these erratic thoughts in her writing, but they often brought back vivid memories and moods from those earlier times--memories she was otherwise likely to forget. (Read her article, “On Keeping a Notebook” here).

Writers have creatively woven journal entries into books or articles. Madeline L’Engle and her family spent one summer on a USA cross-country camping trip. At the end of each day she pulled her typewriter from the car and journaled the family’s excursions. Later this trip became the basis for a children’s adventure novel, The Moon by Night. (As I read the novel, I easily noticed the connection between her family’s travel and the adventures in the novel.)

As Christ followers, we often journal our daily devotions, spending time alone with God and opening ourselves to whatever God want us to hear. Janice Elsheimer, in The Creative Call, called her journal the “artists’ daybook” (a name I’ve adopted). Writing daily for ourselves alone, we come to hear the voice of the Spirit and “understand more clearly the relationship between journaling and listening, between listening and being an artist.”

Jack Popjes, past-president of InScribe, has incorporated a unique approach to journaling daily devotions:  he writes his regular prayer requests as conversations with God—question-and-answer format. Writing his prayers this way helps him keep track of his requests and God’s answers.  The additional benefit, he wrote, is that he’s also practicing his writing craft. (You can read his article, “Let Your Fingers Do the Talking,” in our InScribe anthology, 7 Essential Habits of Christian Writers.)

In conclusion, Phyllis Theroux in The Journal Keeper wrote that your journal or notebook “should be a wise friend…Choose what you think has some merit or lasting value, so that when you reread (it) in years to come, it will continue to nourish you."

 What varieties of journals/notebooks do have, and what value do you place on yours?

PS Writing this blog has been inspiring. My daily journal had come almost to a standstill, but last week new ideas began flowing and I resumed my morning pages with a renewed vigor. Hmm, I think I’ll try Jack’s conversations with God, too!

Further resources In her blog on notebooks, Amy Ludwig Vanderwater’s guests explain different ways they use notebooks. (Check it here)    Famous authors discuss the importance of keeping a journal (Read here) Here’s another read on keeping a notebook or three.