R’s—Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle by Adriana Marella-Wolfe

Adriana Marella-Wolfe, a new member to InScribe, joins us once again as our Guest Blogger on InScribe Writers Online.

"This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says, "Write in a book

all the words I have spoken to you." Jeremiah 30:2 (NIV)

The three R's—Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle—are October’s blog prompt. Below are hints I use for my writing that are written out as a prayer. Enjoy.

“Heavenly Father, how do I reduce my writing? I am an over-writer. It’s true I admit it.”

Checklist #1

- Remove all the “that, just” and so on from “the list of unnecessary words in writing". Here are a couple of lists that I refer to: 43 Words You Should Cut From Your Writing Immediately by Diane Urban and 298 Useless Filler Words That Rob Your Writing of Its Power by Smartblogger.com

- An on-line copyeditor course “The Keys to Effective Editing” Southeast College in Weyburn, Saskatchewan, Canada, has given me great guidelines.

- Marie Powell’s editing workshop. Count the total number of words in a paragraph. Divide it by two. The result is crossing out the unneeded words.

- Acronyms. Using acronyms helps me to shorten my ideas or give me direction. For example, r- reduce. My tangled web disappears.

- Discard repeated words like “said”. Use more action verbs.

- Use the five senses and intuition. Go with the gut.

- Reduce to three opinions for each character in dialogue: positive, negative, and neutral/undecided.

“Lord Jesus, my teacher, how do I reuse? I am a pack rat.”

Checklist #2

- Reuse patterns with my dual time lines. Consider locations and dates.

- Edit. Watch for spelling, grammar, tenses. That's my task as a copyeditor.

- Have empathy for your characters. Dialogue helps me to interact with them. I act it out.

- Reusing tones helps to generate arcs - rising, falling, and healing.

- Press "Save As" and then print a hard copy. When our computer broke down, I did not have a backup or printed copy. I lost everything. Now with my new computer, I save as and print a hard copy.

- Double check with a short list. On the side of my work, I write down the five senses and intuition: who, what, when, where, why, and how. I place a check mark or X beside each one after I look to see if I have inserted them.

- Yes, I am a pack rat. I have copies of my first draft ever. Travel pieces are a keepsake for me. I reuse places, times, and events.

- Headers/Footers. Here is a short video: How to Create Reusable Headers and Footers in Microsoft Word (on YouTube) by Erin Wright Writing.

“Holy Spirit, my advocate. How do I recycle my writing? “Yuck, who writes this? Oh yeah, it’s me.”

Checklist #3

- Keep all notes and old inserts. I may not use them, but I can recreate new scenes.

- My journals. Write past or present travel stories using location and dates. Check out these links: Journaling, slow living, and the analog life and 30 Inspiring September Journal Prompts (+ Ideas)

- Recycle emotions. Check out: The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide To Character Expression by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi.

- Phrases for giving constructive criticism. Check out this article by Zip Recruiter: 11 Constructive Criticism Writing Examples to Produce Results

- Use writing prompts. For example, write your life story in five sentences.

- Use action verbs. As a teacher, in my lesson plans I could not use “learn” as a verb. It must show movement, i.e., "The student sketches, using charcoal sticks, of their favorite fruit."

- Dialogue can be reinvented.

- Flashbacks are scenes of trauma. They are more than a memory. They can be emotional and/or physical sensations. They can be a sign of recovery. Check out the short article Experiencing Flashback by www.cisters.org.uk

Thank you for your guidance. Amen.

Adriana Marella-Wolfe is a retired teacher, wife, and mom living in Regina, most of her life. Adriana has a Bachelor of Education Degree, University of Regina, Laity - Archdiocese of Regina and People of the Archangel Publications - home-based business as a self-publisher, copyeditor, author with craft/trade shows. Historical/contemporary fiction, poetry and spiritual stories are published in anthologies, newspapers, and magazines. Adriana loves to travel, write, read, knit, and crochet.

Accomplish More, Work Less! by Sandi Somers

 

Have you ever wished you could accomplish so much more with your writing? The Renaissance genius Leonardo da Vinci gave us a clue in the above quote. How can we do that?

I was first introduced to this idea as a young writer with an article entitled, “One Idea, Seven Articles”. It suggested that you can send the same item to seven different sources, possibly revising content to match the focus of the magazines. The writer added that in the process, you’ll find different readers and expand your influence. (Now with technology, we have greater possibilities—an audiobook, podcast, e-book, speaking engagements, a course, a coaching.)

Here are several ways I’ve reduced, reused, and recycled articles for a greater purpose.

Reorganize. One of the highlights of the Covid season was going birding on Sunday mornings when our church was closed and when we were restricted from many activities. In the short time following, It was delightful to write three different items on my birding experiences —two articles and one devotion (all published).

Re-enlarge an article/idea. For example, I’ve written short devotions that were published in The Upper Room or other devotional booklets. Later I added more content for our IWO blog posts. I’m now in the process of expanding the stories into book chapters to delve deeper into details.  I could even incorporate parts in a podcast or speaking engagement.

Recover nuggets from oldies. In an article published long ago, I imaginatively recounted Robert Louis Stevenson’s childhood experiences of writing the poem, “The Land of Storybooks”. With almost no changes, it much later became a perfect lead-in to an article on reading.

Remain on hold. It’s always a good idea to set aside an article or book to germinate. When I’ve done this, returning to it months (and even years) later, I could see it with a different perspective and knew how to complete it successfully.

Retread or reject? Car tires can be retreaded (not that I’d choose to retread mine), or at some stage they need to be discarded. In writing, I’ve sometimes considered whether to bring an old idea to life or let it die. Wisdom is needed to know the difference.

Reduce clutter. Although this strategy doesn’t reuse material in a new way, it improves efficiency. I knew I needed to become more efficient in what I call “pre-drafts” and first drafts. Previously, I had a habit of over-researching some backgrounds, writing several first attempts and then letting them sit in my computer files.  With time, I’ve become more competent in writing drafts so that I don’t have as much clutter in my folders.

Rethink for efficiency. Years ago I entered a contest that required 800 words maximum. But my good draft was 1150 words (without an introduction or conclusion!!). My goodness! How could I reduce it? First, I deleted chunks—repeated ideas, a paragraph or two, or an unnecessary sentence. This process enabled me to see more clearly the main points I was trying to emphasize. I still wasn’t down to 800 words. So next I focused on the smaller points: deleting individual words or changing phrasing. Finally, I reached 800 words—and won the contest! This process has stood me in good stead in my writing and in coaching others.

Research and brainstorm for new possibilities. I’ve asked myself, “How can I reorganize or slant an item to bring new life? How can I stretch beyond my comfort zone to attempt something new?” I’m so thankful the Lord injects new ideas, new ways of writing.

Reveal?  Now over to you. You’ve poured yourself into works of art/writing. What does accomplishing more and working less reveal? It means you can:

·       Save your energy for new ideas

·       Reach a wider audience and influence more people

·       Increase your skills as you revise or adapt your work

·       Expand your horizons 

Reflect. In Matthew 25:14-30, Jesus tells the parable of the talents. The wise servants increased the earnings their master initially gave them. With the talent and ability the Lord gives us, we can faithfully aim to use our “R” concepts to work less and accomplish more of His purposes, and to reach a wider world that needs our words. 

Image by Colter Reed

Re-duce, Re-use and Re-cycle by Brenda J Wood

RE-DUCE, RE-USE and RE-CYCLE

So, when chatter doesn’t comfort us;

When our heart lies in tatters;

When we need something short and sweet;

Something comforting;

Loving; Encouraging, maybe even funny?

Is this the book for your needs?
Have you written it already?

Is it hiding in your files, awaiting a re-write?

This morning the sunrise glistens our face.

It’s too bright to see or work.

We cover our eyes.

We can’t read for the strength of its glow.

Yet, five minutes later our feet are aglow instead.

All sorts of possibilities are available to us,

But only for a very short time.

What will it take for us to use what we have at hand?

A word of praise, a whisper of forgiveness, a contest entry, a smile of encouragement or a thoughtful gesture, a quick prayer: help me God?

For the sun’s rays pass quickly. Before we know it, another person stands in its light and we might have missed our chance.

DUCE- A person who guides, rules or inspires.

USE-to take or consume something from a limited supply, to work at something until nothing is left.

CYCLE- events regularly repeated in same order.

Be that DUCE. USE what you have. Cycle as often as necessary. If nothing else, it will comfort you to realize that you’ve used every particle of your being to better the world and to relieve your own heart.

Image by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay

Brenda J Wood has authored more than fifty books. She is a seasoned motivational speaker, who declares the Word of God with wisdom, humour, and common sense.

My Recycled Life by Lorrie Orr

 

Inspired by Brenda J. Wood’s post on this blog in June 2024, R is for Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, share your thoughts on making the most of your written work. How do you recycle writing projects? Rather than reinvent, rethink.

 

It’s Tuesday morning. At the foot of every driveway is a collection of blue boxes – one for paper, one for plastics, and one for glass. I will soon hear the intermittent roar of the city truck coming up the street, stopping at every driveway to throw the blue box contents into their respective bins. (Here’s a short and interesting look at what happens after pick up.) The plastic detritus will be turned into more bottles, fabrics, plastic garden pots. Paper is made into new paper products.

Just as the physical garbage of life can be recycled (and I haven’t even mentioned composting), so can life experiences and writing. God takes often-messy life experiences and transforms them into good and beautiful things that reflect his love and light. Then we, in turn, can share about them in our writing. One example is an article written for Today’s Christian Woman about the walks that my husband and I take together. Writing about a bad mood while walking led to Staying in Step: How walking with your spouse can keep you connected. Perhaps I could now take the bones of that article (published in 2008), revise, and submit it to another publication. Or I could write the scene about being grouchy into a novel or short story.

I love the words of Isaiah where he speaks of God turning ashes into beauty, mourning into gladness, and despair into praise. What wonderful word pictures of the transformative power of God’s love for his children. I used to worry about what people were looking at when my eyes would meet those of a stranger on the ferry, in a restaurant, or while walking. Was my makeup messy? Was I wearing mismatched earrings? I’ve learned less to care about what they think about me and now pray that they would see the light of Christ shining through my face. 

On my windowsill as I write this post, a cheerful sunflower smiles at me. It's standing in a recycled glass bottle that refracts the light. Soon the sunflower itself will be tossed in the compost bin to rot and create dirt in which to grow more sunflowers next summer. The bottle will be used again and again. God is the ultimate recycler – turning darkness into light, despair into hope, and chaos into creativity.  

Lorrie Orr writes from Vancouver Island where autumn is slowly creeping

into the landscape. She is looking forward to publishing her first book, a memoir

of her experiences living in Ecuador, South America. Her slice of life blog can be found at at Fabric Paper Thread, and excerpts from her memoir at Substack.