Category: The Writer’s Devotional

Shooting Stars and the Promise of Hope

Posted on Posted in Authors, Books, The Silent Writers Collective, The Writer's Devotional, WritingTagged , , , 2 Comments

starI saw a shooting star when I was out running this dark, early morning. That’s exciting for many reasons, but primarily because 1) I was out running this dark, early morning, and 2) I saw a shooting star!

That bright solitary shooter lifted my mood in the way shooting stars do, and it helped me finish a tough run with unexpected oomph.  It also reminded me that the Geminid Meteor Shower is this week, Thursday and Friday.  I’ll be out there watching, bundled up against the cold, mug of hot chocolate in hand, perhaps something harder.  I’ll take the quiet time as a chance to look at the past year.

2012.  It’s been a dilly and it’s not over yet  There’s the Geminid this week, the end of the world on the 21st (as if!), Christmas on the 25th, and a New Year’s Eve 5K run on the 31st. It’s a busy few days wrapping up a busy year.

In Madame Bovary, Gustav Flaubert wrote of Emma:

She did not believe that things could remain the same in different places, and since the portion of her life that lay behind her had been bad, no doubt that which remained to be lived would be better.

If you know much about Emma Bovary, you know things didn’t turn out to be better for her.  But I’m going to ignore her end for now and think about her hope instead, especially as the new year approaches. For me, 2012 was manic.  Heart-pumping highs, heart-breaking lows.  As 2013 gets ready to chime in, remnants of the highs and lows linger. It’s going to be a year of decisions and changes. I’m not a fan of decisions and changes.  I like static; it’s easier.  But new years hold the promise of new hope, new oomph, new excitement. Even after welcoming in 50 of them, I still feel that way.

So, with a wit more wisdom and a smidge less naivete than Madame Bovary, I’m keeping the promise of hope and looking forward to 2013 with the thought that no doubt that which remains to be lived will be better. Not that it’s been all bad. It certainly hasn’t. I’ve enjoyed far more than my share of heart-pumping highs and I’m going to do my part to make sure that continues. I’m going to keep running, I’m going to keep writing, and I’m going to keep looking for shooting stars.

PS: Happy birthday, Gustav Flaubert

A Thousand Words: Waiting

Posted on Posted in Food & Eating, Photography, The Silent Writers Collective, The Writer's DevotionalTagged , , , , , 6 Comments
Image by Olivia Tejeda. Some rights reserved.

Last week I decided to participate in WordPress’ Weekly Photo Challenge. This week, WordPress neglected to post a theme. As we eager bloggers stood around grumbling about having to wait, one enterprising blogger (cobbies69) suggested we use “Waiting” as this week’s theme.

I selected this photo, shot at MacAlpine’s Soda Fountain in Phoenix because the wait from the moment the waitress set this hot fudge brownie sundae down in front of me, to shooting the photo, to finally digging in, seemed interminable. Well worth it though!

A Thousand Words is a photo prompt posted on Sundays.  Maybe the image will inspire you to write a short story, a poem, or a blog post.  Maybe it will send you straight to the frozen food aisle at Safeway. Whatever your response, I hope the picture inspires you to some sort of creative zen.

If you write something based on the image, feel free to share a link in the comments section.   Also feel free to use the photo on your blog, just be sure to give proper credit, which I will always include in the post or the caption.

A Thousand Words: Hope

Posted on Posted in Photography, The Silent Writers Collective, The Writer's DevotionalTagged , , , , 5 Comments
Image by Olivia Tejeda. Some rights reserved.

I know youth does not spring eternal, but with the right moisturizer and good lighting, hope does. This photo is my contribution to the Weekly Photo Challenge. The theme this week is “Hope.”

A Thousand Words is a photo prompt posted on Sundays.  Maybe the image will inspire you to write a short story, a poem, or a blog post.  Maybe it will make you think about Botox again. Whatever your response, I hope the picture inspires you to some sort of creative zen.

If you write something based on the image, feel free to share a link in the comments section.   Also feel free to use the photo on your blog, just be sure to give proper credit, which I will always include in the post or the caption.

Making the Time to be Quiet and Write

Posted on Posted in Inspiration, The Silent Writers Collective, The Writer's Devotional, WritingTagged , , , , , , , , , 1 Comment

You write by sitting down
and writing.
— Bernard Malamud

Sounds easy enough, but those of us who write know there’s more to it than that.  Endless distractions can pull us away from our writing.  Then a few days, turn into weeks, months, or more of not writing, and our initial excitement turns to dread.

The only way to break that cycle is to follow Mr. Malamud’s advice:

Sit down and write.

If you have a hard time motivating yourself to do that, join The Silent Writer’s Collective for a Silent Write-In, a weekly online writing retreat that helps writers put aside distractions and write.

By committing to a group effort, (think Weight Watchers or NaNoWriMo) many writers find it’s easier to stay motivated and reach goals.  Writing, as we’ve heard ad nauseum, is a solitary endeavor, but sharing our efforts with a group makes it easier, and can help us reach our writing goals.

Our next retreat is tomorrow night, Tuesday, January 17, at 9 PM EST (US), if there’s interest, we’ll also meet at 9 PM PST.  We start on time with a minute or two of hellos, then the “buzzer” sounds and we start writing.  You can work on your own writing project, or use one of the provided writing prompts or exercises to get started.

We meet via Twitter using the hashtag #SilentWriters. If you aren’t on Twitter, we have a group on Facebook. If you don’t have either, just join in on your own at 9, and know you’re not working out there on your own.

For more information, check out the SWC FAQs.

Monday Motivator: Philip Roth

Posted on Posted in Authors, Inspiration, The Writer's Devotional, WritingTagged , , , , , 11 Comments

“I turn sentences around.
That’s my life. I write a sentence and then I turn it around.
Then I look at it and turn it around again…”

— E.I. Lonoff
in “The Ghost Writer” by Philip Roth

That’s the glamorous life of a writer.  Writing, revising, repeating.  It’s also what I’ve been caught up in for the past five or so months … turning sentences around, then around again.  I like to think I’m making  progress, but sometimes I  wonder.  That’s another part of the glamorous life of a writer: Uncertainty.

The Monday Motivator is meant to motivate and inspire, but my commentary doesn’t seem very inspiring does it.  In fact, it feels pretty negative.  Maybe that’s why I turned to my blog today for the first time in months.  This writer is in need of some blogosphere love. ❤  How about it folks?  Lay it on me! Share a tip or trick you use to keep going when the words have turned you inside, outside and upside down?

♦ ♦ ♦

The Monday Motivator is a quote posted on Mondays to encourage, inspire, and motivate writers of all skill levels and across genres.  If you have a favorite quote you’d like to share, let me know and I’ll post it here.  Click here to see past Monday Motivators.

 

A Thousand Words: Foggy Morn

Posted on Posted in Inspiration, Photography, The Silent Writers Collective, The Writer's DevotionalTagged , , 2 Comments
Commons image by shaferlens on Flickr. Some rights reserved.

A Thousand Words is a photo prompt posted on Sunday.  Maybe the image will inspire you to write a short story, a poem, or a blog post.  Whatever your response, I hope the picture inspires you to some sort of creative zen.

If you write something based on the image, feel free to share a link in the comments section.   Also feel free to use the photo on your blog, just be sure to give proper credit, which I will always include in the post or the caption.

Resources: Creative Commons, Flickr

Monday Motivator: Might, Right, and Just

Posted on Posted in Inspiration, The Writer's DevotionalTagged , , , 2 Comments

♦ ♦ ♦
“It has been said of the
world’s history hitherto
that might makes right.
It is for us
and for our time
to reverse the maxim,
and to say
that right makes might.”
— Abraham Lincoln
Cooper Union Address
♦ ♦ ♦

“Justice has been done.”
— President Barack Obama
announcing the death of Osama bin Laden
Sunday, May 1, 2011

♦ ♦ ♦

The Monday Motivator is a quote posted each week to encourage, inspire, and motivate writers of all skill levels and across genres.  If you have a favorite quote you’d like to share, let me know and I’ll post it here.  Click here to see past Monday Motivators.

Resources:  The Daily Post.

A Thousand Words: When Worlds Collide

Posted on Posted in Inspiration, Photography, The Silent Writers Collective, The Writer's DevotionalTagged , Leave a comment
Creative Commons image by Dan Roberts on Flickr. Some rights reserved.

A Thousand Words is a photo prompt posted every Sunday.  Maybe the image will inspire you to write a short story, a poem, or a blog post.  Whatever your response, I hope the picture inspires you to some sort of creative zen.

If you write something based on the image, feel free to share a link in the comments section.   Also feel free to use the photo on your blog, just be sure to give proper credit, which I will always include in the post or the caption.

Resources: Creative Commons, Flickr, The Daily Post

Monday Motivator: Wallace Stevens

Posted on Posted in Authors, Inspiration, Photography, The Writer's DevotionalTagged , , , 1 Comment

“After the final no there comes a yes
And on that yes the future world depends.”

— Wallace Stevens
from The Well Dressed Man with a Beard

◊ ◊ ◊

The Monday Motivator is a quote posted each week to encourage, inspire, and motivate writers of all skill levels and across genres.  If you have a favorite quote you’d like to share, let me know and I’ll post it here.  Click here to see past Monday Motivators.

Resources: Wallace Stevens, The Well Dressed Man with a Beard, *~Dawn~* on Flickr, The Daily Post.

A Thousand Words: Totally Wow!

Posted on Posted in Inspiration, Photography, The Writer's Devotional, WritingTagged , , 2 Comments
Creative Commons image by Ben Ferenchak on Flickr. Some rights reserved.

A Thousand Words is a photo prompt posted every Sunday.  Maybe the image will inspire you to write a short story, a poem, or a blog post.  Maybe it will inspire you to get happy and excited, really, really excited about something. Whatever your response, I hope the picture inspires you to some sort of creative zen, and that you enjoy the hell out of it.

If you write something based on the image, feel free to share a link in the comments section.   Also feel free to use the photo on your blog, just be sure to give proper credit, which I will always include in the post or the caption.

Resources: Creative Commons, Flickr, The Daily Post