feedback – Signs, Wonders, Miracles

My Husband Loves My Latest Post

My husband loves my latest post. I am so happy to hear that. He loves the rhymes, especially the part about “Mike”! Now that’s the kind of review I can always go for! Soon I think I will start writing more again.

To me this goes to show that, contrary to some writing advice, what friends and family say about a writer’s work DOES matter. When my husband likes my work, it means the world to me!

If you’ve ever done any writing – with the idea of being published – then you will quickly come to realize that writing can’t be done in a vacuum. Every writer needs support from someone, preferably those closest to them. Even non-writers need support. We like to feel like we are heard. So when someone shares an idea with you, even if it’s off the wall, taking the time to listen and encourage them can work wonders.

True, that doesn’t translate into automatic success. But it can encourage a person not to give up, that with excellent coaching and perseverance the battle can be won. If you want to do well as an author, then share your work with someone. Put it out there. See what works.

If you keep going, you will get somewhere. But don’t forget to pray, because God is our greatest source of encouragement. Jesus said in John chapter 15 that “Without Me, you can do nothing.” He also told his followers to love one another, and encouragement is a form of love.

Readers feel free to weigh in. When your spouse (or other family member) believes in your writing, does it or does it not inspire you to persevere?

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The Christian Writer’s Genesis, First Three Days

To begin with, God made the Christian writer and began to pour through her a creative work – a glimpse of heaven delivered through an earthen vessel.
The foundation of her work had no discernible form, however, and lacked wisdom. Darkness overshadowed the depths of her potential. But God’s Spirit moved upon the living waters of His Word.
God said, “Shine revelation,” and revelation shone.
He saw that the revelation was good, and divided the revelation from the condemnation.
God called the revelation “fresh inspiration,” and he called the darkness “blind inclination.” Joy followed mourning to form the first step of a masterpiece.

It Had Begun. This Was Day One!

Then God spoke to the Christian writer, “Your story needs a firm plot structure to divide the creative truths inside this work from one another, as each one has been designed with a unique purpose in mind.”
And God designed a detailed plot structure for the Christian writer to follow, to separate lesser elements from her work’s highest goal. It was so happening!
God called the plot structure “writer’s heaven” – hard work well worth celebrating. For, though difficult to write, this outline led to a new dawn. The second step toward a masterpiece had begun.

WOOHOO!

And God said, “Put the work’s most refreshing elements into one spot, so we can see the parts that are more “down-to-earth.”
God called the down-to-earth elements a “reality check” (drama) and called the refreshing elements “pure enjoyment” comedy. And God saw that the story was easier to follow.
And God said, “Let down-to-earth readers produce constructive feedback, yielding seeds of inspiration to sow into the work. May these ideas grow into trees that bear great fruit – inspiring seeds for brand new stories. (Believe me, it was happening!)
So, the Christian writer went for feedback, and down-to-earth readers provided it. It started with “grass-roots” – people that she knew. Writing became more than a hobby as ideas matured and in turn inspired more ideas. God saw that it was good.
Enthusiasm overcame writer’s block, the third step toward publication.

Hence Day Three, Start of a Victory!

And thirteen became a blessed number because God created it! It’s not a jinx, but it can be pivotal. For with the information given, you have a choice: to give up writing (jinx it) or continue in the process and receive the many blessings that come from persevering to the end.

Blazing Trails Through Jungles of Writing Rejection

One Glowing Review: A Small But Bright Beginning

I have exactly one review so far for my new book.

It may not seem like much at first, but take a closer look

And feast your eyes upon the splendor of five shining stars,

More beautiful to me than Saturn, Jupiter or Mars!

How precious glows the gem of one who took the time to write

And share her thoughts on how this story gave her such delight!

Some readers promise book reviews, but how many deliver?

That’s why I want to take the time to thank this cheerful giver.

To me, it’s like the widow’s mite, a gift straight from her heart.

No one can tell the value of this precious work of art.

Like Jesus multiplying food, I choose to magnify

What God can do with little and trust Him to multiply

The fruit of this beginning, which, though small, I won’t despise,

Because the tiniest of gems is mighty in God’s eyes.

What He can do with one review is more than I may know,

And so I’ll thank Him for this one and trust that it will grow

Into more feedback so that hungry readers may find out

What lies within this tale of mine and what it’s all about,

Because the focus isn’t money. It’s about the seed,

The precious truths within this book designed to meet the need

Of brokenhearted people searching for a little hope,

The ones left dangling as it were from a fraying rope.

I want somehow to reach them and to give them some relief,

Bring comfort to their aching souls and minimize their grief.

If one review can give a glimpse into this book of mine,

Then what can I not accomplish on this mission divine?

For truly it’s the little things that make a story great,

And when God shines on them, the work is never second-rate.

Roots and Shoots: Learning to Write With Grace

I. The Seed of an Idea Develops Roots

First come the roots an then the shoots: The author plants his seed,

Germs of magnificent ideas longing to be freed.

They seem so witty and inspired, aglow with revelation!

And so he plants them in the soil without hesitation,

Assured they’ll have no trouble passing the “examination.”

The soil is the heart in which the faith-filled seed can grow,

But what’s inside the heart, and is it possible to know

The environment that surrounds the seed the writer seeks to sow?

Weeds of rash words come quickly, but editing great works is slow

As authors send out roots of truth that penetrate down low

With grace to push past bitter roots of unforgiving doubt

As well as stones of stubbornness that need to be plucked out.

We thought they could protect us but they led to writer’s block

Because we trusted them instead of leaning on the Rock,

But they could not protect us from the unexpected shock

II. The Seed Develops Shoots and a Plant is Born

That comes when we expose our sprouts unto the open air

Of feedback and don’t bury them beneath rags of despair

Or weeds of greed that seek our spiritual vision to impair

Because we’re frightened of the lion roaring in his lair.

It takes courage from above for writers to decide to share

The plots that mean so much to them, the characters they love.

But plants are born as shoots connect with wisdom from above.

The story’s taking shape now, in a gracious atmosphere

Where God’s Word reigns and to His throne the branches may draw near,

As they rely on those who help them overcome their fear.

“Blessed is the man (or writer) that walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law does he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he does shall prosper.” Psalm 1:1-3

“Whosoever comes to me and hears my sayings and does them, I will show you to whom he is like: He is like a man which built a house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock…” Luke 6:48