Excerpt
If Daily Devotions for Writers doesn’t crack through writer’s block, nothing will. This is a handbook no writer should be without. The real-life, page-a-day stories for every day of the year come from two hundred writers of all levels of expertise—from the most highly sought-after Christian writers in the country to those for whom this is their first publication. Daily Devotions for Writers depicts the joy, pain, ecstasy, agony, highs, lows, excuses, persistence, and pleasure writers go through in the quest to be published and share God’s word.
In addition to real-world advice about how to write, when to write, where to write, and what to write, Daily Devotions for Writers includes inspirational quotes and short prayers to help the words keep flowing.
Daily Devotions for Writers was compiled under the auspices of The Writing Academy (www.wams.org), which in 2008 celebrates thirty years of fellowship and teaching writers to share God’s good news with a hurting world. The nonprofit organization’s instructional program includes courses in basic writing skills, essays, fiction, non-fiction, poetry, drama, devotional, myth, metaphor, memoir, and writing for children.
Here’s a taste of the inspiration you’ll find in Daily Devotions for Writers: * * * A critique group I attended refused to use the word “rejection,” substituting other “R” words: response, return, and reply.
I’ve certainly received my fair share: The form letter, the terse insult scribbled by a harried editor, and, once, a critique of sorts that galloped on for a weighty, full page to shred my article and grind my concept to pulp.
In my early writing naiveté (or stupidity), I simply shrugged, noted the date in the appropriate column of my submission log, and tossed the slip into the trash. Then I popped the article off to the next possibility on my list.
After some trial and lots of error, I managed to sell a number of those early submissions. But now, as I look back on essays that never found a home, I blush in understanding—and almost wish I’d kept that weighty critique for a second read!
I’m grateful for my first “responses.” They prodded me to persevere. They challenged me to believe in myself. They pushed me to research new markets.
And, to this day, I don’t mind using the word. Rejection. It is, after all, what we make of it.
Father, thank you for road blocks and the challenge to find a way beyond them.
Worry often gives a small thing a big shadow. Swedish proverb
—Carol McAdoo Rehme * * * Mmmm, just one more cup of coffee. Hey, I’ll watch Good Morning America while I plan my day. As a writer, I need to keep up with current events. Like Barry Manilow’s reunion concert and—say, what’s this?—a woman who sells hand-painted girdles on eBay? Amazing.
Whew! Got the groceries unloaded, and I need a short break. I’ll check my e-mail and play a little solitaire. Dang, why can’t you get a red ten when you need it? Just one more game—honest—and then I’ll outline my novel, if I can still remember the names of the characters. But first, I should alphabetize the spice rack.
Wait, is that my stomach growling? How about Bob Evans for lunch? It will get me out of the house, and maybe I can work on my novel. Or, you know, I could just read a novel instead. Yes, that would be relaxing. Solitaire makes me kind of tense.
Home again. Got my toenails polished—fuchsia fluorescence. Time to fire up WordPerfect and start writing. Oh—hi, Sheryl. Glad you called. I was going to call you…No, I couldn’t believe that dress she was wearing. And who ever told her she can sing?…Nah, nothing new here. Just can’t seem to find any time for writing. Busy, busy, busy. Well, gotta go fix dinner…
Lord, help me to use the writing time you’ve given me.
Seize the day. Horace
—Patty Krylach
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