My own mother doesn't mind sharing space in my heart with Ruthy, because she knows Ruthy will try her best to keep me straight. (They'd make great friends. Sassy and sweet!)
She's just that way.
You know...tough love.
The picture to the left is one I keep by my computer - just because it's a good reminder! :-)
Life happens.
So we're going to end this week with some direct, tough love writing tips for you guys straight from the wonderful Yankee Belle, Ruth Logan Herne :-)
Ruthy is a prolific writer with a NEW book out which promises to be another classic to my Ruthy shelf - The Lawman's Second Chance.
You can find Ruthy causing trouble over at the fabulous place called Seekerville.
Best writing tip: Shut up and write. Then write some more. And keep writing... Basically: write, write, write. Totally Churchill inspired!
(How's that for sugar-coated? ;-)
Best writing quote is my favorite Bible verse from Ecclesiastes 3: To everything there is a season and a time for every purpose under the heaven.... God's timing is present, it is here among us, it is probably the most ignored universal truth because we humans seem to think we're in control.
Until we realize we're NOT, and then, oh!!! The scramble, the angst, the running around, the gnashing of teeth, the renting of cloth, very much Maurice Sendak's "Where the Wild Things Are", right????
And then we calm down, grab hold of faith and march on.
To everything there is a season... Simple eloquence that speaks to the soul.
So Alley Pals - do you have a Bible verse that inspires you?
8 comments:
I love this straight-to-the-point post today! One of my favorite verses for writing is Psalm 90:17 -- a prayer asking God to "bless the work of our hands." Truly, we need Him to anoint what we write if we want our words to influence our readers in an eternal way.
I love it too, Beth! And AMEN! How could we write to the soul without His guidance?
So glad I stopped by this morning before I begin writing.
Thanks.
Thanks for this Ruthy shot in the arm, Pepper. I always enjoy her words--such wisdom in them.
Jeremiah 29:11 is one verse I love--knowing that God has GOOD plans for me. He gave me a story to write, and He will equip me to write it.
Now to get going and WRITE. :)
Ruthy tells it like it is...I love that! My favorite verse is “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11 NIV
This reminds me to remain patient while He works his plan for me.
Oh my stars, it's always a pleasure to be here and a GREAT FEAR to know that my scribbled words will have impact...
RUN! RUN FAST!!! DO NOT LISTEN TO THE MAN (IN THIS CASE: WOMAN!!!) BEHIND THE CURTAIN!!
You know I'm a keep-it-simple gal. I love my church... I'm a lifelong Catholic... but it's not religion I cling to, it's faith and there is such a difference.
We've been blessed with talents... and not using them is just a silly thing to do. Like some of youse, I put mine on hold while I raised my kids. A part of me wonders if that was the right choice... but then I realize that it's not a right or wrong thing, it's a path... and we follow the path, or we stray, and we pick up a fork in the road.
And would we really have it any other way as authors? Aren't those mis-steps the stuff characters are built from? The bad days, the tears, the "blessings" in disguise that shape and mold?
On bad days I think of Mary, the mother of God... Of youthful innocence and mature pain. And I wonder what if she said "no"...
And walked away.
Like Garth Brooks' "The Dance" would missing the moments be worth escaping the pains?
No. No. No. Even if you're one of those HSP peeps we've been talking about in Seekerville... :) We all know that Mary and I did not score a rating of "Highly Sensitive", LOL!
I figure we're the "brats" and the others are the "babies"... :)
Erma Bombeck's quote on standing before God is my constant companion: "I want to say I used everything you gave me."...
And see Him smile.
I remember a few years ago praying about my WIP, desperate, tearful prayers of "God, I don't know what I'm doing, I just want to write this book, please give me wisdom!" I closed my notebook, picked up my bible and it fell open randomly to Isaiah. I looked down and had one of those amazing neon-light moments, as if God lifted the words directly off the page "I myself will help you, declares the Lord".
I've held onto that scripture, and the ones surrounding it, and a few others, for a few years now. And He has, in ways as supernatural as they are practical. If I ever doubt that God cares about my writing journey I remember those times, and smile.
Ruthy, makes things simple. I like that.
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