When Your Well is Dry...Building Your Creativity Muscles from the Source

Readers: I'm in the midst of some ACFW stuff and we bought a house and changed a job this week so I'm sharing a favorite post from earlier in the year. Hope it helps you when your own creativity is dry, as it has for me.

Bezalel. He makes an appearance in Exodus 31. I might be tempted to skip over a minor character in my Bible reading. The middle section of Exodus is chock full of genealogies and detailed instructions for the tabernacle and the ark of the covenant.

Of course, we know there are no minor characters in the Bible as every jot and tittle has much to teach us about how to live our life. And of course about the main character, Jesus who breathes out of every verse.

Twice I've read Exodus 31 and ended up journaling about Bezalel, a character who I may have skimmed over once or twice in my reading before. I discovered he had something to say to me about living the life of creativity.

The first time I thought it was a lesson just for me, the second time I decided to share. Because of the commonality of the human experience, you may have the same struggles in your creative life as I do. Or maybe you have different ones, but God may use His words to speak truth into your life.

Exodus 31:1-6 The LORD said to Moses, "See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship, to devise artistic designs, to work in gold, silver, and bronze, in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, to work in every craft. And behold, I have appointed with him Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. And I have given to all able men ability, that they may make all that I have commanded you:...

31:11b According to all that I have commanded you, they shall do.

What can this passage teach us about the creative life and our calling as writers? How can what we learn from Bezalel help us when our well of ideas seems to run dry?

1) See I have called by name Bezalel...

God has given us callings for our lives. Roles designed JUST for us. Nobody else can fulfill this unique calling.

Let's not waste our time trying to reach someone else's goal. Just because the market is looking for more Amish fiction authors, doesn't mean that's what YOU should do.

DON'T LET A MARKET DEFINE YOUR CALLING.


DON'T LET MAN'S APPROVAL DICTATE YOUR CALLING.


Instead grow in your understanding of who God called you to be as a writer and as a person.

Be yourself, the unique writer God made to reflect His image to a hurting, vulnerable world.

2) I have filled him with the Spirit of God...

Are you feeling empty, with no creative energy to spare. You may be empty of human strength, but like Bezalel God has filled you up with His Spirit.


My study Bible (Lutheran Study Bible, ESV version) says: "In addition to their God-given talents as created beings, these men received supernatural abilities from the Holy Spirit."


Don't worry that your creativity isn't enough. He is filling you and He is enough.


We often talk about God giving us gifts as writers, but even more powerful are these supernatural abilities.


God's ability goes far beyond ours and is sufficient to equip us for this calling of writing.

3) ...with ability and intelligence...

I notice that AFTER mentioning Bezalel is filled with the Spirit of God, then God mentions he has gifted him with ability and intelligence.


The Spirit of God is first and more powerful, but then he also gifts with ability and intelligence. The strengths you have as a writer are those he needs you to share.


BUT God also gifted Bezalel with intelligence. To grow into our craftsmanship, we need to be intentional. We need to seek out those mentors and instructors who can help us grow. The old saying is so true, more is caught than taught. God intends us to have humility in seeking out other's help in areas in our writing where we struggle.

4)...with knowledge and craftsmanship...

God gives us many opportunities to grow these original gifts, although they are all GIVEN by Him.


Don't despise the growing process. It may take more time for some to grow into their craft than it does for others. The season of life may also influence the growing process.

But whether you are a seed, a sapling, or a "teenage" tree God wants you to keep investing in the things that will help you grow strong. Seeking out the help of others. Reading great books on craft. Attending conferences. Entering contests and paying attention to the responses of our critics even when it stings.

5)...to devise artistic designs...

God crafted you to be an artisan. From the very beginning he knew you would delight in light and color on the page, making a symphony for His glory. He created you for this purpose and then watches as you grow into it.


The creator of purple crested mountaintops and wave-shimmered beaches knew you would have a love for beauty. He wanted you to share this love with others to reflect His glory. None of this was an accident.


So can't the God who created all this help you to find the right word to describe your setting or know the best path your plot should take? Do we see Him as the God of the big picture when it comes to our writing or do we notice that He is the crafter of every detail.


6)...and behold I have appointed with him, Oholiab...

Just as he created us to be in community, he created us to be united with other writers. Don't forget that God has gifted others in areas we struggle with in our writing. He designed us to learn from each other in all areas of our lives. Learning from other writers often means admitting just how much growth we need.


Because he has appointed many other writers, we need to embrace their journeys. He has created us to cheer for each other when our contest scores are dismal. Sometimes we see other writers who are receiving the call to publication and think why them and not me? We spend time judging other writer's abilities. It is not our place to question the calling of those God places in our lives to support.

Part of our calling is to help others grow into their calling.


7) ...that they might make all that I have commanded you...

One most important part of our calling is to be obedient. What does that mean?


It might mean putting away our writing for a season to raise children or when the financial need of our family means working more hours.


Perhaps he calls you to write in a different genre than you expect. I've been spending the bulk of my time on nonfiction writing.


Maybe there is something specific he wants you to share based on your unique experience.


Whatever it means, let's get down on our knees often and ask him about our writing lives. And take the time to listen to what he might have to share with us.




When God calls my attention to a specific character in scripture more than once I know I need to pay attention. I was surprised by how much a little known character in Exodus can teach us about how to live the creative life.






Julia enjoys writing women's fiction whenever she can find a chair free of smushed peanut butter sandwiches and lego blocks. She is a wife and homeschooling mama of two littles. She writes and reviews for Library Journal and the website Wonderfully Woven.

Writing In the Zone: How the Science of "Flow" Can Increase Our Creative Output

Do you know any video gamers? Food, sleep, and even bathroom breaks are foregone by a teenager who is in the "zone" of the game. Caught in its vortex, chores and homework are forgotten for the evening.They enter a "flow" of activity that is so self-consuming, self-immersion to the point that nothing else exists.

Why are so many teens so hooked on gaming?

Flow. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi wrote a groundbreaking psychology book on the topic that has been discussed in TED Talks and has implications for the workplace and universities.

How can plugging into "the zone" like video gamers do improve our creativity?

Flow is the "state when people are so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to make matter." The task is enjoyable just for the pure sake of doing it.

Is that what writing is for you? Or has it become a means to an end? Are you so completely absorbed in your writing that nothing else exists?

The best video gamers enter a trance where they play but pay no attention to the details of the game. Do we become hyperfocused on word choice, sentence structure, etc and begin to lose that flow?

Good gamers are skilled and like to increase the level of challenges. Video game designers up the ante by creating entertainment that is self-motivating. You are intrinsically motivated to hit the next level, then the next. You keep upping the ante for yourself, there is always a new level to be achieved, a new monster to be killed, more in-game rewards.

Don't we all love those days when the words fly off the tip of our keyboard and nothing but our storyworld exists? 

Mihaly lists three conditions for creating flow in the workplace, which can also benefit our writing lives.

1) To achieve flow, goals must be clear.

Have you forgotten why you truly write? 

First of all I think we must recognize that we need to write for the pure love of it.

What is your next goal? Not  your dream.

Remember goals must be concrete and definable, able to be broken down.

2) We must be able to obtain immediate feedback.

At some jobs this is easier than others. This is where the online community can come in handy. It is a virtual realm where we can find the feedback of other writers at all times. If we don't know how we're doing, we won't grow.

3) A balance must exist between opportunity and capacity.

If you truly believe you can't achieve your goals, you won't be able to stay in the "zone" of creativity. Yet you need to keep the challenge level high.

Know what to do.

Practicing rituals related to our writing day may help. For instance, a cup of coffee in your snoopy mug, a particular spot for writing, physical surroundings such as photos of loved ones. These things center you in your goals.

Know how to do it.

Read craft books in your own time, but don't bring these to mind during your writing time. Read good books in your genre and absorb all they can teach you. You don't need to specifically focus on techniques, the things you've learned will flow out.

Knowing how well you are doing.

Here again is the value of using critique partners, feedback groups and accountability friends. Seek feedback on a continuous basis. Listen and grow from it. But don't let thinking about these evaluations hold you back during your writing time.

High perceived challenges.

What was your writing goal yesterday? Take it up a notch. Add 100 words today. Did you write a magazine article this week? Next week, shoot for two. How can you up the challenge of your career goals?

High perceived skills.

Challenges without skills equals discouragement. If God is calling you to write, He will equip you with the skills you need. Your writing time is not the time to beast yourself up over your stilted dialogue or flat characters. You will edit and improve on these things later. For now, stay in your zone. Be confident in the calling God has given you.

Freedom from distractions.

I think we all know how quickly we can allow these simple things to pull us away from flow. Some may need music, others silence. Some of us work best in a crowd, others need a quiet corner. What energizes you? Spend some time thinking about it and think of ways to fight those specific distractions. Find your best time of day and devote it to your creative pursuits.



What is distracting you from writing in the zone? Let's brainstorm here together!

  Julia is a writer and reviewer for Library Journal, as well as a contributor to the site Wonderfully Woven. She lives in the Richmond, Virginia area with her husband, two children, and three ragdoll cats.

Writing Is My Song

It's funny, a year after I wrote the post below, I can say it's my heart's state now-- BUT NOW, I am in a much bigger trial than no publishing contract (although I am still there!!!) This season, I find myself in a personal trial that has pretty much turned my heart upside down.

Yet, it is in that state of brokenness that I find God calling me to that very thing He told me a year ago: ABIDE. That is the only way my heart begins to tip the right way up again.

Enjoy this re-post of a pretty real-time revelation.
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On my last morning of vacation, I forced myself to wake up and do something I wanted to do that entire week. Watch the sunrise over the ocean. It had been an amazing time to relax, rejuvenate, and just release all the stress from life and parenthood. Funny though, I began the week there against a vow I had made to myself.

To leave my passion of writing behind.

I wanted complete solitude from everything I focused on up North. :) But, something happened, and I allowed the writing to remain a focus, even as the waves lapped to the shore, and the sand swallowed my feet.

And suddenly, out of nowhere, a giant tidal wave of doubt and frustration threatened to knock me down. Funny thing is, I had just accomplished two big feats in my writing pursuit. It all makes sense now. But at the time, it threw me into a swirling downward mess.

My view from the balony

The pinks and golds of a rising sun took me from the balcony of my hotel room, and sat me right down at the water's edge. I tried to listen, tried to hear God's call for me. What should I DO, Lord? Am I DOING what you want? I am so frustrated with this process. So defeated in the DOING.

Some people might claim to hear the voice of God, clear as the sun's glitter on the waves. I am not one of those people. God doesn't speak to me in an audible way. That day, I begged to hear His voice. I wanted answers.

The Spirit knows better though. I wasn't moved to listen. I was moved to worship. And everything came into focus. Well, not everything, just One thing. It's like I was searching the horizon with a strained zoom lens, and once I zoomed out, clarity sharpened the Image my heart needed most. The answer my heart craved, even against what I thought to be the answer I wanted.

Through a prostrate heart, as prostrate as the sea foam submits to the shore after a crashing wave, I realized the answer to all my questions...all my concerns: God wants me to abide in Him.

That's it.

Nothing more.

He's the One that's in the business of DOING. NOT me. I am worthless if I think that if I just DO something, life will be better, God will be happy, Love will flow freely.

Eh, eh.

No. In a world where DOING is often the answer...where success is built upon a foundation of effort and stress, where power is built upon pushing and trampling those in the way....I have discovered that nothing is worth anything if the DOING is my focus. Because it is when I ABIDE, when I allow the LORD to be in control, just as He's in control of the ocean waves--they never stop, they continue to approach and retreat, to swell and to dissipate--God is the ONLY one in control of the DOING.

Only when I ABIDE in Him, and give Him the power to DO through me, will I be moved.

Only in HIM.

What happens when we ABIDE? We worship and fall prostrate. And it's there where we have focus, because it's through the heartbeats of the Almighty that gives us Life. Through the tug of the Almighty's hands that we are led to do. Not because a person, or pursuit, or preacher tells us to DO. It's because when we ABIDE in Him, our heart beats in rhythm with His own. And from the overflow of HIS Love, we DO.

I felt like I cried an ocean after my time on the shore. And I hadn't. But my body felt like it. Such release. Such PEACE. Such abiding.

So, after this long schpeel...you might wonder what this looks like for my writing. Honestly, I was about to throw in the towel on this pursuit to publication before that morning. There are a few things I have discovered after worshiping at the water's edge:

1. I can remember the exact moment God bestowed this craving to worship through stories. It was at a time of my life I had prayed for something more...for something to satisfy amidst the colicky babes, the clinging toddlers, the monotonous days of motherhood (and I LOVE my kids...don't judge...my heart needed something else). As much as the Christian writing community talks about writing as a Gift from God...that morning I grasped that it REALLY WAS a gift from God...an answered prayer of giving me something more...something all my own. He gave me the outlet at just the moment I needed it most... a mother of three small children, in a season of chaos!

2. With the help of some amazing women (you know them as the Alleycats), I can finally understand that, because this writing thing is truly a gift, truly an avenue to joy in my life, truly Spirit led to bring me to abiding in Him, publishing really is just a worldly perk. Yes, it's still my desire to see my name in print some day, but it's not the culmination of this gift. Far from it. I think there will be a much grander finale to my story writing, and I will dream that it involves a more Heavenly audience.

3. The DOING is not up to me. Abiding is. And like I said, the writing thing is one way God allows for me to ABIDE with Him. AMEN! Wow, He gifted me in a wonderfully joyous personal way to ABIDE in Him. I feel BLESSED!

My husband and I talked a lot about creation that trip. It's hard not to when you have the vast ocean before

The sunset on our last night

you, the rising sun, and the sea of stars at night. And when I sit and allow myself to absorb the creation around me, I burst with an urge to cry and write all at once. If writing wasn't God-given, then could I be so moved to write by merely observing His Handiwork?

Writing is my song. It is my worship. Writing is the pursuit God has given me to ABIDE.

I can't DO. Just WRITE.

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Angie Dicken first began writing fiction as a creative outlet during the monotonous, mothering days of diapers and temper tantrums. She is passionate to impress God's love on women regardless of their background or belief. This desire serves as a catalyst for Angie's fiction, which weaves salvation and grace themes across historical cultures and social boundaries. Angie is an ACFW member and is represented by Tamela Hancock Murray of the Steve Laube Agency.

Unleash the Power of Q.U.I.E.T. and Increase Creativity

I’ve been listening to a great life management podcast, The Empowered Podcast by Ellory Wells. Crystal Paine, Michael Hyatt, Jon Acuff, and Jeff Goins are some of the recent guests who have shared tips on how to manage time and money well, increase your productivity, foster leadership in yourself and others, and build creativity. (And by the way, if you're looking to do any of these things these bloggers I mentioned are ones to watch).

I’ve been listening to this podcast in the car as I corral children to and from play dates, curriculum sales, and dental appointments.

On a recent podcast, former CEO of Thomas Nelson, Michael Hyatt shared his morning power routine. Hyatt is a power blogger, motivational speaker and author of the bestselling Platform. He has an intense, busy day every day and is known for his productivity. How does he start each morning?

Even before his workout and shower, he enjoys FIFTEEN MINUTES of quiet. He sits there in the silence and out of this time he fuels his entire day. Great decisions are made, new ideas energize him, all because of the start of these fifteen minutes.

Creativity can be a hard commodity to come by and I’m learning the noise of everyday busyness can further block those juices from flowing.

Whether it be a crying baby that interrupts your naptime writing revelry or a boss who demands you work overtime at your day job as your book deadline looms, some of the chaos and noise cannot be controlled.

However, there are noisemakers we can still or gentle in our lives. Let’s look at a few:

Q uit checking.

Your cell phone, email, ipad, kindle/nook readers are just a few of the many gadgets that make up the BIGGEST noisemaker in our lives.

You may have a job where you need to be on call, but most of us can afford to take a break from these gadgets. In fact we must.

Take daily breaks from technology. Weekly or at least monthly take a day off-grid. I am preaching myself under conviction because I know I am far too tied to technology. God has been prompting me to live in the quiet places.

This allows our mind time to meditate on ideas, to digest them. Technology keeps us jumping from thought to thought.

U tilize the moments God gives you.

God gives us times for quiet, we need to embrace when they are. When I was night nursing my children God allowed me to have quiet times when nobody else was awake. He taught me to take notes or read a book and let my imagination grow wild when there wasn’t anything else to do. The time he gives you may not be the time you would choose but as you are a good steward of it, watch what you can do with even the smallest pockets of time.

Maybe everyone in your office leaves for lunch at noon, but by staying at your desk during this time you may have silent time to work on your historical romance.

Using those moments changes during the different seasons of your life. It may be at night, in the morning, during a child’s naptime, or any combination of different times. It may be a full hour or it may be a few minutes but you’ll be amazed how these little moments can build up to a novel.

I nvest in what you need to find quiet.

It might be a small financial investment, or may involve getting the help of those around you.

Do you need to find a different spot to write? Maybe a library or coffee shop. Perhaps it’s a different room in your house that is further away from the din of children trying hard not to fall asleep.

My children take hours to settle in to bed. So if I want quiet at night I’ll often use a white noise machine, a fan, or play soft music so I can drown out the loudness.

Driving in the car to pick up kids from school, taking a walk around the block at night, the morning commute to work on a bicycle all are great quiet time.

E xercise

OK, maybe this one is just me, but I’ve found a double benefit to working out at the gym. It increases my creativity. Might just be the fact that I go alone, more often that not first thing in the morning but I find not only are these great thinking times for me…but I have more energy throughout the day so my creativity increases all the time.

As I found when I read the schedules of famous people, MANY of them took long walks on a daily basis. It is quiet time and a walk or a run can often not only pump the adrenaline but also pump you up on a new idea.

T ake your time

Rush and hurry can blur our thinking. There is no time to find new ideas.

When I say take your time, first I mean take your quiet time.

Time in prayer and in the Word daily allow God to speak into you and your life. As you have quiet time with Him and bring him your sins and struggles you find new energy to put into your writing. A cleansed vessel is a clear vessel that God can use to then speak into other’s lives.

And then allow yourself slow times. We need down times in the busy seasons. When we rush from thing to thing we often impair our ability to think clearly. All of us have busy lives, but when we reach the point of overwhelm we don’t have the train of thought to grow in our writing.

Use slow thought activity daily to increase your creativity. Vaccuuming doesn’t take much thought, why not spend the time thinking of what your character will do next. Waiting in line can be boring, use the time to create dialogue for the first meeting of your hero and heroine.

Taking a daily quiet time, allowing for margin in your life, finding quiet spaces and times are all ways to increase your writing creativity (and as a result your productivity). What tips do you use to build your own creativity?

Julia enjoys writing women's fiction whenever she can find a chair free of smushed peanut butter sandwiches and lego blocks. She is a wife and homeschooling mama of two littles. She also enjoys reviewing and writing for Library Journal and the blog Wonderfully Woven.

The Artisan Soul

I have to say that The Artisan Soul by Erwin Raphael McManus is one of the best books I've read in a long time....and I'm not even halfway through the book! From the very first chapter, the words I read made my soul burn with yearning, agreement, and connection. I've highlighted most of the book so far, wanting the words to be imprinted on my heart, for they encourage and motivate me to be creative, to be brave, to risk, and to truly be an artist.

McManus is not just an artist. He is a creative who uses his gifts to further the work of God. He started a church in LA, CA called Mosaic where the people of his congregation use their creative talents for the Kingdom. And what he calls us to in The Artisan Soul is a life of creativity...every day...no matter the medium or vehicle through which we create. What he teaches is that every soul is a creative soul, whether they think so or not.

"...the great divide is not between those who are artists and those who are not, but between those who understand that they are creative and those who have become convinced that they are not."

We are all creative. We are created by a creative God who made us into His image.

"Yet what humanity needs most is for us  to set creativity free from this singular category of the extraordinary and release it into the hands of the ordinary. Creativity should be an everyday experience. Creativity should be as common as breathing. We breathe, therefore we create."

A person might say that not all people are creative and that saying everyone is just sets a person up for failure. But as people who have the Spirit of God living within them, we are creative beings. We want to create whether it is through decorating a room, cooking a fabulous dish, writing a short story, blogging, painting, making a yard look good, or crocheting a blanket.

Being creative doesn't mean there won't be failure. There will be.

"...we live in the fear that if we aspire to be more we will discover ourselves to be less. We live in fear of failure, convinced that failure will prove us to be frauds. We have bought into the lie that creative people never fail and hence failure is proof that we are not creative."

"Fear is the shadow of creativity....The creative act is inherently an act of courage....To make our lives a creative act is to marry ourselves to risk and failure...creativity is born of risk and refined from failure. If we are at the core both spiritual beings and creative beings, then the artisan soul is where we live when we have the courage to be our truest selves."

It's so hard to step out and risk it all to share our creative selves. When we hit send on the manuscript we have written, we feel we are sending a part of very essence out for the world to judge. We fear we will judged as inferior, which reflects on who we are at our core. But those rejections are the building stones of creativity. They are what grounds us and molds us. We are indeed "refined by failure".

I just can say enough about this book, The Artisan Soul. I am reading it slowly to imprint the words on my heart, and I hope to share more of it with you as I glean from it's wisdom.

Do you consider yourself creative? Do you embrace your artistic soul? Or is it hard for you to say you are an artistic person...whether it is with word, paint, landscape, or food? 

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This post is brought to you by

 Sherrinda Ketchersid

Sherrinda is a minister's wife and mother to three giant sons and one gorgeous daughter. A born and bred Texan, she writes historical romance filled with fun, faith, and forever love.

Take Your Muse Out of Hibernation

White space is overrated.

Its been a big buzz word on blogs over this past year. We all need more margin in our lives like the white on pieces of paper. We fill our pages with busyness and chaos as if they are a letter written when paper is scarce. Cross-hatched words fill every available space.

Don't they get the fact that this metaphor takes a reverse meaning for us creative types. The dreaded white page. Writer's block. I can’t seem to get past this type of white page. Seeing white is not a positive thing for a writer.

Do you ever have those times where you can’t seem to get past the white page?

Why does our idea well dry up? Here are a few reasons and some applications.

1) I’ll never be a good writer, so why bother.

First of all, we should clarify, often what we might really mean is I’ll never be a published writer. So let’s not disillusion ourselves, maybe we won’t be published. Or it might still take a while. Let’s not get caught in a trap of seeing publishing as the true purpose of our writing.

Truth and application:

Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. (Hebrews 13:21)

Grow in your writing now. Read, read, read. Fill your mind with the best books, not only in the genre you write but in other genres.

Some favorite books:

Anything by Writer’s Digest

GMC: Goal, Motivation, Conflict by Debra Dixon

Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott

On Writing by Stephen King (Warning: some language usage in this book)

Writing Fiction for Dummies by Randy Ingermanson

2) I just need to do a bit more research, I don’t have all the details down.

Don’t get me wrong, you need to have all the facts down. But not necesarily before you start writing. It is good to do some preliminary research, but don’t get stuck there.

Is my main character going to wear a silk or calico dress to the party in chapter 3? And will she wear the same dress to church in chapter 7? Would my campers eat baked beans in a can, or were those not in existence yet?

Truth & Application:

Most of these questions will be asked when you are actually doing the writing, so you’ll end up doing a fair amount of research as you go along.

As a former librarian, I tend to get a bit obsessed about the details. I LOVE research, probably almost as much as I love writing. I can convince myself I can’t start writing yet because I don’t have every detail down. When in reality, I need to do a bit of research, then sit my rear in the chair to write and use my non-writing time to do the rest of the research.

My suggestion: Separate from your writing time, devote 15 minutes a day to reading a research book devoted to your time period or subject.

Some great resources include:

-Writer’s Digest books again

-Smithsonian has a fabulous batch of children’s history books that are great for book research on the basic level

-Memoirs: this is my favorite. I don’t like reading any fiction from the era I’m writing about but I do love reading memoirs because they give me a closer sense into the emotional world of my characters.

4) I’m having trouble connecting with this story emotionally.

Explore the why.

I’ve been thinking a lot about dealing with Alzheimer’s disease in a novel. On the one hand, I’ve seen the disease devastate a close family member on a very real level for most of my childhood.

Writing about an issue that is close to your heart can be challenging. Even though my character was different from my grandmother in many ways, I found it brought up some memories I had not thought of for years. I keep putting this book away then picking it back up again. And that’s OK, because I’m not totally ready to deal with all of it.

Truth & Application:

Is there something emotional or spiritual you need to deal with that will free you up to write this book or story?

Maybe you need to journal a bit about the events in your own life that are causing your story to hit a bit close to home. Maybe you need to talk to a friend about it.

Or perhaps you need to temporarily switch to a new story for a week or so (if God is nudging you to write this novel, you’ll return to it). Write a poem, a short short, or a devotional in the meantime.

Then you’ll be better ready to tackle your story. Your story is not your therapy, but it can be therapeutic.

5) I’m waiting for the “AHA” moment to come.

Sitting in front of a piece of paper, you might feel stopped up. The reasons can be varied: boredom with the story, environment, too many distractions, or too much noise.

Truth & Application:

Find a new spot for inspiration. This might be kind of sad but sometimes I find taking a hot shower with the door locked is the perfect spot to be inspired. This is because I have two elementary-aged kids around 24/7 and the bathroom can be the only quiet place in the house. If I had alone time I would resort to my favorite inspiration: walking or riding my bicycle around the neighborhood.

There’s something to be said for endorphins and ideas. I have been taking long rides on my stationery bike (would love to go outside and do so, but I live in snowpocalypse country) and find some of my best inspiration while riding.

Do you have a favorite writing spot? Or maybe its time to find a new one? Maybe try that new coffee shop or find a spacious park with a great bench.

And speaking of changes some authors find that changing writing implements can be helpful. Handwriting instead of typing, using colored markers or pencils, maybe even an old fashioned fountain pen can bring refreshment.

6) My creativity has dried up altogether.

Again we need to explore the why. Has a traumatic event or a major change taken place in your life? Have you been taking the time to write on a frequent basis? Has there been a change in your environment (i.e. taking on a new job, buying a new house, changing locations, etc).

Truth & Application:

Have you been reading? I find if I go for a few weeks without reading fiction I tend to have trouble thinking of my own ideas. Its a oft quoted cliche, but so true that to improve at our writing we need to read, read, read. Try reading a new genre. Ask friends for recommendations. Reading just might be the catalyst to pull you out of your slump.

What about other forms of art? Karen finds pleasure in painting and home decorating. Sherrinda creates scrapbooks and creates word art. See on her blog here. I know other writers who take enjoy creating in the kitchen.

Have you spent time with the Author of Creativity? Prayer and time in the Word of God can help bring our focus back and remind us that we write because “when we write we feel his pleasure” (Eric Liddell, Olympic runner on running).

What about you? What helps when your well of creativity dries up? Do you have any favorite methods of bringing inspiration back into your writing?

Julia writes contemporary fiction to mirror truth. A former assistant librarian, she now channels her card cataloguing skills into homeschooling her elementary aged littles and writing for Library Journal. She has reviewed for a variety of websites for several years.

Breaking the Rules

Okay, so my intention with this post is not to incite some sort of rebellion. I realize writing rules are wonderful guidelines that can set aspiring novelists on the right track. But with imaginations as vast as an endless horizon, I find it odd that some writers conform to the box and stay firmly with in those unwritten rules of storytelling.

Now, if your sole purpose in life is publication, it’s quite possible coloring between the lines is your best bet. But if your joy stems from the creation, and where the story can take you, I’d love to challenge you to take a walk on the wild side and bend, and maybe even break the rules. ;)

That’s not to say some people don’t thrive within the rules. The rules give them definable boundaries and ‘safety’ within their creativity. But for others, people like yours truly, the world beyond the leash bolsters their creativity.

So what are some of these rules???? 

-Always make the reader wait for the first kiss. (Instigated by the hero.)

-Don’t make the heroine too aggressive. She should be somewhat traditionally feminine and demure.

-Let the hero be the one who saves the day. (Heaven forbid a woman actually save herself!)

-Make the female so indecisive you want to reach through the page and bang her stubborn/insecure head against the wall.

-Make the first kiss short. (And very often a mistake.)

-Bring every conflict to a head in the black moment.

-Don’t be too honest about your hero’s inner struggle. If he thinks like a real man women will be offended.

-Don’t use exclamation points!!!!

-Don’t let your characters be tempted beyond a kiss. (They should have superhuman holy minds and perfect self-control.)

-Leave all backstory out of the first 50 pages.

-Stay out of your character’s head. Dialogue is more active.

-Always show, don’t tell.

-Make character flaws minimal. (And easily forgivable.)

-Can the adverbs.

-Don’t use any clichés. (Even though we all reference them in real life)  

I remind you, these can be helpful guidelines, but sometimes the greatest story you can write exists outside the boundaries.

Let’s play! What other writing rules would you add to this list? And which ones do you find you are most inclined to break?

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Amy Leigh Simpson writes Romantic Suspense that is heavy on the romance, unapologetically honest, laced with sass and humor, and full of the unfathomable Grace of God. She is the completely sleep deprived mama to two little tow-headed mischief makers and wife to her very own swoon-worthy hero. Represented by the oh-so-wise and dashing Chip MacGregor of MacGregor Literary Inc.

The Nurturing Heart of a Writer

Photo by digitalart
www.freedigitalphotos.net

A mother's heart has a great capacity for love, joy, pride, sadness, and anger (among other things). Our hearts swell with pride at our children's accomplishments, we cry with joy when they are successful, we cry with sadness when they are lonely, and we rage when they are mistreated or left out. We feel what they feel. I know, because the last two weeks have stuffed this mother's heart with so many emotions, I am spilling over!

Even if we don't have physical children, writers are both maternal and paternal in their quest to birth a story. We "date" with story ideas, trying them out, seeing what characters are a good fit and what plot lines would make for a great future. We get "engaged" with the story, committed to laying out a life plan for our story, developing the plot, fleshing it out. We get to know the characters inside and out, drawing out their deepest desires and needs.

Then comes the marriage. We take the plunge and fill the blank, white pages with black letters. For some, this is the blissful "honeymoon" stage - fun, exciting, floating along in euphoria at getting words down on paper. For others, this is the difficult "first year"...the time where you struggle to write that first draft. Every step is painful, with agony over every word.

But then you write "The End" and your baby is born. You are proud, and you should be! But then comes the difficult part of teaching your child. You correct your grammar mistakes, you add description, and delete unnecessary words. You shape your "child", you nurture it, and you turn it into a book that will make you proud and hopefully one day sit on a bookshelf in your library. (A personal dream of mine!)

It's the heart of a nurturer...like a mother...that gives a book depth. It is being able to get deep into your character's minds and hearts, feeling their joy, their pain, their hope, and their hurt. You must take them on a journey and let them grow. You let them fall, and pick them back up again. You guide them along the way and in the end, they can stand on their own. Your heart swells with the growth of your characters and you are proud to show them off.

And hopefully one day you will be able to pull out your "pictures" (book) and show your friends....and who knows, maybe they will ask you to autograph it!

*Reposted from my personal blog dated April 9, 2010

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This post is brought to you by

 Sherrinda Ketchersid

Sherrinda is a minister's wife and mother to three giant sons and one gorgeous daughter. A born and bred Texan, she writes historical romance filled with fun, faith, and forever love.

A Writer's Greatest Tool

Writers live life with a perpetual question swirling through their minds. It is a question that draws deep from the well of creativity and reaches out to grasp the winds of inspiration. It is a question that builds the bones, and then breathes life into stories.

It is the question of "What if?".

When it is time to start a new story, brainstorm a part of the plot, or even hear a news story that plants a seed of a story in your mind, you begin to ask the question....what if?

What if...

• a young woman is held captive in a convent?
• the young woman escapes, disguised as a boy?
• the woman is beaten along the way by ruffians?
• the woman is saved by a handsome knight?
• the the handsome knight is on his way to her father's castle for a tournament?
• he takes her on as his squire (thinking she is a lad), promising to give her safe passage?
• she falls in love with the knight?
• her gender is discovered when she is injured in a fight?

These are just a few of the questions I asked while brainstorming my first story. A story starts with a germ of an idea. When you ask "what if", you can find many different directions that your story can go. When you are brainstorming a story idea, try to think of as many different ideas as you can. Having my heroine's gender discovered at the very beginning of the story would have made it an altogether different story. The tension would be stronger, but then my hero would not have been able to get to know my heroine the same way as he did while she pretended to be a boy. 

The question of "what if" is a powerful tool for the writer. Get a pen and paper out and start your list of "what ifs". You might even try a mind map, branching off in different directions...wherever your "what ifs" take you. See what you can come up with.

Better yet, let's experiment and see what we can come with. I'll start and you come up with a "what if". Let's see what kind of story we come up with through our commenters today. 

What if a woman was in an airplane, about to skydive for her 30th birthday, when she discovered that Gerard Butler (or whatever cutie-pie you would like to envision) was sitting next to her?

***What is your "what if"? Or what is your favorite writing tool for brainstorming?

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This post is brought to you by
 Sherrinda Ketchersid

Sherrinda is wife to "Pastor John" and mother to three giant sons and one gorgeous daughter. A born and bred Texan, she writes historical romance filled with fun, faith, and forever love.

Writer's Quench

Photo by Kejadlen (www.flickr.com/photos/kejadlen/222615074/)

There are days and seasons when your creative juices are sucked dry. When you move a family of six to a new city and have to unpack gazillions of boxes, tend to a 7 month old, deal with school transitions, and try to fall in love with a house that might not be your dream home (okay, I am referring to myself at this moment in time). Or there are other times that aren't so drastic-- a bad night's sleep, a visit from the in-laws, a season where you just feel...parched. You might sit and look at the screen, fingers in the a-s-d-f and j-k-l-; position, and read your last sentence twenty times. You attempt to write a new one. It sounds thin and boring and elementary...and you thirst for those creative juices to pour from your finger tips...and they don't.

What do you do with thirsty sentences, writing?

Sometimes, you just shake your head, pound the backspace key, and slam your laptop as hard as you can without doing any damage. And then spiral downward in thoughts of, “I can't do this”, “I am no natural...it shouldn't be this hard”, “maybe I will just throw in the towel.” This is when you need to hit your knees, pray for guidance. Get connected with your writing friends, seek encouragement. Don't give up, just press hold until your emotions have settled and you can think straight. (A good night's sleep is always helpful)!

Other times, you sigh and decide it's that time in your life that you are suppose to be taking in the words of others. Read, read, read. I have four-ish novels that I have started reading, and I pick them up whenever I have the chance...it has slowly quenched my writing thirst...given me inspiration to tackle writing again.

Photo by Christopher Craig (www.flickr.com/photos/kriztofor/3724503239/)

But the most rewarding of times, is when you fight through the thirst, type on, dig deeper, dig, dig, dig. Ignore the distress of those sentences you are struggling to form. Leave them in their moisture-deprived dust! Let them be, for the moment, and keep on!
Suddenly you feel that rush, that beautiful bubbling of creativity springing into your writing. You can always go back and “water” those thirsty sentences with your revived artistry. When you can stick it out and allow bad writing to sit there and move the story forward, you will discover a spring of eloquence in your waiting.

Don't get discouraged...JUST KEEP WRITING!

Do you have any tips you'd like to share to persevere through less-desirable writing times?