Cleaning Up

            Camellia

                                                         

My breakfast this morning was yummy. It consisted of buckwheat pancakes made with fresh blueberries and drenched with real maple syrup, turkey sausage (made my husband), and a steaming cup of green tea. I felt completely satisfied and was about to leave the kitchen when I noticed my husband washing the pancake griddle. I turned around and did my part to clean up the kitchen.

     

It's exciting to prepare food, especially when I can try a new recipe; cleaning up the kitchen when I am done is not nearly so much fun. I’d rather have my husband do that. Eventually, however, if I don’t clean up the kitchen, trying to create another meal will be frustrating; I won’t have the tools or space to make anything.

In the same way, It's exciting to sit down and create new paragraphs, stories, devotionals, articles, poetry, whatever; editing—like cleaning up my kitchen, is not nearly so much fun, but having a lot of half-finished or un-edited documents makes me feel as frustrated as having a messy kitchen. When I edit until I’m finally satisfied with something I’ve written, I feel genuine joy.

More on Encouragement

   I had no trouble getting up this a.m. It wasn’t that my room was so much warmer (the thermometer read 62º instead of yesterday’s 58°), I couldn’t sleep because my mind was flooded with ideas. So here I am at my computer. Which idea should I pursue and which ideas should I reject? Choosing just one idea and sticking with it is difficult. I did pray, asking the Lord for direction, so I will stick with the idea that keeps (like a blinking light) coming back to my mind.

     That idea is the desire to start a blog. Why do I want to blog? I want to connect with other writers. I want to encourage other writers and find encouragement from them. I think I will name my blog “Courage to Write.”

     What does encouragement look like? One of the best illustrations I know of is the example of Katya Greer. Katya was a fantastic artist and teacher. She was a member of my church until she unexpectedly   died three years ago. I still remember the words of one of her students. She said, “Mrs. Greer would look at my work and say, ‘That is beautiful!’ Then she would add, ‘and it could be even better if . . . .”  

     Encouragement starts with affirmation, by noticing and telling someone what is beautiful, true, compelling, good, reputable or excellent about their writing. Sometimes, when editing my sister, husband, or my own work, I’ve skipped that necessary affirmation and started with the “it could be better” part. That is discouraging.

      I desire, this year, to grow as an encourager. For those of you who are reading my blog, what brings you encouragement?

Getting Started

Yesterday . . .

“Brrr . . . it’s cold in here!” I said to myself as I pushed back the down comforter I’d been sleeping under. I jumped out of bed and looked at my room thermometer. It read 58º F. I pulled on my bathrobe, walked to the kitchen and poured a cup of coffee. Then, I got dressed in a flannel shirt and corduroy pants. Once I started moving I began to warm up. I knew I had to move; standing still would have made me feel even colder.

Likewise, when my idea bank is frozen, when I feel “cold,” moving helps me warm up. I don’t wait until I feel inspired, but I do remind myself of my goals; then I sit down at my computer, open a document, date it, and start typing. After a few sentences I’m warmed up and the words start flowing.

There are spiritual and mental stimulants, “cups of coffee,” that help me start writing. God blessed me with two of them this morning, a sentence from the Gospel of John and a short chapter in Kristi Holl’s book, Writer’s First Aid.

From the Gospel of John I read, “From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another.” Yes, I concurred, in my lifetime I’ve received much grace and many blessings. I want to pass them on to others. Writing is a way to do that. I will continue working on my writing goals.

From Kristi Holl’s book I read about the necessity of having a good ignition system. Cars will go nowhere without an ignition system and neither will writers. Sometimes I flood my system with too many ideas. Other days I feel completely out of gas. What do I do? Do I force myself to write? What would I do if the car wouldn’t start, but I wanted to drive to Long Island to see my daughter and family?  Would I forget about the trip? No, I would fix the ignition system. What will I do this year when I can’t get started writing?  Will I forget about the “trip?”  No, I have a destination, a goal. I will remind myself of that and do whatever it takes to fix my ignition system.

What about you, my writer friends, is your ignition system working? If it is, I’d like to hear about what gets you started and keeps you moving on your writing goals. If you are having trouble getting started, I’d still like to hear from you. Maybe we could encourage one another.