Archive for the 'The Writing Life' Category

July 23, 2008 @ 8:19 pm | Filed under: Books, The Writing Life

Tags: authors, novels, writing

July 10, 2008 @ 11:57 am | Filed under: The Writing Life, Uniquely Me

• If you win, do not brag; if you lose, do not show anger.
• When meeting new people, shake hands and repeat their names.
• If someone bumps into you, say excuse me, even if it was not your fault.
• If you are asked a question in conversation, ask a question in return.
• Do not stare at a student who is being reprimanded.
• Do not ask for a reward.
• In a hotel room, leave a tip for the hotel workers who clean your room.
• Make eye contact.
• Stand up for what you believe in.
• Live so that you will have no regrets.

I’m reading Ron Clark’s The Essential 55 again. He is a teacher who is known for the amazing inroads he has made with underprivileged, undernourished, undereducated students in rural North Carolina.

I wake up some days and am still amazed that I’ve made the decision to teach. Me - the same girl who grew up swearing (that would be figuratively, not literally) that she would never teach. While I’ve always had a healthy respect for my dad’s career and have had some amazing teachers in my own life, I wanted something different.

Or thought I wanted something different.

This desire to teach is something that is more like a calling to me right now, I guess. It’s a part of that urgency that is burning in me. I think that maybe I am just now at the point in my life where I am ready to fill up young minds with exciting possibilities that can be theirs. That should be theirs.

There is just something so special about young minds - when the mind and the heart is so open to influence - that tugs at my heart. Makes me want to help channel all that energy into positive avenues. Creative avenues. Avenues that will leave them changed, that will make them thinkers for life.

I believe that writing can do that for a person. It is a way to work through issues, to create a world of your own, to reach out and touch someone, to leave your fingerprints all over this life by the words you pen…

I want to teach that.

Tags: Ron Clark, teaching, the essential 55

July 5, 2008 @ 1:25 pm | Filed under: It's funny!, The Writing Life

I LOVE writing. And there’s really nothing I’d like to do with my life more than hone this skill and keep writing for as long as God sees fit.

But for all the folks out there who think this life is one of ease and tranquility, let me give you more correct information.

Many days it can be torture. Sweet torture, but torture nonetheless. Even as I struggle to tap into the right vein, to prayerfully and carefully endeavor to write my heart, I’m sometimes distracted by all the stuff going on outside my upstairs office window.

Who’d have ever thought that mowing a lawn or observing trash retrieval would ever sound so appealing to me?

This is just one of the many hazards of the writing life…

Tags: authors, cartoons, writing life

June 20, 2008 @ 10:08 am | Filed under: 5 Minutes for Mom, Motherhood, The Writing Life

I am very excited and honored to be working with the wonderful women and moms at 5 Minutes for Mom. It’s phenomenal to have a place where we women can come together in our faith and in our calling as moms - both in the home and in the workplace - and know that we have a sisterhood that ‘has our back.’

I’m posting today over at The Sampler, which is a weekly column of 5 Minutes for Mom that brings you exclusive samplings from the some of the best mom blogs. For weekly encouragement, please check them out regularly. I promise you’ll be blessed!

Tags: 5 Minutes for Mom, Add new tag, encouragement, mom blogs

June 8, 2008 @ 6:48 am | Filed under: Motherhood, Soul Food, The Writing Life

Every once in a while a door of opportunity will swing open wide, and we know for certain that it is God who is bidding us to walk through it.

This is what happened to me when Faith Lifts invited me to be one of their devotional contributors a couple of weeks ago. The people that I’ve met so far - Shera and the other writers - are nothing short of warm and welcoming. Already I feel at home, and very excited about this very special place!

As a writer, this is an opportunity to share bits and pieces of what God lays on my heart. As a mom, this is a place to find needed encouragement and strength. But - maybe most importantly - as a woman, Faith Lifts is a place where godly women are endeavoring to hear His voice and allowing Him to direct their lives and the lives of their families.

My first devotion with Faith Lifts is up today. If you find time to check it out, please linger a bit longer and read the words of wisdom and encouragement that other Faith Lifts writers have on their hearts.

I promise you’ll leave uplifted!

 

Tags: devotions, Faith Lifts, Moms

January 25, 2008 @ 8:29 am | Filed under: The Writing Life

As a Christian writer, what do you write about?

This was the recent question posed to a group of writers, all writing under the banner of “Christian” fiction. The responses were varied and it was obvious that some had a clear understanding of what, and why, they wrote while, still others, floundered while searching for their answer.

For me, this became a question that I really wanted the answer to during the writing of Waking Emma. I’d had two previously published novels and had experienced a near perfect relationship with editors and the publishing staff. But those stories, while I’ll always love and treasure these first efforts, were following the “recipe” that had been carefully layed out for me. A step-by-step guide to what the apostolic fiction reader will accept. It was okay for the stories to have some conflict, but the responses of the characters had to follow carefully dictated roadmaps.

During those days, I was eager to please and eager to be published. But, at the same time, I had to wonder about the fact that I (and many more like me) were putting out stories that implied that if we, as Christians, lived each day always knowing the right thing to say and when and where to say it. If, God forbid, a human emotion crept its way in and influenced one of our decisions, well…

That’s just it. I wasn’t supposed to explore that.

I couldn’t escape from the fact, though, that life is just not that simple. It’s not a cookie cutter process where you always have the right ingredients, in the right increments, with the perfect heat and the perfect wrappings. Life is beautiful and messy and delightful and sorrowful. It’s a journey - and there are all kinds of stops along that journey. We appreciate joy because we’ve tasted sorrow. We appreciate light because we’ve huddled in darkness.

I wanted to write about the real things in life.

I don’t write about the light bulb, I write about what I see because of the light.

The result is that I now have stories that resonate deep inside of me. Stories that speak to me, that teach me, that inspire and convict and motivate me. I think we can reflect Christian (or Apostolic) values in the same way by what we talk about, what we focus on, what we leave in and especially by what we leave out.

For me, I have an almost desperate desire to convey the message of a relationship with God more than I’m called to impart one certain message or lay out the plan of salvation or point fingers or preach a sermon. What I want more than anything is to somehow be able to bring the message through on a level that speaks to the heart, where the same old words are bouncing off an increasingly hard-hearted and hostile world. I want to convey my own experience and what amazing, heart-changing things can happen as a real woman (or real man) develops a relationship with God.

There are some days, and even some weeks, when the writing process is lonely and tedious. There are often times when I wonder just how many more of my stories will see the light of day, because I don’t write old-fashioned “Apostolic” fiction and I also don’t write straight “secular fiction.” I am in the mix somewhere in between, still believing that people want the truth. Sure, fiction is entertainment. But if God uses my characters to teach me important life truths, I must have faith that He has a plan for them to teach others as well.

Like I always say though - if I am the only one who learns a little more about faith and hope and about real life at the end of a very messy day through one of my stories, then…

it’s still a story I’m honored to have been a part of.

January 19, 2008 @ 1:15 am | Filed under: The Writing Life, Uniquely Me

“Hey, I know you. I know you.”

I jumped a bit as a hand reached out and grabbed mine, squeezing it exuberantly.

I had been wandering around the room for a while, making sure to keep my friend and her mother in my sight in case they should need anything. I talked with the few people I knew, admired the pretty arrangements, and then tried to stand by as unobtrusively as possible. At this particular moment I stood near the front pew, quietly taking in the room. I was vaguely aware that two elderly women sat just to my side, but - quite honestly - I’d not paid them much attention.

Until one of them reached out and grabbed my hand, that is.

“I know you, I do. Now…where do I know you from?”

I looked down into a face softly, but very definitely, lined with years. I would have placed her to be about seventy, but the enthusiasm in her spirit and the grace in her carriage immediately clued me in that this woman was just a bit special.

“Now, what is your name? I know I know you.”

So I introduced myself.

Warmth - deep, genuine warmth - shone in her brown eyes. Gleaming salt and pepper hair was carefully slicked back into the most elegant of chignons on her lower neck. She wore a smart suit, appropriate for the night but yet wildly younger than her years. On her feet she wore a pair of the most beautifully stylish and chic three-inch stilletos that I’ve seen in a while.

In the brief moment it took for her to grab my hand and begin to try to remember where in the world she may have seen me before, I was able to take in this wonderfully delightful woman. There was a strength in her hand that far belied her age, possibly every bit as much as her clothing and appearance.

I was instantly captivated.

“I don’t know. Maybe a ladies conference…?” I would have given anything at that moment to have been able to pinpoint where we might have met before, to give her that, but…I just couldn’t place her.

I was sure that this was a woman I would have remembered.

“Mmm. Maybe…” She studied me and then shook her head. “No. No, something else. Something else.”

She repeated my name over and over again, just slightly under her breath. My hand was still tight within her grip so I began to scramble for a way to change the subject. Do you go to church here? Are you friends of the family? I really like your shoes. Anything.

But before I could decide on a topic,

“Books! You write books! I’ve read your books. You do write books, don’t you?”

You could have knocked me over. And, I promise, nothing at that moment could have thrilled me more than knowing that this petite, energetic elderly woman before me was one of my readers.

We settled in for quite a visit. I learned most of her life story in about a twenty minute period. The time flew by and I was her very willing, very captive, audience of one. In three days she will turn eighty-one. It was obvious to me that the years have been both kind and harsh to this tiny slip of a woman. But I was continually moved by the grace and charm and energy that she carried within her.

As I sat with her, listening and absorbing, it wasn’t lost on me that this was a perfect opportunity for me to learn a thing or two from this pilgrim. She’s not only gone before me in the things and work of God, but she’s faced life as a woman and as a mother and had stories that particularly resonated within me and with my life at this particular junction.

I saw in her the same fire and passion that burns within me.

I had come there that night to try and be a help.

I left knowing that I had been touched by one of God’s own.

My new friend and I have made plans to meet up at the next ladies conference.

It was one of those moments when - in the midst of all that I’ve been thinking, feeling, experiencing lately - I caught a glimpse of the woman I want to be “when I grow up.”

June 11, 2007 @ 9:53 am | Filed under: The Writing Life, Uniquely Me

I’ve tried for days to think of something thought-provoking, or inspirational, or - hey - just funny, to share with you. Nothing. Nada. Not. a. thing.

"I got nothing." (More on this atrocious yet humorous use of the English language in a future post.)

Whoa! Did I actually just say I already had material for another post? Maybe my dry spell is about to end just as I’m about to admit that my creative flow must have taken a very hasty and unplanned vacation because I’ve had nothing of substance to offer.

So - it it’s okay - I’ll just share the trivial, yet meaningful. How’s that for a compromise?

Last August I blogged about writing spaces. I interviewed and collected pics of office photos from twelve of my writing friends and posted them, secretly getting a thrill out of "seeing" where all the inspiration takes place.

Fast forward to the present and I’m now sitting in my newly put-together office, tucked away in a corner bedroom of our new house. Now since I’ve always officed out of our bedroom, you may be wondering why THIS room rates blog-worthiness. Well - for starters - there is no BED in here!

It is an honest-to-goodness, office-only, writing space. For me. Just me.

 

To say that I’m loving this space would be a HUGE understatement but, because this is a blog and because I’m currently suffering from proper word retrieval, let’s just say that…I’m lovin’ it! During the daytime, natural sunlight filters in, bathing the room in a soft, almost translucent, light. And at night, my many lamps lend a homey, cheerful place that my son and his friends enjoy hanging out in.

Ooops. That’s right, it’s suppose to be MY space, right? But I have to say that I love having my family get as much enjoyment from it as I do. Even if that does mean that Jorge and his pals take over my computer, desk, and guest chairs many evenings!

While I write, or email, or do research, or pay bills, I am completely surrounded by things that inspire me. Photos of my family. My journal that my friend, Bonnie, made for me. A Kristin Schobert original painting. And books. Lots and lots and lots of…books! But one very special one, The Greatest Salesman in the World, has a place of prominence on my desk, where it is always very visible to me.

And there you have it. The 5 cent tour of the office of Staci Wilder. Just as soon as my scrapbook work station is set up in one corner of the room, I’ll be live with pics and pans from there as well.

Until then…or until something creative decides to give me another chance, I’m signing off and going to grab a Diet Coke. 

Toodles, y’all.

April 19, 2007 @ 5:34 am | Filed under: The Writing Life, Uniquely Me

The person who seeks all their applause from outside has their happiness in another’s keeping."
—Claudius Claudianus, Egyptian Latin Poet
_________________________
Writing is a solitary occupation.

On my writing days, many times I’ll go for hours at a time without any real verbal communication. From the time I sit down at my desk with a steaming mug of coffee around 8:00 a.m. until I finally tie up loose ends around 3 or so, I am alone.

Although I talk - basically all day.

Or maybe I should say I listen.

I listen to Ella and to Luke…to Emma, Jackson…to Reggie…And - right now - to Faith and Marshall.

My characters constantly whisper in my ear, their animated conversations reverberating through the hallways of my mind, playing on the front porch of my conscience. They smile, they cry,they shout, and call for me, always urging me to stay around and hear what they have to say.

Is it any wonder then that on some evenings my family glances at me in curiosity, wondering if I’m okay. "Why are you so quiet tonight?"

I’m a talker by nature, a full-fledged communicator, and they know this. And yet, for these few moments I crave the silence, the peace of just…being.

I shrug. "I don’t know…I guess I’ve used up all my words for today."

It’s at that moment that I realize something. In the process of my work day I had spent six hours at the computer - hearing, feeling, seeing - a kaleidoscope of emotions, all played out on the big screen of my mind.

I’ve said it all.

I’ve heard it all.

I’ve felt it all.

It’s time to recharge.

And how do I do this?

Solitude.

Some folks recharge their depleted proverbial batteries by losing themselves in a crowd of people. They draw a much needed jolt from the energy that is radiated off others. Though they may enter the room exhausted, this type of person will leave at the end of the night renewed, invigorated.

And then there’s folks like me.

Put me in a quiet room, dim the lights, turn on some soft music, and close the door. It’s only then that I begin to feel like myself again. The noise around me and inside me becomes muted, raw emotion loses its ragged edge, and calm begins to seep through the pores of my skin. Bit by bit, minute by minute, I’m infused with regenerated inspiration, renewed enthusiasm, and optimism that but a short while ago seemed all but impossible.

It’s in those times, those moments of solitude, that I hear the voice of God the clearest. In my vulnerable state I’m at the very place where His gentle probing and prompting can make its way with ease through my soul.

Once again I feel the tingles of inspiration.

I see with clarity the plan He has for me.

And I listen with bated breath as He whispers encouragement to a soul that has grown parched and weary throughout the day.

It’s as close to heaven as I’ve come, and I’ve learned to look forward to these times of solitude. For me, being alone is the farthest thing from lonliness. Instead, it’s where I draw fresh strength, examine weaknesses, and learn the things about me that only He can teach.

Do you hear that…?

…the sound of silence calling to you?

It’s golden.

April 18, 2007 @ 7:19 am | Filed under: The Writing Life