In Between

Thankfully I can report that the article I mentioned in the previous post was published in Hometown Journey, www.hometownjourney.net. I am so appreciative to Angela Motz, Editor in Chief for giving me on opportunity. I encourage any followers of this blog to check out their monthly magazine for a taste of Texas hometown living.

This spring and summer I was given the task of writing another church camp curriculum for the Houston/Beaumont Area Conference Youth Camp. Previously I wrote for the 3rd-5th grade camp, but this year the curriculum was use for 5th-6th grade as well. I can't wait to hear how it went with the campers. That is one of my favorite all time assignments. Every year I think this myght be my last year and then the next year my dear friend Stacey will call and ask if I am interested in camp again. She knows how passionate I am about the camp experience and I am so blessed that she has given me so many camps to write.

Now for the real update. I have a book in mind. I tried to make it a novel, but I think that God has other ideas. The thing is it may never be published. This may be a project that I have to pour my blood, sweat and tears into just because I have to get this out of me. As I work on it I will post my struggles and success and see where it goes.

For now I am looking for opportunities as a freelance writer and speaker. Wish me luck as I begin this new adventure. This is a true calling and a scary step, but I think with the articles and devotionals I have published I can be considered a "real writer". I hope editors agree.

Happy Writing

Spring Break 2010

Our Spring Break experience is coming to a close and it was very eventful. Not what we planned, but a blast nonetheless. No matter, I thought it was good enough to write about and so I did! Luckily I have some really great friends that support me and so I sent them the article and asked for feedback. We will see how it goes. At least my Mom liked it, but isn't she supposed to? I wonder if even in my thirties, my mom looks at my work and admires it, not for what it is, but for who she knows created it. That certainly explains the boxes full of precious treasures that I have stored in my attic labeled with my children's names. So for now I have to hope and pray for honest criticism and hopefully some praise as I continue on this journey and hope that someone publishes my efforts.

Happy Writing!

New Assignment

It has been a long break from blogging and I am ready to return. I have been substitute teaching a lot and that has come to a close. At first I was a bit confused. I was so needed and suddenly I wasn't. Now I understand why. Right after my last stint with no dates on the horizon, I received an email requesting church camp curriculum for two grade levels. Usually I receive this request mid-March at the earliest, sometimes as late as early May and need to have it ready for June. This year I am so excited to have the opportunity to write for 4th and 5th grade and 6th and 7th grade camp. I have been studying the word "generosity" to prepare and letting the definitions of that word and many characters in the Bible roll around in my brain making connections that will eventually find themselves in the hearts and minds of the campers and counselors at camp this summer. Of all the things I love to write, camp curriculum holds a special place. This is an opportunity to a child or adult to come face to face with God in a place that is not given to distractions and stress of everyday life. In some cases the kids are just looking for a week away from home, or maybe their parents are looking for a week away from them. No matter the circumstances, God appointed them to be there that week, in that cabin, meeting those friends, under the leadership of this counselor studying the curriculum that God will give me to write. The process of writing camp curriculum is an absolute rush. I am given an idea from the directors, then the Lord and I get to work just talking and dreaming about what He desires the message to be. There is always a hook or something that the campers and adults take away from each lesson, and I work to introduce characters from the Bible that they may never have heard of, or studied in that way before. This year's theme is "Extravagant Generosity." I have enjoyed studying the word generosity this week. Being a lover of words, I find it absolutely fascinating the see the journey that words take. They have an original meaning on the language they are developed in, then they change as they are bumped along to other languages and new grammatical and spelling rules and social mores apply. Generosity has changed over the years. The Latin root is also found in words like genesis, genious, generation. I'll go into more later, but I am finding that the word "generosity" has had quite a journey and is more closely related to God that we think.
I plan to update this blog as I continue to write and find those characters who exhibited "Extravagant Generosity!"

Happy writing

REJECTION!

Well it was bound to happen, but so exciting. I got my first rejection letter from a publication. I know that you might not think this is so great, but I am thrilled to death! It is the first time that something I wrote has been rejected. So far it seems that things have come to easily on this adventure. First writing for a real newspaper in high school, then the overwhelming (in my circles) response to the Advent devotional, next was the experience in writing for Hometown Journey Magazine, and finally the Daily Devotional For Writer's (I had all three devotionals I submitted selected) response. I just knew that the devotion I submitted to the good folks at the Upper Room would be snapped up and they would wonder what they ever did without me-think the scene in A Christmas Story when Ralphie turns in his composition. This is not exactly what happened. I got my postcard in the mail with my rejection on it, but my name and the title of my devotion was HANDWRITTEN. Instead of just a run of the mill rejection, I got a handwritten one. That means, to me anyway, that someone actually read it.
I never thought Stephen King with inspire me, but after reading his memoirs I have been just that. He kept every one of his rejection slips as inspiration to continue to write and to rewrite and even rewrite that better. As I look at this little postcard with "I'm sorry" written on it, I know that I can and will write a better one next time, or rewrite this and make it even better. So I may not have anything coming out in the coming months, but I can continue to write and write and write some more and submit, submit, submit until I get it right.

Happy Writing

Writing Samples

I need writing samples with links to them on the internet for editors to review for prospective assignments. I wonder if a blog counts since it is on the internet, but it isn't real writing. After going through old articles written for magazines and trying to find them in archives online, I contacted a previous editor and asked for her help. She not only came through with samples of my published work, but she also requested a reprint of one article and took a couple of pitches from me for other articles. I have a quick turnaround time on one deadline, but it can be done. I am so excited to have an actual assigment for a magazine after writing bible studies and camp curriculum for such a long stretch. I still love writing devotionals, Bible studies and curriculum, but the challenge of article writing is fresh and new and I can't wait to see the finished product.

Happy Writing

Rejection

It is bound to happen in all areas of life, but when it your precious writing is rejected it is as if you are being rejected. I don't know why I would think that everyone would love to have my work as a part of their Christmas experience. I get so much more positive feedback than negative, but it is the negative feedback that sticks.
My only solace is this is what makes my skin tougher, my heart softer and my writing cleaner. I hope that with each rejection of my work I grow as a writer and not shrink as a whiner remembering that I just love to write. This is not about accolades or praise from others, but a direct response to the call that God put on my life.
I hope this encourages another writer someday.

Happy writing!

Opportunities

It is amazing how you can being 15 minutes early can provide all kinds of opportunities. I arrived 15 minutes early to an appointment and stuck up a conversation with a woman who was working on a laptop. As it turns out she is taking a writing course online and has had much success with various online freelance websites. I had never thought about this as a viable avenue in my writing adventure. Of course I began to research and discoved there are many people who have lots to say about working for these various outlets. It is comforting that I know a real flesh and blood person who has had lots of success and speaks highly of the experience. I am still investigating, but it would be a great way to get more experience and validation as a writer. Tune in to see where this new opportunity takes me!

Happy Writing