Humble Beginning

Okay, so, I created this blog on a whim, and here I go. My intention is for this to be a place where Christian writers can go to get tidbits of advice on writing and on the Christian writing market as well as inspiration. When I get around to it, I'll set up a message board of sorts for a more direct sort of conversation, but for now, feel free to post any comments. This is a non-denominational sort of thing. I don't think God intended for denominations, which is a fancy word for divisions, to be formed in His church. He gave us His word and told us how we should live. But as human nature goes, we couldn't all get along. So that's where we get our denominations, our divisions. I live my life according to God's Word set forth in the Bible. I don't live my life according to what the Baptists say or the Methodists say or the Catholics or so on and so forth. I know there are many points of argument among certain scriptures in the Bible, which is the largest cause for the numerous denominations, but there is one basic belief that should unite all Christians. God sent His Son, Jesus, who lived a sinless and blameless life, to die for the sins of all mankind on the cross, and rose again three days later, conquering death, which is the result of sin, and ascended to heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father. Any posts or comments arguing this point or that point about this scripture or that scripture will be removed as soon as I see them. This blog is about writing, and I'd like to keep it so. There are plenty of other forums out there for arguing if you must do so. Just not here.

I'm not a professional. I haven't had anything published in anything major. I'm still getting started in this business just as I imagine anyone who reads this is still trying to take that next step forward. Until I can start getting some outside response, I'll just be posting some thoughts on writing style and how my own writing is progressing. I have a lot of promising things in the works right now. At least I think they're promising, and the small cirlce of people who read my writing and offer constructive criticism seem to think they're promising as well. So since I'm the amatuer that I am, I don't mind getting advice in return.

The best bit of advice that I'm going to give you right now is one that I've heard over and over from different sources, and it's always true. The best way to learn to write and to continually get better at your craft is to read a lot and write a lot. Many of us already read a lot. We were doing that long before we ever thought about writing a story of our own. But you can read every word that has ever been written thirty times over and still have trouble finding your own words when you sit down to write. You can't wait for inspiration or a muse to strike you before you begin to write, either, or you'll only write a few pages here and there and never get anything done. Plod on with the story whether you feel like it or not, whether you think it sounds good or not, whether it is good or not. Because you always have the opportunity for a rewrite once you get the story down, however sloppy it may be or stupid it may sound. And if after the rewrite, or countless rewrites, it is still bad, don't fret. You still learned something. You still took the first steps toward training your brain to think in prose. Move on to the next story. Eventually you'll write something good, perhaps great.

It may take a couple of million of words worth of practice to figure out your own style and get your form right. I'm still in this process. I've written several novels worth of material, much of it barely worth the paper it is printed on, but I keep going, knowing someday I'll get it right and other people, besides my friends and family, will believe in what I have written and want to give me money for it...or at least contributor's copies. If this sounds like too much work, then you've already been wasting your time. Writer's are crazy people blinded by the love for their craft who keep pushing on with or without any forseeable gain to their labors. I've been discouraged in the past and spent stretches of time where I didn't write anything at all, but writing always kept calling to me. Story ideas flooded my mind whether I wanted them to or not, first wispering, and then screaming at me to let them out, to put them down on paper, to shape them and mold them into the best stories that they could be. Simply put, if you can keep yourself from writing, then by all means, don't write. But if the desire to write burns within you, and the only way you feel you can quench that desire is by writing, then write. Don't fuss or complain or moan and groan. Just write.

More on that later. It's almost bed time, and a tired mind is not one fit for the demands of writing. I like to write first thing in the morning after spending an hour or so reading my bible. I use that hour to clear my head, then I put the energy of the dawning day into my fingertips as they fly around the keyboard, trying to keep up with my frantic mind.