WRITERS BEWARE

NO CREDIT TAKEN! Please note: my husband Ray's computer programme was playing up so although says "posted by Mary Hawkins," he only used my computer to publish this post.

There are words lining up to bite, annoy, charm, tease and motivate you in 2014. Over the past few days or maybe weeks such words have remained dormant, waiting but restless. They bided their time. Words of all shapes and sizes knew you had to have a ‘vacation’ from them, but time is up!

Words are longing to be constructed from various letters. They have a certain loneliness which can only be overcome by sentences, phrases and paragraphs. Now it’s time for you to marshal them into coherent groups. As can be suspected there are always one or two irascible and unruly letters and words unwilling to co-operate.  Strange isn’t it how these very words which have so much potential require so much discipline and refining.  

As you try to sleep at night it is these wayward words which keep running around in the mind. The result! Making sleep a fleeting experience. Trying to match them with more compliant letters and words is difficult but you cannot leave them out of the story. What they offer is vibrancy, colour, power and emotion. Without them the book remains listless. 

2014 has such words and ideas waiting to be tackled and conquered. Harnessing such taunting words into the ‘arms’ of graphic phrases can make us sense something special. At the end of the year we will probably miss out on the Nobel Prize for literature. Our bank balance may not be greatly improved after zealous promotion so…!  

Why do we bother dealing with hard to get along with words? Why juggle with letters to form words and ideas which have a mind of their own? Because we have a story to tell that embraces eternal issues. Because we believe, under the Lord, what we write can be a blessing to others. On top of that when we believe God has given us the gift to play with, enjoy and discipline ‘naughty’ words. But we also know there is accountability. I think that without such a conviction there would be times I’d break the fire ban. On the bonfire would go pen, paper and words. 

2014 is opening its ‘door’ for you as a writer to enter. What waits inside? That is one of the exciting aspects about this calling. This I feel sure of, there are words there waiting, ready and willing to ‘bite’ you.  

May the Lord give you the strength and encouragement throughout the year to ‘bite back’. How? By harnessing those words into something that pleases Him, blesses others and thrills yourself. 

© Ray (peeking through the door) Hawkins.

What inspires you? (plus an ebook giveaway)

By Lisa Harris

As a writer, I’m always looking for inspiration. That nugget of a story that simmers in the back of my mind until finally, it’s ready to be put down on paper. I love discovering new characters and new plots. For me, it’s invigorating and simply put, fun.

As a young girl, I used to imagine myself writing in some secluded cabin in the middle of the woods. Soft music played in the background, snow drifted past my window, before dusting the ground with a layer of white powder. With a fire roaring in the background, I sat in front of my typewriter—yes, this was a long time ago—producing bestseller after bestseller. 

Right. Somehow that never happened. 

When I started writing, my kids were young, so reality for me was scrambling to find a few moments to write while the kids took a nap, or while Dora the Explorer sang in the background. I’d quickly peal the peanut butter and jelly sandwich from the keyboard and brush off the cheerios from my chair and write. Finding inspiration wasn’t exactly on the menu. I had to learn to sit down and write, inspired or not. 

But no matter who we are, I think it’s safe to say that we all long to feel inspired. Whether it’s writing a book or a poem, creating a stunning dish in the kitchen, listening to music, taking a class that challenges us, or simply being inspired to be a better person, we all need inspiration.  

I’ve also found that in the busy world we live in, I need to be intentional in finding that inspiration. Which means intentionally stopping to be quiet, listening for God’s voice, taking a quiet walk in a garden, or making sure I don’t miss the colors of the sunset. 

Here are a few things that inspired me: 

Friends and family

My children

The African bush

Music

Books

Gardens

Laughter

Sunsets

Stars

What about you? What inspires you?

~~~ 

Lisa latest book is a romantic suspense from Revell.

When two Jane Does are killed on the outskirts of Atlanta, Georgia, detective and behavioral specialist Avery North discovers they share something in common--a tattoo of a magnolia on their shoulders. Suspecting a serial killer, Avery joins forces with medical examiner Jackson Bryant to solve the crimes and prevent another murder. But it doesn't take long for them to realize that there is much more to the case than meets the eye. As they venture deep into a sinister world of human trafficking, Avery and Jackson are taken to the very edge of their abilities--and their hearts. 

Dangerous Passage exposes a fully-realized and frightening world where every layer peeled back reveals more challenges ahead. Romantic suspense fans will be hooked from the start by Lisa Harris's first installment of the new Southern Crimes series.

ebook giveaway for Australian and New Zealand readers:
Lisa has kindly offered to give away an ebook copy of Dangerous Passage to an Australian or New Zealand reader who leaves a comment on this post. The winner will be announced in the post comments on Tuesday, 3rd December.

LISA HARRIS is a Christy Award finalist and the winner of the Best Inspirational Suspense Novel for 2011 from Romantic Times. She has over twenty novels and novella collections in print. She and her family have spent almost ten years living as missionaries in Africa where she homeschools, leads a women’s group, and runs a non-profit organization that works alongside their church-planting ministry. The ECHO Project works in southern Africa promoting Education, Compassion, Health, and Opportunity and is a way for her to “speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves…the poor and helpless, and see that they get justice.” (Proverbs 31:8)

When she’s not working she loves hanging out with her family, cooking different ethnic dishes, photography, and heading into the African bush on safari.  For more information about her books and life in Africa visit her website at www.lisaharriswrites.com or her blog at http://myblogintheheartofafrica.blogspot.com. For more information about The ECHO Project, please visit www.theECHOproject.org.