Better Together: Omega Writers Cross Post

 by Jen Richards

How Australia’s Christian writers are better when we’re together!

 Some conversations you can only have with other writers. You know the ones. Conversations where you talk about your characters as though they are real people. Thoughtful chats about how to breathe life into your memoir. Heart-to-hearts about the creative life, its dreams and disappointments. And then there are other conversations you can only have with Christian writers. Ones about how you mesh faith and creativity in your work. Ones about how you find your writing community.

‘On the same page as other writers’

The Omega Writers Conference in Sydney at the end of September was choc-full of these sorts of conversations! It was a creative time of fun and fellowship and a testimony to how God can work when we gather together.

 

Attendees at the 2024 Omega Writer's Conference. Source: Omega Writers

Here’s what attendees said they loved about meeting together:

●      “I'm very glad I came. I came away very encouraged and ideas were going round in my head all week. It was also great to mix with people all 'on the same page' so to speak with regards to genre and faith.” (Karen K)

●      “You gave each of us a beautiful, safe space to connect and equip ourselves in our writing. I had many a chat with newbies and as overwhelmed as they were with all the information, God was at work giving clarity.” (Raewyn E)

●      “You can learn so much from the experience and wisdom of others who have gone before. And having a cohort of likeminded new friends is so special.” (Anonymous)

●      “The Omega Writers' Conference is a weekend of learning, inspiration and fun. With a Christian focus, it's a valuable opportunity for connection with like-minded writers and professionals. I've attended at least five onsite Omega conferences and have always come away energised and better equipped.” (Jean S)

Let us not give up meeting together!

There’s just nothing like the energy and encouragement Christian writers can give and get when they meet together. But it doesn’t have to be at a big conference. Here are some other ways to meet with other Christian writers for encouragement and inspiration.

1. Find a writing buddy: Sometimes you just need to connect with one other writer to gain the encouragement you need to keep going. They don’t need to write the same genre as you for you to be able to encourage each other.
2. Find a writing group: Omega Writers has chapter groups across the country who meet regularly to encourage one another. Not one near you? We are working on resources to help you start one.
3. Pray: Easy to do alone and powerful to do in a group. Omega Writers runs regular (every six weeks) prayer meetings via Zoom. Connect with our Facebook group for details.

Omega Writers welcomes new president

Omega Writers welcomed a new president at the recent Annual General Meeting. Carolyn Tonkin was joyfully voted in with the support of the membership present. Carolyn is a writer, teacher and the leader of the Melbourne chapter group. Read her vision for the organisation.

 

For more information about Omega Writer’s, Australia’s Christian Writers Network, go to: https://omegawriters.com.au/

Writing goals when you’re nearly 80

by Barbara McKay

My story

Since my husband died from metastatic cancer in 2014, learning to write creatively has been therapeutic.


‘Don’t you think I’m too old to be writing?’ I was speaking with a lovely author, Anne Hamilton at a Writer’s weekend in Brisbane early this year. She answered me ‘No’ she said,

‘You are showing cognitive plasticity’. I could have jumped for joy at those words, but I couldn’t because I’d broken my leg


My creative writing journey began when I saw an ad ‘Write your Memoir’ course by Cecily Anne Patterson. In 2018, I was 73, and a widow coping with grief and loss. I contacted
Cecily, and slowly worked through every session. Lots of new terminology, and eventually, I wrote my first chapter, getting to about 80,000 words.


In 2022, Vanessa Vankcom said ‘Why don’t you send 10,000 words into Omega Writers for the CALEB Unpublished Adult Nonfiction section? I did. I received an email to say ‘You are a finalist’. I cried all day. What was God saying to me?


I was 77. I faced my fears, and decided to go to the conference at Kingscliff. I met Cecily, and many other amazing authors. They weren’t scary, but normal human beings, fun and developing their writing to bless others.


After that weekend, Nola Passmore, the encourager who specialises in nagging us to write, invited me to join the Toowoomba Omega Writers – again, a scary experience but exciting. I told the group ‘I’m in Year 3 doing a subject titled ‘Creative Writing’. Some of them told me off. ‘No, you cannot say that. You are on a creative learning curve, just like all of us.’ Mazzy even said that with my life’s experience, I’d have plenty to write about from a mature perspective.’ She’s a great encourager.

Some Writing Tips

Tips for organising your writing goals when you’re nearly 80, when you feel you’ve left it too late. Why did I ask that question?


Firstly, the ageing process does bring deficits with chronic illness, hospitalization, loneliness, and discouragement. Those of you who have older members in your families see their decline.

Secondly, our lives do have an expiry date. I do feel a sense of urgency with my writing because none of us know when that time will come. What creative work is a priority? What do I leave undone? What stories do I tell? I am in the final season of my life. I’m in my 80th year – unbelievable. To think that I’m learning at this age is surely a gift from my loving Heavenly Father. I do lose heart and that’s why I love it when the apostle Paul says ‘Do not lose heart. Though outwardly, we are wasting away, yet inwardly, we are being renewed day by day.’ 2 Corinthians 4:16 NIV

Thirdly, the gift of encouragement. Why is it that many of us become discouraged and long for words of affirmation? How do I finish my life with few regrets?

What makes me a feisty nearly 80-year-old who feasts on life?  Many of your comments bring the sparks that light up my life.

1. Meredith said ‘my mother finished her memoirs at the end of last year. She was 85. She passed away four months after she finished writing them. ‘What a wonderful story, and no doubt Meredith gave her loads of encouragement. We need to get a rough draft down, even if it isn’t published.

2. Nola mentioned a lady who died at the age of 96. ‘She was writing a monthly column into her 90’s. She turned in her last column on the day she died.’

3. Sue Jeffrey is the one who said ‘you inspire me’ and called me ‘feisty’

4. Christine O’Malley said ‘build yourself a group of praying supporters who will laugh with you, cry with you…and keep on asking how the writing is going to make sure you don’t give up.’ Let’s do it. That’s not easy for some of us who live in rural places, but it is do-able. We have ‘zoom’ and a ‘mobile’.

5. One young author, Stephanie said ‘I want to keep on encouraging others. The gift of encouragement is such a kind, generous gift.

6. Anusha mentioned ‘I make writing goals each year’.

7. Recently, I read a letter from my aunt, Hilda North. She was writing to me to give instructions on organising her 90 th birthday’. God nudged me. ‘Look at that aunty of yours – cognitively, as sharp as a tack. She lived until she was 101.

8. I have learnt not to compare myself with others. The more I learn about creative writing, the more I realise there is so much that I do not understand. People have said to me ‘you have to start somewhere’.

Finally 

This year, I suffered, I broke my left leg badly – hospitalised for 77 days, moon boot for 11 weeks, and transition care for 12 weeks. ‘What was God trying to tell me?' 

Again, God placed wonderful people on my radar, surprising me with heavenly hugs. I wrote two stories about my suffering, and I’m pleased they are being published in Stories of Life - His love to me during the tough times.


Now I want to hear from you, stories about those who persevere when tempted to give up – stories from those who are in their 70’s and 80’s. What legacy are you leaving?

Brought to you by Barbara McKay 

So many questions - Jo-Anne Berthelsen

 

In my years as a writer, I have been asked some interesting questions. At first, some of these used to annoy me – or even offend. But more recently, I have learnt to laugh instead or at least smile inwardly. At this stage, I have realised it is silly to expect that everyone will understand how the whole writing process works and how books are produced. After all, I know nothing about so many fields of endeavour I have never had the opportunity to explore.

I can laugh now at some interesting questions put to me once while meeting someone new:

‘Have you two met before? Mary, this is Jo-Anne – she’s a writer.’

‘Oh, so what do you write, Jo-Anne?

‘I’ve written several novels and some non-fiction too.’

‘So … should I know you? Er, I mean … are you famous?’

How would you answer that? I think I explained that the sort of books I write will probably never be best sellers, so there was no reason this person should feel bad that she had never heard of me! Then again, perhaps it could depend on our definition of ‘famous’ – or on the circles in which we move?

On another occasion, I found myself trying to explain to someone how I write fiction and non-fiction, including a weekly blog, and how I also get to talk quite often on writing and other topics. At that point, this lady looked at me blankly and blurted out in an almost scathing, accusatory tone, ‘But … but what would you write about – or speak about?’

Her question may seem innocuous – after all, she may well have been thinking how she herself would hate to do such things. Yet I found myself rather gobsmacked at how incredulous she sounded. ‘Surely this woman must be exaggerating?’ her tone clearly said.

Then there is the obvious, natural question I have been asked many times: ‘Who’s your publisher?’ As it happens, I have had three different publishers and have also self-published two books. Usually, the person asking has never heard of any of my publishers, so my answers do not help. Instead, they want to hear the name of some large, well-known, secular publishing house so they can nod wisely in response.

Such interesting questions – and others – can still easily cause me to begin questioning myself, something I suspect writers in general are quite experienced at anyway! Is my writing really any good? Will anyone want to publish it? Will anyone ever even read it? Will it make a difference in this world? On it goes.

These days, my personal response to such self-doubting questions has become more and more grounded in why I write and how God views me. I believe God created me with the ability to write and called me to do so. I believe God has also given me things to say and all those opportunities too to share them wherever I speak. In God’s strength, knowing who I am in God, I can therefore face those curly questions with peace in my heart – and I hope and pray you can too.

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. John 14:27

Jo-Anne Berthelsen is a Sydney-based author of seven novels and three non-fiction works. She holds degrees in Arts and Theology and has worked in teaching, editing and local church ministry. Jo-Anne loves encouraging others through both the written and spoken word and is a keen blogger.

www.jo-anneberthelsen.com

www.joanneberthelsen.wordpress.com

Spring Highlights 2024

 This year has been a busy one full of events and achievements. Here are some higlights. 

Omega Writers Conference

The Biennial Omega Writers Conference was held at Newport, Sydney on 20-22 September with a special worshop with the keynote speaker, Susan May Warren on the Monday 23rd. 

The conference fully booked out the hotel & the program was packed with presentations, workshops and panels. The Key Note speaker, Susan May Warren, prolific author of romantic suspense and other genres, was an electrifying story teller and inspiratonal coach. Her hairraising stories of her adventures in Russia keep us on the edge of our seats.  Other presenttions included writing craft, writer's life, publishing, promotion and marketing. Best of all was reconnecting with other writers and meeting new friends. 

Spec Fic writers at the Omega Writers Conference

On the Saturday night, many of us rose to the challenge of dressing in tune with our genres and after we'd enjoyed a delicious dinner as the highlight of the night, the CALEB awards were presented to their deservining recipients. 

Well done to all the finalists and Congratulations to CALEB WINNERS

Early Reader

Riz Chester – The Counterfeit Bust by R A Stephens

Middle Grade

Xavier in the Meantime by Kate Gordon

Young Adult Fiction

Flying Blind by Rosanne Hawke

Adult Fiction

Heart in the Clouds by Jennifer Mistmorgan

Non-fiction

The Gender Revolution by Patricia Weerakoon; Robert Smith; Kamal Weerakoon

Next year's CALEB awards will be for unpublished manuscripts.

Story of Life 

The contributors to the Story of Life anthology have been announced with many CWD members included in the anthology.

Congratulations all, especially to our CWD members, Amy George, Barbara McKay, Claire Bell, Helen Bishop, Jenny Woolsey, Julia Archer, Julie Willersdorf, Kylie Gardiner, Liisa Grace, Nola Lorraine, R. J. Rodda, Teri Kempe, Valerie Volk 

The full list of contributors:

Amy George The Picture of a Man

Arlene Dodson The Stranger

Barbara McKay The Person in the Patient and Looking Through My Bedroom Window

Caitlin Pywell Beyond Borders: Unchartered Faith

Chantel Birkin The Deepest Scarring Will Heal

Claire Bell Lifeline

Clarisse Lim Yellow

Chris Lee Sovereign Embrace

Diana Davison He Always Listens

Esther Cremona Peak Hour

Grace Yee A Perfect Failure

Helen Bishop The Truth and the Life

Helena Stretton Barzillai – a man for all generations

Jenny Woolsey Almond-shaped Eyes

Joanne Prenzler Smith Lost in Warsaw

Julia Archer The Tractor

Julie Willersdorf Weeds and a Widow

Kerry Osborne Defiant Joy and Just Look at the Trees

Kylie Gardiner Little Dove

Lesley Beth Manuel Blues

Liisa Grace My Earthly Angel

Lynda Wake Coming to my Senses

Lynda Worrell Emus, Dogs and Distractions

Margot Leggett Patting a Calf and Picnic by a Creek

N. K. Hatendi Commemoration of a Martyr

Nola Lorraine Face to Face

Phillipa Selby Uncoupling

R. J. Rodda Then I Saw Her

Rochelle Sharpe Our Dog, Rosie

Ross McIlwraith Chase the Chickens off the Runway

S. L. Wade The White Vase and Daughter

Steph Penny Heaven Scent

Teri Kempe Am I My Brother’s Keeper

Val Russell The Mouse and the Eagle

Valda Schmacker Talking Trees

Valerie Volk Any Sparrow that Falls

Vicki Smith Thank You

This collection of true stories of faith will be launched on Thursday evening, 14 November 2024, at Tabor College, Adelaide. At the launch, prize winners in the Open and Short category will also be announced. The event will be live-streamed on Facebook.

Brisbane Training Day for Writers.

 And a Reminder - the Brisbane Training Day for Writers is fast approaching on Sautrday 12 October.  

                              Here's the info.



 You have heard how 'easy' it is - so - onto the next step - the doing.

                                     Now into the nitty-gritty.

12^th October 

8:30 am to 4:30pm

Coopers Colonial Motel, 1260 Beaudesert Road, Acacia Ridge.

We will host three workshops of 2 hours each.

Workshop 1  Editing Audio Files

presented by our Brilliant Beck Robinson

Making and editing audio files for podcasts, reels or YouTube uploads.

Workshop 2  Draft to Digital

Presented by our amazing Jenny O'Hagan

Learn how to upload your manuscript into an eBook.

Workshop 3 Adding Pizzaz for That Extra Oomph 

Presented by our Awesome Annie Hamilton

Learn how to use CANVA to make pictures for social media and brochures.

Cost is $62. This includes Morning and afternoon teas and lunch.

try booking and detains -  https://www.trybooking.com/CTPQJ

 Cost for the day is $62.

If you'd just like to come for part of the day, let us know). It will be $30 at the door - there's no option to pay this online, but we need numbers - and dietary needs for ordering your lunch and morning teas, so let Judy Rogers at lindwallbears@hotmail.com. 

Remember you'll need your computers and cables. 

You're all welcome - (families too) to join us for dinner at your own expense in the restaurant afterwards.

What events and achievements are you celebrating this Spring?

A Hope is only a Dream until written down - by Jo Wanmer

 A Hope is only a dream until written down...and then it becomes a goal. It obtains substance. As the good book says, 'Faith is the substance of things hoped for.' Faith activated makes things happen.

 

Many years ago I attended a business conference with my husband. The speaker challenged us to set a goal for two years time. She taught us how to set goals every week for fifty weeks to make sure it happened. What was my goal? What did I want to be doing in two years time. Not having a business, I set a goal to preach. It was my calling, but I had little opportunity to exercise my gift.

I put pen to paper and wrote down the dream -  to preach ten times in the next two years. It became a goal. I made a simple chart and marked off every five weeks.The task was to prepare one sermon in each time frame. I added the task to my calender and largely forgot the idea. When the reminders popped up, I'd outline a sermon in my journal using revelation the Lord had given me. 

The strangest thing happened. About five months before the two year mark, I had preached one sermon, maybe two. I wasn't paying close attention. Then our pastor resigned suddenly. The leadership asked me to preach and organise other speakers. And yes, by the time the fifty weeks was up I'd preached ten times or more. How did that happen?

We must move our hopes and dreams, even our callings from God, into definite written goals. 

In my last blog here on 30th May, I wrote about Goals and Deadlines. I shared the steps I was creating to achieve publication. The timeline for my efforts was the Omega conference in Sydney. I'd booked. I was determined to use it to learn enough and make the connections to be published.

Life intervened, as life always does. A wedding was scheduled for the same weekend leaving me with a difficult choice. I cancelled the conference and left my goals floundering without a time line. However I pushed on, fulfillng tasks, editing, determined to get at least one book published.

Sometimes fulfillment comes in unexpected ways. If your eye is firmly on the goal, it manifests even from a different direction. Now, two months after I publically declared my determination to see my books printed, I have an agreement with a publisher. A publisher who produces a polished, professional product. Maybe, just maybe, it will be out by the end of the year. 

As excited as I am about this, it has spurred me to greater goals. Two books published a year is the new goal. And I must keep on writing more, so I've decided to join NaNoWriMo in November. At the moment my brian is locked in editing mode, but I have a date to release the creative side of me. It is another positive goal.

And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and men of violence take it by force. Matt 11:12

Our writings are a part of the growth of the Kingdom. Jesus looked for men and women of violence to take it by force. In some little way, I think our determination is helping this task.

What is your goal? Have you written it down? Put it on the wall where you see it often. 

My husband pinned a picture of a car on a corkboard. I took no notice. Then one day we decided to buy a new vehicle before the end of June. He was busy. Armed with his instructions I bought a Honda taking the only car they had available. When I drove it home, he pointed to the corkboard. It showed the exact same car, down to every detail - model, leather seats, sun roof and colour. There is such power in a written, activated goal.

Do you have similar stories? Please share them in the comments.

Jo Wanmer lives in Qld with Steve, her husband of 53 years. Her greatest achievement is 9 great grandchildren under five! She writes out of her passion to bring a dynamic faith and daily experience of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit to her readers. God loves everyone of them and is waiting to embrace them, chat with them and laugh together.

Her first book, Though the Bud be Bruised, won a Caleb award in 2012. The next book is entitled El Shaddai, the book where God is a character. 

What is a Cozy Mystery?

 Nikita has her copy of Dead Ahead, Book 1 of the Ruthless-the-Killer Mysteries.

I recently attended a large writers' conference where a successful author of cozy mysteries took a session focusing on the characteristics of that genre. Having recently published my first-in-series cozy mystery, Dead Ahead, I wanted to know how close I’d got to the ideal.

Before I go further, this is an Australian blog and I should spell cozy, as cosy, right? I usually do. However, as the US spelling is used for much of the discussion of the genre online, I use 'cozy' when I'm talking about the genre. If someone is snuggling under a cosy blanket, I use the Australian/ English spelling. 

The speaker's definition of a cozy mystery

It was an interesting talk, but I was surprised at how adamant the speaker was about the characteristics of a cozy mystery. In her eyes, if a story didn't strictly follow these criteria, it wasn't a 'cozy':

• The main character (MC) must be an amateur sleuth. They can’t be a police officer or a private detective. 

• Serious issues (other than the murder) have no place in a cozy, other than backstory. The protagonist may have escaped from a bad marriage and be starting again, but we don’t see any serious issues on the page. Suicide can’t be mentioned.

• Absolutely no blood. Poisoning is good. Stabbing is bad.

• Absolutely no mention of sex or of intimate scenes of any kind. You can't even have the literary equivalent of the dimmer switch that causes the scene to ‘fade to black’. 

• Absolutely no swearing—ever.

• Not only should animals never be harmed, but they should also never come within a sniff of being harmed.

• Only nasty people die. You should amp up the nastiness. The victim shouldn’t have any redeeming characteristics. It can be cathartic to put the people who have hurt you into a story and kill them (you get into less trouble with the law that way).

• Cozy mysteries happen in closed communities. Small towns are excellent locations, as are any closed communities. Television shows like Only Murders in the Building use an inner-city building as their closed community.

The speaker is an extremely savvy businessperson who obviously writes down the middle of the genre—that’s probably why she sells a heap of books—but as she spoke, you could hear the murmur of but… but… but… all around the room :).

Not everyone agreed with her criteria for a cozy mystery

Before I wrote Dead Ahead, I read widely in the genre. I discovered that successful cozy mysteries—especially more recent ones—covered a wide gamut of storytelling.

While cozy protagonists are usually amateur sleuths, Zara Keane’s popular Movie Club Mysteries, set in Ireland, feature an ex-cop-turned-PI Maggie Doyle as the investigator. 

It's true that many cozy mysteries have minimal swearing, but that doesn't mean there's none. I'd say at least a third of the books I've read contain 'light swearing'. Australian based HY Hanna, author of the Oxford Tea Room Mysteries, uses the Aussie/ British exclamation ‘bloody hell’ several times in her stories. 

Hanna bills her books as clean reads, and they are lovely and funny and sweet, but by the conference speaker's definition they aren't cozy, which is crazy. When I asked about this during the session, she said Hanna's readers didn't seem to mind.

I actually think that's the key. Cozy mystery is a wide-reaching genre where there are lots of different kinds of books for different kinds of readers.

In my reading, I also discovered that there are quite a few cozy mysteries, especially those with younger protagonists, that include sexual intimacy. This can range from the barest mention of attraction, to make out sessions that would make your toes curl. 

Yet the reviews still celebrate these stories as cozy mysteries. And these books sell well under that banner.

This is also true of books that sit at the edge of cozy. I’d call Margaret Lashley’s hilarious Val Fremden Midlife Mysteries cozy-adjacent, and Patricia McLinn’s, Caught Dead in Wyoming mysteries more small town ‘amateur sleuth’. But some people still call these books cozies. 

My conclusion is that the contemporary cozy mystery is evolving. The conference speaker was describing the classic cozy, but as tastes evolve and readers crave fresh reads, the genre is shifting.

The term cozy mystery now encompasses a diverse range of stories from Christian/ inspirational through cutesy, through to the more offbeat character-driven tales. As well as contemporary stories, cozies can be paranormal, light paranormal and historical mysteries. There are even millennial cozies pitched at readers in their twenties and thirties. 

This is one reason I like writing in this genre. While it does have rules, it also gives writers the freedom to be themselves.

My own cozy mystery books

I’ve recently released Dead Ahead, the first book in my Ruthless-the-Killer mystery series, and according to the conference speaker I've broken a few of the cozy rules.

Romantic elements: The series has romantic elements that really matter to the story. While these elements are closed door, I don't deny the existence of love and desire, even if I do frame it in a light, romantic comedy vibe. And even though the genre is still primarily a mystery, the romantic subplot is woven through the mystery and character growth arcs in each book. It's not a tacked-on optional extra.

I've had readers call this refreshing :).

Deeper Issues: I can’t help myself—my cozies will touch on deeper themes occasionally—but I'll use a light touch.

Bad guys and gals: While I love the sentiment that stories are a great place to the kill people who are awful to us in real life, I think that villains and victims in murder mysteries should have at lease some good qualities. Good writing is about more than catharsis. Complex characters are fun and in real life even the worst villains can be good to others. In Dead Ahead, the victim is hated by a lot of people, but not by everyone.

Animal adventures: I’m a former veterinarian, so animals will always run, jump, skitter, slide or crawl into my stories. But the animals in my books may occasionally face mortal danger, like my humans. However, while I’ll happily kill off any number of people, the animals will be okay in the end. I promise!

Vernacular: I’m Aussie and that means my natural vernacular is relaxed. I don’t like a lot of swearing in my cozies—you won’t get F-bombs—but you might find an occasional ‘crap’ or ‘hell’.

Every writer is different. I love a twisty murder mystery with lots of surprises. I’m also a self-confessed genre butterfly—or genre-rebel when I’m in an edgier mood—so I like some freedom. Cozy mysteries suit me because they allow me to be me, yet fit my work within a wider genre.

If you are an aspiring cozy mystery author and you have the type of personality where you enjoy writing in the exact middle of your genre, like the conference speaker suggests, you will probably do well to write classical cozies. It will give you widest access to the greatest number of readers and the potential to make the most income. Writing to the largest market is always a good idea.

But if you are more like me and want to explore the broader definitions of the genre, then I think there is scope to go for it. Niching down can also be a good strategy as long as you can find your readers. I'm just starting out, but there are a bunch of successful authors out there who are doing well writing cozies that don’t fit the classic form. 

Readers are discovering and enjoying these stories. 

Find authors who are like you and see what they do. Cozy mysteries are a fun sandbox to play in, and the breadth of the genre means there is something for everyone, whether you are a reader or a writer.

And if you'd like to read a deliciously twisty Aussie cozy mystery with a side of rom-com, you can find one right here :). 

Do you like writing cozy mysteries? Who are your favourite authors? I'd love you to let me know in the comments.

Susan J Bruce is a former veterinarian who writes mystery and suspense stories with heart. If you love tales where characters discover courage they didn’t know they had, you’ll like Susan’s books. If you like some romance and humour along the way, you’ll find her new Ruthless-the-Killer mystery series suitably binge-worthy. Susan is a self-confessed animal addict and creatures regularly run, jump, fly or crawl through her books. Susan’s writing group once challenged her to pen a story without mentioning any animals—she failed! 

Dead Ahead is Susan's second novel. Her first novel, Running Scared, won the 2018 Caleb Prize for an unpublished manuscript (YA). You can visit Susan at www.susanjbruce.com.

Writing is Worship

 

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

 (Colossians 3:23-24)

The blog you have at hand is a revelatory (perhaps radical) premise based on the thoughts of this passage and my recent deep dive into what it looks like to live a creative life as a writer (Especially as one who is trying to find time for my craft during often very pressing regular work responsibilities). This blog also goes to the heart of having a correct understanding of worship.

Have you ever considered that your writing is worship?

We give lip service and knowing nods to the idea that worship happens not only through events at church on a day a week, such as singing, praying and listening to preaching, but also through a lifestyle of worship all week. Yes worship is expressed in songs of praise (the Psalms attest to this), but it is much more than this.  The song Heart of Worship by Matt Redman catches this idea in its lyrics:

“ When the music fades, All is stripped away, And I simply come

Longin' just to bring, Something that's of worth, That will bless Your heart

I'll bring You more than a song , For a song in itself,   Is not what You have required”

I have mused for a while that this song is a semantic oxymoron because it is itself a self-contradiction : It is song.    :) 

Yet, worship is more than our songs, or music, or church services. Worship is our lives in dedication to God. Our creativity and creative energy given in adoration to The Creator is the essence of worship.

In early chapters of Genesis, “worship” (the way we usually relate to it) was not mentioned. Adam and Eve expressed worship through their nurture, care, stewardship, and creative labour (work). In fact, labour (service/work) is so synonymous to worship that the Hebrew word “avodah” is used for work, serving and worship. To worship is to work, to work is to serve is to worship.

Here is the entry from a noted Hebrew lexicon:

עָבַד 

(ʿā·ḇǎḏ): v.; … work, labor, do, i.e., expend considerable energy and intensity in a task or function … give considerable energy and intensity to give aid to another (Lev 25:46; 2Sa 16:19); … worship, serve, minister, work in ministry, i.e., give energy and devotion to God or a god, including ceremonies (Ex 23:24, 25); cultivate, plow, i.e., work soil (with or without an animal) as part of the agricultural process (Ge 4:2; Isa 30:24); plowed, be cultivated (Dt 21:4; Ecc 5:8; Eze 36:9, 34)[1]

Take note of the diverse spectrum of meaning of avodah as highlighted. The Ancient Hebrews had a deep understanding of how faith and work came together in their lives. It shouldn’t be surprising, then, that they used the same word for work and worship.

The various usages of this Hebrew word as found first in Genesis 2:15 informs us that God’s original design and desire is that our work and our worship would be a seamless way of living. 

 Avodah is used 289 times in the Old Testament and is translated variously as “worship,” serve” and “work.” In some verses the word avodah is translated as work, as in to work in the field and to do common labour.

Moses, renewing the covenant with God, says: 

“Six days you shall work (avodah).” – Exodus 34:21

“Then man goes out to his work (avodah), to his labour until evening.” – Psalm 104:23

In other verses, avodah  is translated as worship, as in to worship God.

“This is what the LORD says: Let my people go, so that they may worship (avodah) me.” – Exodus 8:1

“But as for me and my household, we will serve (avodah) the Lord.” – Joshua 24:15

Joshua says, I will avodah. I will work for, and worship, the Lord.

This is a powerful image to think that the word for working in the fields is the same word used for worshiping God.

Avodah is a picture of an integrated faith. A life where work and worship come from the same root. The same foundation. Avodah reveals that the nature of the Hebrew mind is wholistic, integrative and comprehensive. There is no sacred-secular dichotomy.

Avodah means to Live a Seamless Life of Work, Worship, and Service.

Avodah implies a duality of purpose. In all work, there is an element of worship and service. Worship is about service. Worship takes the form of service and service expresses worship.

Avodah reveals that our labour can be a form of worship. 

Avodah encourages us that our writing can be worship. 

Historian Thomas Carlyle puts it simply:

“Laborare est Orare, Work is worship … All true Work is sacred; in all true Work, were it but hand-labour, there is something of divines … No man has work, or can work, except religiously ….”

For the Hebrew mind, there is no separation of labour from worship. Worship is not only for Sunday, but for Monday as well. Worship is not limited to a religious meeting in a building or for a public evangelistic effort. Worship is to take place in the midst of our everyday lives, in our homes, in the office, in the factory. The God of the Bible is not a part-time God. Our worship should not be thought of as part-time praise.

So again, our work and service ought to be an act of worship. In other words, whatever we do ought to be focused outside of us, placing worth and value on others and something greater than us. We have this principle of “work-ship” established from the beginning of time.

Our work-ship as writers is to honour Him in our craft.

We could also say that worship, at its core, is an act of governance. Like Adam and Eve it is a creative stewardship of creation and our gifts, talents and skills brought to bear on creation in honour of The Creator.

God placed us here to glorify him by governing in His stead. To that end, we are to labor, serve and worship seamlessly ( avodah!)

Dr Christian Overman the founding director of Worldview Matters states that:

“Work, at its core, is an act of governance.

Governance over wood, metal, cows, cotton, and carrots.

Governance over sound waves, electrical currents, and wind.

Governance over computer keyboards, fiber optics, and digital images.

Governance over people. Governance over things. Governance over ideas.”

Bringing order out of chaos as co-labourers and stewards we take the raw materials of the earth and develop them for God’s glory and the benefit of others.

Builders take sand and cement and use them to create buildings.

 Lawyers take principles of justice and codify them into laws that benefit society.

Writers take the raw materials of words, grammar and ideas and arrange them into literary art.

In the New Testament this tenet that what we do (work) is worship is borne out in Colossians 3:23-24 (seen above).

When it says 

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord"  

It is saying  that whatever you do in dedication to God is Worship. 

This is not just a reference to those who work in ministry or at church, it is referring to anything and everything that occupies our time and energy, thus the synonym for work, “occupation.”

Whether you are a judge, waiter, accountant, teacher, healthcare worker, stay-at-home parent, or a writer….

In all that you put your heart and hand to, God views it as worship that we should carry out with reverence and rejoicing.

Perhaps in your writing you have encountered an almost divine satisfaction like you are doing what you were born to do! 

Because what you do in your writing is a creative outlet that in essence you were designed to honour God with. 

Your writing work and vocation can be a worshipful act.  The word “vocation” comes from the Latin word “voca,” which means “to call.” It’s how God designed you and called you to serve in the world.

There are two Old Testament figures in Exodus 31, Bezalel and Oholiab, whom Moses says were filled with the Spirit. How did they express that? By being expert craftsmen. Their expression of being filled with the Spirit and worshipping God was doing excellent creative work.

 It reminds me of a scene in Chariots of Fire, where  Eric Liddell, in his preparation for the 1924 Olympics, is confronted by his sister who thinks he should be a missionary to China. Liddell responds, “I believe God made me for a purpose, but he also made me fast. And when I run, I feel his pleasure.”

Many writers feel that. They are doing something they love and feel like,

 “This is what I was made for.” 

When I do it, I feel God’s pleasure. It’s like I feel, even, the Spirit of God at work in me in this.

 This is key: as we do this, in a way, God is himself at work creating through us.

The scripture in Colossians encourages us that whatever we do can be (should be) for Jesus. In essence an act of worship to Him.

In the original Greek language of the above scripture

“Whatever you do” is poieó

It means produce, construct, form, fashion make, manufacture, construct, (create)

As a writer what are you producing/creating?

“work at it with all your heart” is ergazomai

It means work, trade, perform, do, practice, commit, acquire by labor.

As a writer your work is writing and your work is worship.

Do you believe that your writing (as creative work), is worship? is a calling?

 

Consider the above scripture paraphrased in the context of your writing :

"Whatever you write, write with all your heart, as writing for the Lord”

Write from the empowered position that your writing is worship.

Shane Brigg