The Hover Manoeuvre

 

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As writers, our pens and keyboards are our mouthpieces, and just as ‘death and life are in the power of the tongue’ (Proverbs 18:21), so too are death and life in the power of everything we scribble or tap out, often with little thought.

It seems to me that social media encourages some fairly loose tongues to be converted to some equally destructive words on the screen. The effect is often instant and, once out there in cyber-space, it’s hard to take those words back or pretend the comment was never made. A quick search through someone’s social media posts can reveal much about a person’s attitudes. It’s a snapshot of the soul. And that should give us pause for thought.

 

 

It should also keep our fingers hovering above the keyboard until we’ve thought through our reactive responses. It’s so much easier to blurt out an indignant comeback when we’re not up close and personal with our alleged adversaries. Anonymity gives us false security and an overinflated sense of our own outrage and courage. Keyboard warriors abound and sadly, Christians are not exempt.

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In the current state of a country (indeed, a world) under significant stress, I am witnessing more and more people being attacked over their differing political and social views. Disagreement is fine. Judgement is not. Ridicule is not. Insults and put downs are definitely a no-go area, and unfounded accusations and outright abuse are serious boundary transgressions. They hurt! Scripture is extremely clear on this point.

James 1:26 speaks out strongly!

‘If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person's religion is worthless.’

 

 Proverbs 15:1 makes our responsibility clearer still.

‘A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.’

 

Does it mean we need to be silent on important issues? Not at all.

Anger, in and of itself, is not sin. The way we express it, however, can be, and too often is. I wish I could say I’m not guilty of this particular transgression but I am. I confess I’m extremely frustrated with people posting about their inalienable rights to not wear a mask, use social distancing and hand sanitizer, and to flout the gathering size regulations, all requirements that have entered our reality since the advent of COVID19. If you could only hear the words buffeting around inside my head as I hover my hands over the keyboard, you might be a little shocked.

Ten years ago, I’d have ‘let rip’. And, shamefully, I may even have been proud of it, as difficult as it is to admit. These days I hover (mostly) and if, as I wrestle with myself, I can’t find a way to righteously express myself, I scroll on by. Not every post needs my questionable wisdom. It’s been a long and winding road, and one I see so many people, Christian or otherwise, struggle to navigate.

I’ve found the following Scripture from Romans 12:20 particularly reassuring. It strengthens my resolve.

‘If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.’

 

What if we witness a brother or sister mocking, judging or belittling someone who holds different views, on social media?

Galatians 6:1, directs us as follows:

‘Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.’

It’s not easy to find the right balance and sometimes, no matter which approach we use, it will fall on deaf ears and the online abuse will continue. What to do then? It seems harsh, but here it is.

Proverbs 22:10:

‘Drive out a scoffer, and strife will go out, and quarrelling and abuse will cease.’

Clearly, when push comes to shove, abuse is not to be tolerated.  Do your best and if all else fails, hit that ‘unfriend’ button and reclaim your peace. But don’t forget to hover first. We might later regret a hasty decision and it will certainly be awkward to explain. Tricky, isn’t it?

Happy hovering!

Melinda Jensen

 

Melinda Jensen has blogged extensively on emotional and psychological abuse and is currently enjoying a sea change from writing fiction to writing non-fiction, self-development books. Who'd have thought? A keen student of human nature, she's had articles, short stories and poetry published in a variety of magazines, newspapers and journals, having juggled single-motherhood and chronic illness for about 25 years. She's still almost sane and definitely has a heart for God and a yearning to bring a couple of books to fruition this year. Apart from that, she's besotted with cats, makes jolly good fudge and is living her dream on an acre and a half of beautiful soil bordering rainforest. On that note, she’s extremely passionate about the natural environment God has gifted us all with.

 

 

Doing the Deep Work by Elaine Fraser

The monotony & solitude of a quiet life stimulates the creative mind. Einstein

I often wish I could just go into a cave and write and write and write. However, my life only allows me to do that for a couple of hours a day–unless I go on a writing retreat. 

In order for me to do my best work, the kind of deep work you have to do in order to go deep into the topic, deep into the research, deep into the thinking, with long cycles of reflection, I need to make sure I get to my version of a cave as often as possible. 

That’s how I develop ideas. That’s how I do good stuff.

After a busy couple of years of travelling, I was beginning to forget how to get back into the wellspring of the deep, quiet solitude of work.   

Hopefully, each book I write will be better than the last, however, if I’m so busy travelling and doing myriad other things, I question if I am bringing my best to my work. I want the quality to always get better, so I really need to put myself in a place where I can disappear into my thoughts. 

I’ve found that NaNoWriMo doesn’t work for me. Neither does Stephen King’s advice in his instructional memoir, On Writing (A strict diet of 1,000 words a day, six days a week). 

Anne Lamott proposes something similar in her guide, Bird by Bird (Sitting down to write at roughly the same time every day).

The problem for me is that each week has a completely different routine. I also work from home with my husband, and we have projects and unexpected things that come up. 

So, I have to have a different approach. When I’m working on a book, I have to approach each week as its own scheduling challenge. The reality is that I just have to squeeze as much writing as I can manage in the most practical manner.  

Sometimes, this might lead to times where I write at a regular time or other periods where I binge write for days.

The point is that I commit to plans that I know I can achieve and commit to as many hours of deep work as I can. 

Every week looks different, but what’s consistent is that I rack up deep hours and watch my next book start to come together.

And those persons who can shut themselves up for long periods and work out their thoughts alone, constructing beautiful and orderly representations of their own spirits, are to me a continual mystery. I know this is the way that things are accomplished, that ‘monotony and solitude’ are necessary for him who would produce creative thought.Youth and Life by Randolph Bourne (1913)

In February, I went camping for a week and hardly looked at my phone or computer. I realised I'm rarely left alone with my own thoughts and imagination. One of my goals this year is to increase the number of hours I spend in solitude and in deep work.

Jim Collins, author of Good to Great, tries to log one thousand hours of deep creative time every 365 days.  He says, there’s no rule about how many you get in a day. Sometimes there’s zero and sometimes they can be nine or ten–it doesn’t matter if you’re sick, it doesn’t matter if there’s other stuff you’d like to be doing. Collins keeps 1,000 creative hours a year as a minimum baseline. 

The number isn’t important, but the overall objective is that over time there’s quality work. Creative hours lead to some kind of creative output–whether it’s research or writing or thinking–it’s leading towards producing something. 

Are you challenged in this area? Are you a Stephen King, Anne Lamott or Jim Collins? How do you get into the wellspring of the deep, quiet solitude of work?

Elaine Fraser writes YA fiction and inspirational nonfiction. She writes about life issues with a spiritual edge. Elaine blogs at http://www.elainefraser.co, Kinwomen, and several other journals. She travels several months of the year and is otherwise found in her library in Perth, Australia—writing, reading, and hugging her golden retriever.

Where is God in our writing? by Jo Wanmer

 “My name is Prince Charles. My Father is the King. I have an older brother, Jesus.” 

Some years ago a guest in our church introduced himself this memorable way. We were taken aback, but then caught the profound truth he shared.

In those few words, we understood this man knew God intimately. 
Does our writing convey such truth?

Imaged taken and owned by Jo Wanmer

As Christian writers we show our characters, we don’t tell about them. We show the reader what they are doing, how they are feeling and what they are about to do.

Does this maxim include God? Is He a character in our books? If not, is He part of the background?  The setting? Is He inanimate, or animate? Or is He excluded from the story.

In many Christian fiction stories God is completely absent. There may be a Bible verse, or church attendance, or even prayer at the table but no reference to God himself.  The characters talk about Him, but rarely show Him in the plot or allow Him to feature as a character.

If God was to appear in our books, what would He be like? I’ve been musing on a character sheet for him.

Character’s name: God, Jesus, Holy Spirit

Unique characteristics: He has three parts, yet He is only One.  He can be present without being seen. He can speak without being audible. He is like the wind – no one knows where it comes from or where it goes.

Imaged taken and owned by Jo Wanmer

Appearance: He is light, too bright to look at. Or He could appear in a different form. He appeared as men to Abraham and a man to disciples walking the road to Emmaus. Gideon saw him as an angel. He spoke out of a storm to Job.

Family: God is original family. Jesus is God’s son. God is His father.

Siblings: Numberless, but for the sake of our story, we will only consider Jesus’ brothers who feature in the current work in progress. You are one of his brothers. So am I.

Address: Heaven. In the hearts of men. Omnipresent.

Occupation: When on earth, Jesus was a carpenter, the Messiah and leader of men.

Occupation now: God, enthroned on high. Yet he is my refuge, wings under which I can hide, wisdom of the ages, creator of the universe, and father to the fatherless. Jesus, seated at the right side of the Father. My intercessor, passionate lover of His bride…

Ok…I’ve run out of words to describe He who is the Word. 

God is beyond description and understanding. Yet He is close, intimate, personal. This may mean the aspect of God you know and love may be different from mine. He is so big He can be everything to me. He can be a lover or a warrior, my defender or my enabling grace, a father who either disciplines and/or pours out extravagant love upon me….

As authors - we write the characteristics of God we know best. If we know Him as a stern judge, that is who we will write. If we know Him as rescuer and redeemer, we will tell of His grace and power. Perchance He is our best friend, our constant companion, our source of all help, it becomes difficult to think of a story where He is absent.

Many protagonists cry out to God for help, and He answers them circumstantially, as He answers us in our everyday lives. But He also speaks in one of His many voices – through the Bible, an impression, a dream or vision, a friend or an acquaintance. Or often the still small voice.

Some years ago I wrote a novel where God speaks to the protagonist directly, obtusely, profoundly. Can I share a snippet?

Imaged taken and owned by Jo Wanmer

“The contractions woke Milly in the middle of the night.

It’s too early God. I know I’m big, but it’s not time.

~~~Be still~~~

Not a time to be still God. Obviously You’re never given birth.

~~~Only to creation~~~

You birthed creation?

~~~What do you think of the work of my womb~~~

A gripping contraction distracted her. As it faded, she climbed from the bed and wrapped a blanket around her shoulders. She shut the kitchen door behind her so she wouldn’t disturb the rest of the house and flicked on the light. It shone a pale yellow. The generator would need to be run today.

Fading embers glowed in the stove. Shivering, Milly added kindling to the coals, praying it would flare and warm the kitchen.

Leaning on the kitchen table, she breathed through the next contraction.

They seem close, Lord. Is my baby ready?

~~~Be still~~~

Milly stopped pacing. Be still. Why do you say that at the most ridiculous time?

~~~Be still in your soul. Calm your worries and fears, your anxiety and questions~~~

Not my body?

~~~Your body will move of its own accord. When I created you, I programmed the birthing process in you. Allow your body to do its work. Focus your mind on me~~~”

Excerpt taken from ‘El Shaddai.’

So what you do think? Should God get a larger share of the action in our books? Would you like to read more of God in this style? Or maybe you don’t like it? I’m looking forward to reading your comments.

Jo Wanmer lives with family in Brisbane, Queensland. Her first book, 'Though the Bud be Bruised', a Caleb prize winner, was published in 2012. Her work also appears in a few anthologies. The book 'El Shaddai' was written in 2014 and with the feedback of many fine writers has been edited multiple times. It still remains unpublished due to life circumstances. Two others in the same series are written. One day soon they will be released.