Motivation and priority

Forget vicious circles. I like to think of life as a triangle. A triangle has three points and three sides, right? Well, there is the physical, the mind life (or mental) and the spiritual. And it is good to exercise these to keep them strong and connected. After all, a triangle with a collapsed side is no longer a shape.

Photo by: sebastiaan-stam-IkzP__YsL6s-unsplash

I like to keep in shape. I walk and swim to keep the physical side going well—and, of course, drink plenty of water and eat a healthy diet. Just don’t ask me how I’m going on the diet thing! 

Next comes the mental. I’ve a desk job that allows me to contribute to the family of five’s budget (Sue and I plus three pets: Nikita, Amber, and Joey). We all have wills. It takes energy to know what to allow and what to crack down on. 

And then there’s the spiritual. I’m not just talking about God life, but the things that God uses in us to make life worthwhile for others, like creativity. God created, so it’s natural as his progeny that we create. Whether that comes out in the arts and writing, in innovation, in thoughtful acts of kindness or as a word in season to break up a disagreement or to bring hope—the ultimate source of that is spiritual. 

And when I was younger, I had shiploads of energy. As a single man living in the Canberra region, I ran, walked, rode a bike, and swam for exercise and relaxation, I played keyboards in two secular bands (one rock, the other hip hop/ experimental) as well as being part of the worship team at church, playing fortnightly. I was also on several committees. I found time to be involved in community campaigns, do advocacy, support a candidate in a state election. I published a magazine for my employer where I worked full time and collaborated to bring innovative speakers to my workplace. Oh yeah, and I still found odd bits of time to write my stuff. 

Sure, some things suffered in the process—I should have spent more time on some relationships—but that’s all part of maturing. 

Ah, yeah, maturing. There’s a good and bad part of that. The good looks at what is important to others; at what is worthwhile to build into. I drop or attenuate other things. Some of those things I am sorry to let go, because they brought me and other people pleasure.

But the other is motivation, not just giving permission to yourself, but giving it the time and energy. There is no longer time and energy for everything. If I try something new, something else may need to go. If it goes, I need to look at what that means for others. Aging speaks, as do priorities. Energy is not where it was in my twenties and thirties. There are weeks where I get through the have-tos for the day and there’s no time left for me. So, I stagger through to the weekend only to be reminded of things I agreed to and forgot about. They especially raise their ugly heads just when I think I have the time and energy to spend on something requiring quality time and thought.

Photo by: brett-jordan-UQ7Vf_rmEFc-unsplash

I’ve chosen to blog today about motivation. I no longer have the energy or time to do everything without suffering serious burn out. And most of the things I must do are not innately enjoyable, so do not refresh me. 

Motivation’s close brother is priority. Priority is so often driven by others. ‘On 

some fixed date, you said you would do such-and-such by a set time.’ So, you do it, because you said you would; and you don’t want to damage the relationship with the person you agreed with. But, meanwhile, you delay again the things that you permitted yourself to do.

But you can raise their priority. You have the access.

‘Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life,’ says the writer (ascribed to King Solomon: Proverbs 13:12). So, remember, no matter how busy life gets; no matter how many other things become your priority (rightly or wrongly); if you decide to write, then writing is a priority for you. As it is a priority, you are both permitted and need to give it time.

There is your motivation.

So, go write!

Your thoughts?

Marc Jeffrey is an Adelaide-based author and poet who loves to craft words in times when his beautiful wife and lively dog (Shih tzu cross Chihuahua) are asleep. He writes of hope and justice, depositing his characters in the nexus between the ‘what is’ and the ‘what if’ – while wondering if he can leave the house without waking anyone up. 

He is long-time member of the ‘Literati’ writing group, that grew out of the Tabor Adelaide Creative Writing program. When he’s not writing, Marc listens to his favourite music, which ranges from Cold Chisel to Claude Debussy

Talents? What talents?

Image courtesy of fantasista/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I’ve always had an uneasy relationship with money and am not a subscriber to the prosperity gospel, which has gained significant momentum during the past decade or two. It seems to me that prosperity teachings often place too much emphasis on financial gain for its adherents, instead of giving the glory, and the gain, to God.

Motivation is the lynch pin. If we’re motivated by God’s promptings and our love for our Lord, then any gains that ensue, whether personal or generalized to the community, are pleasing to our Father. I highly suspect that He is further pleased if those gains are in our spiritual development.

If, however, we’re motivated by personal gain – the almighty dollar, status and/or power, for instance – God sees our heart and grieves. God has never been pleased with avarice.
Prosperity gospels take this avarice one step further, however, by using prayer and scripture as a kind of magic. Words can be manipulated into ‘spells’ with relative ease.

And hence my uneasy relationship with money.

In more recent years, though, I’ve noted that not all devoted and genuine Christians hover as closely to the poverty line as I have always done. At first, I thought God had simply chosen to bless them in this manner more than He has blessed me…and I’ve been okay with that. The wind blows where it will, after all. (Alright, let me be perfectly frank, there have been a few times when I’ve pitched headlong into a full-blown pity-party, at least for a few minutes, but I do try awfully hard to snap out of it.)

After a fortuitous conversation with a beautiful Christian woman several weeks ago, it dawned on me that I’ve been missing something vitally important all these years. And it all boils down to a deeper understanding of scripture, specifically, the Parable of the Talents.
The Parable of the Talents, as many of you will recall, appears twice in the synoptic gospels of the New Testament. (Matthew 25:14-30 and Luke 19:12-27)

In both Matthew and Luke, a master puts three of his servants in charge of his finances while he travels further afield. To each he gives a specific amount without any instruction about how to handle it.

‘To one he gave five talents, to another two talents, and to another, one talent, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. 16 The man who had received five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five more. 17 So also, the one with two talents gained two more. 18 But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.’     Matthew 25

(Note: As it happens, a ‘talent’ is worth a great deal of money in today’s terms – according to my research it’s equal to approximately 1.5million US dollars!)

When the master returns home he asks each of his servants what they’ve done with the money he entrusted to them. It’s clear he expected some profit from the servants’ stewardship and he compensates them accordingly. To the two servants who doubled their profits, he gives rich reward but to the servant who played it safe and made no attempt to grow his riches, he meters out a negative compensation.

Image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net/gameanna

As with all the parables, Jesus is attempting to teach us a spiritual truth here and it’s definitely not just about money. Everything we have comes from God, be it dollars in the bank, our homes and possessions, our talent for writing (or painting, or woodwork or cooking – the list is endless), or our spiritual gifts. And our Master is waiting patiently for us to make the most of what we have; not to merely hoard it and look after it, but to use it wisely and watch it grow. For HIM.

Image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net/nalinratphi

 

We’re writers, you and I, and I’ve come rather late to the party in that I’m only just realizing that God wants me to step up, to take a few risks, to get out there amongst it and get some books happening! In other words, I need to be head down and tail up as often as time permits. No more procrastination. No more false humility. No more finding a myriad more chores that need to be attended to first.

Many of you are already accomplished writers and continue to be an ever-present source of inspiration and encouragement. Your words have fed my soul. I’ve been given much, it seems, and it’s about time I gave God some return on His investment.

Hmmm…it’s been a sobering realization and also a precious one. (And while I think of it, it’s probably also a good time to refinance that mortgage of mine!)

Melinda Jensen blogs 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 24 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 desperately trying to keep her garden alive in the drought.

The Next Step by Nola Passmore

It was a fabulous conference.  You heard some amazing speakers, had lots of worthwhile conversations, got more ideas for your current work in progress and came home with a head ready to explode from all the input. In Monday's blog, I gave some suggestions for keeping your conference momentum once you're back home.  However, lets get a little more personal and interactive.  What will be your next step?  What is one specific thing you want to put into practice?  It could be something you heard in one of the sessions or it could have been the still small whisper of God you heard in a prayer time.  Let me share something unexpected I felt God leading me to do.

I've always loved poetry and have had more than 60 published in various magazines, journals and anthologies.  However, my dream is to one day have a published collection of my own.  That's a hard sell in Australia, where poetry isn't exactly at the forefront.  You'd be hard pressed to even find a poetry book in some bookstores.

One idea I've been working on is to have a collection based on Biblical characters, but with each poem written in the first-person so that they could double as performance pieces.  I need to write a lot more on that theme before I'll have enough for a collection, so the idea's been on the back burner for a while.  That is, until I went to Cameron Semmens' workshop on 'Fire! Your! Imagination!' at the recent Christian Writers' Conference. He encouraged us to spend a few minutes answering the 'What If?' question and I was intending to answer it with regard to the novel I'm currently writing.  However, God had other ideas.  As soon as I picked up my pen, I felt Him say 'Why don't you include a spoken word CD with the poetry collection?'  Huh?  Where did that come from?  I wasn't even thinking about my poetry collection.

As I reflected on that idea, and discussed it with a couple of trusted others, more ideas started to take shape.  A professional recording of the poems would show their potential as performance pieces. Maybe I could use voice actors.  Perhaps sound effects and music could be added.  Maybe the recordings themselves could even be used within a church service or Christian event.  I started to see the whole poetry project as a package, not just a book of poems. I still have a lot to do to make that idea work, but it's given me a new direction to try.

How about you?  For those who were at the conference, what was the one thing you felt inspired to do when you got home?  For those who weren't there, what has God impressed on you regarding your writing?  By sharing ideas, it not only 'puts legs' to some of those dreams, but also let's others know how to encourage you and pray for you.  It also helps us to be accountable.  At next year's conference, feel free to ask me how the poetry collection's going.  In the meantime,I'd love to hear about your dreams and how you're going to put them into practice.

Nola Passmore is a freelance writer who has had more than 140 short pieces published, including devotionals, true stories, magazine articles, academic papers, poetry and short fiction.  She loves sharing what God has done in her life and encouraging others to do the same.  She and her husband Tim have their own freelance writing and editing business called The Write Flourish.  You can find her writing tips blog at their website: http://www.thewriteflourish.com.au

Keeping Your Conference Momentum by Nola Passmore

I've just been to a wonderful Christian writers' conference in Bacchus Marsh, Victoria.  It was so much fun catching up with old friends, making new ones, and gaining valuable input on everything from sense of place in fiction to firing your imagination to stretchercise for writers.

I came home pumped, but tired.  Travelling and a hectic conference program can zap your energy. Home and work tasks can also pile up while you're away and it's easy to slip back into your regular routine and forget about writing.

Here are a few tips to help you keep your conference momentum once you're home from a conference.

Refresh – Give yourself a bit of grace and time to relax and refresh when you first arrive back. Your family and friends will be waiting to see you and you’ll have things to do. However, don’t use this as an opportunity to procrastinate. The purpose of recharging your batteries is to keep you plugged in.

Review – Go over your conference notes and handouts and mark up the sections you want to apply in your writing life. If there were sessions you missed, the presenters might be willing to email a copy of their notes.

Write – Get back into your writing as soon as possible. The conference may have sparked an idea you can explore or you may have a new way of approaching something you’re already working on. It doesn’t have to be a major project, but the sooner you ‘get back in the saddle’ and write, the easier it will be to apply the lessons you’ve learned.

Follow-up – Did you have an editing appointment? Then use the editor’s suggestions to improve your work. Did a publisher ask you to send a proposal or manuscript? Send it as soon as you can so that he or she will remember what you discussed and will see you’re serious about your writing. However, only send your best work. If you need more time to edit it, then take that time first.

Network – Does the group that organised the conference have a web presence? ‘Like’ their page or join their Facebook group so that you can get updates and keep in touch with people you met at the conference. If they’re not on social media, why not contact other attendees and start up your own online group? It’s not hard to set up a group on Yahoo or Facebook. Local writers’ groups can also keep you motivated and provide an avenue for you to encourage others. If there are no groups in your area, maybe you could start one. Networking doesn’t have to stop when the conference ends.

So what are you waiting for? Put those conference lessons into practice and you’ll have a pile of manuscripts in no time. Just be sure to spend more time on your writing than on social media.  What are your tips for keeping your conference momentum?  I'd love to hear your suggestions.

And thank you to the organising committee for a wonderful conference.  You all did a fabulous job - Susan Barnes, Jenny Glazebrook, Heather Monro, Anne Brown and Deb Porter (and all of your helpers).

(N.B. An earlier version of this post appeared on Nola's blog: http://www.thewriteflourish.com.au/posts/17-keeping-your-conference-momentum

Nola Passmore is a freelance writer who has had more than 140 short pieces published, including devotionals, true stories, magazine articles, academic papers, poetry and short fiction.  She loves sharing what God has done in her life and encouraging others to do the same.  She and her husband Tim have their own freelance writing and editing business called The Write Flourish.  You can find her writing tips blog at their website:  http://www.thewriteflourish.com.au  

God's Provision - A Tale in a Writer's Journey

First came the announcement of 9-day fortnights. The rest of the company are doing it so we have to as well. Then the rumours of more redundancies. I spent the day sitting at my desk with my heart clenching. Yes, these are uncertain times, but it’s times just like these that God teaches us and shows us opportunities.

The rumours that had me so worried turned out to be inaccurate. My job was safe for the moment. Still, times are tough at my workplace - probably yours too.

With the difficulties and struggles at my day job I've been realising that more than ever I need to get my writing career going. I’m under no illusions that I’ll get rich off writing books, or even make a living off it, but it might help supplement my income. I've heard it said that it’s wise to have something on the side these days, and for me, the obvious choice is to use my writing gift. In order to make it work I’d have to step up my efforts. Despite my busy life I’d have to give my writing more regular and consistent effort.

With the news that I’d have to take three days off before the end of the year (either annual leave or unpaid) came the realisation that the very thing that worrying me was an opportunity. I would treat these days like normal work days - except instead of going to the office and developing software, I’d spend eight hours on my writing. I’d edit my novel and I’d write some more first-draft material to practice my craft. If I could get a novella together I could self-publish it. My idea could be expanded to a series of novellas - each one each one building momentum for the next.

It turns out that this setback was the shove I needed to help move me up to the next level in my writing journey. It was time to stop talking about approaching it professionally, and start actually approaching it professionally.

As all of this was happening it dawned on me that NaNoWriMo was just days away. What better time to try building a new habit and upping my level of commitment to my writing? I’d be joined by millions of others around the world doing the same thing. After a months of writing every day it would start to become second nature right?

In the midst of all this, my wife has just started working as a nurse - fulfilling her life’s dream. That has been a long journey and is a story all its own. If things go badly for me next year at least she’ll be making some income to help us get by. God’s timing?

As I pondered what I would blog about for this article today, I began to see the hand of God around me. He never promises that our lives will be free of trouble, but I can see how he has been putting things in place. Unexpected and undeserved blessings.

I've haven’t got it all down pat yet? I still have my times of doubt an anxiety about the future. I really don’t know what’s going to happen next year. I haven’t written every day, although NaNoWriMo is helping me to up my game and you don’t give up just because you fall over once or twice.

Really, I should be more worried than I am, but I just can’t help thinking that somehow, all will work out as it should. I wonder where I’ll this time next year.

What about you?

What challenges are you facing, and are you seeing the opportunities and blessings from God?

How are you 'upping your game' in your writing?

Can you reach a point where you've got your process down pat, or is there always room for improvement?

---

Adam Collings is a writer of speculative fiction and video blogger. He is actively working toward becoming a published author. He lives in Tasmania, Australia. Adam discusses books and movies on his youTube series Stories. You can find Adam on-line at collingszone.wordpress.com or his Google+ Profile

A New WritingTool

In my writing, organistion has been one of the biggest challenges I've had to face. When I first started writing articles it was easy to find what I was looking for in the one to three thousand word documents. However, when it came to writing an 80,000 word novel I had to rethink the way I wrote and organised my notes and research.

When I started writing novels I used to just write and continue until the work was done. However, half way through I'd lose track of where I was heading with the work. I'd get sidetracked and then confused as I realised the work wasn't coming together.

To remedy this I decided to plan my novel by doing a short outline and build this outline like Randy Ingermanson's Snowflake Method of writing. This was terrific until I'd become lost once again and have to find a thread I needed to develop way back in chapter two or when I was at the end of the work I needed to look back in the middle of the work to find where the action took place. The frustration was overwhelming!

I prayed for patience! Wrong move, now God brings me situations to be patient with in my work every day. This is good for me, I need to learn patience! In the end I arranged my manuscript on the floor and with a marking pen went through and wrote the major turning points on the top of the pages. I prayed, 'Lord, this is more than I can handle, please give me discipline to get the work organised from the beginning of the project or give me a tool to keep me organised.'

God is good! He answered my prayer and I thank Him every time I sit down to write. The tool he gave me was Scrivener, a program that was once only designed for Mac users. However, in the last couple of months Scrivener has come out in PC form and it has been the best $37 I've ever spent.

Scrivener has the ability to save your research including links to the web pages you used for your research. This would have been invaluable when I wrote African Hearts. I had two binders of reasearch for that novel.

With Scrivener, the binder down the left hand side has a short description of each scene of your draft so that you can find the scene you want to add to or refer back to to find what the character was doing then. Character profiles and settings are easily referred to by clicking the profile on the binder to check you are consistent with the eye and hair colour etc. Also the order of the scenes can be shuffled and re-shuffled to any order you want.

If you're the kind of person who likes to arrange your ideas more visually, there's a cork board feature, too. Another great feature is the ability to complete a short synopsis of each scene and make notes for follow up in a later scene. There's a general data area that enables you to state whether it's a scene or sequel and what draft number it is. You can change these status headings to whatever you like as well. There's also the ability to easily retrieve work you've deleted, eg., if you write a scene in one character's point of view and decide it might be stronger written in another's point of view, the first draft can be saved to be retrieved later if you change your mind.

At the end of the project the work is compiled to make a full document in Microsoft Word so that the final editing can be done to the work as a whole. I've imported my latest project into Scrivener and am merrily working away, so I haven't gotten to the compilation stage.

Already I can see my productivity has increased and my creativity flows more freely because I'm not wondering where in the manuscript Dusty had that argument with Alex. Instead I'm focussed on the interaction and motivation of my characters.

Download time for the program was only a few minutes and it took me an afternoon to learn the basics of this program. As I become more familiar with the program I'm finding more useful tips to make my writing life easier. It's been worth the investment of time and money.

So if you've been like me, lost in the organisation of your mansucript take a look at Scrivener and see if it will help you manage your work and take the tyranny of organisation out of your day.