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.

Changes in CWD Team

We interrupt our normal programming to make an important announcement.

Life is full of change and this year there will be some changes in the Christian Downunder Admin team, with some new faces and the absence of some old ones.

Thank you for your contributions

Anusha Atukorala has faithfully ministered as part of the CWD Admin team for five years now. She was a welcoming face when I joined the team and a great support when three years ago Nola handed me the baton as coordinator.

You may have noticed that Anusha faithfully posts the links to the CWD blog each Monday and Thursday without fail and with an encouraging comment. When required, she also chooses and posts our blasts from the past, revisiting great posts that are still relevant and inspirational.

Behind the scenes, I've been grateful of Anusha's wisdom and encouragement and prayers.  I'm inspired by her unwavering gratitude and faith in God and her gentle and kind spirit despite the challenges she often faces.

Over the last few months, Anusha has felt the Spirit calling her out from  CWD Admin after five years – and she is looking forward to being an active member of CWD without the admin role.

She says,

"God has been wooing me to more intimacy with Him over the past 20 years. It has been a wonderful, thrilling, challenging, blessed journey with Him. He continues to call me to a deeper walk with Him, to love Him more, to love and encourage others and to shine His love and light in a dark world. I am being intentional in not having a busy life – instead doing only what God asks me to do. A huge challenge in this world where being busy seems to be equated to success especially for writers in the 21st century world. 

I have discovered that LOVE is what life is all about. Not always easy to practice – but how thrilling love of God who woos us and lavishes His love on us. I'm grateful to God for CWD and the gifted, amazing writers in it for their support and encouragement in my writing journey." 

Ansuha will still be with us, blogging and as an active and valuable member of CWD.

Anusha Atukorala

Anusha has been on many interesting detours in life, as a lab technician, a computer programmer, a full time Mum, a full time volunteer, a charity director, a full time job chaser, until one golden day (or was it a dark moonless night?) God tapped her on her shoulder and called her to write for Him. She has never recovered from the joy it brought her. She loves to see others enjoying life with Jesus and does her mite to hurry the process in her world through her writing and through her life.

The goodness of God is her theme song through each season, as she dances in the rain with Jesus. She blogs fortnightly at her website Dancing in the Rain sharing God-thoughts and life lessons. Her first book Enjoying the Journey contains 75 God stories that will bring you closer to your Creator. Her second book Dancing in the Rain was released in March 2018 and brings you hope and comfort for life’s tough seasons. She lives in Adelaide with her husband Shan and their son Asela.




I'm also grateful for Paula Vince who will be continuing on in her role on the CWD Admin team. Paula has faithfully reviewed applications of those wanting to join CWD and welcoming new members. She, like Anusha, has been ready to step in the breach when needed, I've appreciated her gentleness and  wisdom when decisions have been required.




Paula Vince is a South Australian author of contemporary, inspirational fiction. She lives in the beautiful Adelaide Hills, with its four distinct seasons, and loves to use her environment as settings for her stories. Her novel, 'Picking up the Pieces' won the religious fiction section of the International Book Awards in 2011, and 'Best Forgotten' was winner of the CALEB prize the same year. She is also one of the four authors of 'The Greenfield Legacy', Australia's first and only collaborated Christian novel. Her most recent novel, 'Imogen's Chance' was published April 2014. For more of Paula's reflections, you may like to visit her book review blog, The Vince Review.

Some new faces

As sad as Paula and I are to see Anusha leave the Admin team, we are excited to welcome a new member - Mazzy Adams.

Who is Mazzy Adams?

Mazzy Adams (Cathie Sercombe) is an Australian wife, mother, grandmother, creative and academic writing tutor, and published author with a passion for words, pictures and the positive potential in people. Her poetry, creative non-fiction, short fiction, and spiritual devotions have been published in Australian, US and international print and on-line anthologies. She’s preparing her New Adult Thriller novel, Licence to Die, for Indie publication in the near future. 

Mazzy (Cathie) has an Assoc. Degree in Arts (Creative Writing) from Tabor Adelaide, S.A. and a Cert IV Christian Ministry from World Changers College of Ministry. She lives in Queensland with her beloved husband, and manages their education consultancy business.

Mazzy has been a regular contributor to the Christian Writers Downunder blog for some years. She’s also a member of Omega Writers, Queensland Writers Centre and various Australian online writers' groups. She is most especially delighted, humbled and proud to be one of Toowoomba’s famous (or infamous) Quirky Quills.

Website: www.mazzyadams.com Email: maz@mazzyadams.com

Manage
Welcome to the team, Mazzy



The CWD Admin are also considering adding one or two more people to the admin team over the next few months.

Christian Writers Downunder has now over a thousand members, and we appreciate your contributions and the way you interact and encourage each other.  Our thanks also go to Nola Passmore, who ably lead CWD from 2014-2015, and the original founder of CWD, Lee Franklin.

As Nola said in her 2016 post:

I’ve learned such a lot in the last two years and it’s been a privilege to play a small part in facilitating a group involving such a wonderful bunch of writers, editors, illustrators, publishers and readers.

One of the things we did during my watch was to develop a mission statement for the group. We decided that the main aims of the group were to:

• Glorify God in our writing
• Develop our God-given creative gifts
• Encourage other Christian writers and those in related fields

You can read a longer post about those aims here.

The Admin team are also grateful to the blog team who take time out of full lives and busy schedules to write blogs to encourage and inspire us. And for all the CWD members who take time to respond to fellow CWDers questions, encourage when encouragement is needed, or to participate in Share Wednesday, and to share, recommend, and support fellow writers, editors or illustrators.

Please pause a moment to thank Anusha and welcome Mazzy to the CWD Admin team.

Jeanette O'Hagan, coordinator of Christian Writers Downunder

Jeanette started spinning tales in the world of Nardva at the age of eight or nine. She enjoys writing secondary world fiction, poetry, blogging and editing. Her Nardvan stories span continents, time and cultures. They involve a mixture of courtly intrigue, adventure, romance and/or shapeshifters and magic users.

She has published numerous short stories, poems, two novellas and her debut novel, Akrad's Children and Ruhanna's Flight and other stories.

Her latest release, Stone of the Sea (the third novella) is now available. .

You can also find her on:

Facebook |Jeanette O'Hagan Writes | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

Long-Term Writing Goals

Looking Back

Most creative people like to set goals at the start of a new year. Full of enthusiasm, we plan out what we hope to achieve in the next twelve months. But those are short-term goals. Our writing career will hopefully last much longer than the coming year. How many of us make long term goals? I've been thinking about longer-term goals lately. The journey went something like this.

I turned 40 last year. As you can imagine, it was a time of reflection. I looked back and realised it had been 20 years since I had turned 20. What would my writing career look like, I wondered, if I had taken it more seriously in my twenties. It’s not that I didn’t write during that time, but I could have taken it more seriously. Improved my craft more, and more actively pursued publication. Life was simpler back then. I didn’t have a wife and kids to support. I didn’t have a mortgage to worry about. I had all the time in the world and no responsibilities.

True, the self-publishing revolution hadn’t happened back when I was in my twenties so I wouldn’t have had the tools that are available to me today, but I would have been ready to take advantage of them on day one. Heck, I could have even become one of those early Kindle millionaires. You never know.

Don’t get me wrong. 40 is hardly the twilight years, but I began to feel like I’d wasted my opportunity. That I was too far over the hill to really make it like so many others had.

Looking Forward

A little looking back is healthy, but I was getting into regret territory. I had to pull myself out of that. Instead, I started to think about the next 20 years. That would make me 60. My eyes lit up. In another 20 years I’d only be 60. I wouldn’t exactly be ready for my deathbed at that point. What if I were to retire early, at 60, and transition to full-time writing at that point. It’d be more of a career change, than a retirement.

If that was the plan, it meant I had 20 years to work toward a self-sustaining writing career. Two decades. Suddenly that seemed achievable. It’s not like I was putting off becoming a successful author until I was 60. To write full time by that point, I would already have needed to become quite successful.

So that’s now my long-term goal. I want to be able to quit the day job and write full time by the time I reach 60 years of age. I have two decades to achieve it. (And if I take that goal seriously, and work hard toward it, I may achieve it sooner.)

Short-Term Goals

This is all well and good, but long-term goals are just dreams unless we break them down into steps. What must we do practically in order to achieve the larger goal? This is where the short-term goals come in. This is where we make it practical. But now, we are designing our short-term goals with a bigger picture in mind.

Examples of short-term goals to achieve a big dream like mine above could be writing every day (or 6 days a week), setting aside money for editing costs and cover design, or publishing a book by a certain date.

And there's one other important aspect that is easy for forget.

Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.
Proverbs 19:21

We can make all these plans ourselves, but if we don't involve God, or consider how those goals fit in with his will and desires, we can be working at cross-purposes with him.

What about you?

Okay, it's your turn. Have you set any goals for 2019? Do you have a long-term goal that you're working towards?

---

Adam David Collings is an author of speculative fiction. He lives in Tasmania, Australia with his wife and two children. Adam draws inspiration for his stories from his over-active imagination, his life experiences and his faith.
Adam is a great lover of stories, enjoying them in books, movies, scripted TV and computer games. Adam discusses these on his own youTube show – Stories with Adam Collings.
Find him at adamdavidcollings.com or sign up to his email list for a short story.

"Everyone has a story to tell" - or do they?

Writing memoir: I love to read it. But sometimes memoir writers worry about if their story is 'important' enough.

I love reading other people’s stories. Memoir and biography are probably my favourite types of books to read, and documentaries about people’s lives are the best thing on TV.

I also firmly believe that everyone has a story to tell.

Some of the writers in my ‘Write Your Memoir’ course worry about this statement. They want to write their story, but they also don’t believe that anyone would want to read it. They think ‘it’s not important enough’ or ‘it’s not significant’ or, and this is something I hear frequently, ‘my life has just been normal’.

Of course, we all know of memoirs that tell incredible stories of bravery, suffering or triumph – the ones that are a publisher’s dream. Those stories can be moving, inspiring and challenging. But I believe that even the small, ordinary stories are worth telling.

There are two keys when you’re telling a ‘small’ story.

First: know what a story is.

It’s more than just an anecdote, or a series of events. It’s more than an emotion or that time when we fell in love, or the trip we took.

Any and all stories contain certain, distinctive elements which work together, in the right order, and in the right proportion, to produce a sense of suspense, build up, completion and satisfaction in the hearer or the reader. (And no, I didn’t go find a definition of ‘story’ from Google. That’s my own work.)

The beginning of the story must include an obstacle or problem, and a point of decision. The main character of the story must choose to act, rather than be a passive recipient of circumstances. There must be a significant low point, and a regathering of strength, and some kind of showdown. Finally, we must see change in the main character. The events of the story have affected them internally as well as externally.

The second key is this: understand how your story has changed you.

The transformation of the main character is an important part of a memoir. It’s what makes a ‘small’ story – even a ‘trivial’ story – worth reading. When you are able to write with honesty and vulnerability: “this changed me”, you are on the road to writing a story which might help to change others.

Of course, to be able to write this requires self-knowledge and awareness, the willingness to be open, and the vulnerability of putting yourself out there. But if you are courageous enough to put these things on the page, your readers will truly appreciate it.

Perhaps you’ve been wondering if your story is important enough to write? If so, I’d encourage you to think in two ways: firstly, what exactly is my story, and secondly, how have these events changed me?

Let me say it again: your story doesn’t have to be a long screed of drug use, abuse or suffering. It could be as simple as the book my young daughter brought home from the library, about a dog. ‘Marley and Me’, a story about the adventures of a troublesome puppy and what its owner learned, seems like a trivial little tale on one hand. On the other hand, my daughter loved it. And she’ll take the lessons from it and absorb them into her own life.

Cecily Paterson’s online Write Your Memoir course helps first time authors with the confidence and skills they need to tell their story. Her own memoir, Love Tears & Autism won third place in the 2012 Australian Christian Book of the Year Awards.
You can find her at:
www.redloungeforwriters.com
www.cecilypaterson.com

Recycle, Upcycle, Repurpose by Nola Passmore

For the last three years, the members of my writing group have exchanged recycled Christmas presents. Each gift must be either something we already own that we’re regifting; something we’ve obtained from an op shop (i.e. charity shop); or something we’ve made, mostly from materials we already have at home. Although we started ‘recycled Christmas’ to save money, it’s turned into an amazing time as each person tries to think of just the right thing to bless the others.

This year, I gave framed pictures that included a Bible verse relevant to each person. All of the frames were secondhand, mainly bought from op shops. The collaged pictures were made from old watercolours that hadn’t quite worked on their own, pages from old books or sheet music, and paper and card from my scrapbooking stash. I’ve also recently made a couple of notebooks from recycled paper, and a concertina book from a mixture of new and retro materials.

These arty-crafty projects got me thinking about how we could apply the same principles to our writing. Recycling could help us to gain a wider readership and increase sales. It’s also a great way to get the creative juices flowing, learn some valuable lessons, bless others, or just have fun. I’ve given some suggestions below under the broad headings of recycling, upcycling and repurposing, but don’t get too hung up on the categories as there’s a lot of overlap. The main point is to see whether any of these suggestions could spark some ideas you might like to follow up.

Recycle – Use again or convert waste into reusable material.*

• If you’ve had short pieces published (e.g. short fiction, magazine articles, devotions, or poetry), remember that some magazines and anthologies will accept reprints. Some outlets may even pay you for the privilege, though paying markets do seem to be dwindling. Just be sure to check the guidelines of the new publication to ensure they accept reprints. No editor or publisher wants to print what they think is a new piece, only to find that it’s already appeared elsewhere.

• Unless you’ve signed away exclusive rights of your work, you can always reprint or republish it yourself. For example, Jeanette O’Hagan included some of her previously published short stories, along with new ones, in her anthology Ruhanna’s Flight and Other Stories. Don’t always think in terms of complete books either. I once saw a brochure in a waiting room that included a poem on each of its six sides. What a great way to get your work into the hands of others. You could do the same with short stories, short biographical sketches, an article, or devotions.

• Don’t throw away all of that research you’ve done for your novel or nonfiction book. Use it again for other writing projects. For example, I remember reading about a woman who had to research Victorian fashions for her historical novel. She later wrote an article on how women’s fashions had changed over the years, and sold it to a women’s magazine. What have you researched that might be of interest to others?

Upcycle – Reuse discarded objects or material in such a way as to create a product of higher quality or value than the original.*

• Most writers have a pile of discarded writing, whether it’s a half-finished novel, scenes that ended up on the cutting room floor, a story that was rejected by a magazine editor, or a poem where you just couldn’t find the right rhyme for ‘bazooka’. If we’re honest, some of those things should probably stay in the bin. However, you’ll also find some gems that just need a little polishing before you send them out into the world.

• If you can’t get the whole piece to work, maybe you could do something with just a segment. For example, you could turn quotes, snippets of poetry, or paragraphs of prose into bookmarks, greeting cards, handmade gift books, fridge magnets, coffee mugs, T-shirts, cross-stitch wall hangings, and roller-derby merchandise. Well maybe not the last one, but there’s really no limit to the kinds of applications you could try.

• Even if you’ve had something published, you could still make it better. For example, one of my published stories had to keep to a strict 1500-word limit for a themed anthology. In hindsight, my idea was too big for that word limit and I didn’t really have enough space to set up my twist properly. I could have done wonders with an extra 500 words, but there’s no reason why I can’t still rewrite it and republish it myself.

• Maybe one of your ideas could be expanded even further into a novella or a book. Raymond Chandler’s best-selling detective novel The Big Sleep drew largely on some of his previously published short stories. He merged some characters to create new ones, expanded the descriptions of people and places, and came up with a more detailed and complicated plot. It was later made into a classic film starring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall. Bigger isn’t always better, but it’s worth experimenting to see if any of your ideas have wings that could let them fly in a bigger universe.

Repurpose – Adapt for use in a different purpose.*

Try to think outside the box with your writing. You may have conceived an idea for a short story, poem or devotion, but it doesn’t have to stay that way.  Try one or more of the following.

• Rewrite a short story as a skit. This may work especially well for stories with a lot of dialogue.

• Write a play or screenplay based on your novel. This would also work for some types of nonfiction, such as biographies.

• Turn a poem into a devotional.

• Turn a series of blog posts into teaching materials.

• If you’ve given a talk or workshop, you could turn the information into blog posts, articles, or teaching materials.

• If you’ve written something on a social issue, you could use it as the basis for a podcast.

• Incorporate a short piece into a work of art or craft (e.g. painting, collage, handmade book, wall hanging) and give as gifts.

Caveats

• If you want to re-use something you’ve already had published, just check that you own the rights. If you’re thinking about short pieces (e.g. devotions, poetry, articles, short fiction), copyright usually reverts to the author after it has been published. However, some publishers have an embargo for a certain period of time during which you can’t submit the piece elsewhere (e.g. three months or a year). After that, the rights revert back to you. If you’ve signed away exclusive rights, the publisher holds the copyright and you have to seek permission if you want to reprint it elsewhere. If you’ve had a book traditionally published, check your contract and/or talk to your publisher to see what you’re allowed to do. Of course if you’ve self-published, it’s not a problem.

• As already noted, always check with the editor or publisher before sending them a previously published piece. Not all outlets accept reprints. If you adapted something from a previously published work, it’s also a good idea to be up-front about how much has changed. If you’re submitting work to a competition, be sure to read the guidelines carefully. They usually only accept original works, which also means they’re not expecting you to just revamp a previous piece.

• While there are many benefits of getting further mileage out of your writing, don’t just keep doing variations on a theme. That can be boring for you and the reader. However, with a little thought, it’s not hard to think of some new ways to give life to previous works.

Have you recycled, upcycled or repurposed any of your writing? I’d love to hear your examples. If you haven’t tried it yet, perhaps choose one of the suggestions above and plunge in. You don’t know where those seeds of inspiration will take you.

(* Definitions used in this article are from https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/)

Nola Passmore and her husband Tim run a freelance writing and editing business called The Write Flourish (www.thewriteflourish.com.au).   She co-edited the Glimpses of Light anthology with Jeanette O’Hagan in 2015 and has had more than 150 short pieces published, including poetry, devotions, inspirational articles, true stories and short fiction.  She is almost finished her debut novel Scattered which will be published by Breath of Fresh Air Press. She co-leads the Toowoomba chapter of Omega Writers and loves driving them nuts with her ideas J

Growing a Testimony

I have a background in Environmental Science.

I topped my high school senior class in Geography, graded well with Biology, have a love for nature, enjoy gardening and bushwalking, and had aspirations to work in National Parks and Wildlife. After four years of university studies in Ecology, Geomorphology, Land use Planning, Human Ecosystems, Sociology, Health and Development etc I graduated.  6 months ‘post Bachelor’ as a newly-wed requiring secure employment there was only one potential offer of work in my field. Waste-water testing at sewage outfalls. Checking levels of faecal matter in our creek.

There was nothing intrinsically wrong with potentially taking this position. In fact, it had incredible opportunity to help, considering the health merits to our ecosystem, but also the fact that we enjoyed swimming in the creek below the area being tested was of personal benefit too. Others work in this industry and find it a rewarding vocation. But it seemed to me that my vision for noble, world changing influence to save our planet had been reduced to effluence.  Sure, I had the necessary skills; It would have meant the chance to work outdoors and expand into other work areas, but thinking about all the chemical testing, logging of data, and the reality check on where we went swimming made me anxious. I thought my job prospect stank. Literally.

Perhaps at the beginning of this year you feel the same. What dreams and aspirations you have -however grand or basic- are quickly being subsumed by lived realities. Maybe even having to continue to grapple with old patterns, people stresses, and practicalities that have rolled-over from 2018 are leaving you with less than pleasant aromas. I have learnt that there is always hope. Often things are seasonal. But also, that in each season there is different fruitfulness to be aware of. Perhaps more importantly is to be aware of how to turn unwanted matter into useable material to grow from.

 It may sound over spiritual, but (back when I was about to take on the effluent testing job) I also had a sense that something significant to my life journey was about to occur. Because of my youth work, anthropological insights and cultural interests, I had also reasoned that any job would involve people engagement. I was available to whatever lesson was to be gleaned in this looming season of waste management. But I was also alert to God’s leading. We prayed -not just to get the answer we were after- but to hear how God was going to make it all work out, so we could line up with His heart in the matter.

 On the eve of needing to accept what I deemed was the odorous option for employment, another job was afforded to me. It had less pay, less hours, wasn’t directly in line with my background, but it was working with people in a school environment. I took it and have had fulfilling, purposeful influential work in educational settings ever since.

Has my environmental background been a waste? No. I have used all the skills and loves of my training in settings incredibly diverse and in creative ways that I naturally may not have contemplated. This occurred firstly in that first school posting. I not only honed my skills copying and stapling, organising class room resources, and the usual teacher-aide duties, I was given the opportunity to work alongside our principal and physical education district staff to create and write immersive Environmental Education programs for our school and regional cluster. Since that time, I have utilised other talents intrinsic to my undergrad including (not limited to) outdoors experiential learning opportunities for people of all ages, the expanding Cross-Cultural supports in local and international communities, influence in planning and development in settings requiring creative solutions. My pastoral work within churches has also been reflective of all these practices giving me community wide influence into matters of local development, council and the issues of young people.   This has also meant plenty of writing. Programs. Proposals. Plans. Scripts. Lesson evaluations. Reports. News articles. Press releases. Magazine production. Blogs. The experiences and engagement with all the diverse personalities and settings has given me a valued depth to my fictional writing too. Characters have developed, circumstances framed and deepened by my very own depth of experiences.

I continue to work in educational settings utilising those practical gifts of my environmental love and training. I am a trainer assessor. For 24 years I have been a Chaplain in schools and universities. I serve in cross cultural contexts every day; immerse into indigenous and international communities each year. I get to help develop, facilitate and learn in human and natural environments. And I am writing about it all.

Excuse the continued cliché, but I guess I have learnt to turn something that may have initially been seen as excrement into fertiliser. To turn dirt and waste into soil that helps things grow takes time, effort, patience, work, and the initial ingredients that may at first be repugnant into rich, fertile ground. Often bad situations, difficult proposals, challenging people, simply provide the basis for material for us to utilise to turn into the substance that helps us grow.

My prayer is that through my writing that it would help others grow too.

My hope is that you too will have a fruitful future, as you recognise the season and turn the unwanted egesta into a compost that helps grow beautiful things. 

Fifteen Great Picks from 2018

Each week on Mondays and Thursdays, someone from our faithful CWD blog team uploads a blogpost - sometimes it's inspirational, sometimes a story of writerly struggles or triumphs; sometimes it's funny, other times it's serious or both; sometimes the post reminds us why we write and for who, other times it gives practical tips - on writing, marketing or getting published. And sometimes, it's a member interview or a cross-post with ACE exploring genre. Always, it's the result of thought, research, experience, passion, creativity.

The CWD Admin team would like to give our blogteam a huge thank you for your contributions throughout 2018 (and over the years) and to all our readers who have taken the time to comment and interact with our bloggers.

As we start the new year, we thought we'd honour our bloggers' contributions with a pick of 15 blogposts that have inspired us in 2018. Out of over 100 posts, it wasn't easy to choose and there are many other posts equally deserving of notice. We have a wealth of information and inspiration on the blogsite - accessible on multiple subjects and themes.

We hope you enjoy this selection from a rich smorgasbord of offerings.

1. Clutterbust into the New Year by Ruth Bonetti

Do you embrace or resist making resolutions as you pass that annual threshold? My goal is to declutter. Not just the old year, but past decades.


It's not easy. Mess with closets and mere muddles inflate into chaos.
Breathe. Do it. Breathe.
Believe that beyond the pain threshold lies freedom, lightness of being. 

Read more here. 

2. How to Write Awesome Dialogue for Your Film by Charis Joy Jackson 

Today, I thought it might be fun to give all our CWD followers a bit of advice on how to write for film.


When it comes to knowing how to make movies, screenwriters should pay special attention to the dialogue they use for their characters. When it’s good, people don’t notice, but when it’s bad even your gran can tell.


You don’t want this.


I don’t want this.



So how do we write awesome dialogue?


There’s no magical formula -- creativity needs to breathe -- but I do think there are a few tools that can help you. Here are a few things I’ve found in creating awesome and strong dialogue.

Read more here.

3. Total Wipeout or Total Write it Out by Mazzy Adams  

About a decade ago, the first Wipeout game show aired in the USA. Contestants threw and bounced themselves into, around, across, over and through an absurd array of obstacles, mud, more obstacles, mud, creative obstacles, water, (washing off the mud), challenging obstacles, watery downpours … anyway, you get the picture. Total Wipeout, the British (BBC) version, followed hot on its heels, eventually airing in Australia (and currently repeating on ABC ME).

 ... 

 Over the last twelve months, I’ve been whacked and dumped and drowned by a plethora of challenges and disappointments that have seriously undermined my writing progress. I’m sure I’m not the only one. But a couple of weeks ago, the Holy Spirit challenged me with this thought:

Read more here.

4. Story Telling in 3 D by Debbie Roome 

Those who know me well will be familiar with my love of travel. This dates back a few decades but recently has become a way of life. I’ll never forget the day that travelling changed from a postcard view to something more tangible. And no, it wasn’t the day I first climbed into an aeroplane or travelled to a foreign land. I had seen many glossy brochures of London and Europe and could recognise Big Ben, the Eiffel Tower and the Leaning Tower of Pisa, but it was a flat and one- dimensional view.

Read more here.

5. I Need a Personal Bubble for my Writing Space by K A Hart 

A distraction-free writing space. Does anyone have one? I have lived in this house for four years and I still haven’t found the right spot.


Somewhere that’s comfortable, but not too comfortable. A place with a view or inspirational pictures and famous quotes. Coffee, tea, a few snacks. Music. No music. A clean space, clutter-free. That’s what most writers suggest.


So. Writing space. Where have I made my writing space? Where have I not?!

Read more here.  

6. Confessions of a Genre Butterfly by Susan J Bruce  

The author platform. Do these words fill you with confidence? Do you say ‘I know who I am as an author and I know who I want to reach? I know what my brand is?'


Or do you think, ‘Eerk!’


Earlier this year I realised that as I belonged to the second category, I really should do something about it.

Read more here.

7. Legacy and Eternity by Elaine Fraser  

Through the mere act of creating something—anything—you might inadvertently produce work that is magnificent, eternal, or important. Elizabeth Gilbert

We don’t always set out to create something as a legacy or for eternal meaning. Creating comes out of who we are on a daily basis, even when we’re not aware of it. When we create, make or design something and release it to the world (or maybe just to our family), when it’s released, the effect it has on others is out of our control. We’ve let it go.

Read more here.

8. Finding Direction by Josephine-Anne Griffiths  

‘Sometimes to move forward in life we need to turn around.
It does not mean we wasted our time –
We just didn’t know then what we know now.’

I’ve talked about the busyness of life before, but what if we are busy accomplishing nothing? That is how I have felt the past twelve to eighteen months.

Read more here.

9. Rights and Responsibilities of a Christian Writer by Melinda Jensen 

Being a Christian writer is clearly not for the fainthearted. We have the right, of course, as human beings, to churn out whatever inspiration comes our way. That’s what so many writers are all about, after all, isn’t it? Freedom of speech? Freedom of the press? Creative license?


As Christians though, our rights are coupled with a weighty responsibility. We are to be ‘in’ this world but not ‘of’ it.

Read more here.

10.  Waiting by Jeanette O'Hagan 

In my latest release, Stone of the Sea, one of the characters thinks, 

Waiting was all they seemed to do these days. Wait for food. Wait for to learn their fate. Wait for Baba to return and take back the realm.

Sometimes being a writer can feel like that - waiting to finish a novel, waiting for feedback, waiting to hear back from agents and publishers, waiting to be published, waiting for sales, waiting for reviews, waiting for traction in the market, waiting for... it doesn't seem to end.

Read more here.

11. Posing Questions by Adam David Collings 

Christian fiction has often been accused of being preachy. Sometimes justifiably so. We’ve all read books like that. These are the types of books that go out of their way to preach a message that pulls you out of the story. In fairness, it’s not just Christian fiction that suffers from this problem. One of the early chapters of the novel Ready Player One (which I loved) interrupted one of the early chapters for an extended tirade against religion, although the author balanced this by introducing a sympathetic minor character who was a Christian.

And yet, the best books are often those that delve into a topic or theme, and explore it. This gives a story depth. So how do you explore an important theme in a story without it feeling “preachy”?

Read more here.

12. Practice Makes Perfect by Nola Passmore 

I got my first guitar when I was seven, and I couldn’t wait to play like Keith and Bruce. Not Keith Richards and Bruce Springsteen. I’m talking about those spunk muffins of the sixties—Keith Potger and Bruce Woodley. Together with Judith Durham and Athol Guy, they formed the fab folkie foursome The Seekers. I was sure it would only take a few lessons and I’d be singing and playing along like my favourite group. It didn’t quite work out that way.


In the first lesson, my music teacher gave me a crash course in theory, taught me the notes on two strings, and sent me home with some exercises to practise.

Read more here.

  

13. Pillow Talk by Adele Jones

This is not the blog I was preparing for today. I was going to bring my vulnerability and talk to some of those doubts we writers can wrestle. Instead, as I was reflecting on the content of my post, the wise words of a friend came to me: “Get some sleep before you make a decision on that.”

(You would be surprised how closely related my decision and the content of my blog were.)

It occurred to me that my greatest challenge recently has not been self-doubt, but sleep deprivation. Given my constant nemesis doesn’t appear to be going away, I thought I’d share some advice frequently dispensed by my also wise husband. Maybe we can all learn a thing or two about sleep hygiene while we’re at it. Somehow, I don’t think I’ll be the only writer out there in need of some reminders!

Read more here.

14. Your Lights are On by Anusha Atukorala  

When I reached my car, my eyes opened wide in surprise. A lady walking past called out to me ‘Your Lights are On.’ What? How come? As a new driver, I had already done that. Twice. It had of course led to a dead battery each time and a call for roadside assistance. So ever since, I have had Obsessive Compulsive Disorder whenever I leave my car. I check if the lights are off not once but three or four times. I make certain all four doors are locked. I walk around my car ensuring all is well.


How had I left my lights on? Perhaps my rumbling stomach had a lot to answer for?

Read more here. 

15. Why Didn't God Book a Room for His Son? by Jo Wanmer 

Why didn’t the Father book a room for His son? He wasn’t taken by surprise the day Jesus entered the world. He could have organised somewhere…after all He is God.


‘No room in the inn’ seems a poor excuse. Jesus’ Father could have booked weeks earlier. God can orchestrate these things. A few years ago, we decided on Tuesday to go away for the weekend. It was Easter. So two days before we left, I searched for a quiet place to rest and recover. I found a lovely cottage–overlooking a river valley, less than two hours away. When we arrived it was the perfect place for us. We asked the hosts why it was still available. They shrugged, puzzled themselves. They’d been booked solid nearly all year - except Easter!


If God could organise a room for me, why didn’t He do the same, if not for his Son, then for Mary. A young girl still a virgin untouched and inexperienced in the realities of women’s struggles. She had to labour on the floor of a barn.

Read more here.

Thanks to our bloggers for taking the time to share their wisdom, experiences and inspiration with us. I'm looking forward to new blogs for 2019. Aren't you?

----

Coming in March - Omega Writers Book Fair