Meeting this Saturday

LET'S TALK ABOUT THE NEW YEAR

January 4, 10 am - noon

Cornerstone Christian Church, Wyckoff 

In the Barn (2nd building on the right)

What are your writing goals for 2020? 

Please see the Focus Point below for inspiration. 

By sharing our goals at Saturday's meeting we will give & receive inspiration.

Be ready to also share writing practices, tips & disciplines that work for you, 

whether you're a novice or a seasoned writer.

Hope to see you this Saturday,

Barbara

barbarahigby.com

December's Focus Point

Let’s Talk about… Opening the Gift

This is the ultimate season of gifts—shopping and wrapping, giving and receiving, enjoying or returning. The Bible talks about gifts God has personally and specifically selected for us. Romans 12:6 says, “We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us.” One of those gifts is what brings us together the first Saturday of the month—the shared gift of writing.

This spiritual gift is different from a Christmas gift—we didn’t shop for it, didn’t wrap it, and we can’t  return it. We received the gift of writing, nicely wrapped, topped with a colorful bow, which represents of a burst of inspiration.

Once we remove the bow (or, move beyond the thrilling inspiration), we find the unwrapping to be a painstaking process. Generally, we don’t get to tear open the wrapping paper and hastily pull out the gift. More often the unwrapping is a slow process—we rescue the bow, loosen the tape, fold the paper, and tentatively lift the lid.

Unwrapping is what our monthly meetings are all about—remembering that bright bow of inspiration, loosening the tape that holds us back, and removing the wrapping to discover the wonderful product inside.

Monthly, we encourage each other to have patience in the process, to be deliberate in our unwrapping, and to not lose sight of the valued gift inside. This is not a gift to be put on the shelf because it holds the promise of blessing others.

Take-home thought: Let 2020 be a year of unwrapping your gift and using it to bless others.  

Meeting (and eating) this Saturday

Let's talk about Creativity

December 7, 10 am - noon

Cornerstone Christian Church, Wyckoff 

In the Barn (2nd building on the right)

This Saturday we'll meet - and eat - as we discuss and practice our creative writing gifts.

Please bring a simple snack to share, such as veggies or fruit, 

crackers & cheese, chip & dip, or Christmas sweets.

Coffee & tea will be available.

Also bring your tablet or paper & pen for a creative writing exercise.

Guests & first-timers, you are welcome!

Warmly, 

Barbara

barbarahigby.com

November's Focus Point

Let’s Talk about Courage

Making time to write, brainstorming a book or article, and sitting at a keyboard to actually type, takes discipline—but not courage. We’re in our happy place. We’re alone, comfortably dressed, in a friendly environment, playing with words, cobbling together captivating sentences. What follows is when we need courage.

Pitching, submitting, publishing, and, above all, marketing call for courage. Merriam-Webster defines courage in this way: mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty.

Danger, fear, and difficulty sum up the challenges of today’s topic: Marketing.

In Acts 20:24, Luke wrote, “…my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.” Whether our work is subtly or overtly Christian, as God’s children our writing testifies to God’s grace and our call is to complete the task given us. Seeing it through to completion takes courage.

In our discussion today, we will heed the words of Hebrews 10:24 and “Consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds,” toward completing the task God’s given us in the area of marketing.

Take-home thought: God will give us the courage to market our writing for the benefit of our readers and His glory.  

Meeting this Saturday

Let's talk about Marketing

SATURDAY, november 2, 10 AM - NOON

 Cornerstone Christian Church, Wyckoff 

In the Barn (2nd building on the right)

If there's one topic that generally unsettles writers, it's marketing. But, like we tell children: no vegetables, no dessert. Let's face that helping of vegetables together this Saturday and see if we can make marketing a little more palatable. Pasquale Russo will join me and share from his writing background.

Members, please bring work for critique, as per the guidelines on our website.

Looking forward to seeing you there,
Barbara
barbarahigby.com

October's Focus Point

Choose your Verb

Verb: a word used to show action

Writers know the difference between active and passive verbs. We choose active verbs in our writing because they’re strong, whereas passive verbs are weak. Though our readers may not realize it, their pleasure in our writing is increased by our careful choice of active verbs.

We have the same choices in the act of writing – are we active or passive?

• I’m thinking about an idea for a novel -or- I’m making notes/writing an outline for a novel.
• I have so much to learn about my topic -or- I’m researching my topic, one aspect at a time.
• Someday I’m going to write a devotional book on this theme -or- I’m writing rough drafts of devotionals that will become my first devotional book.
• Since blogging is a first step for an author, I set one up and, when I’m ready, I’ll start posting -or- I’m writing three posts to publish on my blog.
• I’m considering a book about _______ -or- Every week I write a few pages in my book.

Good intentions, careful lists, and distinct goals make me feel I’m doing something, but in reality, little is being accomplished. James understood the discrepancy between active and passive living. In James 1:22 he wrote, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” He knew that mental exercise was not enough, physical effort is also required in our Christian walk.

Let’s choose action rather than passivity in our writing as well as in our living. This does not disparage allowing our work to simmer, or waiting for the proper timing, or recognizing seasons of life. But, if God has put something in our hearts, it’s not enough to think about it—we need to be proactive. Every baby step is a step forward.

What verb describes your writing activity? I hope it’s one of these: researching, outlining, querying, rough drafting, editing, submitting, SMART goal setting, marketing, etc. Wherever your writing is, let it be described with an action verb.

Take-home thought: No one will benefit from the inspired thoughts in your mind. Take steps to get them out there. Write.