Meeting this Saturday

Let's talk about... 

MARKETING

March 7, 10 AM - noon

Cornerstone Christian Church, Wyckoff 

In the Barn (2nd building on the right)

Pasquale Russo will present on the topic of marketing, an eagerly awaited discussion. Bring your personal comments, experiences, and questions. Identify the next step to move your writing project forward.

Guests are welcome, both novices and seasoned writers.
Critiquing is available for members - please adhere to the guidelines on our website.

Looking forward to Saturday,
Barbara
barbarahigby.com

February's Focus Point

Why Should We Care if our Writing is Tight?

We "write tight" to present our best work to our readers, but why should we care? Why do we labor over multiple edits, offer our work for critique, and rewrite what seemed fine the first draft?

There’s only one reason—because we want to be read. I’ve said it so often, you should be able to finish this sentence for me: “If you don’t want to be read, just journal.”

I can be impatient positioning my words, crocheting around a basic point, couching my thoughts just so, but as we’ll discuss later, it’s necessary if we want to be read and have our words received. To write relevantly, we also need to know our audience and understand how they most readily receive instruction or engage with works of fiction. This may seem a little compromising but listen to Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 9:20-23:

“To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law…so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the…so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings” (italics mine).

It is for the sake of the truth we present that we do our best to be read and received by others. People do not want to read loosely written work or go down rabbit trails or turn on their internal editor as they read. We never compromise the truth, but we write with integrity that produces our best work and prioritizes the truth of the Gospel.

Do we need to write tight? Yes. Do we need to check our grammar, use our thesaurus, rework run-on sentences? Yes. Yes. Yes.

Take-home thought: I will write well so my words will be read and my readers will embrace the truth they tell.

Meeting next Saturday

LET'S TALK ABOUT... 

When is Writing Tight, too Tight?

Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay 

February 1, 10 AM - noon

Cornerstone Christian Church, Wyckoff 

In the Barn (2nd building on the right)

We've had "write tight" hammered into our brains since we penned our first essay, 

but is it possible to write too tight? Come and share your thoughts.

Guests are welcome, whether you're a novice or a seasoned writer.

Critiquing is available for members - please adhere to the guidelines on our website.

Hope to see you Saturday,

Barbara

barbarahigby.com

January's Focus Point:

Writing Angst

I read a familiar psalm this week—Psalm 37. I listed the phrases that touched my heart and loved the way they simplified my life and instilled peace. That's when I realized I need to apply them to my writing to combat my writing angst.

Do you also have writing angst? Do you wonder what to do next or who to approach? Does lack of time or focus stress you? Do you tense when you edit or search for markets? Do you doubt your ability or insights? At one time or another, I answer yes to all of the above. And then I hear God’s whisper, “Trust me.”

These are the phrases I culled from Psalm 37 that can be applied to our writing journey:

·       Do not fret – Don’t accept angst as a normal part of your life.

·       Trust in the Lord – Does He have a purpose for your writing?

·       Do good – Focus on doing the next good thing.

·       Dwell in the land – Live in the present place God has you.

·       Enjoy safe pasture – He has provided for you.

·       Delight yourself in the Lord – Simply enjoy Him.

·       Commit your way to the Lord – Give it to God—your article, your book, your outline…

·       Again, trust in Him – Can we say this too often?

·       Be still – Rest, quiet your heart.

·       Wait patiently – But wait with expectation!

·       And again, do not fret – Back to where we started

As much as I push us to actively work on our writing, I also regularly remind us that our writing is God’s idea, His gift, and we must let Him have His way. The goals we will share today are good ideas. We need to ascertain if they are God’s ideas and His timing. Then we can move forward with trust and not fret.

Take-home thought: Ephesians 2:10 “…we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Trust Him.

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.