I’ve not posted often in the past month. I spent the time writing the first draft of a novel. It was NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) — when several hundred thousand wannabe novelists around the world each set the goal of producing a 50,000 word first draft in the month of November. I’m happy to say […]
Reading for Reflection (Letters to a Young Pastor)
Dear ______: Sorry to be out of touch for a few weeks. I decided to participate in NaNoWriMo this year — National Novel Writing Month. I’m now officially a novelist, with a rough draft of 55,000 words in hand. But I’m behind in my correspondence And thanks for the reminder that there are other, less […]
NaNoWriMo Dreams (The Writer’s Inner Life)
Last week I told you I’d set myself a new writing challenge: I signed up for NaNoWriMo — that’s NAtional NOvel WRIting MOnth, November, when thousands of people commit to writing a 50,000 first draft of a novel in 30 days. Well, it is October 31, so I have not written a word, but I’ve […]
Setting Yourself a Challenge (The Writer’s Inner Life)
Consider these two really odd “Sayings of the Desert Fathers.” Both are from the chapter on “Self-Control” in Benedicta Ward’s translation. They said of one hermit that he sometimes longed to eat a cucumber. So he took one and hung it in front of him where he could see it. He was not overcome by […]
Between Obscurity and Fame (The Writer’s Inner Life)
When I posted about the writer’s battle with “the demon of futility” I mentioned the frustration that can come from identifying yourself as a writer. People ask what you’ve written. They’ve never heard of it. They’ve never heard of you. In a way this is perfectly natural: A book can be a success by any reasonable […]
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