Gary Neal Hansen

Theology. It's good for you.

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You are here: Home / Archives for Desert Fathers

Setting Sail Into Writing Fiction (The Writer’s Inner Life)

December 12, 2016 by Gary Neal Hansen 2 Comments

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 […]

Filed Under: books, Reviews, The Inner Life of the Writer Tagged With: Desert Fathers, NaNoWriMo, Writing Fiction

Reading for Reflection (Letters to a Young Pastor)

December 1, 2016 by Gary Neal Hansen Leave a Comment

Reading for Reflection

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 […]

Filed Under: books, Ministry Tagged With: Desert Fathers, Nouwen, Reflection

NaNoWriMo Dreams (The Writer’s Inner Life)

October 31, 2016 by Gary Neal Hansen 7 Comments

NaNoWriMo Dreams

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 […]

Filed Under: Saints, The Inner Life of the Writer Tagged With: Desert Fathers, Dreams, Life of Antony, NaNoWriMo, Nightmares

Setting Yourself a Challenge (The Writer’s Inner Life)

October 24, 2016 by Gary Neal Hansen 7 Comments

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 […]

Filed Under: Saints, The Inner Life of the Writer Tagged With: Desert Fathers, NaNoWriMo

Between Obscurity and Fame (The Writer’s Inner Life)

October 10, 2016 by Gary Neal Hansen 2 Comments

Obscurity and Fame

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 […]

Filed Under: Saints, The Inner Life of the Writer Tagged With: Arsenius, Augustine, Desert Fathers, Fame, Motivations, Obscurity, Theodore

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Theology. It’s good for you.

I'm a Church historian by trade. My writing, speaking, and teaching explores the Christian past to equip today's disciples. Join me here for regular posts on the best of theology, spirituality, community, and ministry. read more…

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