Is it Really Writer's Block?

By Jennie Atkins

Have you ever struggled with a scene not being able to wrap your head around what to do next? Or been unable to coherently piece together more than a handful of words? Of course you have! You’re a writer! I am not going to assume I’m the only one that goes through this.


Some people refer to it as writer’s block. Now you can find a hundred different articles and blogs telling you how to snap out of your writing slump. All of them provide excellent ways to get your fingers humming across your keyboard once again. But like a doctor looks at your wound or blood chart trying to find the reason or the “root cause” of your problem, I am suggesting that you analyze “why” this is happening to you at that very moment.

Yes, there are many reasons which can be divided into several areas.
     1) Physical—we’re burned out, or we’re not feeling well.
     2) Time—family pressures or our dreaded day job eats away at our writing time.
     3) Mental—we haven’t taken time for ourselves, be it spiritually or going for a long walk to clear our heads.

I challenge you to another reason, one I found that causes me more writers block than anything else—my story. When I find I can’t move forward, I’ve learned I need to look back. It’s like I’m trying to jam that square peg into a round hole or force a puzzle piece into a spot that looks perfect, but isn’t.

So in a sense, it is not “writer’s block”, but “writer’s stop”. My brain has stopped moving forward because the parts of the story I’ve already written don’t logically fit together and I can’t resolve it by writing more words.

The root cause of my problem is I haven’t taken the time to fully flush out my story. This had caused me to write myself into a corner with no way out.

Next time, you find yourself eager to blame writer’s block for your inability to push through; try to analyze the reason why.

Now it’s your turn: What causes you to stop writing?

Persevere . . . or fail

Delores Topliff

Perseverance is a crucial word for me this year. So far I’ve semi-finaled in the Genesis, but didn’t place in the Frasier, though I’d worked hard and believed I’d done my best work. As my Scottish friends say, “There was a slip between the cup and the lip.” I can quit attempting novel-writing and change directions. Or analyze weak spots and work until my writing demonstrates honed skills.

Success reflects how hard we want to succeed. Young Abe Lincoln longed to read and write but had no teacher, and no materials. So he painted a wooden shovel white and wrote on it with blackened sticks to practice writing letters. The result? A man who grew in expressing thoughts and devotion until he penned the lasting words of The Gettysburg Address.

I also love the true account of a teen-age Jewish girl who worked hard to become an accomplished pianist. Just before her scheduled debut, the Third Reich locked her and her parents away in a Nazi concentration camp. She refused to abandon her dream. Instead she found a large throwaway cardboard and drew piano keys with a piece of coal. She kept her dream alive by running her fingers over those keys every spare moment until the war ended. After her family’s release, when she could again play a real piano, hearers agreed that her skill had increased. The girl’s concerts received wide acclaim, but I believe her greatest feat was keeping her dream alive. Not letting her spirit be defeated.

What price will we pay for success? Plan, pray, dream. But also put fingers to keyboard or hold a pen for minutes or hours a day until God-given stories are captured and blessed with favor to reach the audiences He intends. We are changed and blessed during that process.

What about you? What renewed commitment will you pursue with God’s help and direction? (I'm not quite ready to quit pursuing novel-writing, though I may also try some other writing projects.)

 

What encouraging signs does He give along the way?

A Visit from Sandra Orchard

By Patricia Bradley


And the Winner of Sandra's book is.....

Melissa Tagg!

Sandra Orchard is an award-winning author of Christian romantic suspense. She writes for Harlequin’s Love Inspired Suspense line, and Revell Publishing. Today I want to welcome her to the Ponderers to interview the heroine of her new book, Deadly Devotion. 

Sandra:    Tell us a little about yourself and how you came to be in the midst of such suspense. 

My name is Kate Adams and I’m a research scientist specializing in herbal remedies. My dear friend, mentor, and fellow researcher, Daisy Leacock, died recently, the police say by drinking the wrong kind of marigold tea. But my friend would never have made such a mistake, and she certainly wouldn’t have done it deliberately. I can’t bear the thought of people thinking she could. Let alone the thought of someone getting away with her murder. So since the police refuse to continue the investigation, I intend to find her killer myself.

Sandra: Do you have any family?

I have my church family, but I’m kind of new there so I’m not close to anyone, really. I live with my friend Julie whose wedding is in a few weeks. I have no siblings. My parents are also gone. Daisy was the closest thing to family that I had and now she’s gone, too. Her long-lost nephew Edward shares my grief, but he seems just as anxious as the police to let the investigation die.

Sandra: So, during the investigation you met Tom Parker.  Tell us a bit about him.  What was your first impression? 

He seemed kind and compassionate. He wore a suit and tie, not a uniform, which put me at ease. I am not comfortable around cops, not since one took my father away when I was a child. Of course, when he refused to reopen the case, I knew he just pressed his business card into my hand to placate me.

Sandra: Do you still feel the same?

I’m not sure. Half the time I think I can trust him, that he actually cares about me more than just as a witness or because I stumbled into danger. Then…he’ll go and do something that makes me realize that when he spouted his “People are rarely what they seem” motto, he was talking about himself.

Sandra: Is there one event that shaped your life and made you who you are today?

Yes, my father died in police custody when I was ten. I’ll never forget the day they took him away. He leaned his forehead against the window and said, “Remember Kate, I love you. I will always love you.” I didn’t understand why they took him away. Mom told me over and over again that he didn’t do anything wrong, but she also told me not to talk about him, so what was I supposed to think? We ended up moving very far away to live with my Gran and Gramps and escape the questions, and the merciless taunts of my classmates. It made me a very private person. Mom battled depression after that. My Gramps was a gardener. My Gran was into herbal remedies and my dad had been a medicinal researcher so I guess I came by my vocation naturally. My interest in finding a remedy for depression in particular came from watching my mom.

Sandra: You seem really brave striking out on your own this way to solve your friend’s murder. Aren’t you afraid the murderer might come after you?

The thought had crossed my mind, and my roommate pointed it out a time or two to try to discourage me, but if you understood how much Daisy did for me, you’d understand why I can’t let her reputation be destroyed this way. I’d be letting her down.

Sandra: Some have suggested you’re more concerned about how such a mishap on her part would reflect on the caliber of your research. Care to respond?

That’s ridiculous. Yes, this research is very important to me. And yes, if people believed Daisy accidentally drank tea made from the wrong marigolds, it would probably cause some concern among the board members of the foundation that provided our funding grant, but that’s not why I’m trying to clear Daisy’s name! She was my friend.

Sandra:  Is there anything you fear?

Sure, we all have fears. I guess deep down my greatest fear is finding out that my dad really had done something horribly wrong and was a bad person like my classmates had said. Maybe that’s why it’s so important to me to prove Daisy didn’t do anything wrong.

Sandra:  What do you value above all else?

Loyalty. Friends you can count on no matter what.

Sandra: What do you hope people will learn from your experience?

Believe in people. Don’t give up on them. Look past what they’re doing to the hurting person inside. Look for the good in people.

Patricia: 
Deadly Devotion is a book I've read and loved, not only for the characters, but I found the story line very intriguing, especially the herbal part of it.  I love the idea of a tea shop where you can mix your own herbal teas. 

So, do you have a favorite herbal remedy or tea? Leave a comment letting me know and one lucky person will receive my copy of Deadly Devotion! Comments open until Monday night, June 10, 2013.

You can learn more about Sandra’s books and bonus features at www.SandraOrchard.com or connect at www.Facebook.com/SandraOrchard

Deadly Devotion—Port Aster Secrets #1

A romantic suspense/mystery series ~ Revell Publishing
Releases June 2013

Amazon US Amazon CA Barnes & Noble Book Depository (free worldwide shipping) Chapters/Indigo Christian Book Distributors

To Plagiarize or Not to Plagiarize

                                                                                                      by Heidi Larson Geis

I wrote something amazing today and I’m so proud of it I just had to share it with you:

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair…

Can you believe how talented I am? Wait, what? You think that it sounds familiar and you wonder if maybe I’m taking credit for the awesome writing of someone else?

(Photo: Kirsten Brownrigg, Herald de Paris)

Well, you would be correct. One of my favorite English writers, Charles Dickens wrote that beautiful piece of literature as part of the opening line to his classic A Tale of Two Cities. Do I wish I had written some of his oft-quoted lines? Absolutely. Is it okay for me to take them and pretend to have written them myself? No. And in reality, it’s kind of stupid, since most people recognize his writing; it is, as I said, oft-quoted.

Is it illegal for me to call Dickens’ work my own? Surprisingly, no. It's called plagiarism, and although copyright laws technically protect what is known as intellectual property, there are no laws that relate specifically to plagiarism. It is, however really, really unethical and it can get you into a lot of trouble in the educational sphere.

Which brings me to why I’m a little late to writing my blog today. I was dealing with two students who plagiarized their work on a team project in an online college class. They literally copied their portions of the project word-for-word from the Internet--a 100% match. One other team member and I did our own work and properly cited our sources, but apparently, the other two could not be bothered to do their own work. Not only was this unfair to us, it was disrespectful to the original authors of the material who devoted their time, presented their knowledge, and applied their talent.

If you would’ve told me back when I started work on my BA in English that the mostly-adult students in my classes would plagiarize their work, I would not have believed you. I mean, all of these students know that work is put through a plagiarism checker, and I would think they all know they can get kicked out of school for it. But students who love language and writing enough to pursue a degree in it? There’s no way these people would steal the writing of another...And yet, here I am, stewing about not one, but two such students.

Plagiarism is not just “borrowing” or “copying” someone else’s work; it is literary theft, and it is not okay. And even if you pull out your trusty thesaurus and change some of the words, if you fail to give credit to the original source of the idea, it’s still plagiarism. 

According to the “Purdue OWL (Online Writing Lab)” (2013), you must give credit (cite or document) the following:

• “Words or ideas presented in a magazine, book, newspaper, song, TV program, movie, Web page, computer program, letter, advertisement, or any other medium
• Information you gain through interviewing or conversing with another person, face to face, over the phone, or in writing
• When you copy the exact words or a unique phrase
• When you reprint any diagrams, illustrations, charts, pictures, or other visual materials
• When you reuse or repost any electronically-available media, including images, audio, video, or other media” (para. 5).

According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, the word “plagiarism” is derived from the “Latin plagiarius ‘kidnapper, seducer, plunderer, one who kidnaps the child or slave of another’ (2013) and first surfaced in the late 16^th/early 17^th century, when the Roman poet Martial used the word to describe a “literary kidnapper” who had stolen his verses (2013). 

There is a long, but fascinating history regarding plagiarism, intellectual property, and copyright laws; I encourage you to check it out here. (I think you’ll be shocked by some of the more famous plagiarizers!) 

I had originally planned to blog about time management or ways to help you remember things (since I got crazy busy and completely spaced my May 7^th blog responsibility!!) but after this experience—which I regret was not the first time I’ve encountered plagiarism in the classroom—I felt compelled to bring it up to our reading and writing audience. Obviously, with as few as three original story plots (or as many as 40, depending on who you ask) it is impossible for anything truly unique to exist. But it is our duty as responsible writers to make sure we are doing everything in our power to update, innovate, renovate, or in other ways transform work to create something that we can honestly claim is ours alone. We must work hard to fashion our own ideas into our own words, and when we can’t say it better than someone else, to give that someone else the credit they deserve. 
  
With so much information so readily available at our fingertips, and the option of cut-and-paste making it incredibly easy to “borrow” or “copy” the work of others, we must be more careful than ever. Writers (even student writers) need to have enough respect for themselves (and their readers!) to explore their own ideas, create their own work, and craft their own words. As author Walter Colton said, “Most plagiarists, like the drone, have neither taste to select, industry to acquire, nor skill to improve, but impudently pilfer the honey ready prepared, from the hive.”

How do you feel about plagiarism? Tell me about one of your own experiences, or if you would be shocked to find that Benjamin Franklin was one of the most famous plagiarizers…

References:

Lynch, J. (2006, 2013). Writing World. Retrieved from http://www.writing-world.com/rights/lynch.shtml
Online Etymology Dictionary. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=plagiarism 
Purdue OWL (Online Writing Lab). (1995-2013). Retrieved from http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/589/02/ 
Photo: http://www.heralddeparis.com/plagiarism-and-the-web-a-blunt-look-at-how-the-internet-redefines-ethics/89940

To Do List or Time With The Father?

Lake Superior -
A wonderful place to view while praying!

To Do List or Time With The Father?

By Alena Tauriainen

I’m sitting in my home and it’s blissfully quiet with Jesus Culture playing on Youtube.

Puts me in the lap of my Father. Every. Time. 

I started the day with this humungous un-manageable list of things to do.  

Seriously, I set myself up for failure.

As I busily typed and looked at the clock, I felt myself slipping into a black hole of un-fulfilled responsibilities.  I couldn’t work fast enough.

In the back of my head I knew I hadn’t taken time to pray with My Father.  But my soul -- the human side kept saying you have soooo much to do.

But really, how much was I getting done without praying?   What’s the use of trudging through when I have no peace?  The black hole was getting wider and deeper.

Now, I’ve never been the brightest fish in the pond, but hey, even I knew I was getting nowhere.

I reverted to what I truly know.  Time in Prayer and Worship would be so much better.

I spent time at the feet of My Father. 

For me, Prayer + Worship = Peace. 

The difference? My To Do list is still there, the pile just as high. 

  

After time with My Father, peace and love are now my partners as I step out to handle the responsibilities for the day.

What about you?  What do you do when the responsibilities of life pull at you? How do you find time to sit at the feet of The Father?

Blessings!

Alena T.

Lessons Learned: Memorial Day 2013

In addition to visiting Fort Snelling National Cemetery and Lakewood Cemetery every Memorial Day, we also spend time with family – grilling, doing yard work, and sleeping in. As a working mom, it’s also an extra day I’m blessed to spend with our fifteen-month-old daughter, Haley. This year, while Daddy helped Grandma with some gardening, Haley and I meandered along the sidewalk holding hands. And the next thing I knew, she tumbled chipmunk teeth first into the pavement, sprawled out. 

Screaming. Bleeding.

I’ve never been squeamish when it comes to blood. But I’ve also never seen my child covered in it, wailing. In her entire life, her worst injuries have amounted to a couple minor bumps and bruises I can count on one hand.

These days, with my baby toddling and exploring, all I want to do is protect her. And somewhere between trying to keep ice on her lip and the blood off of her grandma’s pale yellow rug, I had a fleeting impression of another side of Memorial Day.

In the past, I’ve spent the day reflecting on the service and sacrifices of my grandparents’ generation. I’ve never really taken the time to ponder the parents who bravely trust their babies into the service of our country. We most certainly should thank their sons and daughters for serving our country and protecting our freedoms. But as I scooped my daughter up to cuddle her pain away, I am reminded to thank these parents for the sacrifices they make each day. Not only do they entrust their children to our military to do this noble work – they allow their children to protect them.

So to those who have served, are serving, and will serve our county and protect our liberties, whether grandparents, fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, or our children, thank you for your service.

 Memorial Day is a time to remember.  And a time to say thank you.

Boy, I Wish Authors Would Listen

Pet peeves. Admit it. We all have them…those little things that annoy us.  If they increase in number they can push us to the boiling point.

When we find too many of them in books, they make us want to pitch the book across the room. (Usually we duly note the author’s name and refrain from choosing another one of her books.)

Here’s a list of my pet peeves in books:

   Too many characters introduced too quickly. Until we get to know them, it’s hard to keep them straight.

• ·      Telling me how a character felt. Just let me see it!
• ·      Use of the passive voice.
• ·      Weak-willed characters
• ·      Selfish characters
• ·      Cliché characters, plots or emotions
• ·      Purple prose (her eyes were like sapphire orbs)
• ·      Jumping point of view with in a scene. Stay in one character’s head, please!
• ·      Characters who get along with everyone. What? Don’t they have a backbone?
• ·      Characters with similar names. (Jim, Tim, Slim, and Kim make my head spinl.)
• ·      Killing off a favorite character in a series. (This happened recently. The author killed the heroine of the previous book. I’m having serious trouble liking the new heroine.)

What about you? What makes a book-lover like you want to pitch one across the room?

Join the Catch a Falling Star Launch Party!

Photo by Ian Layzell/flickr.com  

Hi, this is Roxanne Sherwood Gray inviting you to celebrate the launch of Beth K. Vogt's new book, Catch a Falling Star! Help yourself to a drink. Grab some goodies. Remember: cyber food is all low-cal and gluten-free. ;-) 

Photo by fjordaan/flickr.com.

Is life about accomplishing plans . . . or wishes coming true . . . or something more?

Dr. Kendall Haynes’s plans to have it all—a career, a husband, a family—are eluding her. Now that she’s thirty-six, she needs to stop wishing upon a star and face reality: Some dreams just never come true.

Air Force pilot Griffin Walker prefers flying solo in the air and on the ground—until a dangerous choice ejects him from the cockpit. His life becomes even more complicated after the sudden death of his parents makes him the guardian of his sixteen-year-old brother. There’s no way his life will ever get back on course now.

When their lives collide during a near tragedy, Kendall and Griffin must decide if they can embrace the unexpected changes God has waiting for them.

***

Behind the Scenes of Catch a Falling Star:

 1. Vogt dedicated the book to: “Ian Lyons, who taught me about courageous faith. June 23, 1995—April 27, 2009.” 

2. Ian Walker, who is Griffin's 16-year-old brother, has severe allergies. Vogt says, “I wrote that into the story because allergies are an increasing problem for kids nowadays. And as children hit their teens, they often struggle with wanting to fit in –and they feel like their allergies make them different from their peers. It's understandable. In some elementary schools, children with allergies are required to stay together on field trips with the teacher or teacher assistant who carries the required medications.”

3. Vogt writes from experience. Air Force pilot Griffin Walker suffers from vertigo, an ailment Vogt struggled with before and during the writing of her novel.

Here's my 5 Star Review for Catch a Falling Star:

A birthday celebration for thirty-something Dr. Kendall Haynes goes terribly wrong. First, her mother pressures her to relinquish grandmother Mina’s cherished heirloom ring to her kid sister—after all, Kendall’s not using it. Then, a friend announces an engagement, leaving Kendall as the last of a group that started out as single doctors. This birthday amplifies the ticking of her biological clock, and she wonders whether she’ll ever find that special someone. But it’s a good thing she’s in the restaurant “celebrating” because her medical skills are needed to save a stranger’s life.

Air Force pilot Griffin Walker’s life is spinning out of control as surely as the vertigo that’s grounded him. He’s desperate to regain his flying status. But more than that, as a recently appointed guardian, he’s got to figure out how to parent the teen his deceased parents had adopted—Ian’s life depends on it. And just where does spunky Dr. Kendall Haynes fit into his future?

Catch a Falling Star by Beth K. Vogt is destined for my keeper shelf with sparkling dialogue, believable characters who feel like friends, laugh-out-loud humor and a plot that kept me turning pages. Besides caring how Kendall and Griffin would ever make their relationship work, Vogt had me hoping for happily ever after’s for her secondary characters too. I cried with Evie as she battled adopted son, Javan’s, rejection. I empathized with teenager Ian’s grief over the loss of his parents. I laughed at the antics of Kendall’s loveable, slobbery goldendoodle, Sully. Reading long past my bedtime, I turned page after page rooting for all the characters’ dreams to come true.

If you love a good romance, Catch a Falling Star is a book you won’t want to miss!

***

 
 
Beth K. Vogt is a nonfiction author who said she'd never write fiction. She also said she'd never marry a doctor or anyone in the military and is now happily married to a former Air Force family physician. Beth believes God's best is often behind the door marked "Never." An established magazine writer and editor, Beth's debut novel, Wish You Were Here, was released May 2012. She writes inspirational contemporary romance because she believes there is more to happily ever after than the fairy tales tell us. 

Leave a comment —and don't forget to provide your email address—and you'll be entered in a drawing to win a copy of Catch a Falling Star! (Or if you already own Catch a Falling Star, you may opt to receive Wish You Were Here instead.)