I know.I know.
Two posts in a day.There certainly is such a thing as "too much Cynthia"....But I've been thinking of some fairly serious issues in terms of this blog and my future as a writer.
1) My readership is down.I was getting about 200 hits a day and now am down to around 25. And while I love all of you who have bothered to journey with me these past few years,I have been thinking hard about my future as a writer. My heart's desire is to write articles based on Scripture and well, just LIFE....kind of like what I've been doing in this blog, however there is one small difference. I want to try to write for pay.
2) I have ordered the 2014 Christian Writer's Market.I had bought it once before (the then current year, bought toward Fall of the year....) and I never really opened it like...ever. This year I want to try to change that.
3) I know that writing is a skill that must be educated and honed....and I've never done that--I'm flying by the seat of my pants. Having an excellent vocabulary and recalling very much of the grammar studies in my College English, has helped me greatly. I've done a lot of writing by request however it has all been pro bono.This shows me that I do have something people want.I just need to get hooked up to someone who would be willing to pay for these words of mine. I love to teach and discuss Bible and find that my perspective as a woman with enormous medical challenges, throws a twist on my words that can be helpful to some people. I am forced to lean HARD on the arms of Jesus...And this lends a depth and a certain slant to my writing.
I love reading and writing nonfiction. My heros are Randy Alcorn, John Piper, Francis Chan....notice there is not a woman among them. And that is because God gave me a male brain. My best friends have always been males and I love nothing better than to sit and hash out the current contents on our brains.
While I love tea and sharing it with my women friends....I am always eager to get on with the prayer and I have pretty much given up on talking theology with any of them. That's okay....they do many other things that I have no interest or skill in.
Years ago I taught a ladies Bible study and I went in there with the goal of showing these women that they have brains and that God expects them to use them. We read Pursuing God;works by Tozer;and Jerry Bridges and Richard Foster (another favorite) as well as Calvin Miller. Well the idea caught on--to my delight, we had lively DEEP discussions.No "Bad Girls of the Bible" for us (my apologies to the author of Bad Girls, I just feel that there is such slim pickings for women who want to think that in any Bible Study for Women you can pretty much predict which books will be read.
So sorry...I took off on a tangent.My original point being that I would like to write and think in a manner that could be enjoyed by both sexes. (well, I think women authors DO sometimes have an advantage in the artistic portion of the craft....WITH the notable of Calvin Miller who writes just beautifully. This year I discovered a woman who knows how to think and who has a poet's soul....The author of 1000 Gifts. Ann Voskamp. If I could come anywhere near this mighty woman of God I would die a happy woman.
What do all of these people on this list share in common? They have a heart that pants after God and a brain that,instead of getting in their way, helps them to soar.
There was something I learned as a painter years ago. Paintings either need to be meticulous in detail--or they need to exult in the medium, not guided by the subject,but guided by their vision and recording it with JOY in the medium. The looser I painted the better my message came through. There have been times (some of which exist in my manuscript memoir) when I let my love for the words guide me...I expanded my "palette" to the nth degree...I selected each word with the care of a person examining an engagement ring for their beloved.
I will try to update you as hopefully I will have some notice of upcoming publications or,hopefully not, new word on my physical status.
Tomorrow I'm going to the hospital to have a Total Right Shoulder Replacement. It's quite a risk....should I develop infection, I could lose my arm. So please pray for me.
So yes, you heard me right....this blog is going to be updated only sporadically. It's been a great7 years writing for you. Vaya con Dios.
Two posts in a day.There certainly is such a thing as "too much Cynthia"....But I've been thinking of some fairly serious issues in terms of this blog and my future as a writer.
1) My readership is down.I was getting about 200 hits a day and now am down to around 25. And while I love all of you who have bothered to journey with me these past few years,I have been thinking hard about my future as a writer. My heart's desire is to write articles based on Scripture and well, just LIFE....kind of like what I've been doing in this blog, however there is one small difference. I want to try to write for pay.
2) I have ordered the 2014 Christian Writer's Market.I had bought it once before (the then current year, bought toward Fall of the year....) and I never really opened it like...ever. This year I want to try to change that.
3) I know that writing is a skill that must be educated and honed....and I've never done that--I'm flying by the seat of my pants. Having an excellent vocabulary and recalling very much of the grammar studies in my College English, has helped me greatly. I've done a lot of writing by request however it has all been pro bono.This shows me that I do have something people want.I just need to get hooked up to someone who would be willing to pay for these words of mine. I love to teach and discuss Bible and find that my perspective as a woman with enormous medical challenges, throws a twist on my words that can be helpful to some people. I am forced to lean HARD on the arms of Jesus...And this lends a depth and a certain slant to my writing.
I love reading and writing nonfiction. My heros are Randy Alcorn, John Piper, Francis Chan....notice there is not a woman among them. And that is because God gave me a male brain. My best friends have always been males and I love nothing better than to sit and hash out the current contents on our brains.
While I love tea and sharing it with my women friends....I am always eager to get on with the prayer and I have pretty much given up on talking theology with any of them. That's okay....they do many other things that I have no interest or skill in.
Years ago I taught a ladies Bible study and I went in there with the goal of showing these women that they have brains and that God expects them to use them. We read Pursuing God;works by Tozer;and Jerry Bridges and Richard Foster (another favorite) as well as Calvin Miller. Well the idea caught on--to my delight, we had lively DEEP discussions.No "Bad Girls of the Bible" for us (my apologies to the author of Bad Girls, I just feel that there is such slim pickings for women who want to think that in any Bible Study for Women you can pretty much predict which books will be read.
So sorry...I took off on a tangent.My original point being that I would like to write and think in a manner that could be enjoyed by both sexes. (well, I think women authors DO sometimes have an advantage in the artistic portion of the craft....WITH the notable of Calvin Miller who writes just beautifully. This year I discovered a woman who knows how to think and who has a poet's soul....The author of 1000 Gifts. Ann Voskamp. If I could come anywhere near this mighty woman of God I would die a happy woman.
What do all of these people on this list share in common? They have a heart that pants after God and a brain that,instead of getting in their way, helps them to soar.
There was something I learned as a painter years ago. Paintings either need to be meticulous in detail--or they need to exult in the medium, not guided by the subject,but guided by their vision and recording it with JOY in the medium. The looser I painted the better my message came through. There have been times (some of which exist in my manuscript memoir) when I let my love for the words guide me...I expanded my "palette" to the nth degree...I selected each word with the care of a person examining an engagement ring for their beloved.
I will try to update you as hopefully I will have some notice of upcoming publications or,hopefully not, new word on my physical status.
Tomorrow I'm going to the hospital to have a Total Right Shoulder Replacement. It's quite a risk....should I develop infection, I could lose my arm. So please pray for me.
So yes, you heard me right....this blog is going to be updated only sporadically. It's been a great7 years writing for you. Vaya con Dios.
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