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| Melinda Viergever Inman |
I’m so pleased Melinda
Viergever Inman has joined us at Seriously Write as one of our regular
contributors. While chatting with her online, it became clear to both of us
that God was leading us in this direction. Melinda will be here on the first
Friday of every month to offer encouragement to writers. Please join me in
welcoming her! ~ Dawn
Writer
Refining
Without a clue, I blasted into my season of writing. Words
poured out of me. When I thought I had a story ready, I imagined myself as Jo
from Little Women, tying her
manuscript with string and sending it off to a publisher. I did the same.
My work was done, I thought. I could move on to the next
novel. The publisher would take it from there and do all the work.
This is where we all throw our heads back and laugh. Silly,
delusional girl!
What I initially thought was a complete story was actually a
rough draft. I had SO much to learn. I went back to work. Six years later my
first novel was published.
Not only is writing a calling and a way of service for
Christian writers, but it is a craft and an industry. We have to learn skills
and terms we never knew. The publishing world shifts constantly, and we have to
keep track of each fluctuation.
We must wade into the world of social media without losing
our minds. Indeed, we have to retain our sanity enough to market there. Most of
us have no marketing experience. We are stretched in every way.
The life of a writer has always been hard. Think: the
Apostle Paul.
Obviously, we don’t pen Holy Scripture, but we are also
inspired to encourage and to challenge God’s people. Just as Paul was gifted by
God for his particular mission and endured all the hardships associated with
his calling (see 2 Corinthians 11:16-33; 1:3-14), so we are equipped, and we
must persevere.
Granted, we undertake a vastly different type of writing. We
write stories, the parables of our time. Jesus demonstrated that a story is the
most powerful way to teach a lesson. We also pen short missives to our “tribes”
with a specific goal to encourage, uplift, or teach.
We press on, heeding Paul’s words: "We were crushed and
overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, and we thought we would never live
through it. In fact, we expected to die. But
as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on
God, who raises the dead” (2 Corinthians 1:8b-9 NLT).
Unlike Paul, we probably won’t literally die for what we
write and speak. But after attending my first writers’ conference, I wondered!
Build a website? Use social media? Market? All I wanted was to write fiction!
However, just as surely as God enabled writers to inscribe
his sacred message, so he continues to inspire and equip writers today, for our
own good and his glory.
We write to serve him, so we must learn to rely only on God.
No one ever thought it would be this hard. But God will use our writing, not
only to edify and encourage our readers, but also to refine us.
As a newbie monthly writer for Seriously Write, my goal is to encourage fellow writers in the
refining.
Nudged
toward evil by Satan, Cain 's hard-hearted hubris results in Abel's murder and
Lilith's broken heart when he is banished, splitting the family and propelling
mankind toward ever-increasing violence as their siblings seek revenge. Crushed
by what he's done, Cain runs, certain he's destroyed Lilith, his parents, and
the entire family. With Satan hounding his every move and no idea of the forces
arrayed against him, can Cain ever find God after he's committed a sin of such
magnitude? Can he ever be forgiven?
Melinda Viergever Inman
was raised in the tornado capital of the U.S.—Wakita, Oklahoma, of
"Twister" fame. There her parents met. There her roots were sunk in a
storytelling family. During years of relocation, tragedy struck. Wounded and
heartbroken, Melinda forsook her roots and ran from herself and from God. A
journey of trial and heartache brought her home again. A prodigal now returned
to her secure foundation, she writes with passion, illustrating God's love for
wounded people as he makes beauty from ashes. Refuge is her first novel. Melinda shepherds women in church and
in prison ministry. She writes inspirational material and Bible studies. Her
six precocious offspring, all grown, teach and inspire her. With her husband
and family, she is involved in a church-planting ministry in India: Reaching
Indians Ministries International.
You can learn more and connect with Melinda here:
Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Melinda-V-Inman/189731601076470
Website: http://melindainman.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MelindaVInman
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/melindavinman/
Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/+MelindaViergeverInman/posts/p/pub