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| Karen Sargent |
The
writing life can be filled with ups and downs. What do you do when you get in a
funk, and things just don’t seem to be going right? Karen Sargent offers encouraging
words that might be just what you need to help keep you motivated. I’m tucking
some of these gems away, myself! ~ Dawn
When We’re Stuck,
Frustrated, or
Feel Like Giving Up
We writers like our routines, don’t we? We sit in our favorite
spot to write (the love seat in my living room immersed in natural light). The
drink that best fuels our creativity sits nearby (a mug of cream and sugar with
a touch of coffee for me, please). Our favorite resources are within reach (my
well-worn copy of The Emotion Thesaurus).
And other various tools are strategically placed (a purple pen and a note pad
on my right, so I can jot down ideas that shoot from my brain when it’s
firing—like an ingenious plot complication, or avocados so I’ll remember to add
them to my grocery list.)
With everything “just so,” we power up the laptop and begin to
write. Sometimes the words flash like lightning from our fingertips to the
keyboard, powerful and magnificent. Other times we write three words forward
and ten words back, wondering how many times—and how hard—we can punch the back
space key before it starts throwing sparks.
When my words can’t be coaxed or wheedled or threatened forth,
I pull at my hair and scream at the cat and heave my coffee mug across the room
where it shatters against the wall. Not really. But I sure feel like it.
Instead, I take a deep yoga belly breath (or what I imagine is
a belly breath since I don’t yoga) and reach for what may possibly be my most
important writing tool of all (trumpets flourish…deep manly voice announces):
THE BINDER OF INSPIRATION!
Now, that sounds all fancy and sophisticated I know, but
actually, my binder is just a binder. Black. Two-inches. Three rings. Inside
are the printed chapters of my manuscript because I still proof better on paper
than on a screen.
But outside, inserted beneath the clear plastic that covers
the front of the binder, are words that inspire me to keep writing—handwritten
on post-its or paper scraps or neatly typed on colored paper, creating a
jumbled mosaic of inspiration. So when I need to be inspired, I go to the
binder. And depending on my crisis-of-the-moment, I seek the voices I need to
hear most.
When I’m stuck in my story, I look for inspiration to unstick
me:
- Questions to ask when writing: “What if?” or “What can be worse?”—Jerry Jenkins
- Plunge a character into terrible trouble. Everything he does to solve it only makes it worse.—Jerry Jenkins (again)
- Words create sentences; sentences create paragraphs; sometimes paragraphs quicken and begin to breathe.—Stephen King
Occasionally I dwell on how impossible it can be to get a
manuscript past the industry gatekeepers and into readers’ hands. I wonder,
“Why am I doing this?” The answers are here:
- my heart woke me crying out last night
my heart said
write the book—Rupi Kaur (poem)
- Write every day, line by line, page by page, hour by hour. Do this despite fear. For above all else, beyond imagination and skill, what the world asks of you is courage, courage to risk rejection, ridicule and failure. As you follow the quest for stories told with meaning and beauty, study thoughtfully but write boldly. Then, like the hero of the fable, your dance will dazzle the world.—Robert McKee
- At the end of the day a reader is going to pause her life and open your book to enter the world you created.—Robert Yehling
Or when doors close—windows, too—and I whisper, “I can’t do
this,” these words tell me I can:
- Do not despise this small beginning, for the eyes of the Lord rejoice to see the work begin. Zechariah 4:10 (NLT)
- Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Galations 6:9 (NLT)
- Our investments of time now will lead to success later.—Chinese fortune cookie
Okay, I don’t believe in fortune cookies, but I do believe God
could speak through a fortune cookie if He wanted to (He is God). Or it could
be coincidence. But since this came at a low-low time when I really needed
it…it’s binder worthy!
Whose voices and words inspire you? Are they binder worthy?
Please share. I’m always looking for inspiration to add to my mosaic!
When
tragedy strikes, Maggie discovers a mother’s love never ends—not even when her
life does. Longing for her family after her death, she becomes a “lingering
spirit” and returns home where she helplessly witnesses her family’s downward
spiral in the aftermath of her passing.
Her
husband is haunted by past mistakes and struggles to redeem himself. Her
teenage daughter silently drowns in her own guilt, secretly believing she is
responsible for her mother’s death. Only her five-year-old, full of innocence,
can sense her presence.
Although
limited by her family’s grief and lack of faith, Maggie is determined to keep a
sacred promise and salvage her family before her second chance runs out.
Karen Sargent
creates characters whose imperfect faith collides with real-life conflicts,
taking readers on a journey through grace and redemption to discover enduring
hope. A romantic element is woven within each story. In addition to writing
novels, she blogs at The MOM Journey,
where moms aren’t perfect and that’s perfectly okay. When she’s not writing,
she teaches high school and college English and resides in the beautiful
Arcadia Valley with her husband and two daughters.
To connect with Karen and learn more, please visit:
Website: www.karensargentbooks.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/KarenSargentAuthor
Twitter: www.twitter.com/KarenSargent_87
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/karensargent87/
