Working Through Obstacles

Obstacles can either stop us, slow us down or challenge us. I suppose there are more options, but those three are my focus today. The bottom line is, obstacles are there. Each and every one of us has a myriad of obstacles in the way of what we want to do. I have always had obstacles to my writing. When I was a child, writing in my hollow tree, the weather, my dad's violent fits, one of my siblings or even a spider could be an obstacle to my writing. I was not about to share my space with a spider!

I don't want to allow my obstacles to stop me or slow me down. This week, it's been a real challenge to keep my focus on writing. There are many reasons why, but if I don't get busy writing, those reasons, as valid as they might be, will quickly turn into excuses.

What about you? What are your obstacles? Are they real obstacles or new excuses?

Just sayin'.
~Tricia

Comments

Just Think

Sometimes, I just need to think. Life is busy, praise God, and time to think is a sweet luxury. This weekend, I am home almost alone....just myself and my 18-year-old daughter. My hubby took my two teenage sons on a father/son retreat, leaving us girls here alone and I've actually had time to think. As a writer, especially, I need thinking time. So far, the results of my thinking are: 1) I thought of a title for an article I've been wanting to write for a while, 2) I thought of an approach to a chapter in a book I'm writing, 3) I thought of a way to approach a rather sensitive subject without tossing blame directly onto certain people by name. 4) I thought of doing this blog post. So, my thinking has been very productive so far. Writers, do you take time to think? I grab every opportunity I have to do some serious thinking about my writing goals. For me, it's important to keep my goals in front of me as it makes me more likely to work to fulfil...

What's a Mom to do When her Son goes off to War?

Tears in a Bottle is filled with short, easy to read articles that address every day life from the perspective of my personal walk with God. Some articles in Tears in a Bottle were previously published by Regular Baptist Press, either in their Sunday School adult papers or their magazine, The Baptist Bulletin . About Letting Go , the second article in Tears in a Bottle , is the very personal story of when one of our sons decided to join the Marine Corps Infantry after 9/11. Just 17-years-old, he saw Ground Zero and felt the Holy Spirit was telling him to do his part to fight terrorism. My struggle with his decision is laid bare in this transparent article. After publication through Regular Baptist Press, this article went on to become a go-to resource for Military Chaplains. A hard article to write, but an even harder reality to live, find out how God protected my boy while keeping my heart together at the same time. Get your copy of Tears in a Bottl...

Editing Hurts

Editing hurts. Yes. It hurts when someone cuts your words, rearranges your sentences, deletes your creative use of language, etc. It hurts. The first thing a writer has to do is leave their ego at the door. Most writers write with passion and passion doesn't always reflect good grammar or proper use of punctuation. I recently edited for the CEO of a large corporation. She was taken aback by my edits and questioned if she wanted someone cutting her writing up like I did. But, while she might be a great CEO, her grammar, word choices and sentence structure were lacking. Most people, when writing with passion, give little thought to how their words are put together. The words spill out with feeling while grammar is laid aside. And that's ok. That's actually how it should be. We should write with passion.....then hire a good editor to make our points flow well and be cohesive. We editors make your passion shine by clothing your writing in easy-to-read prose with good ...

Search This Blog