Replay of Webinar Link. This will show as a broken link until after the webinar plays.
Direct link to join HopeWriters
If you have any interest in learning more about joining Hopewriters, follow this link. Yes, I will benefit from it. The opportunity to join stats this Monday and goes through Friday at Midnight.
DAY 4: CONNECT
Photo by Toa Heftiba on Unsplash
How do we connect when we can’t see the people we are talking to in the eye? It’s not easy. We try to connect with common experiences, common hurts, common goals, common beliefs.
We also realize we are connected as humans. The advantage of not seeing each other is that we aren’t bound by the externals that can affect our attitudes toward others. How do they dress? What color are they? What part of town do they look like they come from? These barriers don’t affect our attitudes toward each other when we are writing/reading.
Recently, I became aware of how interconnected the parts of my body are. Dental work caused me to have neck pain that traveled down to my back. Nothing seemed to relieve it. In desperation, I called my physical therapist daughter. She did some work on my back and neck. Most of it was assessment. but there was some pushing and moving.
By the next day, I was sorer, especially on the opposite side. But then, it started improving. We need to find ways to connect with our readers because we are connected…often more than we realize. #writebettertogether #connect #hopewriters
DAY 5: CULTIVATE
Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash
How does cultivating apply to writing? One way it applies is in terms of your readers. We must learn to cultivate our readers. Who are our readers? One surprising thing I have learned is that I have a person who wants to read what I have to write. First, I need to figure out who she is. Next, I need to find her. For some of us, that can be quite a challenge. But once you find your reader…or figure out who she is, you find you have a heart for her. Not everyone cares for that person.
I used to think that I needed to write as general as possible. But I didn’t connect with very many people that way. As I learn who my person is, It helps me know who I am writing to. It doesn’t mean that other people won’t enjoy what I have to say. It just means that I narrow my focus and I have more knowledge on my topic. Others will come to eat what I have to say too, but my ideal reader will be more of a supporter.
When it comes to tomatoes, they are cultivated so the farmer has the kind he wants…or the kind his buyers want! The same goes for the writer. Except that the writer needs to write with passion on her topic. She needs to cultivate her material for her reader. Who is her reader? What is her reader’s felt need? What is her actual need? All those things need to be considered. It’s no accident that often, the ideal reader for a certain writer is someone like her at an earlier stage of her life. #betterwritingtogether #cultivate #hopewriters
DAY 6: CREATE
Photo by Alice Dietrich on Unsplash
I love this reminder that creativity is often messy! When it comes to writing, it is messy both in editing and in thinking. How do you put your
idea in a way that will communicate to your reader? Does it make sense?
Does it connect with them? Is it concrete enough? Does it need an
illustration to bring it home?
Is there a balance between intensity, humor, content, and practicality?
Collaboration is very helpful for this aspect of writing. One. person is
rarely able to be good at all these skills AND be objective about their
material.
Another way this process is messy is during the collaboration part. When
ideas are flowing, it can get pretty crazy. Depending on how many creative
types you have, the ideas can get pretty far out there.
How do we handle ideas we don’t want to use kindly? We need the
creatives. But they can get hurt quickly too. The same goes for all kinds of
other types in the group. The quiet ones get overlooked, the worker bees get taken advantage of, etc,
It can get very messy! We often need to watch out for our relationships
or they will catch up with us. Relational debris will be lying all over the place!
It’s something we don’t want. Because we want to cultivate our people as
we create. #betterwritingtogether #create #hopewriters
DAY 7: COMMUNITY
Photo by Hillary Ungson on Unsplash
Community is where we all meet. Writers are in community with other writers. But they are also in community with their readers too. This is where we jon with others that we have something in common with. Many of us writers may only have writing in common with one another.
With our readers, we usually have a little more in common. We tend to have more belief systems in common (depending on the topic of our writing) and we are growing together if our community is working well toward a common goal.
But another community I want to mention is the one that grounds my growth and that of most christians. It is my church community. It keeps me grounded in so many ways! It keeps me in worship each week as well as in community with an age mix of all types, It is where I am encouraged in GOD’s Word, encouraged by others to follow after GOD, reminded of who GOD is and what His promises are each week in worship as I pray, sing and hear the preaching of the Word with a community of people who love GOD imperfectly, just as I do. We find hope as we confess our sins and are reminded of His promises of forgiveness.
What hope! In this COVID world, it has been hard not being able to get together like we once did. In the last month, our church has held some outdoor services on Sundays that have involved more people. It has almost been like the old days…except we are outside. It has been a wonderful gift. It reminds us of the wonderful gift of worship together.#betterwriterstogether #community #hopewriters
