Why I Write: Blogging with CWC

"You might not write well every day, but you can always edit a bad page. You can't edit a blank page," -Jodi Picoult

Prerequisite: If you weren't already aware, I am the president of WCHS's Creative Writing Club, and we have been working on blogs for the month of January, and we have banded together to create a website. And last week's writing prompt was 'Why I Write', and now, these are going to be posted on the website. Check out all of their responses!

This is mine:

I write because I have to. I write because words paint my lips and run through my veins. They chip off with my fingernails and grow out of my scalp with my hair.

Words have always come ever so naturally to me, but only recently have I realized that I want to write because I have a story to tell.  Words have been poured into this vessel from the hands of the Creator, and they overflow and spill onto the counter. A message from a seed placed by God blossoms within me, and writing is the place where I find myself.

I don't write because I want to, or because I enjoy it.  I write because if I didn't write, I would go mad.  My thoughts would build up like plaque, and my experiences would clutter my mind.  Like a dam after a flood, I would spill over and lose any grasp on reality I still cling to.

I write because it's the only things that I'm truly good at. I can weave an image out of the golden threads of my tongue. There's a story inside of me that has to come out, or it will eat me alive like a parasite I invited in.

I write to tell, not to sell.

~The WordShaker

2016 TBR List

"If you wish to be a writer, write!" -Epictetus 

This is my 2016 To Be Read List, which will be ever-increasing.  I will keep this as my featured post so you guys can see the updates. 

1. The Last Star by Rick Yancey (YA Science Fiction)

In the month of January, I have been super-obsessed with The Fifth Wave series.  While it's not perfect, I very much enjoyed reading it, and the writing and execution was stellar. I know this book doesn't come out until May 2016, believe me that I will go to Barnes and Noble and buy it on May 24th. So excited for how this series is going to wrap up!

2. Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand (Memior/True Story)

Saw the movie and I loved it, however, I have never gotten the chance to read the book, so that's what I'm going to do this year! Hopefully.  This is the true story of Louis Zamperini. 

3. The Distance from Me to You by Marina Gessner (YA Realistic Fiction)

So this book is in my genre, and I love finding those rare gems that are in that niche that I call 'my genre' - more on this later. So I plan to haul myself to Barnes and Noble to get this book because it looks freaking awesome. It's about this girl who goes on a trek in the Appalachian mountains to find herself before heading off to college. 

4. Darlah (172 Hours On the Moon) by Johan Harstad (YA Horror/Science Fiction)

This book is originally in Norwegian by a Norwegian author, so it is extremely hard to find. It's obviously about 172 hours on the moon, but more specifically, a testing program sending teenagers to space.  I'm not sure when I'll ever get to read this, but it's horror science fiction and it sounds so amazingly intense I can't wait. 

5. Alive by Scott Sigler (YA Science Fiction)

I don't know a whole lot about this book, but usually, I've heard that this makes a book better. So the rough synopsis is that a bunch of teenagers find themselves locked in a coffin.  The only form of identifications are the markings on their bodies and names on coffins.  They then have to figure all of this out and survive.  Sounds contrived, but I find myself drawn nonetheless. 

6. Looking For Alaska by John Green (YA Realistic Fiction)

Dear general population:  STOP telling me that this book is so amazing.  I don't want to know. I'm so glad that you love it but please stop ranting and raving about how amazing it is - you're kind of spoiling it for me. 

Anyways, most people are well-versed in what people say is the YA god of our time.  It's about this skinny kid who goes to boarding school and meets this wonderful girl, Alaska. Cliche, I know, but hey.  Why not?

7. If I Stay by Gayle Forman (YA Realistic Fiction)

This is another one of those popular books that I've yet to read - but I want to so bad. It's about Mia, who's got a perfect life, but all of it is shattered when her family dies in a car crash and she is in a coma.  Then, the story is her making the choice of life or death.  

Sounds epic.  Sounds deep.  I must read. 

8. Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion (YA Romance)

Think zombie apocalypse meets Romeo and Juliet. I was interested in the movie when it came out, but never had the chance to see it. However, I've always been interested in the concept and heard great things, so let's see if I like this one. 

9. Nil by Lynne Matson  Supernatural YA

Recommended by Amy, she described it as 'Lost meets The Maze Runner.  And knowing me, this is all that I really need to know.  Wish me luck in finding this sucker. 

10. Salt To The Sea by Ruta Sepetys Historical YA

A story about 4 teens whose lives cross in a historical tragedy akin to the Titanic. I have heard raving reviews of it, and have been interested in the history surrounding it. So hey, let's give it a shot. 

Of course I will read other books over the 2016 period; however, these are the ones that I vow to finish. And by posting this on my blog, I am holding myself accountable.  Then, I can look back at the end of the year and see how unproductive I was.  

Check out my Instagram to check out 2015's Top Reading Hits - @olivia.j.the.wordshaker

~The WordShaker

"Writing In The Glory" by Jennifer A. Miskov: A New Blog Series. Becoming the Message - Part 1.1: Writing In the Anointing

"While many times we write a book with other people in mind, the deepest transformation usually happens in our own lives," -Writing In the Glory, page 14

A wonderful friend at my church recommended this book to me, called Writing In the Glory by Jennifer A. Miskov. 

Writing In the Glory:  Living from Your Heart to Release a Book that will Impact the World

This book is sprinkled with writing prompts and things to think and pray about, and then, in turn, write about.  So once a month, I will be picking these prompts and posting them on my blog. 

This week's is titled Writing In the Anointing, and the prompt was this: 

1. In my research on revival, I have noticed many times that when babies are dedicated to God, either before or after their birth, a special blessing rests upon them for the rest of their lives. Take a few minutes to surrender your book to the Lord.  I encourage you to consecrate and release it to the Lord as an offering even before it is fully birthed.  Write a few paragraphs reflecting on how this felt or what God spoke prophetically over your book as you did this. 

And like the fickle little butterfly that I am, I totally started writing about something else. However, I do want to take a moment and focus on what the prompt is, and set that in stone. 

Lord, I surrender this idea to you in it's entirety.  I commit the words that I write, the characters I create, and the situations that I set up to ultimately reflect You and the purpose You want to reveal to the readers of this book. I ask that You flow through me as I am writing, and help me not get discouraged and remember that this is all for You - that there's a reason for all of this. 

When the Diary of Anne Frank was first made into a play, it was happy and cheerful - full on Disney fluff. This was in the fifties when the wounds of World War II were still raw and festering, and their deaths were only implied.  However, it was revamped in the nineties, harder and more realistic, but still containing the heart of the Diary itself.

And now, besides Isis, the greatest tragedy and threat that plagues America today is shootings. Cruel, insane people getting their hands on weapons, and walking into a place and opening hellfire. And back in early 2014, a dark idea blossomed in my mind.  While books have been written about school shootings before, never have they been very popular, however, I have felt a story blossoming within me -  a black rose with thorns that strike cringes when I mention the idea.  So I shut it down.  Ignored the plot bunny for a while while I worked on finishing the first draft of 'A Cactus In the Valley'.

But still, every once in awhile, I would be drawn back.  The story would stick it's hands in past the monster that was my current story and demand to be told. And so, during worship this Sunday, this story was once again brought to the forefront of my mind - I had noticed that many times I had been inspired to write this story when spending time in the presence of God.  So I asked him, "should I write this story?" because at that time, I was working on planning out a trilogy (crazy, I know).   And all I got from Him was a resounding 'yes'.

But my mind protested:  "It's about a school shooting, for goodness sake!" "No one will ever read this, much less publish it!"  "I'm not skilled, qualified, or experienced enough to write about something as raw and as tough as this!"

And after days of reluctantly sticking to this story regardless, I was doing some outlining work when God told me this: "Don't worry or give up on publication of this novel - there's a reason I'm having you write it."

And that's good enough for me.

~The WordShaker

Ships Just Passing in the Night

"Pen down your emotions before they rot your heart," -Sahej

So, I was talking to a friend earlier this week and I used a metaphor of ships passing in the night to describe my experience at school. And, well, it became a poem. Enjoy!

Based on the idiom originated from a poem by H.W. Longfellow.

Ships Just Passing in the Night

Copyright 2016 Olivia J, The WordShaker

There once was a lone sailor

On a solemn ship, just passing in the night.

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Its lone beam cut through the grey darkness

Of the piercing sleet and rain

pitter-pattering on the choppy sea

wrapped in cold and blight.

The sailor looked up, turned his eyes to the sky

And saw nothing but the clouds above

And he said to himself:

"Am I the only ship on this sea, just passing in the night?"

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Off on his journey he went, for months at a time,

Seeing no one, not a star in the sky

On his long, hard journey

to deliver the light.

Lonely and laborious, the job was

But he was the chosen one,

qualified for the job.

And, every once in awhile, he found something bright.

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Once in a blue moon,

although he ne'er saw such a sight,

his lightvessel's beam

would strike with ease

another ship just passing in the night.

Ecstatic, the sailor would rush to the rails

crying out, "Hello!  Is anyone there?"

And sometimes, the ship would draw near

exchange a friendly gaze, or a wave from its passengers

or a flicker of the bow's headlight.

But these were just ships passing in the night,

and the sailor would be alone again, having shared his light

and the ship would sail on

into the deep and treacherous night.

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The tempests beckoned him, and the boat creaked in fright

But the old sailor never ceased,

for this was his position,

and he would be sure to do it right.

Every once in a while, the sailor would have the luxury

of coming home, to his friends and his family.

The ship would be filled with fuel,

the cabinets stocked with food,

by friends who eagerly awaited for him

on the port in the daylight.

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And the old sailor, happy and full

would set back out on his long journey.

The anchor was polished and he was light of heart,

and ready to help the ships, just passing in the night.

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~The WordShaker

Life is a mystery waiting to be unraveled. (2015 in Overview)

"There is something delicious about writing the first words of a story. You never quite know where they'll take you," -Beatrix Potter

Life is a mystery waiting to be unraveled, and the years are the stepping stones along the path we all take.

Never did I think that I would get so low that the only place to go was up.  Never did I think that I would suffer my first broken heart.  Never did I think that a family member would commit suicide.

But never did I think that I would overcome.  Never did I think that I would go on my first date.  Never did I think that I would finish my novel. Never was I able to show love to the lost more than I was this year.

Never could I have predicted all of the bad that would befall, but never could I have imaged the great.  Truly, 2015 was a year of change and overcoming.

And never did I think that I would experience God's love like I have in this past year.

Never have I been a stronger, better and more mature person, which, truly, is the second most important thing in life.

Going into the year, I set only one goal for myself: to finish the first draft of 'A Cactus In the Valley' (Then 'Deus Ex Eremus: God From the Wilderness'. I'm still, ahem, working on the title). And on October 3rd, 2015, the first draft of my second novel was complete at 321 pages, and 109,853 words.

Only can I thank God for all of the good that has happened to me, and truthfully, I thank Him for the bad (hindsight is 20/20).  Because without my Savior, my life wouldn't be as flourishing as it is.  And despite myself, He his guiding me.

God qualifies the called, not calls the qualified.

So, writers, be encouraged! Take heart, for He has overcome the world. Set goals, because you can do anything through Christ who strengthens you.

My goals are as follows:

1. Swim more on a regular basis, because heck, I love it!

2. Finish A Cactus In the Valley 100% and get it ready for publication.

3. Prepare for marriage (domestic things as well as spiritual maturity and prepare to be a wife)

So, 2016.  Hit me with your best shot.

~The WordShaker