Dumb Little Man

I am horrible with grammar and punctuation. Thankfully, I have a friend who's genius with these two areas. I cling to her knowledge after writing and she helps to bring my piece to a polished shine.

After arguing with my son and husband about the punctuation of a sentence that was on the screen as "What About Bob," (the movie) concluded, I decided to hop online and locate some information (to prove I was RIGHT!) Well, I was not right, but neither was my son and husband.

Punctuation perplexes me and I need to study it more so I can be a better writer. I found this web site that may be helpful for you, it was helpful for me! It's called "Dumb Little Man," which just makes me laugh - but when you click on any of the info of interest, (Verb tense, run-on sentences, comma use, etc) you are taken to OWL, the Online Writing Lab provided by Purdue University, so it's totally legit. It's great stuff! Check it out as you are working on your writing project. If you can believe it, the information isn't even boring and dry! I find it interesting, actually.

Enjoy the writing life ~ deAnn

p.s. don't look too close at the punctuation of this post, I know there must be mistakes! I'm still learning, give me some grace! :0)

Taking December Off

As we enter the busiest season of the year, the writing groups will be on hiatus (a break) until January.

Here is some news: Reflective Souls will continue on the second Tuesday of every month - while a NEW writing practice group, Pages, will take place on the fourth Thursday of every month. More info about Pages to come...

Happy Thankgiving and Merry Christmas!

RS Gathering tonight

I am still planning on meeting in the worship arts area for Reflective Souls tonight at 7PM...
See you there!

Next Reflective Souls Gathering

Hello Ladies!
This is just a reminder that our next RS Gathering will be Tuesday evening, November 11th beginning at 7PM. For right now, it will be held in the Worship Arts Area, but because of the auditorium project currently going on, that may need to change so please check back on Tuesday and I will confirm the location either way on the blogsite.

Just a sidenote here, I apologize for not putting a recap on from the October gathering and hope to get that on very soon. I was having major computer issues, but everything seems to be back in working order, at least for now anyway....

Anyway, I hope that you can make it on the 11th. I have been planning lots of interesting writing exercises, so come prepared to write, laugh, reflect and just have some time for you before we get caught up in the busyness of the upcoming holiday seasons! Remember to bring your your favorite type of writing utensil or utensils(pencils, pens, gel pens, markers, hey maybe even a crayon if you so desire), a notebook, journal or any kind of cool paper, a lap desk if you have one and the most important one of all, an open heart and desire to write!

Please let me know if you can make it (cshafer2@comcast.net). Looking forward to seeing you all on 11/11 at 7PM~

Tonight's Gathering ~ Canceled...

Hello ladies, I'm sorry, but I must cancel our writer's gathering tonight. Please forgive me. But, since you have the time set aside tonight already, I encourage you to write. If you need help with a prompt, here is one for you.

Write about being underwater.

Spend as long as you want on this writing prompt, see what comes out. Allow yourself to be surprised...relax into your writing voice and enjoy the adventure...
Grace & peace ~ deAnn

10/23 Writer's Gathering

Our next writers gathering is Thursday, October 23. I hope you can make it! I'll be leading the evening's festivities!

Grace & peace ~ deAnn

NEW LOCATION TONIGHT

Our normal meeting place is being repainted as I type, so we are moving our gathering tonight to the small conference room across from the kitchen. See you there!

grace & peace,
deAnn

GATHERING Tomorrow Night

Hello there - Just a little reminder that we are gathering tomorrow night for a little reflective writing... please email Carol if you are planning to come. If you decide you can make it at the last minute, JUST SHOW UP! We never turn ladies away!

Bring your writing pad and favorite pen or pencil and desire to be creative through the art of writing...

See you there!

Thursday Evening Recap...Reflections on fear...

What an awesome evening, thank you to ladies in attendance!
We started with a brief free write prompt of "What did you have for lunch?" It was fun to see how one simple direct question can take us all off in so many different directions...
The theme for the evening was reflecting on fear and how we let it stop us from creating.
I read some passages from the book "Creative Call" by Janice Elsheimer. "One reason artists become blocked is by using inertia to avoid feeling like losers. This behavior is all about self protection.... I'm afraid that if I finish the book or the poem or the musical composition, I'll have to put it out there where others will judge it."
Another quote by Franky Schaeffer from "Addicted to Mediocrity: 20th Century Christians and the Arts" is "Remember that as a creative person, the important thing to do is to create. Who sees what you make, where it goes and what it does is a secondary consideration: the first is to exercise the talent God has given you."
We then took some time to process these quotes and look at how these fears affect us personally. What are you afraid of? Is it failure? Judgement? Rejection? What happens to you when you are not creating? Do you start to feel tense? Angry? Sad? Frustrated?
To read some of the writing responses check out these blogs:
http://carol-fromheretothere.blogspot.com/ and http://atravellersinsights.blogspot.com/

We ended the evening with some thoughts on what it would look like to live without fear and live fully into God's desires for us as artists. We closed listening to the song by Casting Crowns entitled "Who Am I?" and hopefully, prayerfully, and fearlessly walked out in to the night ready to create in honor of the greatest Creator of all...

Today's Writer's Gathering

Our gathering this evening will be led by the amazing Carol Shafer. I've had something come up suddenly and asked her to fill in, she graciously said "yes!" on the very short notice I gave her. (Thanks Carol, you are the best!).

The topic that I was going to cover, Part 2 of the 4 part series, "Freeing Your Voice," will not be on the agenda tonight. I'll pick that up in October. I talked with Carol this evening and she's planning a fabulous evening of reflection and writing, you will not want to miss it!

I pray you all continue to trust your voice and will allow it to speak. Enjoy the gathering!
grace & peace, deAnn

Literary Agent

I saw this blog site and thought I'd pass it on as it has lots of neat links regarding how to be published, do you need an agent, how to prepare a manuscript, etc. Nathan Bransford is a Literary Agent himself. Check out his blog, it's full of information.



Grace & peace ~ deAnn

Freeing Your Voice

Our next gathering will be Thursday, 9/25 at 7pm. We'll be on part two of our four part series of Discovering Your Voice. This week we'll be talking about "Freeing Your Voice" and, of course, there will be many opportunities to free your voice through writing. So bring your notepad and favorite writing utensil!

Grace & Peace ~ deAnn

Local Writing Opportunites

There are some interesting articles in the York Daily Record about local writing opportunities. I'd like to share them with you in case you missed them.

YDR is looking for people to submit stories based on what they wish someone would have told them about classes before they started. For instance: That school lunchrooms are scary places. The that your college roommate might not become your best friend. Or that all-nighters were a possibility if you procrastinated too long. So go a head and dive into your memory bank and dig out a goodie to submit by September 30. Here are the details: Submissions can be sent to nlefever@ydr.com or the York Daily Record/Sunday News, c/o Nicki Lefever, 1891 Loucks Road, York PA 17408. Include your name, age, the municipality where you live and a daytime phone number.

Seminar: "How to Get Published in the York Daily Record/Sunday News" will be held on Tuesday, October 14 at 3:00 PM. The seminar is free and is 90 minutes long. However, it's limited to only 50 people and is designed for those responsible for publicity at area clubs, teams, organizations, businesses and agencies. To make your reservation for this seminar, contact Donna Mandl at 771-2065 or at dmandl@ydr.com by October 10.

Tuesday's Notes

RS Gathering ~ Tuesday, September 09, 2008

“Anyone who survived childhood has enough material to write for the rest of his or her life.” Flannery O’Connor

Free Write 10 mins word prompt: “peanuts”

Life = Story. When we write, we reveal parts of our story; the messiness and the beauty. We each have a life, so we each have a story. Give voice to your story…a bunch of stuff comes out through the writing process. We can discover so much about who we are if we are really real in our writing. Meaning, don’t write from your mind (what you think others will want to read.) Write what lingers in your soul. In other words, write your heart out.
It’s a journey with an unknown destination…

Write 20 mins a birthday memory

My story: I didn’t grow up in a Christian house, but when I write the historic scenes of my story, I can see where God was with me. Albeit, not in everything right away, but His beauty will be revealed in His time and as I grow to see Him clearer. I invite Jesus to sit with me amidst my messy segments of my story. We sit there together as I pick through all the broken pieces, examining each item closely and sometimes I get cut by a shard and a past wound is opened up again. It hurts. It’s when I can feel it deeply that I can surrender it over to Him and He gladly places it in His hand. The mess is still there, but it has less gravity. Over time, through continued surrender, I can begin to see more than just the mess; I begin to see the beauty of Jesus amidst the mess. I must write through the mess in order to be on the other side of it.

“Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart.” ~William Wordsworth

Write 10 mins a response to the above quote.

I usually have a tendency to write when I’m struggling, when life is messy and confusing. Writing about difficult memories is ouchie, but I feel a sense of God’s peace with me NOW as I write about what happened THEN.

Write 20 mins Why do you write?

Enjoy developing and practicing your writing voice.
Grace & peace, deAnn

Tuesday Gathering

Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart.

~William Wordsworth

Tomorrow evening, Tuesday, 9/9, I'll be leading the reflective souls gathering. The theme of the evening will be based on the above quote by William Wordsworth (great last name, huh?)

Quietly sit with that quote, it's powerful. See you tomorrow evening at 7pm.

grace & peace,
deAnn

Trusting Your Voice

August 28, 2008 RS Gathering ~ Notes

TRUSTING YOUR VOICE:: Part 1 of a 4 Part Series of "...Your Voice"

A Warm Up:
Labor Day weekend is approaching. Summer is coming to an end. Write for 10 minutes about the autumn season and what it means to you.

I want to talk a little about “voice.” Discussion driven ~ 10 mins
“Every woman’s life has a voice, allow it to speak.”

Write for 20 minutes:
Write about the worst meal you ever had…

The last Reflective Souls Carol talked about the inner critic…that voice inside that taunts us and has us question our voice. The writing assignment was to write a letter to your Inner Critic.

This week we are focusing on Trusting Your Voice. Have you ever watched a chipmunk? Our (creativity) voice is much like that little critter. The chipmunk is skitzy and timid and needs a safe environment to peep out. If it is startled it quickly retreats back into its hole. Maybe you know exactly what I’m talking about. Why is our creativity (voice) so shy? Maybe it has been diminished as we grew into life – nasty teachers, laughing peers, being told we can’t make a living as an artist, comparing our work with that of historical artistic greats. We give up and say, “I don’t have a creative bone in my body.” Which is not true, it just needs a lot of encouragement to creep out. We must be patient with our voice as well. Remember, it’s a bit skitzy, like the chipmunk.

You have a Voice, trust it…
Like a fingerprint; your voice makes the story/art uniquely yours. You don’t need to learn your voice; you just need to discover it. It’s already in you. But it's the hardest to achieve, because it involves trusting yourself. Even if you have all the building blocks of a story in place, if it lacks your voice, the piece will be flat and somewhat lifeless. If you are writing nonfiction or a reflection, bring your passion, your own way of looking at the world, and your excitement for the topic because this will give your work a soul. And you can trust that.

Imagine what you could do if you fully trusted your (creativity) voice!

Write for 20 minutes:
Sit quietly before God; listen for His voice, then write an encouraging letter to your (creative) voice. And read that letter every time your (creativity) voice seems skitzy or if your inner critic is speaking loud and clear.

Go and create! Trust your voice and write your heart out!

grace & peace, deAnn

Quick Recap

Our last gathering was Thursday, 8/28. As I prayed and pondered what we'd cover that evening, it became clear that I ought to share what I feel God's been saying to me about my "voice." So I decided that for the next 4 Thursday gatherings, our focus would be just that, "our voice."

• Trusting Your Voice
• Freeing Your Voice
• Surrendering Your Voice
• Nurturing Your Voice

Right now I have to get back to our bathroom renovations (I can hear my hubby calling me, I'm his "assistant.") But I will post a complete overview of this past gathering's topic: Trusting Your Voice with suggested writing prompts and all.

Back to the skill saws and power nail guns! Grace & peace ~ deAnn

8/28 Gathering

Our second August gathering is Thursday night, 8/28 (can you believe August is practically over????).

I look forward to seeing you at 7pm in the Worship Arts office area. Bring a notepad and a writing utensil - that's all you need, except for your desire to have fun. Oh and freedom to WRITE! :0)

grace & peace,
deAnn

My first time leading

I would like to say a big "Thank you!" to the women that attended Reflective Souls on August 12th. I was filling in for dee and this was my first time ever leading, you all made it very comfortable for me and for that I am truly grateful!

I would also like to apologize for the delay in getting this posted I wanted to comment immediately after the evening but time seemed to get away from me...
With that said, on with the recap! (And it's a long one! Sorry about that!)

One of our writing prompts for the evening was to write about "your perfect playground". I asked everyone to go back to being a child and think about recess and, if the sky was the limit what would be on that playground? Would you have all kickball fields? How many monkey bars would you have? What about sliding boards? And swings? Oh, and don't forget about hopscotch and four square! Would you have areas set up with huge bean bag chairs and pillows for reading? I have to say that this exercise was alot of fun! Even though, I came up with the prompt, I didn't realize that it would be so great to go back in time to a place that was totally carefree and fun. The pieces that the women shared were awesome and even though everyone had a different playground, they all seemed to have one common thread---NO ADULTS ALLOWED!

Later, we kind of moved into a more reflective, serious part of the evening. I shared a chapter entitled "Perfectionism" from the book Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott. She writes about how perfectionism prevents us from doing what we are meant to do for fear that it will never be good enough. I then read some of the words to the song "Voice of Truth" by Casting Crowns, a song about a man's struggle and desire to hear God's voice(the positive encouraging loving one) over the negative one that always seems to be louder and stronger. We all then wrote letters to that negative voice, our own personal inner critic. I have to say I was completely blown away by everyone's pieces and felt extremely honored and blessed that they felt comfortable enough to share them with the group. To say that the letters were amazing would truly be an understatement! So for any of you that are still saying, "oh, I'm not a writer...", let me tell you right now, that is definitely your inner critic speaking and it's time to pull out that letter right now and reread it! To end the evening, we moved into a time of silence to listen for God's Voice, the Voice of Truth and write about what we heard. Again, a wonderful experience.... Thank you ladies for being honest, vulnerable and supportive.

Do any of these prompts inspire you to write a little something? I would be willing to bet that they do. Try it... Stop listening to that inner critic that's playing so loudly in your head. Stop... Have a quiet moment or 2, now write, write what is in your heart and from your heart and not from what is in your head... Then maybe take the next step and share it with us, we would love to hear it...

Pink Slip by Hilary T.

At our last gathering, one of the writing prompts was to write a letter to your nasty inner critic, you know the one - the negative voice that stops you from doing creative endeavors such as writing...Here is Hilary's letter to her Inner Critic...

-Pink Slip-
Dear oppressive part of my inner self.
I am here by releasing you of your self appointed duty's
sabotage is no longer needed
self doubt has been removed form your job description
feelings of inferiority are due to be replaced with confidence this very day
second guessing and shutting down, although you have 100% efficiency in these areas, have been deemed counter productive and are not in accordance with the newly revised vision statement
there will be no compensation pay and you may take nothing with you. All pieces of me you have, over the years, been claiming as your own will need to be relinquished at the end of this reading along with your badge and keys.
In light of these developments a new position is being formed in which the Spirit Himself will reside.

Thank You Carol!

Thank you, Carol, for taking the lead at the August 12 gathering. I heard you did a fabulous job and used very creative ideas for writing prompts.

In fact, I heard that there was some amazing pieces of work from the girls at the gathering! We'd love to have your piece posted here on RS. If you are game, send your written piece to either me (droe@lwccyork.com) or Carol (cshafer2@comcast.net).

Our next gathering will be on Thursday, August 28. As we continue to see if meeting twice a month is a good thing - please let me know if you can attend on 8/28. I really appreciate it! I am beginning to dream up ideas for this gathering...

Grace & peace, deAnn

Broken Plate

WRITING PROMPT :

How would a broken plate feel?

Sounds crazy, huh? But think about it. I know you must have dropped a plate (or bowl or glass) in your lifetime. As you grumble and throw it away...think about how it must feel. Write about that. This is a fun exercise - to keep you writing and your mind loose.

Enjoy! ~ deAnn

Two Sites to See

Today I came across some interesting web sites and blogs. Take some time and check them out:

Ashley Weis ~ Bringing Life to Words
Ashley is a writer and has writing resources and contests listed on her web site. I also have her link under "Links worth noting" here on RS.

So, You Wanna Be Published
This is a blog is by Mary DeMuth, a published author. She also has tons of great articles and encourages the writer as well. Mary's link is on RS too.

Check out these ladies! I am still working my way through their sites and am very inspired by their work and spirit.

Grace & peace on the creative journey ~ deAnn

Reflective Souls is "GROWING"

God is moving through the ministries of LWCC. One place His sweet breath is felt is in this writing group, Reflective Souls. As a gathering facilitator, I've been so blessed and encouraged by the ladies openness and energy. I'm excited to announce that Reflective Souls will begin meeting two times each month starting in August:

• the second Tuesday
• the fourth Thursday

I hope that will be easy to remember. I went with this because Tuesday is the second day of the week and Thursday is the fourth day of the week...get it? :0)

The two monthly gatherings will not offer the same material or experience. So, if you like, attend both or just one of the gatherings.

NEW LOCATION: We will meet in the Worship Arts office (which is behind the stage). If you come in the Chapel Entrance, go straight passing the hallway on the left and right. You will see a door on the left side and that is the WA office (we'll have a sign there for you.)

NEW TIME: We know how tough it is to rush around after work, grabbing dinner and connecting quickly with the family, so we've moved the time to 7:00-9:00pm. We hope that will relieve some pressure. You may feel you don't "have time" to squeeze this in. But that is all the more reason why you need too...come, be still, quiet yourself and write from the heart ~ it's medicine for the soul. Come, join us!

Contact deAnn (info to the right) if you have questions. Grace & peace ~ deAnn

reflection

Below is a post I wrote in July 2007. With blogs sites, I rarely go WAY back to read old posts, so I thought I'd cheat and bring this one into July 2008. It ties in directly with our gathering last night - as we took time to interact with art in the gallery followed by sitting quietly with God and listened to how He may be speaking to us. Then we responded through writing. Here is the post...

What does it mean to have a reflective soul?
(Go ahead, think for a moment and quietly answer it in your mind).

I have a digital SLR camera which I love more than chocolate. The lens, where it attaches to the camera, is small and sensitive. The other end of the lens has a filter protecting the delicate rounded glass. Many fancy filters are available that can be used for creative shots, such as a star filter, colored filters or a polarizer. These all affect the way light is captured for a particular artistic effect.

When you look through the eye piece of the camera, you see the world through a series of glass disks. With just a little pressure on the shutter button, the image comes into focus. When you're ready, snap the shot. As you do so light enters the lens, reflects off the mirror and lands on a sensor that in turn creates the image of your desire. You hope for the best. So you upload your pictures to your computer and anxiously wait to see if it has the beauty you tried to capture. Sometimes you are amazed at your nearly professional ability to create fantastic shots. Other times you can't hit the "delete" button fast enough, forever erasing that terrible image.

I see this same scenario in my life. My eyes capture a "scene" and in seconds it passes through my "filter" of beliefs, moods, hormones. Then it enters my soul and reflection begins. An "image" forms. Sometimes it's positive, other times it's one that I never wish existed.

Seeing, thinking and processing life's scenes is living out of a reflective soul. We don't let the moment pass without deep consideration and asking for God's wisdom in the midst of it. Through the Holy Spirit's guidance and the experience of our individual lives, we reflect more than what the human eye can see. We take in and then we project an "image" through our perspective which is unique and interesting. Doing this through the art of writing allows others to see the "image" also. From that, they start the process over again with their set of filters and lenses leading to their own active reflective soul.

We can't help but read someones writing or absorb a painting only to be lead on a journey into the interior of our soul. God longs to meet us in an intimate way and He often uses forms of artistic work to do so. Take time and sit with a "scene" - how can you express the reflection of your soul so that others can experience it as well?

God speaks to us through our work of reflection and He speaks to us through other people's work of reflection. How awesome is that...

See Ya Thursday

I know it's summer and we are all so busy! But I sure hope you make time for yourself, two hours - that's all, to spread your creative wings and take flight over paper and ink though the vastness of your mind.

We'll meet in the coffee bar of Living Word. Bring paper and your favorite writing instrument. We'll provide the rest (and I mean rest.)

If you believe you'll be there - please send me a quick email so I know how many to prepare for. My email is droe@lwccyork.com. Thank you!

See you Thursday,
deAnn

Give Voice

The heart of Reflective Souls is to discover your voice and courageously allow it to speak. But many things keep our voice hidden deep within the caverns of our soul. Fear is one of the biggest silencers of our voice.

What actually is our voice? It is our truest self and she lives deep inside us. However, we have another less appreciated voice, the inner critical voice, that often speaks louder. This voice tells us lies and does everything it can to keep us afraid of finding our own voice. The inner critical voice tells us we have no talent and leads us to believe something bad will happen if we express our creativity. Fear keeps our creative voice silently hidden away.

The only remedy for our fear is love: perfect Love casts out all fear. Listening to the voice of God who is Love helps us to defeat our fears. We recognize God's voice because it tells us we are loved, worthy, and talented. As we listen to the Holy Spirit, who urges us to love ourselves as God loves us, we learn to love even the frightened part of ourselves. "Like a sculptor, we will have chipped away at the frozen fear to reveal the beautiful creation inside."

Allow not fear to determine your voice, allow God.

grace & peace on the written journey ~ deAnn

(this post is inspired by and includes lines from a fabulous book I'm eating up, "Creativity and Divine Surprise by Karla M. Kincannon)

Introduction to Poetry

Introduction to Poetry

I ask them to take a poem
and hold it up to the light
like a color slide

or press an ear against its hive.

I say drop a mouse into a poem
and watch him probe his way out,

or walk inside the poem's room
and feel the walls for a light switch.

I want them to waterski
across the surface of a poem
waving at the author's name on the shore.

But all they want to do
is tie the poem to a chair with rope
and torture a confession out of it.

They begin beating it with a hose
to find out what it really means.

Billy Collins

Reflective Souls ~ Changes To Come

Okay, I'm back from vacation now and can post just how cool our last gathering was! We had several new voices and together, the song was beautiful! I left the church feeling so inspired and blessed to have been with a group of creative women each striving to develop our "voice" through writing. Thank you!!!

Some news regarding Reflective Souls:
This gathering of women began over a year ago. Deb and I love to write and decided that we'd get together once a month to encourage each other on the creative journey. Then we got to thinking that there may other women who feel the same way! Voila - the birth of Reflective Souls! We began meeting at Panera Bread, but that was a bit noisy. So, we moved to Butera the Florist as Vince and Carolyn were mighty generous with their offer to use their space. After a little while and a few scheduling conflicts, we moved RS to a church in Dallastown, Bethlehem United Methodist. They were extremely gracious by giving us the most beautiful room in their building! As my job at LWCC morphed and I became the Creative Arts Coordinator, we decided to move RS to our building and now it's under the umbrella of my ministry. It's now an official arts community ministry of Living Word. That is exciting!

As with all things, time changes the landscape. The Inkling's publication (new editions are published every 10 weeks) has been a hit and more people, including men, are interested in writing communities at our church. With that and much prayer, we decided to change the landscape of Reflective Souls to accommodate the interest it's generating.

We will meet July 10 as the classic version of Reflective Souls. But beginning in August, our writing community will meet twice a month! We are still working on a lot of the details at this time but will post them all as they become more clear. So check back to this blog in the near future.

Certainly we are so excited to see God grow this ministry and can't wait to see how He continues to shape it in the weeks & months & years to come. Thank you for being patient as we transform into the new version. We'd appreciate your prayers for wisdom and guidance as well!

Always exciting being on the creative journey! Grace & peace ~ deAnn

June Gathering - Tonight

I'm a wee bit late in posting this, but - we do have our June Gathering tonight at 6:30 PM in the Coffee Bar. We will be sharing some neat-o news regarding Reflective Souls and how it fits into the larger picture of the Creative Arts Ministry of LWCC. Oh, and we'll be writing too! :0)

Hope to see you there ~ if you can't make it ~ check back to this blog as I'll be posting the neat-o news!

enjoy the journey, deAnn

Emotional Invitation

I've been reading a lot of poetry lately. And one thing that I really appreciate about that genre is that, as the reader, we are invited into the poets' experience which can provoke deep and lasting emotion. Poetry is a collection of words, chosen carefully and placed intentionally - it's concise and image rich. Not a lot of additional words to clutter the scene built in my mind by the poet.

I like to write about my childhood memories or recent personal reflections. I can get caught up in telling what I saw or felt. This can be detrimental - what I mean is, I don't want to write as if I'm a reporter for a local newspaper providing the facts and emotionless details.

My desire is to invite the reader into my experience and help them walk in my shoes, feel what I felt, smell what I smelled, see what I saw. This is tangible writing and it goes directly to the heart. This isn't always easy to do. It means rethinking what I was actually feeling and then put the correct words down in a way that will provoke an image in the reader's mind and heart.

In my opinion, writing that evokes emotion - of any kind - draws me to a journey in my imagination where every twist and turn offers a new scene.

The next time you approach a writing prompt or project, ask yourself, "Do I want to tell the reader what to see OR do I want to invite the reader into the experience?" Either is fine, depending on the style of writing you have in mind. If you choose to intentionally invite the reader into the experience, know that this can take some work, rewriting and reorganizing sentences. Ask yourself does this sentence add value to the piece? One thing I do (which may seem odd) is to read my work out loud. This helps me to "see" the image/scene or not "see" it due to word clutter. Maybe that will be of use for you too. I love challenges in writing, I want to learn and be stretched beyond my current writing abilities - but it takes large amounts of effort. But I believe that it's effort well worth the, well...effort! :0)

Happy Creating ~ deAnn

Thursday's Writing Gathering

Just a quick reminder that tomorrow, Thursday, 5/8 is our writing group. We will meet in the Sonshine Kids room in the Treasure Park area of LWCC instead of the Common Grounds Coffee Bar.

Bring a pen or pencil, a notebook and your desire to write!
grace & peace ~ deAnn

Lucinda Williams' WORDS

I have this song by Lucinda Williams on my iPod. It's has a soulful sound and the lyrics always speak to me. I thought maybe you'd like the lyrics too...hope you enjoy.
~ deAnn

Words by Lucinda Williams

I would rather suffer in sweet silent solitude
deathly defiant from drowning out
filthy sounds stumbling ugly and crude
between the lips of your beautiful mouth

deep down within me words move in phrases
frozen and still ‘til they decide
to melt and drip over the pages
until that moment they live inside

my words enjoy the feel of the paper
better than mingling with your consonants
once they get going they never waver
and they slip in between your if, ands, and buts

when my words are hiding between the lines
then i’m afraid they won’t hear me call
what if they fail me without a sign
what if they hardly surface at all

screaming and throwing your weight around
my words choose knowledge over politics
you can’t kill my words, they know no bounds
my words are strong and they don’t make me sick

they still remain my only companion
loyal and true to the very end
they’ll never ever completely abandon
never give up the paper and the pen

May Gathering Location!

Hello there ~ Spring has finally sprung then the weather tricks us so it feels like fall! Crazy!

Anyhow, the May Gathering will not be in the coffee bar of LWCC due to a scheduling conflict. SO, we'll meet at LW ~ in Room C102 (the Sonshine Kids room) in the Children's Ministry area.

We look forward to seeing everyone and meeting new people on Thursday, 5/8 at 6:30. Enjoy your week and see you soon,

grace & peace, deAnn

Word Painting

Our gathering on Thursday was a large group. We did a free write on the prompt "Family Reunion." After a big sigh, exercise this took many of us in unexpected rooms deep in our memories. Then we tried something new to our group - a descriptive writing exercise. This really stretched some of us but the results were awesome! The two writing prompt options were, "describe a time you got in trouble as a child" OR "on a sunny spring day all to yourself, describe how you would spend your time." Not surprising, most of us wrote about a time we got in trouble (because examples are plentiful!) Recalling a memory is a great place to begin painting pictures with words. Some of the best pieces of work were from those who were most reluctant to share what they wrote. It was amazing stuff! Some of us wrote humorously about a childhood incident, others were full of heartache and emotion. Hearing each others stories displayed different styles of writing which, in its self, teaches us that we each have our very own voice. I believe we'll be doing more descriptive writing!

As more practice on composing word pictures, try thinking of another time you got in trouble as a kid or teen. I know each of us have been trouble more than one time in our adolescence! As you write, you see an scene in your memory. Paint that scene so your readers can see what you see. Be creative! Try to stay away from using adjective after adjective after adjective such as, "the huge, bright, gigantic, red-hot sun shined down on us." Instead maybe something more picturesque like this:"The blazing mid August sun hung low in the evening sky. Its lingering rays warmed our skin."

Maybe instead of saying, "I walked across the grass." ~ describe what shade of green the grass was, how it felt underfoot, were you meandering across the grass or booking to get somewhere fast!?

Have fun! Be a word smith! Write and re-write until you are happy with the sentence. This practice really stretches us and our vocabulary. Pull out your Thesaurus or use one of the online varieties. Your writing will become full, rich and a bit more interesting. Enjoy expressing your voice...

"Word Painting" is a great book to check out on this subject. You can find a reference to it on the left sidebar on this web site.

Your Unique Voice

I am reading this particular book for the third time. The first time I read it was September of 2002 for a class I was taking at Bethel Seminary. Then I read this book again in the fall of 2006 while in the Spiritual Directing program at Living Word. Right now, in 2008 I'm reading it again. I guess this means I'll read it in 2010, should I follow the pattern. This quote by Eugene Peterson, which is noted in the book, caught my attention. I keep reviewing it over and over, it's very rich, maybe you will find it intriguing as well...

Something very different takes place in the life of faith: each person discovers all the elements of a unique and original adventure. We are prevented from following in another's footsteps and are called to an incomparable association with Christ. The Bible makes it clear that every time that there is a story of faith, it is completely original. God's creative genius is endless. He, never fatigued and unable to maintain the rigors of creativity, never resorts to mass-producing copies. Each life is a fresh canvas on which He uses lines and colors, shades of lights, textures and proportions that He has never used before.

I am reminded that each of us has a valuable and unique voice, unlike any other voice in the world. No need, then, to compare ourselves with any one else. We have OUR voice, given specially to us, by our Creator God.

As a writer, how are you using your "one of a kind" voice? How do you sense God wanting you to use this gift? What holds you back from developing your written voice? Be encouraged...He gave you this voice, for some to write, for some to paint, etc. He is with you, maybe you feel His gentle nudge? How will you respond to Him?

Enjoy the journey ~

Oh yeah - the book is called "Spiritual Mentoring ~ A Guide for Seeking and Giving Direction" by Keith R. Anderson and Randy D. Reese. Excellent book if you are interested in going deeper with your relationship with Jesus.

Creative Idleness

Last night at our gathering we talked about the importance of creative idleness, a term coined by Brenda Ueland in her (awesome) book, "If You Want To Write."

Creativity finds its way out of us not through our busyness, but through our idleness. I must admit, or confess rather, that my life holds more busyness than idleness. And I can tell you, it sucks the creativity right outta me!

One form of creative idleness is to free write for about 20-30 minutes. Free writing is a fun exercise that allows you to move from the busyness of your life into a mindset of creative freedom. There are a few things to keep in mind when free writing:

• Write non-stop for a designated amount of time
• Don't worry about mistakes, grammar or punctuation. Don't make any corrections and please, no erasing
• Keep that hand moving, constantly writing even if you don't know what to write. In stead, just write "I have no idea what to say but I'll keep writing because some writerly folk tells me it's god for me. And you know, this is kinda fun!"
• Do not invite a judge and jury. Just write, no censoring your self.
• Loose control ~ be wild!

Free writing may seem silly, look like jibberish or appear very messy. If you find that to be the case, then guess what? You are doing it right! You see, if your free write is nice, neat and well thought out, then you are not really free writing which means you need to loosen up a bit.

This exercise does many good things for the writer:

• It pushes you past the fear of writing so that you become more comfy with the craft
• Amidst the random thoughts that flow from your head to your hand, you may discover something of value, a nugget, worth spending time to develop. (Maybe your future novel!)
• Heck, it's just fun.
• It gives you the freedom to bypass your "inner critic" (that nagging little voice that tells you that you can't write. That liar!)
• Actually, it will improve your overall writing
• It's a way to blow off some steam or stress
• It's a wonderful journey with an unknown destination...

So, spend some idle time being creative ~ try one free write a day and see where that practice takes you and your writing adventures.

Enjoy the journey!

Let's Write this Thursday

As we slowly approach the beginning of springtime, I hope the urge to write is like the daffodils in my garden...pushing up through the resistance of chilly wet soil, seeking warmth and its life force, the sun.

Our writing is much like that ~ it needs a positive and encouraging environment in which to grow and develop. I hope you will carve out a couple of hours on Thursday this week to devote to the writer within you...

We meet at Living Word in the Common Grounds Coffee Bar at 6:30 PM. See you soon!

grace & peace,
deAnn

A Grape Prompt, er...I mean GREAT!

This afternoon I had time and the desire to work on my blogs (yay! feels great!) I needed a sweet snack so instead of digging into the Pumpkin Whoopee Pies I made yesterday, I decided to take a pile of seedless red grapes that I picked up at Giant this week. And they are actually quite tasty! As I plucked two of the perfectly round fruits from the safety of their vine, they caught my eye in a particular way...oh, these grapes would be a great writing prompt. "Describe the grapes - how they look, feel, taste, smell, how they sound as you pierce their taught skin with your teeth, how do they make you feel, recal a memory about eating grapes as a child..." and so on. Yeah, some people would say I'm not right in the head, but that is how I think! :0)

We can write about anything. That is a lot of stuff! Look at life, really look at it and you will find oooodles to write about. You just may surprise yourself with a piece of deep and meaningful writing that was prompted by something so simple...as a grape.

Enjoy the creative journey...

February gathering recap

The group this month was small, but as always, it was a powerful time together. We opened with a free write on a valentine memory. It was wild how each of us remembered those little mail boxes we made in grade school and the experience of sharing the tear-apart cards. We were reminded that although our past experiences may be times of joy or pain each is still "nothing more than a moment in time."

The change in venue this month gave us the opportunity to interact through our writing with the artwork at Common Grounds. We were each drawn to a different piece. As we shared our writing, we discovered that sometimes the background is more impacting than the item in focus, the ordinary can bring to mind powerful lessons from the past, and the value can be the journey and not just the destination.

Thanks for the priviledge of pursuing this gift of writing with you. See you next month. -deb

Reflective Souls is MOVING!

With much praying and conversation with a great friend, Reflective Souls will be moving to Living Word Community Church beginning with the February gathering. We'll meet in at Common Grounds, the LW coffee bar.

Yes, our next gathering falls on Valentine's Day ~ so if you and your sweetie don't have plans please join us!!! We'll have great evening of reflective writing -and we have a special treat planned.

I am so grateful for the generosity of Bethlehem United Methodist Church for allowing us a beautiful place to meet over the last several months!

If you have questions, please contact deAnn. Grace & Peace ~

And We Meet Again...

After taking off December, I'm really excited about meeting tonight! We'll begin at 6:30 PM at Bethlehem United Methodist Church in Dallastown. Bring your notepad and favorite writing utensil. We'll write, ponder, dream, and write some more...

Carve out two hours this month and allow your creative side emerge at Reflective Souls writing group. See you tonight!

deAnn