Good morning! I hope your current projects, whatever they may be–a fantasy, flash fiction, a job, school, woodworking–are going well and on target. I have had a more or less complete outline for my second fantasy\/fairy tale novel since December 2017, only have started writing in November 2018, and have only got to Chapter 6 of said story by mid January 2019. There’s a war in the dusk, and the characters have a long ways to go before they make it through their 11th grade school year at a most mysterious and curious boarding school.<\/p>\n

But how will they make it through? How will they get to the end alive? Sounds morbid, but if there are only blank, college-lined loose-leaf pages that follow from their current dilemma, that means they finish in nothing, doesn’t it? Or they are frozen in their time. (Our time is beyond theirs.) So how then will our beloved friends and enemies get through their time so we can enjoy and remember them in ours? I’ve found three or four things helpful.<\/p>\n

First, another human being who likes to write or read can really be necessary to encourage you along your way. If I don’t have someone to keep me accountable, someone who is expecting me to complete my task, I’ve found that my writing schedule starts sliding all across the calendar, further and further into the future. It can also be very inspiring to write alongside other writers; writing together can remind you that there is something–as cheesy as it sounds–very special and important about your own story.<\/p>\n

Second, is READING!!! I truly have not done this enough of late. My main entertainment is internetainment a.k.a. YouTube (top 3 favorite channels are Good Mythical Morning, Twosetviolin, and the Try Guys.) When I picked up Part 2 of\u00a0The Lord of the Rings <\/em>recently, a re-recognition of the beauty of story in words found me again. Remembering that there is something\u00a0precious<\/em> *gollum* about your type of work can help to inspire you to write even more beautifully, rather than thinking there are better forms of art and beauty than that dull thing.<\/p>\n

Third, of course, is to keep God’s Word at the forefront of your craft on the choppy seas of life. God’s Word is a living Word, sharper than any two-edged sword, separating even soul and spirit. It too is a literary work, made of histories, poetry, letters, and more. It’s the best “inspirational” literary work you can read; it’s literally inspired by the Holy Spirit. If you let Him He will make all your paths (writing ones included) straight (plus give you eternal life in Christ, ya know.)<\/p>\n

Well, bon voyage<\/em> to all your current tasks, whether they be one of a myriad types of writing, or the mundane errands of this present world. I’ll see you on the other side of the war in the dusk!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Three types of community to help you with your writing goals.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1258,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[70,74,78,89,96,130,213],"class_list":["post-1360","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-on-writing","tag-christian","tag-community","tag-creative-writing","tag-encouragement","tag-fantasy","tag-inspiration","tag-writing","has-post-title","has-post-date","has-post-category","has-post-tag","has-post-comment","has-post-author",""],"yoast_head":"\n