Thursday, December 27, 2012

The Candidates

On the second day of Christmas, my True Love gave to me,
words wrapped in books, silently sitting beside me
 like two turtledoves of peace.


Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart.
(Proverbs 3:3 ESV)
 
 
As I gleaned my shelf for a devotional, I also gathered the various books on writing that I have collected over the years. I stacked them on the couch along with a few other books that are on my "reading" list.
 
I like looking at the stack and thinking I may really read some of these books this year. I will read bits and pieces, and I almost always read the introductions. Some of the best inspiration comes to me from reading the preface or the introduction of a book.
 
My desire to include, A Pen and a Path, on the list, started that way. The author, Sarah Stockton, compares writing to building a nest:
 
"Just as the bird builds a nest with grass and twigs and mud as a container for new life, so the woman creates with words a container to hold and sustain her own life. Asking God to be present as she writes, she weaves her dreams, her intentions, her fears, her sorrows, and her greatest joys into a home for her overflowing spirit. The raw materials of her life become a nest, and the nest becomes both a container for her life so far, and a place from which to continue the journey forward."
 
 
 
I consider this stack of books my potential coaches and cheerleaders to keep me at the craft. I am looking to stretch my writing abilities, to explore new territories beyond journaling and blogging. I want to try my hand at fiction or memoir. I look forward to calling myself a novelist or freelance writer. Just some dreams woven with intention.
 
Below are my candidates: 
 
The Art of Fiction by John Garner
Leaving a Trace by Alexandra Johnson
The Weekend Novelist by Robert J. Ray
A Pen and A Path by Sarah Stockton
Freelance Writing by Marcia Yudkin
Old Friend from Far Away by Natalie Goldberg
Writing Life Stories by Bill Roorbach
One Year to a Writing Life By Susan M. Tiberghien
The Soul Tells a Story by Vinita Hampton Wright
 
 
Some I will chat with by browsing their contents, others I will get into deep conversation with by reading from cover to cover. And hopefully one or two will become my mentors, who give me exercises to improve my writing. 
 
Linking up with:
 
 
 
 
 
 

9 comments:

  1. That looks like a really fun list! I hope you're able to find time to read all or most of them!

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    1. Yes it should be inspiring...if it works out I will comment on some of them as I read them this coming year!

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  2. Oh, thank you for this after-Christmas refreshment, a real "nourishment for my soul." I had to laugh when I read, "I like looking at the stack and thinking I may really read some of these books this year," because it speaks so honestly for me... and I guess my husband who has stacks and stacks of partly read books with their protruding bookmarkers, throughout the house! You've opened up a door to me. I'm heading to the bookshelves this morning (to see what new stacks I can make ;) Hm, the writing books...

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    1. Glad you stopped by Sylvia...so glad to inspire your own book hunt...the joie de livres! Would love to hear of titles that inspire you!

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  3. Don't you love having your own library, Kel? A Pen and a Path....had you shown me that at one of our SB encounters? Looks familiar, but I don't think I have it. That is the only trouble w/ a big book library....one forgets what one owns, and occasionally I have purchased the same book twice. Yikes! There are so many good books on journaling and writing. Try Luci Shaw's LifePath and even Robert Benson mentions journaling in Living Prayer. And Morton Kelsey's Adventure Inward is wonderful on journaling. And I liked LuAnn Budd's Journal Keeping and Ron Klugg's on Keeping a Spiritual Journal (not likely the exact title). My book, Love Letters to God, is not a how-to, but hopefully provides some inspiration on journaling (don't usually plug my book, but wanted to reference it simply in context). There are soooo many great books on writing. For some reason, the secular ones are coming to mind, and I don't have time to dig them up my Christian titles. I do recall that the Thoenes wrote a good Christian book (Maybe Writer to Writer). Secularly speaking, Annie Dillard's on the writing life is excellent or Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg. Sorry I am blanking out here, but it sounds as if you have plenty to read in your own library. Enjoy! And Happy New Year.
    Lynni

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    1. Lynni- I love how we spur one another on to good books, and even if I don't or can't read them all it is comforting to know they are there. I may have shown you Pen and Path...I found it last year, I think from a reccomeneded list by Ann Voskamp...I will have to write down the ones you mention today...then I like to do a kindle search, so at least I can browse the intros for free with the sample option :) Happy Reading!

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  4. Those free intros help, don't they? And of course so does the library. I am trying to use it more often, particularly before I make a purchase. I will try to find other writing/journaling books to recommend (at some point. :-) Thanks for sharing.
    Lynni

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  5. I find books about writing very enticing though I don't feel I am a writer or even could be a writer.

    Thanks for the suggestions of The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie. I have read it, but I know there are more in the series that I haven't read yet.

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    1. Beth- Glad you stopped by...look forward to seeing what other reads come our way from the nightstand linkups! You like to read books and write about them, that's sounds like writing to me :)

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