Hello from Kathy Collard Miller in the Southern California desert where it’s starting to cool down! Some time ago I was waiting in the airport for my connecting flight, minding my own business while enjoying reading a novel. I looked up and noticed a small food counter nearby where a woman was serving customers. I continued reading when unexpectedly the Lord’s still small voice within my heart whispered, “Go talk to that woman behind the counter about Me.” My reaction was unfortunately one that I usually make: “Oh, Lord, you know I don’t like doing things like this. Please! No!” I…
Tag: God
This is our archive pageChocolate-Inspired Humility
Hello there from Kathy Collard Miller in the desert of Southern California near Palm Springs. But don’t worry, it’s a dry heat. Talking with a women’s ministry director at a conference, I hoped she would invite me to speak at her women’s retreat. As we sat in the lounge of the convention center, I enjoyed one of the freshly baked chocolate chip cookies set before us. When she asked my opinion on some important ministry issues, I spoke with forceful and confident tones. I was thrilled to see her staring at my mouth, obviously waiting for every word I said….
What Arrows Assail You?
Hello from Kathy Collard Miller in the Southern California desert. When I attended my first writers conference in 1980, writing legend Woody Wirt closed the final session by exclaiming, “I want you to say right now, ‘I am a writer.’” I am a writer? It seemed dishonest to say such a thing. After all, I’d only had one article and one short story published. That didn’t seem to qualify as a true “writer.” What was a “true writer”? I didn’t know but I was convinced it didn’t refer to me. But being the People Pleaser I am, I wanted to…
Who Me? A Perfectionist?
Hello from Kathy Collard Miller in the desert of Southern California If I were to ask you whether you’re a perfectionist, you’d most likely say “no.” The explanation for saying that? “Well, I don’t get anything perfect! After all, perfectionists reach perfection.” Would you be shocked if I told you that’s not accurate? Not only is it not accurate but I would almost predict that some perfectionist tendencies are blocking your efficiency and joy in your writing. Because one definition of a perfectionist is: “A person who takes great pains and passes them on to others.” Want to know if you have…
Surprise! God Is Sovereign!
Hello from Kathy Collard Miller in the desert of Southern California! Have you ever been surprised by God’s sovereignty? Early in my writing and speaking ministry in the 1980’s, I felt the need to make things happen. It felt like I needed to force things to happen. I even seemed to hear from the publishing world that it was up to me to make things happen. And within a decade or two, I began to learn that I needed a platform and it was all up to me. I felt tense.
Remind Me (A Writer’s Prayer)
Another writer’s prayer from Bob Hostetler (www.bobhostetler.com) Lord, remind me when inspiration fails me and writing is a slog, that even at such times the writing life is a life of privilege and blessing.
Can Bunnies Pray?
Children’s authors often use animals as the main characters in their stories. Anthropomorphism, also known as personification, is attributing human characteristics to anything other than a human being.
Your Devotional
Hello! Maureen Pratt here with my monthly CAN blog. This time, some thoughts on writing the devotional. The devotional is intensely personal, but can also provide tremendous support for many. I've experienced this first-hand. When I was first diagnosed with lupus, I suffered from a number of life-threatening symptoms. None, however, was as confounding as the non-life-threatening phenomenon of lupus brain fog, which is much like looking at the world through a pea-soup fog on a chilly day. It isn't permanent, much like those clouds of fog, and it doesn't cause changes in the brain, per se. But it does make memories…
Picture It? Perfect!
Hello! Maureen Pratt here to bring another blog post to you. This time, I’m going to continue along the theme I began last month and talk more about capturing the visual aspects of writing – how working with a camera when you are writing can help you bring dazzling details to your work of fiction or non-fiction. Sometimes, when we write (particularly fiction, but also nonfiction), we think that our work has to come from our imaginations. This is, of course, true to a point. But in order to make a place come alive to the reader, we have…
The Power of Positive Prose
Hello! Maureen Pratt, back again, for my monthly CAN Blog post. I’m very happy to be blogging today about the craft of writing and, specifically, the huge difference "writing positive prose" can make in describing characters, painting pictures, and conveying the heart of a story, be it fiction or non-fiction. What do I mean by "positive?" Given two possible ways of writing the same sentence, the more positive can be the strongest one to choose. Consider this description: "Amy didn’t necessarily think she was beautiful, but she couldn’t believe that the casting director put her in secondary roles that…
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