Reflect, Refocus, Recharge

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Greetings from Jan! Today I’m busy packing and making preparations for the Mount Hermon Writer’s Conference where I’ll be teaching a Head Start Mentoring Clinic and running the manuscript retrieval process for editors, critiquers, and writers. One of my other delightful tasks for the week will be to give a workshop for the writers about midway through our time there. We will stop to take a few deep breaths. We’ll step away from the busyness of the conference into God’s waiting arms to catch a glimpse of his hand in all our circumstances. In that place with him, we’ll reflect, refocus, and rechage. As our spirits quiet,…

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Hug a Writer

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Jan here, writing on a drizzly but pleasant evening from northern California. Did you know that yesterday was Hug-A-Writer Day in Canada? I’m wondering how many people knew about it—in Canada or anywhere else. I mean, did you get a hug yesterday? For being a writer? As writers and speakers we enjoy those hugs once in a while, don’t you think? If not physical arms wrapping around our shoulders, at least someone in our corner who is willing to encourage us from time to time and say, “Hey, keep going! You can do it! You’re on the right track.” But many days…

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Thriving Through the Holidays

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Jan here, hoping to offer a few encouraging thoughts and ideas to help you as writers thrive through the approaching holidays. The past five or more years, I’ve headed into the Christmas season with either book deadlines or December speaking engagements (or both). I loved the work and ministry involved, but it made an already busy season extra busy. In some ways, I approached it by doing what I could to survive and get through to other side. I want to do it differently from now on. How about you? There’s the usual excitement and activity of the season, the family events and traditions…

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