Writers Write ... Right?


I’ve always loved quotes. You know, those wonderful little words of wisdom from various sources that just make you stop for a moment and think.

My grandmother must have passed that down to me. Her tattered, well-read Bible was filled with quotes. They were scribbled inside both covers and on the blank pages at front and back. Even the margins of a printed page wasn’t exempt if a particular scripture brought to mind some witty little saying she’d heard or read – or even dreamed up herself. (Hey, maybe Granny gave me the writer’s itch, too!)

Whatever the reason, catchy little phrases, words of wisdom, proverbs … to me, the really good ones are like gold nuggets – hard to find, but their value far outweighs all the time and effort invested. When one of them really strikes a chord in my mind, it resonates – and I never forget it.

One such little gem is straightforward and succinct: Writers write.

The first time I saw it, I thought, “Well … duh!” (I know, that’s really profound.) But come on … does there even exist a more useless waste of two words? Of course writers write – they’re writers!

Then I got really serious about my own contributions to the writing community, and I finally saw the light. Because no matter how pristine my intentions, every day is a brand new commitment to my chosen field. Back when I was writing in a notebook or pecking out words on a cantankerous old typewriter with four little ones playing at my feet, it didn’t seem so hard to just sit down and do what I needed to do …write.

But then there was the advent of the personal computer – oh, sweet bliss! No more messy eraser ribbons. No more black smudges all over the page. No more retyping an entire page to correct an error I missed in the initial edit. Could life be any sweeter?

Oh, yes, it certainly could.

I was ecstatic when I discovered the World Wide Web. Those pesky trips to the library for research? A thing of the past! Everything I needed was right there at my fingertips – I just had to go online and get it. A multitude of information readily available … along with games. And online shopping. And e-mails. And on … and on … and on. That little CPU box holds a veritable plethora of things that have nothing to do with writing. And for a natural procrastinator like me, they spell d-e-a-t-h to a writing career.

Shopping is a real killer. You tell yourself you’re doing a great thing … after all, you won’t spend as much time away from writing if you just go online and order that blouse you’re looking for in a particularly hard-to-find shade of cantaloupe crush. Uh-huh.

Do you know how easy it is to while away an hour or two playing Boggle online? I have done exactly that in what felt like only ten or twenty minutes. And it’s so easily justified! Any number of writer’s workshops will tell you that in order to write effectively, you must sharpen your mind with a variety of stimuli. The occasional break from stringing words together is good for you. It stimulates! It inspires! It refreshes the thought process for when you return to your manuscript.

And that's the kicker. Returning to your manuscript. I have become the world’s best at finding just one more thing to do before writing. And then just one more.

So, along with a couple of other favorites, I always keep those two words in gargantuan, vividly colored letters somewhere on or near my desk:

WRITERS WRITE.

It’s not a definition any longer. It’s a reminder. I cannot call myself a writer if I don’t write. I’ll never see my name on the cover of another book … if I’m too busy surfing the web to write one. And though I may eventually find that perfect blouse in exactly my size, color and price range, my chances of wearing it in an author photo are nil … if I haven’t done the one thing that qualifies me as an author.

Write. Because tha

I've been a little "missing" from bebo lately. Sorry 'bout that. Still, just in case you missed my Tribute to Dottie on The Melody Within, I thought I'd post it here as well.

TRIBUTE TO DOTTIE RAMBO

Dottie Rambo, Southern Gospel music legend, was killed in a tour bus accident on Mother’s Day.

I can’t even think “Dottie Rambo” and “dead” on the same brainwave. The horrible news of Dottie’s death delivered the same shock, the same almost physically “sucker-punched” reaction that I felt when Elvis died. It’s almost impossible to take in.

Talk about an instantly recognizable name and a well-loved personality! Even more than that…think of the enormous legacy this remarkable woman left behind. What an anointing she possessed…what a gift for music, which she used solely and completely to praise and worship God!

Dottie left a legacy of over 2,500 published songs! Even folks who aren’t a fan of Southern Gospel music have heard of “He Looked Beyond My Fault and Saw My Need.” It makes me glad that our God doesn’t compare His children amongst each other. Think about it…2,500 published songs. How many did she write that weren’t published? How many hours of every day must she have spent thinking about one more way to say, “I love you, Lord”? One more way to tell other Christians, “Don’t give up. You can make it. God is good—all the time, and He loves you.”

Oh, to be able to leave behind such a gift! To know, when your time comes to finally be with Jesus, that while you were on this earth you accomplished something worthwhile for the kingdom of God.

This woman did. She was only human, and I don’t put her on any superhuman pedestal. I’m sure she made mistakes, just like everyone else. She was bound to have had her moments of weakness and even doubt. But she kept on keeping on. She kept on singing God’s praises. She never stopped believing that God is God, and that ultimately, that’s all that matters.


A few of my favorites include:

He Looked Beyond My Fault
Sheltered in the Arms of God
Tears will Never Stain the Streets of that City
Courage to Try Once Again
If That Isn't Love
Come Spring

With a list of over 2,500 to choose from, I could obviously go on and on...and on.

She will never be forgotten! Her legacy lives on, and we will continue to sing her songs. We will worship God with her words, and we will remember the wonderful, talented, anointed woman who penned them.

It’s your turn to “behold Him,” Dottie! Fly away home…

I get a kick out of listening to my grandbabies talk.

At 2 and 3, the two youngest are still in the baby stages of their vocabulary. Sometimes they make up their own words. Or, they might make a stab at saying the proper word, but it just doesn't come out quite right. If you've spent any time at all around toddlers, you know exactly what I mean.

Logan loves to watch "Super-Doo." Now, only those of us who know him and his likes and dislikes are aware that "Super-doo" and "Scooby-Doo" are one and the same. He's so into super heroes right now, with Spiderman and Superman being right up there at the top of the good list. But he also enjoys the silly antics of Scooby-Doo, loveable animated pooch that he is. Somehow, to Logan's 3-year-old way of thinking, Scooby has become something of a superhero too, I suppose.

Aidan's the two-year-old, and is capable of becoming quite frustrated when he can't make us understand what he wants - especially if he's already "told" us more than once, and we're just not getting it. But the truth is, most of the time we do get it. We know him. His baby talk has become familiar, and we know what each funny pronunciation is supposed to mean.

"Abbit meok" means he wants milk with Nestle's strawberry flavoring. There's a rabbit on the front of the Nestle's box, so this particular much-favored treat is "rabbit milk" - just hold the "R," thank you very much, and nevermind the fact you can't get milk from a rabbit. Candy is "it-ty." Pooh Bear is Pooh - imagine that! You see, sometimes he gets it right.

Sometimes when he says things wrong, it's just so cute. So we make him say it again and again, just to keep him talking.

Those times when we think God's just not hearing our prayers, do you think perhaps He's just getting us to say it again...just so we'll talk to Him? Because the truth is, sometimes we only do that (really talk to our Father...) when we want something.

And I wonder if there are times when we just don't speak the language the way God knows we're capable of, so we have to ask until we get it right. Maybe that's one of the ways He teaches us God-speak...things like praise and worship. It could be that He wants us to stop kicking and screaming and yelling and just say, "please." Or maybe He's holding the answer out to us, just waiting to hear "thank you."

One thing I do know. He listens, He hears, and He understands...even when we behave like spiritual toddlers. He's a perfect heavenly DaDa!