The Creative Call
Reading blogs of friends has made me realize, it has been THREE MONTHS since the last time I have written on my own blog! I started this blog originally so that I would have a place to practice writing often, at least to force myself to write 'in public' and hone my skills, but here I am, letting three entire months go by and not a single word written. Unacceptable!
I have, in fact, been writing these past few months. Most of my writing has been in my journals or in completing the exercises in an amazing workbook called "The Creative Call: an Artists response to the Way of the Spirit." (Seriously, if you are an artist, writer, creative at all, I highly recommend this book! HIGHLY! I have never gone through a workbook and been so incredibly inspired and equipped as I have with this book. If you are stuck in your creative endeavors, curious as to how the gifts God has given you play into the call on your life, GET THIS BOOK AND DO IT! If you have no money to buy it, please borrow mine!)
Anyway, I have also been working on my children's stories. There are about six in various stages of completion saved onto my computer. Some stories I wrote years ago, a couple I started within the past couple of months, and one of them is finished, edited, has been reviewed by other writers and polished to the best level I could muster. This one, called "The Grown-Up Boy" has been sent out to TWO agents so far! I decided to focus on acquiring an agent first because you can send the same manuscript to any number of agents at a time and if one decides to take you on, they will solicit the publishing companies for you. This is a good thing for many reasons.
1. They can do all the leg work soliciting publishing companies for you while you can focus on writing.
2. Many publishers won't even look at a manuscript unless an agent represents it first.
3. With publishing companies, you can only send your manuscript to one of them at a time, wait the four months until they do/don't get back to you and then send your manuscript out again... basically, it is a more tedious process.
4. You don't pay agents until they get you a publishing contract for you, then they get a 10%-20% (Usually 15% I think) cut of the money you are paid. The work that they do for you is invaluable though as mentioned in point 1 and 2 and they set up book tours etc as well. In theory, you could have a partnership with the same agent/agency through your entire writing career which would be nice for both parties involved.
God used that Creative Call workbook to make me realize that I need to be more disciplined, focused and intentional in using the gifts He has given me. My creative gifts are not only things that I am passionate about exploring, nor are they only 'side hobbies,' but he wants me to use them for His glory in some manner! I realized that I was looking at my artistic nature as the world does- impractical. The world may admire artistic people, but really, most of society looks at us and expects us to do those things in our spare time as a hobby and then to get real and get a real job! Rarely is the creative life even encouraged as a possibility for a legitimate career!
Little by little over the past two years as I have been pounding my head into a brick wall trying to procure the elusive full-time job with benefits, I have been feeling pulled more strongly towards the Creative life. When I was underemployed in Tucson, I taught myself the recorder. My friend Layne and I started our own folk music band, both singing and playing our instruments. In Tucson and in St. Louis I started teaching cello lessons. Since moving to St. Louis, writing projects have skyrocketed, I've done more collages and sculptures in the past year than I have in the past ten, I learned to knit, paint, took up woodburning, joined the church choir, sang a few solos and I play my cello in the worship band. Through much prayer, angst, tears, confusion, and constant confirmation from the Lord, I am finally realizing that, despite the 'impractical' nature of my calling, I am CALLED to a creative life!
I am still not completely sure how it will look. Since as early as second or third grade I knew these two things: I want to be an author and I want to get married. Both desires have been often thwarted and discouraged at various points in my life, but God continues to reinforce them after every odd twist and turn. For now, the only thing I know to do is put one foot in front of the other in the direction of the Lord, using the gifts he has given me, practicing them, experimenting, filling my days with them. Practically, in 2011, this has led me to join the St. Louis Writers Guild, ask my younger sister to edit my stories, save a small amount of money to now and then buy art supplies I need, develop new writing and artistic techniques, turn my uncle's bedroom into my art studio (Thanks, Uncle Dick! heehee), create and Etsy shop and start sending my manuscript out to agents. Please pray for me as I step out in faith.
For the past few weeks, I have been mulling over many potential blog posts for the future! I plan on writing a couple of essays that will address some areas of my life I have not attempted to broach before as well as a few essays on relevant spiritual/societal issues. Creative Nonfiction was my major and it is the genre that is often used to challenge, confront and vulnerably divulge in ways that can be everything from subtle to jarring, so I have been wanting to return to that for a few entries.
I have, in fact, been writing these past few months. Most of my writing has been in my journals or in completing the exercises in an amazing workbook called "The Creative Call: an Artists response to the Way of the Spirit." (Seriously, if you are an artist, writer, creative at all, I highly recommend this book! HIGHLY! I have never gone through a workbook and been so incredibly inspired and equipped as I have with this book. If you are stuck in your creative endeavors, curious as to how the gifts God has given you play into the call on your life, GET THIS BOOK AND DO IT! If you have no money to buy it, please borrow mine!)
Anyway, I have also been working on my children's stories. There are about six in various stages of completion saved onto my computer. Some stories I wrote years ago, a couple I started within the past couple of months, and one of them is finished, edited, has been reviewed by other writers and polished to the best level I could muster. This one, called "The Grown-Up Boy" has been sent out to TWO agents so far! I decided to focus on acquiring an agent first because you can send the same manuscript to any number of agents at a time and if one decides to take you on, they will solicit the publishing companies for you. This is a good thing for many reasons.
1. They can do all the leg work soliciting publishing companies for you while you can focus on writing.
2. Many publishers won't even look at a manuscript unless an agent represents it first.
3. With publishing companies, you can only send your manuscript to one of them at a time, wait the four months until they do/don't get back to you and then send your manuscript out again... basically, it is a more tedious process.
4. You don't pay agents until they get you a publishing contract for you, then they get a 10%-20% (Usually 15% I think) cut of the money you are paid. The work that they do for you is invaluable though as mentioned in point 1 and 2 and they set up book tours etc as well. In theory, you could have a partnership with the same agent/agency through your entire writing career which would be nice for both parties involved.
God used that Creative Call workbook to make me realize that I need to be more disciplined, focused and intentional in using the gifts He has given me. My creative gifts are not only things that I am passionate about exploring, nor are they only 'side hobbies,' but he wants me to use them for His glory in some manner! I realized that I was looking at my artistic nature as the world does- impractical. The world may admire artistic people, but really, most of society looks at us and expects us to do those things in our spare time as a hobby and then to get real and get a real job! Rarely is the creative life even encouraged as a possibility for a legitimate career!
Little by little over the past two years as I have been pounding my head into a brick wall trying to procure the elusive full-time job with benefits, I have been feeling pulled more strongly towards the Creative life. When I was underemployed in Tucson, I taught myself the recorder. My friend Layne and I started our own folk music band, both singing and playing our instruments. In Tucson and in St. Louis I started teaching cello lessons. Since moving to St. Louis, writing projects have skyrocketed, I've done more collages and sculptures in the past year than I have in the past ten, I learned to knit, paint, took up woodburning, joined the church choir, sang a few solos and I play my cello in the worship band. Through much prayer, angst, tears, confusion, and constant confirmation from the Lord, I am finally realizing that, despite the 'impractical' nature of my calling, I am CALLED to a creative life!
I am still not completely sure how it will look. Since as early as second or third grade I knew these two things: I want to be an author and I want to get married. Both desires have been often thwarted and discouraged at various points in my life, but God continues to reinforce them after every odd twist and turn. For now, the only thing I know to do is put one foot in front of the other in the direction of the Lord, using the gifts he has given me, practicing them, experimenting, filling my days with them. Practically, in 2011, this has led me to join the St. Louis Writers Guild, ask my younger sister to edit my stories, save a small amount of money to now and then buy art supplies I need, develop new writing and artistic techniques, turn my uncle's bedroom into my art studio (Thanks, Uncle Dick! heehee), create and Etsy shop and start sending my manuscript out to agents. Please pray for me as I step out in faith.
For the past few weeks, I have been mulling over many potential blog posts for the future! I plan on writing a couple of essays that will address some areas of my life I have not attempted to broach before as well as a few essays on relevant spiritual/societal issues. Creative Nonfiction was my major and it is the genre that is often used to challenge, confront and vulnerably divulge in ways that can be everything from subtle to jarring, so I have been wanting to return to that for a few entries.
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