Writers' Fairs

Last August I attended The Word Writers' Fair in Adelaide and met many interesting Australian authors writing some great novels. If I hadn't taken the time out to attend this Word Fair I wouldn't have met these creative people who are all trying to make their mark in Australian fiction and non-fiction. We need to support our home grown writers because we have our own unique Australian voice, and the best way to do that is at Word Fairs and Writers' Festivals.

On 6th November, 2010 The Word Writers' Fair will be held at Bayside Church, Capalaba, Brisbane from 9 am. to 5 pm. This fair is run by Wombat Books. Visit the website http://www.wombatbooks.com.au/

Our book stores sell great books, but finding Australian authors' books can be a long, and sometimes frustrating search, especially for the new and upcoming authors. Writers fairs and festivals help readers know there are many books available by Australian authors established, and new, and they get the opportunity to meet with them. Writing is a lonesome occupation, so most authors grasp any occasion they can to chat with their readers. If you're a lover of books, come along to The Word Writers' Fair in Brisbane, mingle with the authors and tell them what you like about their work, and what you would like to read in the future.

I'll be there, looking forward to seeing you. Don't be shy, come up and say 'hi'.

Alpha Redemption - P A Baines

I've just been travelling faster than the speed of light in a space craft on a journey to Alpha Centauri with a man named Brett and his computer mate, Jay.

Baines' novel Alpha Redemption strapped me into the Comet and drew me in to an incredible ride by the time I'd read the first page. How can that be? It just happened. These two characters captured my heart. It could be because ever since I can remember, I've always wanted to be an astronaut. Brett was one, and he has been on a journey physically, emotionally and spiritually. He was a man who had flaws, hopes, dreams, and circumstances that changed the course of his life. Somehow he couldn't get it quite together no matter how hard he tried.

I can relate to that. Sometimes the harder I try, the more I get myself into a mess bigger than I can handle. These are hard lessons to learn, but when I'm making the same mistakes over and over, I realise something has got to change.

Brett's journey to Alpha Centauri with Jay will touch you in a place you didn't know existed. Even now as I write this blog, there is a stirring in my chest I want to feel for a long time. I like this feeling. It's a spiritual awareness that there really is some bigger power than me that's in control of my life. Baines has left me with the impression that all I have to do is accept this power and it will be released, empowering me in ways I'd never thought possible.

I challenge you to read this book and feel the power released in the words that could change your life for the better. Thank you P.A. Baines for reminding me this power is available to all of us, if only we would believe.

Mentoring

Three weeks ago I attended a writing mentorship in Adelaide. The week was a full-on intensive learning about novel structure and general editing. If you ever get the opportunity to do a writing mentorship, I encourage you take the time, and be open to learning all that you can.

Like most writers I know, I find it hard to be objective about my work. I can't see the problems with the work because I'm too close to it. During my week of mentoring I learned how to stand back from the writing and evaluate each sentence, paragraph, scene and chapter. I already know a lot of the weak areas in my work. I try and correct them as I go, but when I've revised it many times I go on auto-read so the words in my mind aren't necessarily the ones I've written on the page. In other words I read the words in my head instead of what's on the paper.

Before I went to the mentorship, I hadn't worked on the manuscript for two weeks. I approached the work with fresh eyes, and immediately I started to cringe as I found weaknesses in the work. My mentor, Meredith, found all my choppy sentences, unnecessary words, lack of character development, dialogue inconsistencies, holes in the plot and punctuation problems.

And I thought I had a fairly polished manuscript. Think again, Laura!

Being shown my mistakes was like a stranger telling me my child had many shortcomings and they were all bad. It hurt! So, by the afternoon of the first day, I knew my manuscript wasn't perfect and I had better prepare myself for more constructive criticism. I took a deep breath, prayed for patience and a thick skin, then I set to work to fix my 'problem child'.

By the end of the week, my manuscript had improved immensely. My sentences were a mixture of short and complex; my dialogue was more natural; my characters behaved according to the people they were; and the holes in my plot were fixed. When I arrived home I revised again, and to my delight, I found the quality of writing had gone up a knotch.

The mentorship was a great success. My editor allowed me to fail, but she also gave me the opportunity to make the writing better, and brought my skills as a writer to the next level.

Have you been involved in a mentorship in your field of work and gained from the experience? I'd love to hear about your experience and how it changed the way you work?

Unstoppable Love

A few weekends ago our church ran a seminar called Unstoppable Love. Donna Parachin from Singing Waters Ministry and Rev. Andy Koornstra director of Staying Free Ministries came from Canada to present at this seminar.

Their presentations brought healing to people's lives in an amazing way and were relevant to life today. This healing gives hope, and for some people it means being able to really love people openly and honestly for the first time in their lives. They saw the problems in their lives were not only because of something they had done, but there were deeper issues buried inside of them they didn't understand. Donna and Andy taught us that these issues could have been a result of our carers also being broken and in need of healing, too. I learned how easy it is to blame ourselves and others without first seeing our situation from God's viewpoint.

Unstoppable love is what God has for us. He wants us to be whole and in relationship with Him and in relationship with others. Don't be afraid to reach out for his love because he wants to give it to you with no strings attached. How good is that!

Take time today and every day to spend time with the heavenly Father and he will transform your life into one filled with love, more love than you need so that you can spill that love onto others. Trust Him and see!

Are you practising unstoppable love with your family, friends, acquaintances and with people you meet every day whenever you're out and about. Take a few minutes to say hello and spread love to an unknown person and watch the person's face come alive. It's easy as stopping and saying, hello, how are you, and listening for the response. You never know how you will impact that person at that moment.

I'd love to hear from you--leave me a message to let me know how your unstoppable love has reached another.

Relationships

Building relationships were once a challenge for me. Sometimes I felt so disconnected from people I wondered if I was on this earth. I was here physically, but mentally and emotionally I may as well have been floating around in cyberspace. It's not that I didn't want to connect. I wanted to be part of people's lives and them a part of mine.

Thankfully God has transformed me in a way I never thought possible.

My heart aches for people who are hurting. Some people don't know they are hurting. Their pain touches my heart in a way that I become so overwhelmed I can't find the words to say to them. This was the case last Sunday at my church. I was sitting with a woman who trusted me enough to talk about her daughter who'd had a stroke a couple of years ago. My heart squeezed hard when she told me the story of her daughter's recovery. I was so overwhelmed I couldn't find words to comfort her. Her journey with her daughter has been difficult as she has come to accept her daughter's disability and the stress on her daughter's family.

Our conversation ended with me feeling I had somehow failed that woman. Not by choice, but by needing time to digest what she told me. Had I missed an opportunity to connect with one of God's hurting children?

I haven't stopped analysing that conversation and my feelings toward this woman. I concluded I needed time with Jesus to work through my hesitation in being emotionally honest with her. Way down deep inside of me, my spirit told me she needed space to process her grief. This woman needed someone to sit and listen, really listen to what she was saying.

I saw her two days ago and she gave me the biggest smile. My heart swelled with love for her. Gagging on my words the week before was God telling me this woman only needed someone to listen. Not everyone needs lots of words, nor do they need physical touch. Instead they need a person to sit and listen to them with all of themselves. I'm glad I listened and waited for God's prompting, because something has changed in this woman since the last time I saw her. God gave me the understanding of what it means to sit and just be and the amazing effect this can have on someone who is hurting.

Have you ever been with someone and wished you had spent the time with them differently?