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| Debby presented a workshop to the Atlanta Sisters In Crime, on FEB 9, 2013. The group gathered for a photo following the program. |
The Lenten journey to Easter
always invites reflection, and this year is no exception, especially in regard to writing and where God is leading me. While a number of topics came to mind when
I was preparing for this blog, the question below is the one that demanded attention.
Are you a writer?
Most of us would immediately
say, “Yes.” End of discussion. But wait. Let’s dig a bit deeper.
Is writing your heart’s
desire?
Could you stop writing and
still feel fulfilled?
How hard are you willing to
work to make your dream come true? (That is if being a writer is your dream.)
What are you willing to
sacrifice for your writing?
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| The SINC members were put to work during the interactive workshop Debby presented. |
I believe in setting priorities:
God first, family second. But what’s third?
All of us are gifted in multiple
ways. Some pursue professions outside the arts. Many have demanding day jobs. Others
work hard within the home.
Are you a writer if you don’t
give 100% to your craft?
What about 50%?
If you can only allot a few
hours each week to writing, are you still a writer?
Surely, you’ve realized there
are no right or wrong answers, and the questions posed here bring others to
mind that beg to be discussed as well.
When do we become writers?
Is it when we've verbalized our desire to write or claimed writing as our ministry or vocation?
Are we writers only when we’ve
completed an article, short story or manuscript?
What if we’ve landed an agent
or made a sale?
“Silly woman,” you might be
saying. “Why are you struggling with such a simple question? If I write, then I
am a writer.”
Really?
A totally committed and fully
engaged writer?
In my youth, I wanted to be a
writer but ignored the inner voice and chose a different path for my life.
Was I a writer because I
wanted to write? Of course not.
When my children were young,
I penned and published a few articles.
Did that short-lived success
make me a writer? No.
Years passed, and eventually,
I began to freelance and saw my byline in numerous magazines.
Was I a writer then? Of sorts,
yet the desire of my heart was to publish book-length fiction.
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| A book signing followed the workshop. Notice the Seekerville bookmarks. |
Rejections, rewrites, new
stories, more rejections.
Was I a writer when I was
struggling to succeed? A real writer?
My first book sold and a
second followed.
I said I was a writer, but
there was always a niggling doubt that circled though my mind.
Were my sales due to right
place, right time, namely that the editors had scheduling holes my stories
could fill?
Were the sales merely luck or
happenstance?
Would there be future sales?
Last August, my tenth book
was published, and with it came the realization that, without a shadow of a
doubt, I am a writer.
Could I be a better writer?
Definitely.
Do I struggle? Everyday.
Does life often get in the
way? Well, of course. But at least after ten books, I know God’s will for my
life.
I am a writer…by
profession…by desire…by the grace of God.
So now I pose the following questions
to you.
Are you a writer?
If so, when did you first
call yourself a writer?
What stage of the journey are
you on?
What are the doubts that hold
you back?
What sacrifices are you
willing to make to follow your dream?
Is writing your heart’s
desire?
Share your thoughts to be entered
in a drawing for one of my books, winner’s choice, along with a surprise gift.
Happy writing!
Wishing you abundant
blessings,
Debby Giusti
THE GENERAL'S SECRETARY
By Debby Giusti
Trusting the Wrong Person Can Be Deadly...
Lillie Beaumont's dark past has just turned up on her porch--fatally
wounded. The dying words of the man imprisoned for killing Lillie's mother
suggest hidden secrets. Criminal Investigations Division special agent Dawson Dawson
To find Debby's books at Amazon.com, click HERE!
Read more about Debby in MORE TO LIFE!
