Blogger: Michelle Ule
Sitting in for Wendy Lawton who is at the International Christian Retailing Show today.
What is the purpose of your writing, particularly during the summer months when children may be home?
Do you have a focused goal, or do you take life more in stride, open to interruptions?
Does God play a role in your summer writing?
Traditionally, I take the summer off from my job to write. Several years ago, I spent that summer writing a novel, as yet unsold, called Waking Dreams of Hope.
It’s the story of a brilliant woman trapped by a pregnancy into a life she doesn’t want. Even though she knows she should appreciate it and recognizes God gave her the desire of her heart in another area– it just took a surprise pregnancy–she’s a wreck.
Her plans got interrupted.
Her frustration reflects years of my life (though not the pregnancy part).
I wrote that book sitting at this desk in our family room while life took place round about me. Several teenagers were home, young women lived with us, friends d
ropped by, the phone rang– it was seldom quiet and serene, though rich and full of life.
Every day I tapped away, crafting my story.
But because I was home, I also increased my volunteering. Whenever I had no plans to leave the house–“just write”–I often took an extra shift on a local crisis intervention hotline.
I talked to many people that summer, in my house, on the phone, and even online and in forums. Because I was there, I could listen and solve problems, make suggestions, oversee household projects and write my book.
Some days it was lovely.
Other days frustration built–I just wanted to write my book! Some of the book’s scenes left me weeping as I poured out the jumbled feelings of my heroine.
But then someone would ask, “Are we really out of peanut butter?”
While invisible steam erupted from my ears, I reminded myself, “they’ll be gone in a couple years. This is now. Take the time.”
I was better at it some days than others.
“Look down stairs. I’m sure I bought more jars.”
I’d type away, faster and faster as the troubles and anguish mounted for both the heroine and me.
A phone call and a woman in crisis. What was she going to do? Where was she going to go? Who would help her?
I listened. I made suggestions. Sometimes I cried.
And then I went back to the novel.
I got to the penultimate chapter by the end of the summer, 85,000 words in, and realized I didn’t like it.
“So what’s the deal here, Lord?” I whined. “What was this summer all about? Typing practice for me? I already type 120 words a minute, how much more speed do I need?”
God didn’t say anything.
I like to look at situations from a slightly different angle when I’m thwarted. I call it “turning the prism.” Was it possible God was doing something else that summer?
What if the Lord had engineered my life contrary to my expectations? What if my real purpose was to minister and he used the “excuse” of me writing a book so I would be available to others?
My novel languishes in cyber-space. I reread it recently and it’s actually pretty good, full of wisdom and truth. Maybe some day the story will bless readers
But the relationships strengthened, the babies born, the children fed, the grace bestowed –that work will last for eternity.
Many of my spiritual mentors–known through books–lived lives filled with interruptions. Biddy Chambers, Edith Schaeffer and Elisabeth Elliot all ran boarding houses and fed strangers, when they weren’t writing their books, praying, studying their Bibles and listening for God’s directions.
Their example put my interrupted experiences into perspective.
Sometimes–always on the hotline–I’m even gracious myself.
How about you? How do you react to interruptions?
Tweetables
What if the point of our lives, really, is a ministry of interruptions? Click to Tweet
Was I a writer a foot servant in the ministry of interruption? Click to Tweet
Maybe being interrupted, not the manuscript, was the point.
Summer Tips: What’s a Writer to Do?
I guess I am a bit strange in this, but I have always concentrated better with background noise and I can completely switch off to it, even in a coffee shop (a personal weakness for this bean). However, leave me in perfect silence and I will get distracted by it. I think it was from being dropped on my head when I was child. If its too silent I hear angels in my head and see a light … not the light of creativity … once thought it was a train.
It’s a great skill to have, Peter, and it works better if you’re not responsible for the barista and the other clients! With kids around, well, someone has to keep an ear open juts in case there’s blood . . .
I used to write with classical music playing but now my house is empty, I find I write in silence, the music is now a distraction.
My bottom line is, writer in whatever situation works best for you!
I just had a serious talk with God about my WIP, I have it two/thirds done, written for women. Two readers suggested that I direct it to men as well. Do-over. [Sigh] In my day job, we streamline processes, go “Lean” with no extra steps. I say to God, “This wasn’t Lean.” He says, “We have all the time in the world.”
I keep trying to make God fit into my timeline. He works beyond my timeline.
My own seminal work started off as a work for men, but women and youths so related to it that I had to recast it all and, of course, I also had to remove my own subjectivity – don’t we all. I can so identify with His, “we have all the time in the world”. Indeed, it is such a hallmark of God that a thing rushed tends to worry me.
Rachelle recently wrote about not hurrying the process, not worrying about the timing. I spent a lot of years waiting, like many of you are. My first contract came, seemingly as the answer to a promise, the day we drove our last child to college.
I chafed for many years, but you know what? I could not have accomplished the last four years had I had all those kids around. I’m free to focus and concentrate now in a way I wasn’t all those years ago.
So, I come back to, God’s timing is the best timing and he’ll use the words I write to his glory at his time. In the meantime, I try hard to listen, savor the day and if I get something done, terrific, and if not–he’ll redeem the time.
As to what audience? Listen to where God is pointing. Best wishes.
Michelle, I can’t tell you what your honesty means. Knowing a successful writer wades through frustration, unanswered questions, disappointments … well, it’s encouragement to keep pressing on and to remain hopeful. I think that’s one definite way to handle interruptions … take encouragement where you know it can be found in order to keep pressing on with hope. Thank you.
We talked about this in the comments the other day discussing envy. We could be totally focused writers like some of the famous ones, but when I look at the disaster of their lives, no thanks.
Some writers can accomplish the craziness of successfully publishing and raising children at the same time, but I know that would not have worked for me. The Lord will use whatever you devote to him, in whatever form, in whatever time he determines. Trust is part of it, and enjoying the life you’re given while you’re being given it!
The kids will be gone soon enough, even though some days it doesn’t seem like it. 🙂
Michelle, I can so identify with this. Sometimes I feel like I’m not being a good steward of the MS God has given me because my progress has been slow, slow, slow. I “finished” it for the first time last June or so, then had it edited, then didn’t even touch the edits for 6 months! Then only did a couple of them, then this spring started on it again. For one day. (Shaking head here.) It’s a message I’m passionate about, and I feel like if I don’t finish it and get it out to people, God could always give the message to someone else … and I don’t want to miss the opportunity.
But all this time, I’ve been dealing with those “interruptions” that have been oh-so-important. Helping hurting people. Sowing and pouring, sowing and pouring, and sowing and pouring some more. And looking back, I don’t think I could (in good conscience) have said “no” to a single one of those people. I definitely could have managed my time better, to somehow make progress with both, instead of dropping the MS like I did; but every one of those interruptions has been worth the cost.
So I’m trying to get back on track, and I’m asking God to make up the difference between what I did and what I should have done.
Amen. And I’ll bet that manuscript looks different after the rest.
Waking Dreams of Hope needs to be rewritten, now, for a different audience. I’ve learned a great deal about writing and framing a story since I typed that first draft. Was it wasted time?
No.
Just a different time. I wrote it closer to the emotions, which I might have trouble finding today. So, it’s on the list for rewriting someday and I believe God will use it. Meantime, keep forging ahead and trust that God will use your manuscript in ways you may never have imagined.
Best wishes
Michelle,
Your question, “What if the Lord had engineered my life contrary to my expectations?”, should speak to every one of us. Not one of us knows what the Lord has planned for us. The most we can do is show up for duty every day and ask Him to lead us through that one day.
As a parent of 3 and school librarian, interruptions WERE my plan for the day. Now that I am writing in solitude, I welcome interruptions.
I am nowhere near where I expected to be, but I can truly say I am blessed beyond measure. All the important things shout of blessing. The unimportant? I sadly spend way too much time fussing about those.
A special HAPPY BIRTHDAY tomorrow to our own MELODIE HARRIS! A talented writer and blog friend to us all.
Absolutely … I’ll be thinking about you, Melodie, on your very special birthday. You’ve given me so much this year.
The feeling is mutual, Shelli. My husband could imitate for you how I jumped all over the house yelling, “Shelli asked to be my Facebook friend!”
You have got to be kidding, Melodie! You gave me a good chuckle. It’s just me. 🙂 And … you keep giving. 🙂
Thank you, Sheila. I understand completely.
And happy birthday,Melodie. 🙂
Thank you, Michelle, for the b-day wishes. This was a great post. Work flow is a strange thing. You know the saying, want to get something done, ask a busy person? It fits me most of the time. I’m better off though I follow the Parkinson’s principle so I don’t piddle.
WOW! What a nice surprise, Sheila. Thank you! I too have wondered what this writing path entails for me as my WIP is set aside for me to study the craft. The pantser in me must stop and plot. Seems all I have is backstory because, but hey, I can work with that. Learning from KM Weiland this month — devouring her books.
I’m with Peter…I write better with the dynamism of life around me. If it gets too quiet, I start singing along with the music in my head, and that’s never a good thing; dogs a mile away will howl, and cats will drop their standoffish air, convinced that the end is nigh.
* Under current circumstances, the distractions are a bit more compelling, as fainting into a keyboard can cause the need for major edits I keep a couple of spare keyboards handy, in case I break one with my falling head, or spit up blood on the thing (Barbara knows how to clean them better than I).
* The distraction of pain does call for some care in editing, because I have been told that under the press of that form of discomfort, my spoken sentence structure changes (the dishwasher, for example, becomes the machine for the washing of plates and cutlery), and I will forget dog names and give them either Biblical or Beer titles, to keep the conversation going. Rufus and Shelby have become Rolling Rock and Shiner Bock, which I think they rather enjoy. Barbara becomes ‘Cochise’; why, I don’t know. These comments tend to take awhile to compose, so this sort of distraction-artifact can be edited out.
* I have noticed that the distraction of pain has helped produce some good short fiction – stories the people have liked, and characters that became quickly defined.
* Sorry, beginning to ramble a bit – thus, the distraction – and writing, this communication, does help keep its source at bay.
No question, dear Andrew, you’re dealing with the most difficult interruption.
Michelle, thank you – it is difficult, and today is working out to be rather worse than most days, but on the other hand it’s a wonderful opportunity for ministry. And, as the Dying Spouse posts on my blog are expanded, for another book! (That will give me a total of seven, four novels and three NF, as yet unpublished…but hopefully an attractive package for an agent, and a publisher.)
* I hope you’ll give “Waking Dreams of Hope” a chance to bless all of us. If I could make a suggestion…how about shortening the title to “Waking Dreams”? Might have a bit more punch.
Ah, interruptions. I hate them. I react badly to them. I would love to do just one thing at a time. But I have learned to only write in the early morning when there won’t be interruptions (well, we just got a new puppy, so right now even early mornings are perilous) so that when the boys are home and the day is going full swing, I am engaged in their lives and not battling with myself wanting to write.
I adore your honesty, Kristen, because I think the foot stomping is in all of us … sometimes we mellow with age when the interruptions seem inevitable. 🙂 And a puppy … yeah. Oh, yeah. 🙂
As long as you’ve found your sweet spot, who cares when you write? 🙂
And just think how handy a puppy is for getting you up out of your chair and outside on a regular basis! 🙂
Perhaps Andrew would have some suggestions?
Best.
Most of our guys come to us as adults, or even seniors, but we’ve had a few puppies.
* The thing to remember is that puppies need exercise, have very little endurance, and sleep about 20 hours a day, if they’re happy and well. If you can wear out a puppy through n early-morning game, you should have a couple of hours undisturbed as she sleeps it off.
* We use crates for feeding separation, and to let them rest. The crates are always ‘home’, and we work hard to assure that their connection is positive.
* She’ll be grown before you know it, and you’ll wish time could have passed more slowly. Keep that in mind, and perhaps set yourself writing exercises – use narrative prose to describe what the puppy is doing, and perhaps how the world looks through her eyes.
* Pursuant to the above, I’m a huge believer in writing exercises, fragments that will never see the light of day. Disconnected from the WIP, you can work them to develop your voice, free from the pressure of keeping your WIP internally consistent. They are to the WIP as PT is to operations; those who sweat in training bleed less in battle. Perhaps, Michelle, you or one of the other Books and Such guys could talk about this one day?
Hi Michelle, I’m so thankful for this post today!! I won’t go into the roundabout details as to how I ended up here (God’s providential timing!), but I’m a mom of 3 and have been feeling lost and discouraged in my writing for some time now. I was making bits of time and progress for a while, and then two years ago, when our third came along…it all seems to have gone out the window…it’s like I never got back into a rhythm! I appreciate your thoughts, and the other commenters here who talk about writing in the midst of the distractions…I have a VERY hard time doing that. I’m always looking for that “perfect” moment to sit down and write, and, well, there aren’t a whole lot of those! Haha! Still trying to decipher how to navigate the balancing act between writing and mothering, but this was an encouraging post in the midst of it all (: Thank you!
A long time ago, Lisa, when a single writer friend wrote me (a letter!) she asked what had happened to my writing.
I wrote back something like this:
“I feel like my life is a garden right now. I’m mulching the beds with the experiences of life–my children. One day that rich bed will be ready and I’ll toss in the seeds of my life and healthy plants will grow and bear much fruit.”
I’m at the lake right now surrounded by my terrific children, adorable grandchildren, chaos and a dog and I have to say, life is rich and full–the mulch and compost of long ago has provided me with both insight and a terrific life. I’m thankful.
The writing opportunities will come and go; but see this time as enrichment–just like yesterday’s post of what to do during the summer when it feels like you aren’t making any progress. The personal lessons will go deep into your soul and rest there, waiting for the time to flourish. It’s part of the craft–living deeply and in the moment–and will payback someday in ways you can’t possibly predict.
Best wishes and hug those kids close! Especially if they’re boys, they’ll be running away really soon. 🙂
Interruptions taste like sacrifice to me, a laying down of something I’d rather do to meet the need of the moment. Ministry, you ask? Absolutely. Perspective is a precious commodity.
Summers were also a time for me when I first dabbled in fiction. As a middle-school teacher, I spent one hot California summer writing a novel. It was a retreat, like going to a movie and enjoying the scenes as they appeared on the ‘screen.’ Loved it.
See? Making your life different during the summer CAN cause you to see everything differently. 🙂
LOL
Davalynn, I used a version of the word “dabbled” the other day. “I’m dabbling in fiction,” I said to someone who probably doesn’t take me seriously. But that dabbling is such a retreat, as you said … such a treat … to meet the story every day. I love how you said that.
Hi Michelle,
I love today’s blog and I commented on it, but the comments somehow ended up on yesterday’s blog. I’m not sure what I did to cause that, but here are my original comments:
Thank you for sharing your story, Michelle. I mean the one about the summer of interruptions. First, I felt consoled and reassured that I’m not the only one who, in the midst of frustration, looks up at God and asks, “So what was the point of all this?”
I think you are exactly right; you were ministering through the interruptions. You had your plan for how to spend the summer; God had HIs. And somehow, both were accomplished, even if didn’t feel like it at the time. St. Teresa of Avila said in one of her books (It may have been The Way of Perfection, but I’m not sure) that if someone needs your help while you are praying and you don’t leave your prayer to help the person, there is no point in your praying at all. Excuse my poorly worded paraphrase, but I know you get her point. After all, you stopped continually in order to answer God’s call by ministering to others.
I hope, at some point, that you do publish the novel. It sounds awesome.
For me, this is the first time I have been able to dedicate a summer (nearly three months!) to writing. I’m one month into it and have accomplished disappointingly little. I haven’t been interrupted per se but I have been a lot busier than I had anticipated. I’ve been away at school (Hofstra University) working on an MFA. My plan for the summer was to work on my novel and on shorter pieces to try to get published in journals. Family and friends are excited to see me (which is nice) and I have been more socially active than I had planned. Then there are those days like yesterday when the unexpected happens, nothing goes as planned, and little to no writing gets done.
Anyway, now that I’ve read and responded to your post, I am hitting the typewriter and hoping for a much more productive day.
Blessings!
Did I read another comment from you when you suggested you might just need to schedule time that’s dedicated to writing? I know I’ve seen that somewhere. Just mark it on your calendar and when someone wants you to do something, explain you’re booked.
They say it works . . . 🙂
It’s also important to know when your prime writing times are. For whatever reason, I write best from 1-4. So, as long as it’s not 1 o’clock yet, I’m not too worried if I’m not at the keyboard.
But I get nervous if I’m no where near it at 12:30 . . .
Set yourself assignments, too. That’s helped me from time to time. “I’m sorry, I’ve got to finish something before I can join you.”
Or, find someone to be accountable to.
But you know all this. 🙂
Best wishes.
I try to respond, rather than react. But for me, summer is nowhere near as organized as the school year.
This week? The house is kid free. So, I’m using the morning to edit, and the afternoons to work on my antique projects.
Next week will be different, as will the week after that.
I just aim to be done the bulk of my deep thinking work before summer vacation, so that I don’t get royally frustrated. Also, I’m a night owl, so that helps.
wow, that sounds so PBS-ishly pious. “I try to respond rather than react”.
Let’s try that again…
“I try not to freak out at my kids”.
Are you really a night owl? I have fallen prey to the “I can’t stay awake through a whole movie anymore.” Everyone knows we have to start a movie early for me to stay awake. 🙂
Yes, VERY much a night owl!! And we’ll start a movie at 7pm, is that good?
That’s pushing it, Jennifer. 🙂
Whatever works. I’d guess you get a lot of thinking done, however, while you’re sanding.
Thank you so much for this post. I needed this reminder today. I’m a stay-at-home mom of three girls, trying to complete my first novel. It’s been tough carving out writing time since summer vacation began. It’s good to remember that even if I don’t get all of my planned writing done, I’m still right where God wants me to be, with my family. 🙂 Thanks for the encouragement.
Absolutely. Digging in that mulch and doing a good work of it at the same time. Best wishes. Been there. 🙂
“What if the Lord had engineered my life contrary to my expectations?” Oh, Michelle…what a wise, insightful question to pose. As I get older, I tend to think that our expectations are most often “of this world” so will likely get in the way of God’s plans. I find when I give up my expectations and open wide the breadth of God’s expansive, limitless ability and faithfulness, I am happier. Might not mean I get more “done,” as you nicely illustrate above, but being faithful should always leave us the most contented. Thanks for giving me something to think about. 🙂 Blessings!
I like to hold my writing career lightly in my hands, tossing it in the air like a tennis ball before a serve and waiting to see where it lands.
It’s certainly more exciting and unexpected that way! 🙂
Best wishes–and don’t be surprised by where you land. We worship a creative God .. . .
Thank you for this. Really, I needed it today.
I so identify with today’s subject!!!!! Really identify. On many counts. I have one of those books, two summers worth of pouring my heart out, but it languishes, rarely looked at. I have interruptions. People come first. God calls me to pray, I stop what I’m writing, I respond to the nudge. Life is the ministry…the field, the meaning of loving others. But I do get frustrated, and I try to guard my time; but there is always the bigger picture, what matters most. Today I prayed for Andrew, first off. God brought him to mind…immediately, when my prayers were flowing like a refreshing river.
Andrew makes me think about life, and the gift it is. He is helping us see things we find painful and hard to grasp. He is fighting for every second, and with courage that inspires all of us in our daily stuff. I thank you, Andrew, for this. We are called to walk with you, to be you and your honey’s prayer warriors. It is a privilege we have been given.
God bless you all today.
See? The ministry of writing takes you to the ministry of intercession.
This post is a variation on one I wrote on my own website a couple years ago, talking about my two spiritual “mentors” Edith Schaeffer and Biddy Chambers. It also included Elisabeth Elliott. All three women, devout women of God, ran boarding houses at one time in their life. Their lives were directly affected by three men of God. But they seemed to embrace the seeming drudgery of their lives, even as they ministered, prayed and looked for God to work. Their writing successes did not come until later in their lives when the practice of hospitality was so totally ingrained into their very lives. I try to remember that on days when I load the dishwasher one. more. time. 🙂
The fact that I’m only now getting a chance to read and comment here tells you what kind of a day this one has been . . . one with interruptions. 🙂
I keep reminding myself my boys are only this age for a little while. Soon, they’re going to be wrapped up in their own lives, with little room for me in them. Do I want to write? Yes. Do I want to be the mom they need me to be? Yes. Sometimes those desires collide.
I’m learning to ride the interruptions. And, I’m slowly figuring out how to fit writing in around the interruptions.
You’ve given me good food for thought today, Michelle. Thank you!
It is interruption
None
not Interruptions