Welcome

Writing is the most rewarding thing I do.

Writing is the hardest thing I do.

Writing both excites and hurts.

All it takes for me to carry a cloud through the day is for a friend to shrug when I share what I've written. What am I suppose to do when a family member that has been 100% supportive takes a week to read my latest piece? Do I ask if they liked it? What if they didn't? Maybe I don't want to know.

Writing as a profession is more than just putting words on paper. Writing becomes a part of your soul. We struggle with the technical, stress out over punctuation, spelling and to bullet or not to bullet. Re-writing becomes an obsession. We have trouble concentrating on conversations while a phrase rumbles in our head. We pull over to the side of the road searching for pen and paper for our latest idea. Why? It's all in the attempt to find that one link that will cause our reader to "feel" the power of our message and have it touch their lives in a positive way.

We spend hours alone involved in the process of writing, waiting for that moment of insight to hit us. When it does the elation is overwhelming. We turn to share it - but we are alone. We run down the stairs - excited and happy - "This is so cool! Listen to this!" Our family smiles, listens once again and tries to be supportive by saying - "That's nice. Good job."

Nice? Our face drops two floors. Nice? Our balloon deflates because we don't see our excitement reflected in their eyes. They don't work with words like we do. They don't appreciate the beauty of a well turned phrase. They don't want to read an essay or study the value of a best seller. They prefer to wash the car, go to a movie or call a friend.

While the hissing from a deflated balloon is still in the air, we jump to the negative. Is it that they don't like what we do? Am I a bad writer? Should I just give up and quit? No, no, no. That's not the case. They love us and they love what we write. They just aren't writers. They have a hard time getting excited about how the Greek form of a word sounds like pudding dropping to the floor.

ONLY WRITERS CAN TRULY UNDERSTAND WRITERS.

Just Write is dedicated to you - the writer. You won't find any technical tips on this site and you won't find help with publishing your work.

What you will find is a blog dedicated to the writer's soul and psychological well being. What do you need to keep your spirits high when you receive rejection letter number 50? What do you need when you wonder yet again, "Am I good enough?" What do you need when you know that God has called you but you no longer "feel" him as you write? What can you do when life has hit you so hard that the excitement of writing has turn into just another chore?

Grab a cup of coffee and meet me at Just Write. We will talk it over and find ways to keep you motivated. There will be interviews with other writers and editors concentrating on the emotional side of writing.

This is your blog. Your place to find friends, make connections and receive the encouragement you need to keep writing. Submit questions, ask for specific topics to be covered, participate. Together we will keep writing and influencing the world.

While at Mount Hermon Christian Writers Conference I met with Vicki Crumpton of Revell/Baker Publishing. She was wonderful as I went on and on about wanting to be a professional writer. She listened patiently as I worried about being the type of writer an editor doesn't appreciate.

Vickie has a beautiful smile. That wide smile of hers affirmed my inner desires as she said "Just do it, Debbie. Just get your stuff out there." I sat quiet for a moment until the weight of her simple words found root in my writer's heart. As we parted, she nodded once more and said with excitement in her voice, "Just do it. Just write."

I returned home to incredible problems. Within six months I had to deal with overwhelming problems including a motorcycle accident that almost took the life of my son, his recovery and a cancer scare for me. Huge problems that before would have caused me to put writing on the back burner. But Vickie's words pounded in my head. "Just do it." The encouragement of those words have kept me writing and allowed me to do some of my best work.

Won't you join me? Lets work together and Just write!

God loves you and has called you to write,

Debbie