My Writing Adventure

I just spent the last few days taking the Scrivener tutorial, importing my already written documents, trying to figure out how to format those documents, and getting some semblance of organization going.

I've struggled with moving forward with my novel because every time I look at what I've written, I think it's terrible and work to rewrite it. And, that, my friend, is getting me nowhere.

Also, working with a dozen Word documents gets confusing. The nice thing about Scrivener is that you can see all your documents at a glance. I actually found scenes I had forgotten about - ooops!

I read a quote by Terri Blackstock today that I've posted in Scrivener to remind me to keep moving forward. Terri says, "Don't get it right, get it written."

Terri's theory is that you just need to get the first draft written (oh, first draft, how I long to see you). Then, you can re-write, but not before.

In an odd way I cannot explain, I feel writing this book is an act of obedience. I need to get going and get this thing written or let God give this task to someone else - not something I feel led to do.

Anyway, that's the progress for now. My mouse-arm and fingers are aching so I must be doing something right. Or should I say, write? (That was terrible. I think it's time for me to call it a day. Good Night!)

I needed something to help me organize my writing better than just a word processor. So, I purchased a copy of Scrivener last week. It's a pretty powerful piece of software and I'm eager to dig in and put it to work. Check out Scrivener here: http://www.literatureandlatte.com/scrivener.html

As I continue to receive reminders to pray for Steven Curtis Chapman's family because of their loss of little Maria, I wanted to share a link to an interview with Mary Beth Chapman from 2003. It is an interesting peek into what their family has gone through in order to adopt their Chinese daughters and an honest conversation about Mary Beth's struggle with depression.
Click here to read the article.

Click here for information on the Chapman's adoption ministry called Shaohannah's Hope.

Please continue to pray for the Chapman family, especially the son who accidentally hit Maria.