Do you love to write? So do I, and today is our day, I Love to Write Day. According to the official Web site:
November 15, 2008 will mark the seventh I Love To Write Day, a grassroots effort to have people of all ages practice their writing skills. Created by Delaware author John Riddle, I Love To Write Day is an opportunity for people of all ages to write something: a poem, an essay, a letter to the editor, a short story, start a novel, finish a novel – the possibilities are endless!
This post is filed under Writing and Publishing Advice because I’m going to share the two best pieces of advice I can give to any aspiring writer:
Read, read, read!
Write, write, write!
Writers are readers first. Why would anyone want to write if they didn’t love reading? You’ll learn a lot about writing if you read a lot. Certainly read writing how-to books, but also read poetry, creative nonfiction, history, biography, fiction—a romantic mystery titled Dream or Destiny comes to mind. You will learn as much from observing other writers’ techniques as you will from reading about those techniques in how-to books.
At some point, though, you have to stop reading and start writing. I Love to Write Day is a perfect day to write. If you’re already writing—maybe you’re halfway through National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo)—be sure to write today.
If you haven’t started, take the first step. Begin a journal. Get a jump-start with a writing prompt. Write a letter to a loved one. Compose a poem or start a book.
Today is the last day of my three-week blog book tour for Dream or Destiny. Jeanne Dininni interviews me at Writer’s Notes. This is one of the most extensive interviews of the tour, right up there with
Helen Ginger is hosting me at Straight from Hel again today with my guest post: How Things Change—Editing a Manuscript Ten Years Later. Helen read the manuscript before it was published and gave me some valuable suggestions. In my post, I talk about some of the changes I had to make in the story because of technology advances from the time I wrote the book until it was published. Stop by for a visit—I’ll be available during the day to answer questions.
Today is a busy day on my blog book tour. I’m also at Straight from Hel, where Helen Ginger has posted a review of Dream or Destiny. I’ll be back at Straight from Hel tomorrow with a guest post. Hope to see you there both days.
Genesis Davies was the first person to offer to host me on my blog book tour, many months ago in a discussion at the Writer’s Cafe at Grow Your Writing Business. The Cafe has been closed for several months because of owner Yvonne Russell’s health issues, and we wish Yvonne a speedy recovery.
The cover art for Dream or Destiny is the topic for today’s blog book tour stop at The Dark Phantom Review. Mayra Calvani is hosting my guest post: A Twisted Tale of Cover Art. If you’ve read the book or even the free excerpt, you know this cover is perfect for the story. But it didn’t start out that way, and the twisted tale describes how it evolved.
ALMIGHTY God, our heavenly Father, in whose hands are the living and the dead; We give thee thanks for all those thy servants who have offered their lives in the service of our country. Grant to them thy mercy and the light of thy presence, both now and ever. Stretch forth, we pray thee, thine almighty arm to strengthen and protect the soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines of our country. Support them in the day of battle, and in the time of peace keep them safe from all evil; endue them with courage and loyalty; and grant that in all things they may serve without reproach; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Today’s blog book tour stop is at Writer’s Notes for a review of Dream or Destiny by Jeanne Dininni. Jeanne observed a couple of things in Dream or Destiny that other reviewers haven’t. You can leave a comment to enter the drawing for an autographed copy of the book. Jeanne is one of the most generous writers online and a regular here so I hope you will visit Writer’s Notes and say hello.
Here in the United States, we have freedom of religion, but we need to be alert to protect this precious right. We won’t have our freedom forever if we don’t defend it.
However, in many parts of the world, Christians are persecuted for their faith every day. Proclaiming Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior can lead to death. Reading the Bible or worshipping the Lord bring danger.
Christians are encouraged to pray for continued boldness and courage for believers as they share the gospel and for hearts to be softened to the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Pray not only for persecuted Christians, but for the persecutors as well.
When I read the theme for this month’s group writing project at Middle Zone Musings, it was déjà vu all over again. I was sure Robert had run out of topics and was starting to repeat himself. The topic is What I Learned from Government, and I knew I had written on that subject before.
But when I checked my archives, I discovered that the topic had been What I Learned from the World of Work. My post, What I Learned from Working for the Government, listed seven things I learned. I hope you read the original post as I’m not going to repeat those seven lessons. Instead I’m going to expand on one lesson that is very timely.
Even programs that are supposed to be for the benefit of people in need don’t always serve the needs of those they are designed to serve.
Too many people in our society expect the government to protect them from everything—enemies, misfortune, and their own bad decisions. They want their rights, and they want them now. They want financial security, and they want it now. They want to forget that there are evil people in the world, and they want to negotiate with our enemies.
The United States was founded as a republic, with limited federal powers. National security is government’s responsibility. Ensuring home ownership for citizens who can’t afford the houses they’re buying is not the role of government. It is a formula for disaster—as we’ve seen recently. Certainly many institutions and individuals—including greedy financial institutions who tried to make a fast buck, greedy individuals who tried to buy homes beyond their means, and greedy investors who tried to get rich quick—share the blame for the credit crisis. However, the root cause is the unwise, if well-intentioned, legislation and regulations designed to increase the opportunity for home ownership to more and diverse individuals.
Greedy financial institutions wouldn’t have made these risky loans if they didn’t have Freddie Mae and Fannie Mac to fall back on. Greedy individuals who didn’t have sufficient income for the houses they wanted couldn’t have gotten into debt over their head if they didn’t have the government supporting their entitlement to home ownership. Greedy investors couldn’t have profited from the situation if the government didn’t make it easy.
My heart goes out to individuals caught in the situation. But did those visionary programs to make home mortgages more accessible really help anyone? I don’t think so. Financial institutions would have been better off if they had made loans to people who were likely to be able to meet their obligations. Individuals who bought homes beyond their means would have avoided losing their homes or getting into serious financial trouble if they had purchased homes within their means or continued to rent. Investors might not be facing huge losses if they had invested more wisely.
So the well-intentioned government intervention has ended up making the situation much worse. The crisis has spread beyond the original organizations and individuals to impact our entire economy. Then comes more government intervention to try to resolve the problem. And when that doesn’t work, more government intervention …
The Declaration of Independence says we are entitled to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” It doesn’t guarantee us happiness. It doesn’t guarantee us financial security. It doesn’t guarantee us health. It guarantees us freedom, and people who are free to succeed are also free to fail.
I quit my government job because I reached the conclusion that the government programs designed to help poor people were actually harming rather than helping. The War on Poverty was declared nearly 50 years ago, and we lost. People in those programs haven’t achieved success; in most cases, they’re still in government programs, still receiving handouts. Yet, people work their way out of poverty every day. They may get some temporary help, but they don’t expect government to make them successful. They work for their own success.
Yes, government taught me that good intentions don’t guarantee good results. In the coming months, we’ll see many new proposals and many new programs designed to help people. Will they help? Or will they hurt?
You will learn as much from observing other writers’ techniques as you will from reading about those techniques in how-to books.
The cover art for Dream or Destiny is the topic for today’s blog book tour stop at 
