by Jason Joyner | Aug 19, 2011 | Blog, links, writing craft
Quiet week on the blog front. I’ve been busy the last three weeks with family, vacation, a medical conference (always good fodder for story ideas), and this weekend a family camp for church. To make up for a lack of content, I present the articles I’ve been able to read that have helped me in the last week or two.
Kristen Lamb is a major encourager for writers, and she helps put self-discipline in context.
My friend Nicole helpfully pointed out this post, which gives tips for helping family understand the quirky needs of a writer (and if all else fails, there’s always the flamethrower).
I’ve heard Scrivener talked up as a great writing program, but it has only been available for Mac. Now there is a beta version for Windows us PC users can check out.
Even the seat of the pants writers need structure at some point.
Finally, my friend Athena Grayson has a simple but effective exercise to help us writers “find the time”.
If you find any of these links particularly helpful, please let me know!
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by Jason Joyner | Aug 19, 2011 | Blog, links, writing craft
Quiet week on the blog front. I’ve been busy the last three weeks with family, vacation, a medical conference (always good fodder for story ideas), and this weekend a family camp for church. To make up for a lack of content, I present the articles I’ve been able to read that have helped me in the last week or two.
Kristen Lamb is a major encourager for writers, and she helps put self-discipline in context.
My friend Nicole helpfully pointed out this post, which gives tips for helping family understand the quirky needs of a writer (and if all else fails, there’s always the flamethrower).
I’ve heard Scrivener talked up as a great writing program, but it has only been available for Mac. Now there is a beta version for Windows us PC users can check out.
Even the seat of the pants writers need structure at some point.
Finally, my friend Athena Grayson has a simple but effective exercise to help us writers “find the time”.
If you find any of these links particularly helpful, please let me know!
—
by Jason Joyner | Aug 10, 2011 | are you a quitter?, Blog, books, reviews, work
OK, the title of this post is lousy since my last rambling was whether I should quit blogging to focus on writing. It is lousy because it is misleading. And since I’m still here, I’m not quitting blogging.
But I want to be a Quitter.
I’ve known about Jon Acuff for a while. I’ve checked out his Stuff Christians Like site several times and have chuckled at numerous articles (learned what a Jesus juke is, and found I’m not opposed to massages at church). He has a new book out called Quitter. I was curious, so I checked it out.
He pitches it with this statement:
Have you ever felt caught between the tension of a day job and a dream job? That gap between what you have to do and what you’d love to do?
(That’s where I’m living right now)
Jon offers practical advise in a very humorous package. It turns out Jon is a successful quitter. In two ways. First, he was good at hopping from job to job. The problem was they were lateral moves, not into his dream job. Finally, he was able to leave a good day job to a dream job. It’s from this experience that he shares.
He tells people not to quit too soon – to use the time with a regular job that pays the bills to prepare for the time they can do something different. He gives pointers on finding the dream you may have. A major point is to work hard (hustle) to make things happen. He had to learn to be happy with small successes before he hit the “big-time”.
He writes this book for a general audience, but he includes biblical principles without preaching or quoting chapter and verse. One idea I appreciated (and was challenged by) was his emphasis on not stealing from a current job while working toward a dream job. This seemed to echo the principle of being faithful with little, so that the Lord can give more. He doesn’t explain it like this, but the book has several points like this.
Jon came to fame as writing a satirical blog poking fun at the church. Thus, the book has plenty of humor. I appreciate his sense of humor and laughed at many points. Any satire/comedy won’t work for everyone, so I’m sure there will be those who don’t appreciate it. Those people probably don’t read this blog anyway.
If you’re toiling away in a job that doesn’t give the type of satisfaction you think it should, if you are wondering if there is a way out of the quagmire of the grind, then Quitter is a book that can give you insight and inspiration toward a better job. It won’t buff your resume or give you angelic revelation. I was bummed. But, it helped me realize I need to do more than complain, and it was an enjoyable read.
Oh, and I would recommend not leaving it out on your desk when reading it during lunch breaks – it might bring up some unwanted questions…
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Anybody out there wrestling with this issue? Any experience with this idea of day job vs. dream job?
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by Jason Joyner | Aug 10, 2011 | are you a quitter?, Blog, books, reviews, work
OK, the title of this post is lousy since my last rambling was whether I should quit blogging to focus on writing. It is lousy because it is misleading. And since I’m still here, I’m not quitting blogging.
But I want to be a Quitter.
I’ve known about Jon Acuff for a while. I’ve checked out his Stuff Christians Like site several times and have chuckled at numerous articles (learned what a Jesus juke is, and found I’m not opposed to massages at church). He has a new book out called Quitter. I was curious, so I checked it out.
He pitches it with this statement:
Have you ever felt caught between the tension of a day job and a dream job? That gap between what you have to do and what you’d love to do?
(That’s where I’m living right now)
Jon offers practical advise in a very humorous package. It turns out Jon is a successful quitter. In two ways. First, he was good at hopping from job to job. The problem was they were lateral moves, not into his dream job. Finally, he was able to leave a good day job to a dream job. It’s from this experience that he shares.
He tells people not to quit too soon – to use the time with a regular job that pays the bills to prepare for the time they can do something different. He gives pointers on finding the dream you may have. A major point is to work hard (hustle) to make things happen. He had to learn to be happy with small successes before he hit the “big-time”.
He writes this book for a general audience, but he includes biblical principles without preaching or quoting chapter and verse. One idea I appreciated (and was challenged by) was his emphasis on not stealing from a current job while working toward a dream job. This seemed to echo the principle of being faithful with little, so that the Lord can give more. He doesn’t explain it like this, but the book has several points like this.
Jon came to fame as writing a satirical blog poking fun at the church. Thus, the book has plenty of humor. I appreciate his sense of humor and laughed at many points. Any satire/comedy won’t work for everyone, so I’m sure there will be those who don’t appreciate it. Those people probably don’t read this blog anyway.
If you’re toiling away in a job that doesn’t give the type of satisfaction you think it should, if you are wondering if there is a way out of the quagmire of the grind, then Quitter is a book that can give you insight and inspiration toward a better job. It won’t buff your resume or give you angelic revelation. I was bummed. But, it helped me realize I need to do more than complain, and it was an enjoyable read.
Oh, and I would recommend not leaving it out on your desk when reading it during lunch breaks – it might bring up some unwanted questions…
—
Anybody out there wrestling with this issue? Any experience with this idea of day job vs. dream job?
—
by Jason Joyner | Aug 5, 2011 | Blog, blogging, priorities, take away his quotation key, writing craft
After a hectic week of family and vacation, here I am again.
*crickets*
In my deeply missed absence (snicker), I have been considering some priorities and some problems that go with this.
I am trying to become a writer. Some would say I am a writer, as I have maintained this blog on a fairly regular schedule for five years now. I am not sure about the designation, but maybe I’ll get there someday.
I’m also working a full-time job, trying to take care of my wife and four kids, and be a leader at church. In addition, I am also coaching soccer, keeping the house from being overrun by weeds, and avoiding stepping on two cats.
It leaves precious little time to write, and I struggle with the balance, as I know a gazillion other people out there do (I’m not trying to complain to gain sympathy, it’s just the facts, ma’am.)
I wonder sometimes if I should take the time I use in writing this blog and put it toward my main project. On the other hand, the writing gurus out there recommend having a “brand” or “platform” to help you get published. So if I abandon the blog, what happens to my platform, such as it is?
So in the irony of the internet age, I am writing a blog post to ask if it is better to divide time and continue blogging, or should I back off here to put more time into “productive” writing? I would also “ask” if I use “quotations” “excessively,” but I suspect I know “the” answer to that one.
Any thoughts, internet peeps? To blog or not to blog, that is the question?
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