No, literally, you have to write through the pain!
I’m fighting some low back issues for the last couple of weeks, and it may be time to get some injections into the back. Even though I’m in the medical profession, it doesn’t mean I like getting needles poked into me any more than the next guy. But I’ll be alright, although it is a little depressing to be limited when spring is coming and Idaho is actually having a spring. And who knows, there might be something to write out of all of this. đ
So much for my hook. Yes, I am dealing with some pain, but sometimes we have to write when it hurts figuratively as well. The subject we’re dealing with may be close to our own trials or troubles. We may be exposing feelings or thoughts long buried. It may be just good ol’ writers’ block pinning us down on the proverbial mat, and no matter what we do we can’t wriggle free from its grip.
What do we do?
It isn’t fun to hit the difficult parts, but if you believe what you’re doing is worth it, then it is imperative to power through. In my WIP, I touch on human trafficking. It is not pleasant to deal with some of this, and I have some characters saying things that I find abhorrent. I don’t see a way around it. If I want to see this story to fruition, it has to go there.
One way to break through is to keep writing. If it freezes your progress, it can be difficult to keep momentum. When I hit a point like this, I found setting a timer and making myself write whatever crap that comes out helped a lot. It pushed me through the tough part.
As a Christian, I believe another method is certainly prayer. If it is a personal pain, writing about it can be cathartic but it opens old wounds. Again using medical analogies, sometimes festering wounds need to be opened so the bad stuff can be drained out and true healing can begin. Prayer and Bible study can help with the spiritual healing.
Sometimes we may need to get up, stretch our legs, and move out of the situation to clear our head. If we’re beating our heads against the monitor (hopefully still figuratively here), it might be best to leave and return with a fresh perspective.
At the end, it is important to always get back up again. If it is worth fighting for, don’t stay down. Push through it. And here’s a little musical interlude to help with the mood đ
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What say you? Have you had pain (figurative or literal) you’ve had to battle to keep going?
Are you glad you have a home? Are you proud to be an American?
What if that were taken from you?
Did you know that there are people in the world that aren’t refugees that do not hold a citizenship in any country? There are people that haven’t been chased out of one country into another due to war or persecution, but they just aren’t counted.
One situation is in the hill tribes of northern and western Thailand. They are technically eligible for Thai citizenship, but the regulations for getting it are often too cumbersome for rural tribes.
Why does this matter?
It limits these people in getting jobs or accessing services, and it makes them especially vulnerable for human trafficking, from labor-based slavery to sex slavery. They are not protected by laws that are otherwise designed to be a resource for workers. They can’t even own the land they live on.
The good point is that organizations like International Justice Mission are working with these tribal groups to facilitate registration and walk them through the confusing processes that are in place currently. By being an advocate, they do prevention work to keep these people from being so vulnerable for abuse.
These things happens nowadays. Thankfully there are many groups working to help this problem. Sometimes we can make a difference before the problem of trafficking actually happens, and working with vulnerable peoples and lifting them up economincally and providing avenues for justice will be the ways we eventually end the problem of modern day slavery. —
Are you glad you have a home? Are you proud to be an American?
What if that were taken from you?
Did you know that there are people in the world that aren’t refugees that do not hold a citizenship in any country? There are people that haven’t been chased out of one country into another due to war or persecution, but they just aren’t counted.
One situation is in the hill tribes of northern and western Thailand. They are technically eligible for Thai citizenship, but the regulations for getting it are often too cumbersome for rural tribes.
Why does this matter?
It limits these people in getting jobs or accessing services, and it makes them especially vulnerable for human trafficking, from labor-based slavery to sex slavery. They are not protected by laws that are otherwise designed to be a resource for workers. They can’t even own the land they live on.
The good point is that organizations like International Justice Mission are working with these tribal groups to facilitate registration and walk them through the confusing processes that are in place currently. By being an advocate, they do prevention work to keep these people from being so vulnerable for abuse.
These things happens nowadays. Thankfully there are many groups working to help this problem. Sometimes we can make a difference before the problem of trafficking actually happens, and working with vulnerable peoples and lifting them up economincally and providing avenues for justice will be the ways we eventually end the problem of modern day slavery. —
Sometimes Writing Wednesday can tip into…Tipped Thursday? Hmm, I’ll have to work on that one.
Anyhoo.
The massive success of the book and movie version of The Hunger Games has brought up the subject of violence in literature again. Some people look at the deeper meaning of the story, and some people can’t get past the teen on teen violence.
They must not remember high school.
Kidding! However, the world of Christian fiction has an interesting dichotomy. Sex and naughty words are a no go, but violence is tolerated/accepted much more. Mike Duran has a good post on this conundrum that I recommend.
I’ve talked about it at length here. My most recent post linked to a couple of articles that took opposite viewpoints.
I also participate in blog tours for books regularly. In 2007 there was a book featured that had some scenes that stimulated my thoughts on the topic of violence.
It ended up spurring six days of posts, with some great discussion on all of the posts. Since it seems relevant with the Hunger Games discussion, as well as catching me up quickly to my blogging delay, I present links to each of the posts.
The take home points were that the Bible is not sanitized when it comes to violence, but it is also not written to entertain but to narrate events that happened and to show consequences. If a Christian author uses violence, it should fit the story and not be done in a gratuitous manner, and they should be sensitive to the Holy Spirit in how to show it. We can’t be afraid of the professional weaker brother, but discernment is always a good thing to exercise. — What say you? Have you noticed excessive or gratuitous violence in a CBA book before? Is there a level for “too much?” —
Sometimes Writing Wednesday can tip into…Tipped Thursday? Hmm, I’ll have to work on that one.
Anyhoo.
The massive success of the book and movie version of The Hunger Games has brought up the subject of violence in literature again. Some people look at the deeper meaning of the story, and some people can’t get past the teen on teen violence.
They must not remember high school.
Kidding! However, the world of Christian fiction has an interesting dichotomy. Sex and naughty words are a no go, but violence is tolerated/accepted much more. Mike Duran has a good post on this conundrum that I recommend.
I’ve talked about it at length here. My most recent post linked to a couple of articles that took opposite viewpoints.
I also participate in blog tours for books regularly. In 2007 there was a book featured that had some scenes that stimulated my thoughts on the topic of violence.
It ended up spurring six days of posts, with some great discussion on all of the posts. Since it seems relevant with the Hunger Games discussion, as well as catching me up quickly to my blogging delay, I present links to each of the posts.
The take home points were that the Bible is not sanitized when it comes to violence, but it is also not written to entertain but to narrate events that happened and to show consequences. If a Christian author uses violence, it should fit the story and not be done in a gratuitous manner, and they should be sensitive to the Holy Spirit in how to show it. We can’t be afraid of the professional weaker brother, but discernment is always a good thing to exercise. — What say you? Have you noticed excessive or gratuitous violence in a CBA book before? Is there a level for “too much?” —
Here on Mission Mondays, I like to bring out on occasion ways for people to make a difference right where you are. We don’t always have the opportunity to go to places with needs (and there’s always the needs right where we are anyway), but if there’s a issue that touches your heart, it is nice to make a difference.
For instance, Idaho doesn’t seem to have a high rate of human trafficking (although I’m sure it is more than we know), but it is an issue I care deeply about. Therefore I like to support organizations like International Justice Mission.
How do we know what we’re doing makes a difference?
First of all, you can check with a group called Charity Navigator. This organization rates groups by financial stewardship and accountability. If most of the money goes to help those it is intended for, it gets a good money number. If it has policies in place to be transparent and accountable, that score goes up.
This is not the only resource people should use, but it is helpful to get an overview, especially if you’re looking at a new charity you’re not familiar with or it is a hot topic issue (the Haiti earthquake for example).
Christianity Today had a helpful article that reviewed ten different strategies that are popular for charitable giving right now, from clean water initiatives to giving animals through charity gift catalogs and laptops for disadvantaged kids. Several economists looked at these from a cost benefit and effectiveness rating. There were some surprising findings.
Corrective surgeries scored a little lower than one would expect, due to the higher cost per benefit. The gift catalog of giving assorted livestock or animals didn’t rate very well, and this may change what I do next Christmas (even though my kids enjoyed this). The laptops initiative scored the worst and clean water projects scored the highest. Check out the article for more in depth information.
We all want to know that what we’re doing to help really helps. Hopefully these two links help with discerning the best way to give in the future. It doesn’t hurt to do our homework.
