Five Ways to Improve Your Writing in 2014

One of my personal and professional goals for 2014 is to develop my writing skills. I want my writing to be more effective and engaging for my clients, as well as for my blog readers. Here are my Five Ways to Improve Your Writing in 2014:

1. One way to develop your craft is to follow websites and blogs that offer tips, tutorials and challenges. Two good website resources I follow are: CopyBlogger and FaithWriters.

2. It also helps to be a voracious reader. I read news materials, a host of blog sites, and lots of books - both fiction and nonfiction. (Books I reviewed in 2013)

3. Another way is to take part in a writing intensive such as a writers conference, a retreat or a monthly get together with other writers. I'm researching those options. I have been to two Allume conferences--which gave me great ideas, tips and inspiration--but we did not do much actual writing at the conference. That is to say actually sitting down to write was not part of the schedule. I'd love to attend a workshop or conference that really focused on writing.

4. As they say, "practice makes perfect." writing daily in a journal and setting a regular blog schedule (and sticking to it) are ways to get in that practice. Three ways I journal:

Daily planner: I use my At-A-Glance weekly/monthly planner to keep track of what happened each month on the monthly calendar and capture quick notes or reflections about what went on in our life that day for Project Life.

For more personal reflections, writings, devotions and lists, I use my Day Spring Journal that I got at Allume. It is a beautiful bound book that I truly enjoy. 

For on-the-go purposes, I use Evernote Notebook, which syncs with my phone, iPad and laptop so no matter where inspiration strikes, I can capture it.

I also cannot wait to use my 2014 Blogging Planner from SayNotSweetAnne to help me get more purposeful and consistent in my posts.

5. Having a space to write in also helps set the stage for creativity. I'm so excited about the new writing spot I recently set up in the quiet of my bedroom. I have this little bay window that looks out onto my overgrown back yard. It is the perfect nook for my mother's antique dressing table, which I am now using as a writing desk. 

The table comes with a mirror that I have not yet attached. If I set it up, I will be able to see the TV in its reflection. However, the mirror may block my view outside, and I suppose that I really should write without the TV on to distract me. 

I'm not so sure the little stool is the best chair for my back, and it's not perfectly ergonomic, but it is really cozy and quaint.

Adjacent to the desk is a comfy chair and my bookcase library of books I aspire to read or are worth reading again.

The reality is, except for my work-from-home Fridays and late at night, I don't get much time alone in this room. But I'll cherish the moments, and the space, and hopefully be inspired to write.

If writing is a way you express yourself, I hope these tips will encourage you to push further in 2014!  Here's to creativity.

A Harvest of God-inspired Memories: LifeTeen

Some people you think of and just get the warm fuzzies. This week I ran into one such person. Chris Benzinger, the former youth minister whom I served with in ministry in the late 1990's. He was on his way on a missions training trip when I ran into him at the Atlanta airport.

Me and Chris at a youth retreat at Marion Meadows in 1996.

 Immediately, a flood of warm, happy memories came to mind. And the realization that these great memories reflect what was really a very pivotal time, and one of the best times, in my adult life. A time that truly saved me. 

It was the fall of 1996 and I was a hot mess. I had recently graduated from college, was trying to launch my career and at the same time recovering from a bad break up that had really sent me into a tailspin of binge drinking and desperation.

This break up left me single, on my own, for really the first time since 9th grade. I was a serial dater. I always had a boyfriend resulting in three significant, long-term relationships in my high school and college years. That last one lasted five- and-a-half years and I thought he was the one I'd marry. Just before I was about to graduate, that dream fell apart. 

For the first time in a long time, I was not identified as "Jennifer and someone." I was just "Jennifer" and I had no idea who that was. In the months after graduation, I floundered trying to find that out. I made a few desperate attempts to get back with my ex (Oh, if I could talk to that girl now), spent nights partying in the bar district and drinking way more than my 5'1 inch, 120 pound frame could hold. I also took my first cross-country trip, on my own, to visit my dear friend stationed at the Naval base in San Diego. I got my first job in PR in Atlanta and enjoyed living in an apartment in town.

During that time of searching, God reached out in a very real way and said "I haven't forgotten you. I have a plan. Follow me." 

On the front page of the Atlanta Journal Constitution he showed me a familiar face from my past--my former youth minister. Through that connection, I was reminded of God's mercy, grace and love and found a community of believers that changed my life.

I re-dedicated my life to Jesus, returned to church and joined the core team of our youth ministry. I met some amazing young adults who supported me with acceptance and love as I began to discover who I was in Christ. I also met some amazing teens, who perhaps taught me more than I did them. 

Through fellowship, camp fires, dew filled mornings along the Chattahoochee, cherry pies made on the campfire, sing-along songs (Country road, take me home...), mountain retreats, white water rafting, skiing, ultimate frisbee, weekly teen girl bible study group, skits ("If you want to be a Catholic....") and so much more, I began to realize I was ok on my own. I grew in faith. I gained confidence.  I learned about leadership and made some very important friendships, including the man I would eventually marry. 

God, didn't just meet me where I was, he jumped out and embraced me and said "Do not despair. You are mine. You are worthy. You are loved."

Yes, that was an important and dear time in my life story and for those years and the relationships and experiences I had, I am deeply thankful.

40 years of Mobile Connectivity, We've Come A Long Way

Recently, we gave in and got our oldest a smart phone. We have questioned, is she is ready for the responsibility? We have worried it, would open her up to unnecessary dangers? We have reasoned, it will keep us connected as she ventures into her teenage years. I find it fitting that today marks the 40th anniversary of the very first cell phone.

Well, that makes the cell phone older than me by a few months, which is difficult to believe. And no, the first cell phone was not made by Apple but by Motorla, the Motorola DynaTAC 8000x. It weighed 2.5 pounds, had a one-line LED display, and cost nearly $4,000 with a battery life of just 20 minutes!

Cell technology did not hit my house until the mid-to-late 1980s when my mom, who was a real estate appraiser and traveled alone in the car often, got her first car phone. It was the size of a shoe box and had a cord attached to the receiver. It sat on the center consul of her Nissan Maxima, which later became my car.

Even as a young professional in the mid 1990s, cell phones were not prevalent. I was

given a pager at my first real PR job and back in 1999, at my current company, we had two company cell phones that we could check out when needed for travel or events, otherwise we all had pagers. When we got paged, we had to stop and find a pay phone to answer the call. Today, my daughter would not know what a pager is and we'd be hard-pressed to find a pay phone anywhere.

Eventually, we all got cell phones. Those little Motorola flip phones. And I was among the first of my colleagues to get a smart phone. It was an HP Pocket PC and I loved it! I could write word documents, email, see my calendar. It was a organization-freak's dream! I guess that little device began my love affair with smart phone technology. Since that time, I have had numerous devices including Blackberries and every edition of the iPhone (my current love). It is a rare occasion that my iPhone or iPad are not close by my side (though I really do try to disconnect for some time each evening).

I wonder now, how my parents got along with three kids- two of them boys- without a cell phone (or even a pager) to keep connected. I guess they trusted them to be where they said they would be. Now we can track our kids by the cell GPS.

With talk of apple coming out with iWatch, where all the mobile technology would be available on a device small enough to wear on our wrist, and of Google developing augmented reality glasses, it is unimaginable where technology will take us in the next 40 years. I can guess I know one thing, I'll be on board for the ride. So, thanks to Marty Cooper, who made it possible for that first call to be made, you have changed our world completely!

Capturing Thanksgiving Memories

Part of harvesting a memorable life is documenting it and there is no better time to document life than when the family is all gathered together.

Documentation can come in the photographs taken, the stories of yesterday captured and the blessings noted.

Here are a few ways to document this Thanksgiving:

Photographs:
-The front door of the house you are visiting
-The table setting
-Hands stirring or mixing
-The bird going into the oven
-The bird coming out of oven
-Carving the bird
-Mom with an apron on
-Men watching TV
-Each dish that will be served
-Appetizer spread
-Each family that is present
-Entire group
-Taking a post-dinner walk
-Pies and coffee
-Children playing
-Adults napping

Journal questions:
-What are you thankful for?
-What has been the biggest blessing in the past year?
-What is your favorite thing about Thanksgiving?

Memory keeping:
-Make a giving hands tree. Trace everyone's hand and have them write what they are thankful for and hang it on the tree.
-Leave a 3x4 card at each place setting for guests to write what they are thankful for on and put in the Project Life page for the week
-Interview each guest on video.

I wish you a wonderful Thanksgiving!