I’ve a shelf at home devoted to books about writing. I’d say I might even have two shelves devoted to those books now. I’ve read most of them and some are better than others. But the best writing advice I’ve ever received didn’t come from a book. It actually occurred to me one morning when I was lying in bed, not wanting to get up and do my job. Maybe it came from heaven, I don’t know. But the advice was this: Love your reader. It sounds simple, but it isn’t so easy, actually. Writing is something most of us do alone. We might collaborate on a screenplay or something, but with a book or a blog, we are alone in front of our computers, tapping out our thoughts. It’s not like the reader is sitting behind us, looking over our shoulder making comments. We’re pretty disconnected from whoever it might be who will ultimately be benefited by our work. For this reason, it’s hard to remember that, well, people will actually be benefited by our work. Add to this, most writers don’t think there work really matters. I’ve met writers who have sold thousands of books and still don’t [...]

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I’ve been using Gustav Holst’s The Planets to prepare for a book I’ll spend the end of this year working on. It’s the most spiritual book I’ve done yet and involves some conversations between God and Satan, a fallen angel who God loves. The music has helped. This is my favorite piece from the symphony. If you’ve not got this in your collection, it’s great stuff. I can’t help but apply the movements to theological themes. At 3:16 the Trinity watches their beloved walk away, his last words are that he wants to be the giver. Good morning. Here’s Holst’s The Planets, Jupiter:

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31Mar, 2011

Today is the last day to get the pre-registration price for the Storyline Conference. If you’re needing a bit of clarity in your life, or wanting to jump-start the story you are living, come visit Portland in June with hundreds of other people who will be mapping out their personal storyline at our two-day conference. How long has it been since you’ve performed a life evaluation? Here are five reasons to attend Storyline:   1. Because you can walk out of the Storyline conference better understanding what you want to do with the rest of your life.   2. Because you’ll come to understand why some roles in life don’t work for you and others seem to work great. You’ll understand the “kind of character” you play in life’s story and be able to shape your story around that role. 3. You’ll have a broad map showing you where you currently are in your story and be able to list the priorities you can focus on now so the story is as impacting as you hope it can be. 4. You’ll meet people from all over the country who are interested in the kind of life you are interested in [...]

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30Mar, 2011

The Thing About Choices

So I’ve been working on the new book for a long time now. I’ve got pages and pages of outlines and notes but it’s time to write it. So I sent three versions of the first chapter to my publisher and had a conference call to talk through the pros and cons of each “voice.” We all agreed that one was better than the other two so that’s good news. Sometimes your mind can get a little Jekyl and Hydeish and you feel like you’re dealing with multiple personalities. It’s all about choices. Because we’re a ridiculous dualistic society (don’t study the roots of dualism because it will mess up your theology for a year or more) and we start thinking there’s a right choice and a wrong choice, or because we didn’t get something we wanted there’s “nothing” else out there. It’s ridiculous. Basically, there are just paths. Or maybe there’s just woods, and you have to cut your way through the woods. One of my favorite lines from one of my favorite movies is from Wonderboys, when Katie Holmes character reminds Professor Tripp that “writers have to make decisions.” What she meant was a book only starts taking [...]

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08Mar, 2011

Some of you have been buying hardback copies of Million MIles and giving them to friends. I’m so grateful. The paperback is out now and it’s much cheaper, but I wanted to give a free case to the five people who have given out the most hardback books as a thank you . We will have to use the honor system, so here is how it will work: 1. Think about how many books you’ve purchased and given away. Count them on your fingers and toes. 2. If you bought them for a book group and got paid back, it doesn’t count. 3. If you bought them with a company credit card or church credit car, unfortunately it doesn’t count, either. 4. If you shoplifted them they don’t count. 5. If you bought them so you could burn them they don’t count. 6. If you are my mom, they don’t count. Take the number of books you bought and let me know in the comments how many you’ve given away. The five people who gave away the most books will get a free case delivered to their door. We will contact you through your e-mail address in the comments. The [...]

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