7 Quick Takes Friday (vol. 55): in which we talk about a lot (a lot) of writing

— 1 —

Another week gone by; goodness, it flew!  Between job-hunting and a whirlwind trip to spend time with some of my extended family this week, I’m not really sure what happened to this week, but I am really looking forward to the next couple of days.  Hoping to finish Michele Cushatt’s Undone (which, you guys, is amazing – I can’t wait to review it for you next week!), and get some more writing done.  I have a new series in the works that I am pretty excited about, and look forward to sharing more about that with you soon.

— 2 —

This morning, I kicked off my day with two amazing things: frosted chocolate fudge pop tarts, and this interview with Elizabeth Gilbert.

Elizabeth Gilbert is one of my favorite writers; Eat, Pray, Love was a life-changing read for me, and I have adored her since the first time I read it.  In this interview, she talks about how women often have trouble seeing their value, and how we let negative perceptions of ourselves and misunderstandings about entitlement silence us and prevent us from using the creativity we possess.  It resonated with me quite a bit.  I don’t personally struggle with thinking that blogging is narcissistic and I don’t feel that expressing an opinion displays an absence of humility (honestly, having finally come to terms with my inner Donna Reed, I find I actually want a place on the world’s stage!), but I do sometimes struggle with feeling unoriginal.

There is truth in these words penned in Ecclesiastes: “there is nothing new under the sun.”  But I would tell anyone else who confessed a hesitancy to use their voice that they were created with purpose, that they have a voice, and that there are things only they can say.  It’s time I started believing that for myself.

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photo courtesy of ©Depositphotos.com / TaniaLerro

So here we go.  I might be the slightest bit crazy, but I’m going to try to make a go of it as a writer.  I’m going to start writing that book I’ve been thinking about writing, and I’m going to start looking for places beyond my blog to write.  I’m thinking about doing some ghost-writing, too, in addition to writing guest posts/articles with a by-line, so if you (or anyone you know) are looking for that sort of thing, please let me know!  🙂

— 4 —

I wrote a bit last week about how, as I’ve been learning to listen to my life speak, one of the themes that has emerged is writing.  That’s part of why I’m going to give an actual career as a writer a shot.  I have no illusions of instant success; I know it’ll be hard work and a long road, and I’m still going to keep looking for a way to pay the bills in the meantime.  But in the midst of my ongoing (and currently yet unsuccessful) job hunt, it’s been easier than ever to attend to the moments when I am happiest – and I’m not kidding, a couple of weeks ago, I spent an entire day writing my own posts and helping some friends edit theirs, and it was one of the happiest days I’ve had in a long time.  I find it interesting that it doesn’t even have to be my work that I’m editing to enjoy the creative process.  I just enjoy making good writing better.

I think that makes me officially a literary nerd or something, but I’m okay with that.  Anyone who’s seen my house knows I have more books than shelves, so it was probably fairly glaringly obvious anyway…

— 5 —

On that note – I’ve been thinking about joining Fiverr.com and offering gigs to help others edit their blogposts and maybe even designing graphics to go with their posts.  What do you think?  Would you use a service like that for $5?  And have you had any experience with Fiverr?  I’ve heard mixed reviews, so the jury’s still out over here.  I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below or on Facebook.

— 6 —

I’ve been working on a statement to define what Simple Felicity is all about a little more clearly, and for now, I think I’ve settled on this: Simple Felicity is about spirituality, femininity, the value of life in community, the importance of effective leadership, and the intersection of all these things with one simple truth: happiness isn’t complicated.  It feels good to finally be able to verbalize the direction I’ve been going in all along!

— 7 —

Speaking of life in community – a friend sent me a link to an article from the New York Times a few days ago, entitled Study Finds More Reasons To Get And Stay Married.   She said, “It’s about marriage – but the net take-away is that what’s so life-empowering about marriage is the actual friendship that underlies it, and having that dependable, committed friendship in stressful times.  i.e., having a best friend and knowing that they’re not going to disappear on you is a really, really good thing for your life. You think there are any take-aways for life, singleness, and the role of the church in all that?”

Have a great weekend!

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