Today is going to be a better day — Unanswered questions The writer lay in the quietness of the pre-dawn, staring up at an unseen ceiling. Apart from the slowly whirring fan gently rearranging the warm autumnal air around the bedroom, all was still. What time was it? Reaching across to the bedtime table, his fingertips traced the outline of his…

In God’s economy, nothing is wasted, especially nasty first drafts — What do you do with the rough drafts of stories you write? Throw them away, or keep them? Lately, I’ve kept mine rather than tossing them in the wastepaper basket. Let me explain why. Previously In, “Is Writing a Retirement Letter When You’re Angry a Brilliant Idea?” I told the story…

Why It pays to have a little flexibility built into your schedule — Context Last Monday I felt prompted to do something different. No one spoke to me. Rather, it was a sense of unease that wouldn’t go away. Not a sense of foreboding, but a sense that I needed to “clear the decks,” and prepare for something unknown that would impact me soon. …

When people with similar beliefs connect in a group, they transform the world — Context Writing is a passion of mine, though at times it can be lonely. To complicate matters further, many of the people I interact with are located in the USA, while I reside in Melbourne, Australia. Distance and time differences come into play, as does the international date line. A character The character…

Now and then, it’s great to let your hair down — I never used to set a morning alarm, but now I do, for 5 a.m. Since retiring I get to do things I want to do, and I need the early hours to achieve that—be creative. I also get time to be alone with God, Just Him and me. …

Now is the time to name and shame the monsters that prevent you from moving closer to your ultimate creative goal — Name your fears Monsters do exist, and not just in fairytales. Mostly they have a cloak of invisibility so no one can see them, not even you. But they’re real enough, and they exist in your head. Monsters are big, nasty, and never die. The only way to deal with them is to…

Listen to music, take a few photographs, and edit your Medium stories all on your iPhone — Context/Introduction “Do you want to go to ‘Saturday Night Live at the Park,’ it’s at 6 pm tonight?” The park in question was Wilson’s Botanic Park, Berwick, one of our favorite walking areas, about a 10-minute drive away. Going out on a balmy Melbourne Summers evening sounded idyllic, except for one…

Is it a good idea to begin preparing your next story before you write it? — When should I start writing my next story? So you’ve just received confirmation that your latest story has been accepted for distribution by Koinonia, your favorite Medium publication. You’re settling into a groove, and your story creation rate is increasing too. So, is now the time to bask in the…

Sometimes inconsistency is a symptom, not the root cause of your problem — State your problem “Rod, your problem is that you’re inconsistent.” What can I say? I look at my writing history and there’s an obvious pattern. I begin to write, do well and then I falter again and again. At face value, I’m inconsistent. Why is that? Context For years I’ve recognized that inconsistency is…