Every Good Word: A Writerly Link-Up

// 1 // 

What was your first-ever piece of writing?

I wrote (and had drawn art for) a fan fiction about Peter Pan and Princess Tiger Lily with my back-in-the-day homeschooling friend Emily.

// 2 // 

How old were you when you first began writing?

In the single digits. I don't remember the exact age I was though. 

// 3 // 

Name two writing goals. One short term & one long term.

(i) I want to finally figure out decide on whether or not to write my WIP Fantasy novel main character's POV in 1st or 3rd person. (ii) Complete my first Fantasy novel and try to have it published.

// 4 // 

Do you write fiction or non-fiction? 

I write both. Right now I'm focused more so on my fiction writing than non-fiction, though I would definitely love to end up writing in both genres in the very near future. 

// 5 // 

Bouncing off of question 4, what's your favorite genre to write in?

Ooh, that's a tough one. I love creating fantasy worlds (in my fiction writing) just as much as I love to write poetry . . . So, I guess I can't really pick just one genre!

// 6 // 

One writing lesson you've learned since 2013 began.

That it's okay to shelf a WIP for a while to focus on the "real world" a bit more. See also: WEDDING PLANNING

// 7 // 

Favorite author, off the top of your head!

Madeleine L'Engle

// 8 // 

Three current favorite books.

(i) Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl (ii) Captives by Jill Williamson (iii) The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

// 9 // 

Biggest influence on your writing {person}: 

I've always been insanely mesmerized by Madeleine L'Engle the writer and Madeleine L'Engle the person. I have nearly all of her books, non-fiction and fiction - every time I read through one of her books it's like I find another piece of my soul. I just love her!  As far as a person(s) whom I know IRL who have encouraged me? My momma and Lynette. They both read my poems back in the day when they were, well, for lack of a better word crappy, and yet they both continually encouraged me to keep on writing; to share my heart and my imagination and His great love for the world through my words. And so I have been doing so.

// 10 // 

What's your go-to writing music? 

TRON: Legacy (Soundtrack), The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (Game Soundtrack), Lindsey Stirling, Florence + The Machine, Snow White & The Huntsman (Original Score), The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (Soundtrack)

// 11 // 

List three to five writing quirks of your's! Little habits, must-haves as you write, etc.

(i) I can't write if there's a bunch of noise going on in the house - this gal must have COMPLETE SILENCE, or else. . . (ii) I'm a night owl, so naturally I love to write when it's quiet and everyone else is already asleep. (iii) Yoga pants or jammies are what I live in while writing. True story. (iv) I love chocolate covered coffee beans for snacking purposes and a hot cuppa coffee - I know, double trouble! (v) I'm totally OCD, so sometimes I find myself having to step away from my writing for a day or two to keep myself at bay before destroying - ahem, deleting - sometimes (what I like to think of as) perfect or perfectly awful scenes/paragraphs/sentences. 

// 12 // 

What, in three sentences or less, does your writing mean to you? 

My writing is an outward expression of inner happenings and imaginings - spun within my heart and mind and soul, and then it is combined; intertwined; melded together. It is my own personal brand of art - art in that it is rare imaginative happenstance that comes about in a very only-the-way-Sarah-could-do-it form. It is my complete livelihood; it is encompassing, surrendering and soul-unlocking.

// / // / //



If you are a writer, blogger, poet or some other sort of writing creature please join the Every Good Word Writerly Link-Up by clicking on the blog button above ^! There's also a Writerly giveaway going on at the newly launched Every Good Word website for writers by writers. Check out the Launch Party giveaway HERE! 

learning to live out two years worth of "one words"

// photo via pinterest // 

embrace. embracing. embracer.

^ mmhmm. that is what this year has consisted of, a trinity of steps to becoming the woman i am right now. a pivotal cycle of much embracing, anxiousness, soul-searching, communication, deep breathing, darker days, inexplicable joy, triumphant tears, deepened love, and so much change, etc. i honestly didn't know that when i chose my "one word" for the year that it would encompass and entail so very much. and i surely didn't know how ready i would need to be to "embrace" so much change this year, but my God obviously did.

yes, He scrawled that tiny two-syllable word onto my heart rather quickly back in the cold days of january, and He kept on whispering to my unsure and stubborn ears over and over again: embrace. really? i wasn't completely certain that embrace was the right word for me to meditate on for a full year. and then i relented, gave in, under-my-breath-declared "okay, God" and ever since that day i've found myself changed. changed in that i'm learning to accept the things i cannot change. and to find peace, my Jesus, in the midst of both chaos filled and not-so-chaos filled days.

somewhere along the way i've become a life embracer. and it's brought me long sought after peace.*

now, don't misunderstand these words up above and let me paint a picture of personal perfection for you. it's quite the contrary, actually, as i may or may not have it all figured out just yet (okay, i so don't have much figured out - i confess) as i find myself moving farther into the realms of "adulthood." there is much change to come for me this year, and some days i question God on whether or not i am really ready for it all. . . living a life outside of my family's home . . . becoming Jared's bride in November. . . moving across the state (again) for the second time in my life, but I will embrace it all as it comes. and for the first time in my life i'm not so frightened of the changes to come anymore. i'm ready to embrace each season He gives as it comes.

i am still a work in progress - an embracer in progress.

/ / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /

*ahem, you'll notice that i, an INFJ with a somewhat contradictory personality at times, likes to work things out backwards. apparently last year's "one word" peace couldn't properly be ascertained until i learned how to fully live out this year's "one word" embrace. i find it oh so funny how you work things out through different seasons in my life, Lord. and i cannot help but love you for it, Jesus! <3