Inspiration comes to writers – and people in many other spheres of life – in many, varied and sometimes strange ways. For example, a few years ago I had a sudden insight during a sermon at church. Something that was said – I don’t remember what it was – gave me an idea for a children’s novel. Over the next few months I actually wrote that novel. It is now in the final stages of editing and will be soon ready to send off to a publisher.

New Inspiration

During today’s sermon, Daryll, our pastor, used a string of metaphors to introduce his topic. Immediately I was inspired to write a series pieces using metaphors. It’s only an idea at this stage. Not sure if these pieces of writing will be articles, stories (true or fictional), poems, devotionals, whatever.

Daryll found the list in chapter 5 of the Rick Warren book “The Purpose Driven Life.” (published by Zondervan).

Some Metaphors for Life

• Life is a three-ring circus.
• Life is a minefield.
• Life is a roller coaster.
• Life is a puzzle.
• Life is a symphony.
• Life is a journey.
• Life is a dance.
• Life is a carousel (sometimes you’re up, sometimes you’re down, and sometimes you just go round and round).
• Life is a game of cards (you have to play the hand you are dealt).
• Life is a race.
• Life is a marathon.
• Life is a battle.

Of course, both the author and Daryll forgot to mention my alltime favourite from none other than that great philosopher, Forrest Gump:

• (Insert southern drawl) “My Mama always said:’Life is like a box of chocolates: you never know what you are going to get.”

Actually – that last one is in fact a simile – not a metaphor. Oh well, never mind.

The point is this; inspiration for writing is all around us, in the commonplace, in those we meet everyday, in ordinary situations. We just have to open our eyes, our ears – all our senses – to the possibilities.

And that idea is far removed from the main thrust of Daryll’s sermon this morning.

Life is like a maze: just when you think you have found the way out, another interesting path opens up before you.

I’ve subscribed to the Christian writers’ electronic newsletter The Spirit Led Writer for some time now and have found some very interesting and worthwhile articles contained in it. It is a monthly digest type magazine written by a wide range of authors who write for the Christian market.

Inspirational

Many of the articles are well thought out and easy to read. Others are quite inspirational, like the article in the current issue written by Susan Sundwall called Finding Inspiration: Heeding the Breath of God. In this article Susan explores what it means to be inspired by God in one’s writing and the types of markets that accept this genre. She ends the article by listing some markets that pay for inspirational writing.

This newsletter boasts a high standing in the writing community. It was named one of the 101 Best Web Sites for Writers in both 2003 and 2004 by Writers’ Digest Magazine.
To read other articles, or to subscribe click here.

Just to arouse a little curiosity here are some of the things I write:

Picture books, novels for young readers, puppet scripts, poetry – both for children and adults, devotionals, short stories and articles.