The World Needs to Hear Your Voice
“Save the whales! The whales are in trouble!”
I strolled along the beach in Oak Island, N.C. on my vacation and spotted a large circle with writing in the sand plus a large drawing of a whale. The sand message intrigued me so I stopped to read what she wrote about the whales.
A young girl (11 years old) came up beside me. I introduced myself and found out her name is Callie. I asked Callie about her writing and drawing. She explained the plight of the whales.
I got down a little closer to the sand to read what she wrote, “How interesting. What kind of response are you getting?”
“You’re the only one who has stopped or noticed.” She said her voice tinged with sadness. 
“Well, you wrote something and reached one person and if you reach one, who knows how many others may be affected. I’m going to write a blog post about this and so anyone who reads it will be educated. What would you like people to know about the whales?”
“That they’re intelligent. People think they’re stupid, but they re not. Whales know about natural disasters before they happen. The navy sonars are exceptionally strong and they mess up the whales mind. The sonar confuses them. When they get confused, they beach. The Navy people are not aware of it or they don’t think about the whales. People are the problem because they throw things in the ocean because they’re lazy or they do it accidentally, like balloons or plastic.
Maybe it doesn’t hurt the whales because they’re big enough, but it hurts other sea animals like the dolphins. If humans aren’t careful, some of the species of whales could become extinct and mess up the eco system.
The whales need help from us humans. Eight of the ten species migrate to this beach. Do you know what an Atoll is? I know more than most adults. I don’t like to brag but I’ve read more.”
I listened to her intently tell me all about the whales and then exhorted her.
“I encourage you to read and educate yourself all about the whales. Then learn how to write. Write about your passion for the whales. Be polite and considerate of those who don’t agree. Many will probably ignore you, but you never know, someone important might take notice. The world needs your voice to tell us about the whales.”
Now, her message reaches you and who knows how many others. We need to encourage others, regardless of how young or old. to find their message, write and express their voice. Who knows the difference this young girl will make for the whales and our world?
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Could Your Words Change the World?
What if you could write something that would set millions of people free?
Thomas Jefferson did when he wrote the Declaration of Independence in July of 1776. Never before in the history of mankind had anyone written these words. “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
Those words shaped the course of history and a nation. Because they were written down in a document, these words have guided and sustained our freedoms as Americans year after year. Because one man sat down and articulated our God given rights in writing, other countries have the courage to set their citizens free as well. Because of his courageous writing, you and I in the United States of America and all countries which protect freedom, have the freedom to write and share our thoughts.
As I reflect on this amazing expression of freedom in writing, these three words come to mind to guide us as we continue to stand for freedom.
- Responsibility. With freedom comes responsibility. Sometimes people think freedom means you can say or do whatever you think. The truth is, the only way to have freedom is to be responsible in how we treat people, our possessions, institutions, resources and all living things. Honor and respect are the keys to ongoing freedom.
- Protect. We have to protect our freedom. If we want to continue to enjoy freedom, such as our freedom of speech, we have to protect ourselves against those forces which would try to rob us of it. We need to draw on our courage daily to fight for freedom. Writing is a powerful way to do so.
- Expand. We need to exercise our freedom and reach others with truths that will set them free. It’s not enough for us to be free, we need to set others free as well.
As a writer, you hold in your hand an awesome responsibility. What are you going to do with it? Are you going to let other things distract you from sharing your gifts, talents and abilities with others through the gift of writing? Are you going to let life get in the way? Are you going to waste hours on social media, the internet or TV or are you going to take the responsibility that is yours to encourage, teach and help others with your writing?
Start where you are today at whatever level you are at in your writing. Continue to improve your writing skills. Read books and books on writing, go to a writer’s conferences or take an online course such as “How to Write for Fun and Profit” which will help you learn how to write or improve your writing skills. Make a commitment to continually grow in your writing skills.
You may write something as significant as the Declaration of Independence or you may write something that will significantly change one person’s life for the better. Focus on the big achievements but don’t forget the little ways, the daily things you can do with your writing to help people.
What can you write today to make the world a more loving place to live? When you’re busy, think in 15 minute increments of time. You can write more than you think in 15 minutes. Take time to set people free as well as enrich and enhance their lives with all you have to offer.
Go write now!
Has this blog post inspired you? If so, what action are you going to take? Share with us in the comments below.
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Writing Tips — Big Impact in a Few Minutes
What could you write today, to impact someone with your words? You may think you need to write a novel, a story or a book to make a difference in someone’s life. You are absolutely correct. Those are effective ways to influence others. Stories and books transform our lives and thinking.
However, think with me for a minute, what you could write now to impact somebody? Maybe it’s a blog post or an article. Maybe it’s simply a comment on somebody’s Facebook or a tweet. You could write a letter, email or thank you note.
Words have power. You can either destroy or build up others with your words. In addition to the longer things you want to write, I want to encourage you to think about small ways you can use your words to encourage other people and to spur them on in positive ways.
Recently, in an online class, the power of words struck me in a new way. Our coach came down with an illness and had to go the hospital. She had been recovering for a couple of weeks. When she stood for even five minutes, she become extremely dizzy. She was not able to teach class. However, she wrote these words in our membership area, “So, just because I’m down & out doesn’t mean YOU get to be! Share what you’ll do this week to advance your speaking. Or what you need help with. Go.”
Immediately, the power of her words stirred me to action. Even in her weakened state, she impacted me. Her comment motivated me to the next step in moving my goals forward. This brought a lesson home to me. You don’t have to have strength to impact other people. Sometimes you may feel inadequate or challenged in some way and you hesitate to write. Don’t let that stop you!
Regardless of the way you feel, you can impact other people in a positive way with your words. Words of encouragement can motivate someone to change, to have confidence in themselves or to move forward towards a goal. Words of affirmation can encourage someone to believe in their value and worth. Words of compassion can bring healing to someone who is going through a tough time.
What could you write today to encourage or influence someone in a positive way? Today a writer friend wrote me, “Go on and write . . . do what 
you were meant to do.” Those words spurred me to write this post and now I pass on this encouragement to you. You take it from here and keep it going. The power of your words and the ones we can generate together is simply astounding.
Set aside some time today, 5 to 15 minutes and use the power of your words change your little corner of the world for the better!
Did this post motivate you to write something? If so, let me know. Let’s encourage each other.
Image David Castillo Dominici FreeDigitalPhotos.net
7 Writing Tips From A Famous Author–Charles Dickens
How would you like to be remembered as a writer?
Could you and your writings be honored in a public way like Charles Dickens?
In Britain, Prince Charles led a global celebration to celebrate Dickens’ 200 hundredth birthday. Read-a-thons were held all over the world to commemorate his writings. Even the internet took note. On the Google search engine, a Google doodle of characters from his novels greeted internet surfers.
What can you learn from Dickens that will improve your writing? What are you writing today that can impact your world in a positive way through your stories, articles or blog posts?
Charles Dickens was a popular English novelist in the mid eighteen hundreds. He felt compelled to address some of the social issues of the day such as poor child labor laws. Through his novel writing, he raised the level of awareness of the injustices and the unfair treatment of orphans and child laborers.
One of his most famous novels was “Oliver Twist,” about an orphan boy who suffered grave mistreatment. It was even made into a movie that impacts us today.
Dickens sought to encourage others to be more charitable by highlighting the plight of the poor. Millions have watched the movie or seen plays of “The Christmas Carol” and have been warned by Scrooge’s behavior and inspired to be more generous to those in need such as Tiny Tim and his family.
Dickens used vivid stories to challenge the social injustices of his day, to highlight the plight of the poor and the hardships of the working class.
This awareness of injustice and sensitivity to the poor came in part out of his own misery. When he was twelve, his father was sent to debtor’s prison and he had to go to work. He sat in a cold, dark room with rats running around, as he put labels on shoe polish cans to earn a living.
Later he drew on these experiences to create strong characters and scenes in his creative writing. He knew how to tell a story!
What can you learn from him as a writer?
7 Writing Tips From Dickens’ Writings
1. Opening sentences. He used gripping opening sentences to grab the attention of his readers. One of his openings has even become a classic line, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,” the first line from “The Tale of Two Cities.”
2. Powerful endings. He used cliff hangers at the end of his chapters to leave his readers hanging. In those days, chapters were released one at a time and people would line up to get the next installment because they were so eager to find out what happened next.
3. Vivid descriptions. Here’s an example. “She was dressed in rich materials – satins, and lace, and silks – all of white. Her shoes were white. And she had a long white veil dependent from her hair, and she had bridal flowers in her hair, but her hair was white. Some bright jewels sparkled on her neck and on her hands, and some other jewels lay sparkling on the table.” (Great Expectations. Ch.8.) His descriptions gave the reader ability to feel, see, smell and hear the people and scenes. Stories came alive through his descriptions.
4. Strong characters. Dickens was a master at creating characters who linger in our minds and have become a part of our culture such as Ebenezer Scrooge. “Bah, humbug” has even become part of our language.
5. Drama. He used action and dialogue in such a way that pulled the reader into the story. His novels were easily made into movies because of his mastery of dramatic techniques.
6. Social justice writing. He used the pen to confront the evils of the day and sway public opinion. He raised the level of awareness of injustice through the use of his stories.
7. Transformed his personal suffering into helping others. He used his own life experiences and misery to be able to help others in similar situations.
A friend of mine, Lucille Zimmerman said, “I believe writing should be powerful, raw, and beautiful. It should make you think, and act, and it should change you!”
Dickens’ creative writing did that and so can yours. You can learn how to write and pick up writing tips from creative writers such as Charles Dickens. You may not be as famous as Charles Dickens but in your own way, in your corner of the world, you can learn how to write in such a way to impact your arena of influence.
If you want to learn how to write or how to write better, you can also take courses such as “How to Write for Fun and Profit.” However you decide to learn, do take the time to improve your writing skills so you can write well.
Learn how to write a story. Write your stories, blog posts and articles in ways that captivate, challenge and change your readers’ lives for the better.
Creative Writing – What Can A Tugboat Teach You About Thinking Big?
Do you have big dreams? Would you like to do something big with your writing, with your life? Do you feel like you are an ordinary person, one little person in the world and maybe a little shy about what you can seriously accomplish?
I understand those fears because I’ve had them myself. Perhaps some of the insights below will help you take some more steps to put those fears behind you.
Child prodigy, Arfa had these thoughts about the power you have in your mind to overcome the tendency to be shy. “If you want to do something big in your life, you must remember that shyness is only the mind. If you think shy, you act shy. If you think confident you act confident. Therefore never let shyness conquer your mind.”
Arfa Karim Randhawa was the computer programming prodigy. She became the world’s youngest Microsoft Certified Professional at 9 years old. Unfortunately Arfa only lived until she was sixteen but she had a big dream and in her short life, impacted the world in a significant way.
Another source encouragement came in an unexpected way when I visited my sister last summer in San Diego. We enjoyed an expansive view of the San Diego harbor from her high rise condo. We’d watch the large ships coming in and out of the harbor.
One of the sights that captivated me was the little tug boats pulling a big ship–and I mean a huge ship, a ship many times its size. Once the ship was in the harbor, it could no longer use its own power but had to depend on one or two tugboats to pull it in. It’s almost amusing to see these tiny little boats pulling the great ship.
Tugboats were created to tow big ships. That is their job. It doesn’t matter that they are small, they were fashioned to do this chore and they do it well.
Sometimes I identify with those tugboats. The dreams I have and the ship I want to pull in seems huge to me. Maybe you can relate. You may sometimes feel small in comparison to the big dream you have.
Perhaps God designed you to fulfill some big plans. Maybe through your writing He wants you to impact others in some significant way just as the tug boats were designed to pull the hefty boats. It’s not in your best interest or in the best interest of the world for you to shy away from the gifts, talents and abilities, God has placed in you. Maybe you won’t be a prodigy but you have your own significant assignment and role to play to make the world a better place with your writing.
Develop your writing skills, talents and abilities. Maybe you already know how to write but are you refining your skills and adding to your abilities? I’d like to invite you not to settle at the level you are in your writing skill. Always be looking for ways to add to your knowledge in how to write well and to grow in your creative writing skills. Implement new writing tips and ideas regularly.
If you have not yet learned to write, then begin now to learn how to write and the techniques of creative writing. One way is to take writing courses. The writing course, “How to Write for Fun and Profit” is designed to support you as you learn how to write or move your writing skills to the next level. I would love to support you on your writing journey but whether you take a course from me or not, learn how to write and continue to improve your skills.
A proverb which inspires me to continue to develop my writing skills says, “Do you see a man skilled in his work? He will serve before kings, he will not serve before obscure men.” Proverbs 22:29 (NIV 1984)
Your ever increasing ability will enable you to move big ships into the harbor–huge ships loaded with good things for yourself and for others.
Don’t be shy no matter how little you feel. Grow in your skills and have fun with it!
Go write now!
How about you? How can you overcome your shyness? What can you do to bring your big ship in?
How to Write: Share Your Stories While You Can
Do you have stories to write but you haven’t gotten around to it? Do you want to share your stories with others to help them?
At an English Tea Room during the Royal wedding of Prince William and Kate, I met a couple of retired women dressed in color coordinated outfits with matching hats and purses. They asked what I did and when I shared that I am a writer, we started talking about learning how to write to leave a legacy for your family. One of the women said, “I need to learn how to write my life stories so my children and grandchildren can know me.” She laughed, “I want my children to know why I like the color blue.”
A father of two teenagers shared with me,“I have so many thing I would like to say to teenagers to warn them about some of the things that trapped me and how to avoid them. I’d like to share some of the lessons I learned but do it in a way that won’t bore them.”
A retired friend shared with me, “I believe some of my life experiences would inspire others and show how God worked in my life. I don’t know how to write the stories.”
Another young adult man said, “I would like to write humorous stories from my life that would teach lessons in a fun way but I know I need to learn how to write.”
An additional friend confided,“I have some amazing stories to share about miracles that have happened in my life. I know these are stories that need to be told but I can’t seem to find the time.”
How about you? What stories do you to tell? Many of us have stories to share but they are locked up in our hearts like items in a storage bin. We haven’t thrown them away but they are not being used and shared with others. Think of the difference your stories could make if you would get them out there and share them!
This week a beautiful friend died of age 49 with brain cancer. She generously gave of her time, her wisdom and her care to so many of us as well as loving her own family of seven children. She invested her life in others and in her kind and gentle way made a huge difference in my life and all she touched. The flowers at her graveside spoke of the beauty of her life. She loved well and we will miss her. However, in her final days, she wondered, “Did I do enough? Did I love enough? Is there more I could have done?”
How about you? Do you have stories you want to tell but you have not shared them. What if someone’s life could be changed for the better by what you write? Would it be worth the effort? If something happened to you, would you have written all you wanted to?
If you are not sure how to write and need some support and encouragement in creative writing, check out the “How to Write for Fun and Profit” online course. If you are like my friend who feels pressed for time, I’ve divided the course into segments you can read and do the assignments in 15 minutes segments. I would be delighted to support you as you learn creative writing to be able to share your stories.
Whether you take my course of not, the important thing is to write. Don’t leave this world without sharing your treasures with your family, friends and the world!
How to Write: Write to Change the World
What do you do when the power goes out? Our whole lives and of those around us revolve around power that comes from electricity. We enjoy a multitude of benefits and power is essential to our modern-day lives, so it’s serious when we lose it. At the same time, if you look, there can be some hidden benefits.
Recently, I visited my sister who lives in a high-rise condo in downtown San Diego. Suddenly our computers went on battery power. My sister came into the room where I worked. “Did you just plug something in? Our power shut off.”
We soon found out that it was not just us. We couldn’t turn on the TV or radio but when a friend called, she told us that an unexpected power outage left approximately 4 million people in San Diego and Mexico and other parts of Southern California without power.
My sister has a habit of saying in adversity, “What is good about this?” She’s an artist and she had been teaching me how to draw flowers. So she said, “Well, we’ve wanted to get some time to draw. Would you like for me to show you how to correct the shading on the tulip you’ve been drawing?”
I hesitated. I was in the middle of cleaning up my office desk. Noting my questioning, she implored, “A year from now we won’t remember cleaning, but we will remember that we took the time to do art.”
“Okay, you’re right, and besides that exploring creative expression as it relates to creative writing is on my list of things to do.” I laughed.
We sat down and enjoyed doing art until it got dark. Fortunately, we had a gas stove, so I lit a match to ignite the flames. I cooked something to eat and we sat on her deck. God provided us with natural light in a beautiful full moon, so we enjoyed eating dinner with the moon flickering on our faces and the dark buildings in the city.
Earlier, we also happened to be out in the hall when neighbors came home to the condo across the hall. We had never met and started talking about the blackout. They were the most delightful couple. He said, “Well, this is one good thing about the power outage. We met our neighbors!”
Stefanie, a friend on Facebook wrote, “It was an interesting day yesterday with no power. In our area, no one panicked. It seemed like everything just slowed down. There were BBQs going, children playing outside, neighbors talking to each other and people taking strolls around the area–back to the days of no TV, no Internet. It was so beautiful! This is what we have lost with technology.”
Sometimes we think writing means writing a novel or something more involved. In this post, with her simple observations expressed in creative writing, Stefanie called people back to the treasures we lost with the focus on technology; the treasures of having relationship; being creative and resourceful with what you have; the ability to find good in any situation.
We write for various reasons, but one form of writing is to provide perspective and encouragement on how to deal with the adversity in people’s lives. We all experience trouble in some form or another. When we find the good things and a purpose in those challenges, it gives us the strength to endure the suffering and any losses we may experience.
I saw a magnet recently that said, “If you can’t change the situation, change how you think about it.” As writers, we can learn how to write in such a way that we offer a positive perspective in adversity and strengthen people to go through it. When we see difficulties as opportunities to grow, we will be stronger as individuals, as a nation and as a world.
Make a difference in the world.
Go write now!
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