Writing a Book is Like Stacking Firewood

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By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer

I recently had a cord of wood delivered to my home. A cord is roughly a stack that is four feet high and eight feet long. The depth of the stack, or length of the logs, varies and, therefore, affects the price. Find a more detailed explanation here

However, my wood was not delivered “stacked.” It was dumped like a big pile of words out behind the house and you-know-who got to put them in some semblance of order.

If Walt Disney studios were in charge, a sparkling, swirling cloud would wrap itself around my giant wood/word pile, pick it up, and set it down in a neat stack or finished book.

In reality, working with words or wood is tedious, one-piece-at-a-time business, but oh the satisfaction when the job is done well!

  • Foundation is key. Do I want my wood raised off the wet soil an inch or two?
  • Do I want sloping ends, or will it buttress against something like bookends?
  • Should I risk stacking it on uneven ground, or will I find/make a level place to prevent it from toppling over?
  • Is the foundational premise of my book solid?
  • Are the beginning and end succinct and satisfying?
  • Or is something not quite right that topples the whole thing? 

I believe these principles apply in many activities, whether we quilt, cook, paint, sculpt, or work with numbers. What about those who work with children, people with special needs, or the elderly?

Is there anything we do that does not require attention to detail or is unaffected by how we handle each individual component?

God has given us a place in this world to operate creatively like He did.

What an opportunity.

How is your work pile stacking up?

~

Whatever you do, do well.
Eccl. 9:10 (NLT)

 
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Updated version under new cover!

 

A mail-order bride?

Maybe worse than the news itself was the fact that his daughter had held it secret for more than a week. He wrestled with shock, anger, and, most of all, fear. If the date mentioned in the crumpled letter was accurate, the woman was already on her way.

By light of a full moon, he swung the axe and snapped an upright log in half. The fire burning through his veins could fuel his kindling-splitting efforts until he had enough to keep the town in good supply through next winter. ~Mail-order Misfire

 
 

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Inspirational Western Romance – where the hero is heroic.

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