Enjoy the feast of words again
[2012 Penn Writing Practical Training Camp] Course Response
My interest in writing work is well-founded.
In 1976, when the United States celebrated the 200th anniversary of its independence, I read three books and believed in the Lord. My life changed from then on! I personally experienced the great effect of literature missionary work, and at that time I had the idea of participating in literature work.
In August 1999, I participated in the first literary work practice camp organized by Teacher Su Wen'an and really liked the "Qi Every Movement" he taught. I have been implementing five of them: I try to live a simple and regular life every day, I write inspiration notes almost every day, I am curious and ask questions frequently, I often read good books, and I attend church Sunday school continuously.
After leaving the camp, I started copying good articles, but I never submitted them. My husband has a heavy workload, and I work full time, so I have to take care of all the housework. In addition, I work carefully and need to spend more time. How can I have the energy and mood to write and submit articles?
Unexpectedly, my husband died of a heart attack more than two years ago, and I renovated the half-century-old house as planned. After selling the house last summer, he moved to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, near his son's home. The community I live in now is comfortable and convenient, and there are people cutting grass and shoveling snow. Life is simple and easy. So I want to start writing again, so I come back and retake Teacher Su's class.
On the first day of class, I discussed with the teacher: "Teacher Su, I am old, please be merciful and don't force us like you did twelve years ago! At that time, in order to hand in the paper the next day, I often wrote until the middle of the night. It’s midnight.”
Teacher Su smiled and said to me: "You are getting old, so am I!"
Sure enough, now all field writing is done in the classroom, and there is no need to burn the midnight oil anymore.
Principles of service
Twelve years later, when I listened to Teacher Su’s lecture again, the three things that impressed me deeply still touched my heart and resonated with me.
First, the spiritual life of literary workers is most important. Writers must have a good relationship with God and people so that their work can be lasting and effective. The order of life should be: life, life, work. This is why Teacher Su wants us to uphold the belief that "workers come before work, authors are more important than works, and sincerity is better than everything else."
Second, the story of a truckload of water. This is a true story that happened in Los Angeles, California in 1990. From this story, I learned that we should be like firefighters and obey the commander's orders. We should not just dump our truck of water on any place burned by fire. In other words, we must listen to the call of our Commander, God, and use our talents and energy in the ministry He has sent us, rather than squandering it carelessly.
Third, the prayers of word ministers are not to ask God to give us an easy life, but to ask God to make us stronger; not to ask for work equal to ability, but to ask for power equal to work, so that we will rely on God. Grace accomplishes what He has given Him to do.
Writing Tips
Teacher Su taught us ten tips for writing, one of which is "Show, not Tell". I watched a short film in class: a man and a woman danced harmoniously and beautifully, which was intoxicating. In fact, the female dancer was missing a hand and the male dancer was missing a foot. They were dancing with crutches. This show is saying: It doesn’t matter if people have flaws. As long as we work together with others, everyone can use their strengths and coordinate with each other, we can create a beautiful ministry.
Another trick is "business details". Teacher Su quoted the Bible's book of Ruth. The rich man Boaz greeted his hired workers as soon as he arrived in the field. When he saw Ruth, a strange woman, picking wheat ears in his field, When he arrived, he asked his foreman about Ruth’s identity, and then took the initiative to care for Ruth.
After that, whenever I read the book of Ruth, I seem to see a wealthy middle-aged man. Although he has money and status, he is not proud or indulgent, but gentle, polite, and full of kindness. The Ruth presented in the story is a foreign bride whose husband died and became a widow, dependent on her mother-in-law who was also widowed. The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were poor and helpless, so the daughter-in-law had to go to other people's fields to glean ears. The story ends like a fairy tale, with poor Ruth marrying wealthy Boaz and giving birth to a son, "living happily ever after."
Teacher Su also used a story about Aboriginal smoking to demonstrate the clever use of words. A tribe believed in the Lord and asked the Pope: "Can I smoke while praying?" The Pope replied: "No!"
Later, they actually saw believers from another tribe smoking while praying; it turned out that they asked the Pope:
"Can I pray while smoking?" The pope replied, "Yes!"
Travel notes
One day in class, Teacher Su asked us to do the "Looking around" exercise. After we went out for a walk for twenty minutes, we returned to the classroom to write a travelogue and then share it with each other. It's like several painters going out to sketch together, and then watching and commenting on each other's paintings.
This field exercise refreshed our spirits and made the classroom lively. The students in the class are very different in age, with different cultural backgrounds and majors. Although they see similar scenes, each article they write reflects the author's unique interests and accomplishments. When exchanging readings and teacher comments, I got a lot of fun and inspiration from my classmates' works.
Submit now
In the last class, Teacher Su introduced the journals to which we can submit articles and his rules for students to review manuscripts. He also explained each publication's distribution target and purpose, address, email, etc. one by one. There are those from North America, Taiwan, and mainland China; there are Christian publications, non-Christian publications, and even websites. He also taught us "Seven Tips to Improve the Hit Rate of Submissions." I am really grateful for such a comprehensive writing training course. Taking it again this time reminded me once again of the importance of the spiritual life of a writer. I also reviewed my writing skills again and urged me to start writing immediately without delaying any longer.
Author profile:
Lin Zhaoling, from Taiwan, was an early international student. Now lives in Lanzhou, Pennsylvania. He likes to take care of the house, read, sing hymns, ride bicycles and travel. In her spare time, she also helps take care of her three grandchildren and teaches children’s Sunday school at the church.