Excellent MIghtier than the sword, is Faith's Pen by Janilou Faith Non-Fiction contest entry Without faith, no stories or poems

Category:  General Non-Fiction   Posted:  December 3, 2008      Views: 401

ABOUT JANILOU  Janilou is a woman who loves God. Much of her work reflects her faith. Christian music often inspires her work. She is honored to have been named FanStory's Short Works Author Of The Year, in 2007 and 2008, and thanks all of her wonderful fans for the ranking. Their comments and support are her inspiration! She writes whenever her dairy goats allow her to escape the milking barn. If she's not on FanStory, you might find her on Facebook, using her real name, Jan Anderegg. Quote Of The Day: "Shall we make a new rule of life from tonight: Always try to be a little kinder than is necessary." Sir James M Barrie She has won several contests. The contest submission Death By Taxes was the first place winner in the contest Faith Non-Fiction. Boys Will Be Boys was the first place winner in the contest Faith Non-Fiction. Twas The Night Before - Say What? was the first place winner in the contest Faith Non-Fiction. She is a top ranked author and is currently holding the #41 position. The Seal of Quality committee has rewarded her with 2 seals. Portfolio | Become A Fan Faith is the nectar of the writer, the substance of everything we are. Writing without faith is impossible. We must believe there is a purpose to our quest or we would not pursue it.  That purpose can be singular or more convoluted than a DNA strand. We write to express our feelings and we write to help others and to help ourselves. We write in the hope they will come, to read our simple words, and be touched by the depth of our sincere desire to have written what they needed or wanted to read.  Believing brings confidence, which in turn gives us the ability to pursue our dreams and live vicariously through the worlds we create with our pen. How else would we write?  We live in a state of constant change, with an underlying sense of universal chaos. Our minds crave the stability of an unchanging, controllable environment in which we create the beginning and the end. In our stories and poems, we  hold the keys to our very own universe. As we circle on this miracle planet, perhaps one-of-a-kind in a galaxy, we crave knowledge and long to know what lies beyond the veil. Who hasn't wondered if perhaps the character springing to life through ink on pages is real, not here, but on some distant planet; in some alternate time or space? Do we have a responsibility to let their story be told? Or are we writing what we see, through some window we cannot see or understand. I've often pondered this inexplicable desire we have to create. Characters, scenes, lives, disasters, love, beauty, wickedness and sorrow flood onto our pages and we go on creating, sharing them, for as long as we still breathe. We take the story giving birth in our heads and translate it onto a page, and wait for the confirmation of our belief.  It might take months, years or decades. Authors have gone to the grave without seeing the fruition of their faith. Today, their stories change our world each time a new generation discovers the gift they left behind. Yet, they died without a single glimpse of how their written word would touch the hearts and minds of the future. Perhaps today you are writing the story of tomorrow. In two hundred years, people will marvel at the cleverness of your written word, the tale no one imagined before or ever again. They will take excerpts from your work and gain inspiration. They will wonder if you knew, so many years gone by, how much your gift would bless their hearts. I am always amazed how a story, birthed in my brain, can take off as I write, twisting and turning in countless directions I might never have imagined possible. A character I believe to be trustworthy and true might suddenly reveal a dark side, and a twist is born. It is like watching a movie you've never seen before come to life on the screen in front of you. The possibilities seem endless, and as I get lost in another world, time ceases to exist. My characters ignore me for the most part, but they allow their lives to unfold before me, as I write. Sometimes they hover over my shoulder, to exclaim, "I wouldn't have said that." After a profuse apology, I edit their dialogue and allow them to take over the conversation once more. You have to let go, and allow them to carry you into their world. Without faith in their ability to connect with your muse, you will never be able to write a single word. Make them your friends and you will never be lonely again on a cold winter's night at three in the morning when every sane person in your home is asleep in bed. Our ancestors lit a candle in the darkness when they created the written word. It is a legacy we continue on with each generation.  Every child who learns to read is our future. An article about faith in writing would not be complete without mentioning the greatest book of all times, The Bible. Put together over a period of over two thousand years, by authors from every walk of life, and such diverse circumstances, it is the most amazing, cohesive story of mankind and the God who loved us enough to send His son, Jesus, to the cross, that we might be saved. That's Faith's pen. Recognized Share your own writing! - Information on our membership for writers. Author Notes The contest said: The theme for this non-fiction contest is "faith". We are looking for personal essays, memoirs, and works of literary nonfiction that in some way pertain to the theme of "faith". It doesn't matter if it's spiritual, political, intellectual, emotional, funny, serious, or an essay about your DVD player. Faith is a strong word - how will you use it. 700 word minimum. This is 740 words. Pays one point and 2 member cents.

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