Keeping up with the helpful groups is so important. I can’t tell you how much I learn from other writers and groups such as the one Kelly Gurnett was so kind to put together in one place. A quick reference such as this can lead you to just the right nugget of information.
Take a look and see if you can find a group to will encourage and enhance your writing efforts. As she states this list was compiled by writers who said they could not live without these groups.
You’ll find everything from a writers life community, Kindle publishing, and my favorite, a call for submissions. With this FB Group you’ll never run out of places to send your writing.
Just in case you missed this, must have information, from The Write Life, here it is again.
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
The first amendment, along with the rest of the Bill of Rights was Passed by Congress September 25, 1789. Ratified December 15, 1791.
I sincerely hope my readers will allow me a brief break from my usual topics.
I don’t write a lot about political or religious issues. Mama always said a lady should always avoid the topics of politics and religion in social situations. Facebook, Twitter and the world of blogs are about as social as it gets. However, our biggest holiday is Independence Day, so I’m making an exception and throwing caution to the wind.
The right to practice our beliefs without interference from the government was so important that at inception it was number one of the Bill of Rights. Not in the middle, not last or in a different Amendment, but at the very beginning of the First Amendment.
Writers of our Constitution could’ve chosen to make taxes the first issue (remember the Boston Tea Party), but no, they chose to prevent the establishment of a national religion. Why? What led up to this Amendment? I don’t have a crystal ball but we do have a bit of history.
1771: The State of Virginia jails 50 Baptist worshipers for preaching the Gospel contrary to the Anglican Book of Common Prayer.
1774: Eighteen Baptists are jailed in Massachusetts for refusing to pay taxes that support the Congregational church.
So in 1777: Thomas Jefferson completed his first draft of a Virginia state bill for religious freedom, which states: “No man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or ministry whatsoever.” The bill later becomes the famous Virginia Ordinance for Religious Freedom.
Seems to me even back then some people wanted everyone to believe the same thing in the same way. I’m glad some wise leaders thought of a way to prevent that from happening.
Everyone likes to think an elected official will share your core beliefs. But it is not necessary that they do so to protect yours.
The Constitution prohibits our government from establishing a national religion of any type. And those elected to serve the people cannot prohibit anyone from their religion of choice. What makes our country so exceptional, flaws and all, is the United States allows people to think and believe how they please.
Although, states have established birds, seals, flags, flowers, songs and who knows what to represent said state they cannot establish a state religion.
So as we are waving our flag, watching fireworks and celebrating with family and friends, let’s remember the tolerance that makes this country great. I encourage you to open your hearts and minds to your neighbors. Let us remain the United States.
Flag of the United States of America (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Okay, I’m done and ready to sit back and watch the fireworks with a burger and beer. Happy Fourth everybody!!
FireWorks (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
I love comments, almost as much as I love clicks, so after you pass this on to your Facebook and Twitter pals remember to tell me what you think.
If you’re not already, please follow me @jeancogdell on Twitter or jean.cogdell on Facebook!
The last few weeks I’ve immersed myself in books, websites, and articles to help me improve my writing skills. Thanks to the many wonderful writers and bloggers in the web universe, I’ve learned a lot and passed it on here.
A problem occurred I hadn’t anticipated.
I’ve been so engrossed in “how to” reading and writing, I forgot to put into practice what I was reading. Now I find myself a bit rusty on the “doing.”
Ready to get back to my WIP, I sat at the keyboard and drew a blank. My main character refused to speak to me. Can’t blame her, I’d be mad too if someone ignored me for weeks.
In addition it seemed as if my brain was in overload with too many facts. As I began to write my mind roamed to the technical tips instead of staying with my scene. I struggled for quite a while before things began to flow again.
And that got me to thinking.
I don’t want to stop learning. After all my writing improves the more I learn about what I’m doing. But I need to strike a balance.
So for the next few days, I’m going to try something a little different here at Jean’s Writing. I’ll post a tip from a book, blog or article and then an exercise to practice the tip.
Some books make it easy and have exercise suggestion at the end of a chapter. Too bad I didn’t do all those exercises as I read. From here on out I will. And I’ll try to apply the exercises to a WIP. Who knows I might actually finish more projects that way.
So here’s the deal.
A paragraph, that’s all. Write a paragraph to work the writing muscles. To keep them Ginsu razor sharp and Iron Man strong.
I hope you’ll join me, in writing to exercise. All you have to do is write a few words each day. Just one paragraph. Then post it in the comment section. Hopefully, writing such a paragraph will be just the thing you need for a submission, or be the break-through for your novel.
This is Not a Challenge.
Why? Because I understand life gets in the way and I don’t want to add pressure to anyone’s hectic schedule. Instead of challenge, I want this to be an encouragement, a tool to enhance the practice of writing.
Here are the guidelines:
Write one paragraph. Choose any subject, prompt or a WIP you want that incorporates the days writing tip. That shows us how you interpret the tip.
Keep the paragraph between 50 – 150 words. (Short and sweet)
Post in comment section. (read and encourage those who participate)
Jean's Writing 