A Writing Lesson From a Priest In Poverty

One of the TV shows I love to watch is Law and Order SVU. I have 21 seasons on discs and I watch them all the time (as well as other shows too).

And the other day I was watching an episode in which the detectives suspected a young Catholic Priest of committing a crime, a murder that happened in his church. He hadn’t done it, but couldn’t tell them who had without breaking the secrecy of the confessional.

But the storyline wasn’t what interested me, and instead, I was fascinated with how the priest lived and worked.

He lived in a tiny apartment and owned almost no furniture or other personal items, not even a TV, and even what little he did own was old and looked years old.

The detectives were stunned that anyone could live in such poverty and own so few possessions but the priest explained that he took his vow of poverty seriously. Clearly, he also took all his other vows seriously too because whenever the detectives showed up the priest was busy writing sermons, scrubbing the church floor, cleaning the pews, or visiting parishioners. He seemed to do nothing but work and said that he loved it so much that he didn’t need anything else.

And it got me thinking about writers and how all the successful ones are hard workers who love what they do and are always writing or plotting their next book or setting up another money-making website.

This is why I recently sold my house and moved to a small apartment at the coast so that I could spend less time on things that don’t matter (lawn mowing, house maintenance, etc) and more time on writing and other things I enjoy (and I love the fresh sea air too).

How about you?

Do you fit your writing around your life or your life around your writing?

Want to learn how to do it?

Start by clicking the link below.

https://ruthiswriting.com/books/LLS.html

A List of Writing Inspiration and Writing Markets

 Hi

I hope you're having a productive writing week.

Below I've gathered a list of writing articles to help inspire you and keep you writing and earning more, and a few freelance writing markets.

Enjoy. :)

How to Create the Mental Space to Write

https://www.writersdigest.com/be-inspired/how-to-create-the-mental-space-to-write

Elements of Suspense: How Mystery and Thriller Writers Grip Readers

https://thewritepractice.com/elements-of-suspense/

Discover an untapped goldmine of content ideas

Online app. Just type in your keywords and see what readers are looking for online.

https://answerthepublic.com

The 24-Hour Book Writing System

Currently reduced in price to only $27

https://24hourbook.com/cb-go?hop=writelady

How To Make Money Freelance Writing: Websites That Pay Writers $50+

https://www.makealivingwriting.com/make-money-writing/

Publish  a Book With Trigger

We look for books that offer help or advice to our readers, with a focus on mental wellbeing, and Mind, Body, Spirit. 

Submit synopsis plus the first 2 chapters of a 40,000-word manuscript.

https://triggerhub.org/submissions/

Writers Call for Submissions: True Crime/Nonfiction

Nonfiction, true crime accounts featuring lawbreaking couples who have joined forces to commit crime.

Word count: 4,000-7,000 words

One-time payment per story: USD $130, and 2 print copies of the book.

Deadline for submissions: June 1, 2021

https://mitziszereto.com/call-for-submissions/

Call for submissions for 'Escapism' issue: Moonflake Press

This can be escaping worlds, cities, identities or however else you interpret it.

Minimum 100 words

Maximum 2500 words

Deadline: 1st September 2021

Payment: £25

https://www.moonflakepress.com/guidelines

Classic Monsters Unleashed anthology: Crystal Lake Publishing

 We’re looking for dark, scary stories featuring a classic monster or monsters (think famous creatures from pre-1960 horror movies).

Length: 1500 to 5000 words

Submission Period: April 8 to May 30, 2021

Payment: 6 cents a word

https://www.crystallakepub.com/authorcentral/

How to Have Confidence in Your Writing

 One of the big problems with being a writer is getting criticised because it can no only hurt your feelings, but it can eat away at your confidence.

The ‘trick’ to overcome these feelings is to realise that not everything is about you. Not everyone will enjoy reading what you write but that’s ok because you’re not writing for them.

There’s a lot of advice for writers like “know who you’re writing to,” and “know your audience.” But not all writers do this unless they’re copywriters and need to market directly to customers who are going to buy their products.

Writing should be enjoyable, so if you want to write, just write.

When I first began, I had an ugly website and never thought about who my intended audience was, yet I hit the ground running and was quickly earning decent money and had thousands of website visitors and a huge list of subscribers.

I also earned money writing articles for other websites, magazines, and I wrote a couple of ebooks that sold really well too.

And I think my ‘secret’ to having such confidence to do it all, was that I was simply enjoying myself.

Did I get criticised? You bet. Did I care? Nope. I did at first but I quickly realised that there are a lot of angry people in the world that I can do nothing about, so I simply blocked them from my email address and my website and carried on.

My other ‘secret’ was that I wrote a lot and constantly submitted short stores, proposals for articles, and I always wrote for my website as well.

I simply got on with it.

And so should you.

7 Day Ebook Writing And Publishing System
How to Write and Publish an ebook and Start Getting Sales in Just One Week
https://ruthiswriting.com/books/7day.html

How to Always Have Time to Write

 I was reading a book recently and the author spoke about the importance of time and how it’s all we really have because our lives are made up of the things we do and the time it takes to do them.

The most interesting thing he said was that we often don’t do things because we think we don’t have enough time. But the time that we think we don’t have is going to pass anyway so we may as well use it.

This got me thinking about often I’ve used this excuse myself to not start things, including writing projects. And the truth is, that once I start something, I’m amazed at how much I can get done in a short time.

I also recently read an interview with actress Kathy Bates and she was talking about how she changed to a plant-based diet a few years ago to help her beat cancer.

She said that people often ask her how she had the willpower to do it because it took a long time, but not only did she beat the cancer, she also lost a lot of weight and looks amazing. And she said that she didn’t believe in willpower but she does believe in determination.

And I thought, wow. She’s right. Saying ‘I just don’t have the willpower’ makes it sound like it’s not your fault. But being determined to do something makes you own it.

So be determined.

Start things.

Because the time it takes is going to pass by anyway so you may as well use it on things that matter.

Mission Critical For Life:
Start Living Life On Your Terms By Pursuing Your True Life Mission
https://ruthiswriting.com/books/MCFL.html