Monday, March 1, 2010

I Write like I'm Building...

If you’re like me you want your writing to mean something—you want your life to mean something. You desire to leave a mark on this world. Today you get to select the description that best pinpoints the reasons behind why you write (or fill in the blank if writing isn’t your passion).
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The Sistene Chapel is known for its gorgeous frescoes and artwork. Well-
known and well-respected artists left their mark on this beautiful architecture. Writing like you’re building the Sistene Chapel is pouring into your work while carefully emulating the greats that have gone before you. You take writing seriously, treating it like an art form.




The Great Wall of China is created of earth and stone fortifications. You are in this for the long haul, demonstrating patience and stamina. With each mortared stone, you build upon something monumental. Writing like you’re building the Great Wall also means you’re protective and guarded with your time and energy. You defend your writing time wisely.






The Eiffel Tower was built for the World’s Fair in 1889. It is the single most visited paid monument in the world. Writing for you is about getting your words out there. Prestige, fame, money and promised publication are the key instigators to why you write.







The Statue of Liberty is a symbol—a symbol of friendship between France and the United States, given to us to commemorate the centennial signing of the Declaration of Independence. It’s made of pure copper. You bask in the wonder of using symbolism in your works. At the first spotting of it, you find a way to weave the symbol throughout the work, driving a message home with creative integrity.







The Taj Mahal was built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan (say that name ten times fast) in memory of his favorite (laughing at this word) wife. Your writing stems from a deep gratitude you’ve had for someone significant in your life—a parent or teacher perhaps. They instilled a gift of reading in you or inspired you by telling you your essay shined, setting you on a path to publication. Your words spill on the page as a dedication to that person.

Windsor Castle, in England, is known for its beauty. It has stood as a home and a fortress for over 900 years. Kings and queens had direct influence on the construction of the castle. Writing like you are building Windsor Castle is writing for the King. You listen to His instruction, His guidance and wait for His approval as you tower your prose with active verbs and messages laced with Biblical perspective or significance.



I write like I’m building all of the above, with Windsor Castle, The Great Wall and The Statue of Liberty being the ones I most identify with. (I know, it’s near impossible for me to choose one. Try going to a restaurant with me!)

Which one are you building (or as always, feel free to come up with your own)?

*photos by flickr
**info. from Wikipedia
***Check back Wednesday for my review of One Million Arrows. Just finished Bonnie Grove's, Talking to the Dead--the book made me clap. You know a book is good when clapping is involved.

34 comments:

  1. Very cute post! I *hope* I am writing like I am building the Windsor Castle.

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  2. I am like you and would say that I couldn't choose just one, but the Sistene Chapel and the Windsor Castle would be my top two and then probably trickle down from there. What a great post, and I really enjoyed the photos! It's a great way to think about writing!

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  3. Oh, I love that! Unfortuately, I feel like I'm building a sandcastle right now... Wah.

    PS. Gave you an award. :)

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  4. I want to be Windsor Castle, but I think God has me on the Great Wall of China route. I don't want to be the Great Wall, what with all that patience involved, but there you have it!

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  5. You are amazing, Wendy! I love this. :) I'm like the Windsor and the Sistine and the Statue right now. :D

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  6. Wendy, this was one of the best blogs I've read in a long time. Thanks for posting it and for giving me a new way of looking at writing. (Your name is on my award list now) I would say that I am a Sistine Chapel and Great Wall girl. I can't help but have a great day after seeing these beautiful pictures. I'll keep them in mind as I write today!

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  7. Love the comparison! I'll have to give some thought to what I am building. Have a great week!
    Karen ;)

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  8. You always have such thoughtful posts, Wendy. Very interesting stuff.

    okay, I'd aspire to write something like the Sistene chapel but it's really a pipe dream to put myself in that league. still, I'd say it's what I relate to most of these.

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  9. I'd definitely pick the Great Wall of China, with my different writing projects, including the blog, memoir and fiction, being different size and shape stones. Each has its own purpose, its own strength in building one linked creation.

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  10. Whatever's layered. Probably all of them? Depth and meaning, past the surface.

    Re: The Bachelor, no contest, right? ;) I fear, though. I fear.

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  11. Lovely! I'm building the Windsor Castle- I just want to please my King! I want to scatter my words for all the world to there is a Savior who lives.

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  12. I'm The Great Wall of Chine, the Statue of Liberty, and Windsor Castle. I'm mostly The Great Wall of China, though. I've been working on my book for almost two years now, and really haven't gotten anywhere with it, but I'm in it for the long haul. I'm really trying to figure things out for my story - mostly structurally - so that I can finally finish the story.

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  13. This was a really awesome post! I think I'm a mix with a bit more Great Wall, Statue of Liberty, and Sistene Chapel that the others.

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  14. Very interesting post.

    I feel like I'm building the Great Wall over here. A lot of stone and mortar certainly.

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  15. Some days my writing stinks so bad I think I'm writing for the Peavy Porta-Potty Hall of Fame!

    Seriously. I think I'll chose Windsor Castle and the Statue of Liberty.

    I love your analogies, Wendy. Your mind is as lovely as your face, and both shine with the glory of the Lord.

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  16. Windsor, of course. I write for royalty. His throne is centrally located in my heart and I cannot bat an eyelash without looking for His approval. Honestly I have one reader and He is it. It pleases me to write for the Lord although I think people would be surprised to know how smudged in the world my writing really is. I figure we live in it, and as Christians we're a part of it, so my writing should ring true to it.

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  17. Interesting post! I'd say Sistene Chapel and Great Wall of China because I guard my writing time, and I love to learn from others who have gone before me on how to create a beautiful work of art.

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  18. Hmmm, I need some funny, thrown together building, that's looks like it's going to tumble, but really it's built pretty well. Maybe the leaning tower of Pisa?

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  19. Wendy, of all the amazing posts I read, this HAS to be the most amazing. Wow. How apropos for me as I'm wading through hot sand. Barefoot. Sigh. Yep. Publisher's revisions.

    So hard for me. So necessary for the book!

    Thank you.
    Patti
    www.pattilacy.com/blog

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  20. Man, thinking about building those things is making me tired. But you're so right. That's exactly what we do when we write. No wonder it takes so long and we put so much into it. Sheesh! :)

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  21. I love that you're on the same wavelength as me. I've been thinking a lot lately about doing my best work, and not just being satisfied with a half-hearted attempt. Thanks for putting my thoughts into focus. ♥

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  22. Definitely the Great Wall and Windsor Castle. :0)

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  23. I wish I could create music, draw a portrait, or plant a garden which conveys the majesty and great compassion of our God.

    And so with my words I sing, and paint, and attempt to create a haven so compelling that He cannot help but be known.

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  24. You always have such great ideas!
    I think my writing is a combo of Sistene, Great Wall, and Windsor. I want my stories to honor Jesus, to be amazing and to be solid. :-)

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  25. I write like I'm building Windsor Castle. My King gave me the gift and the incentive. I have to follow Him.

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  26. My writing right now seems to be more like the kid's tree house out back. Kind'a rickety, but fun to play with. :)

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  27. What great questions! I'm still chatting with the Master about the specifics of my building project:)
    Blessings
    Dorothy

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  28. What an innovative, extended metaphor. It would make a good poem. :-)

    Mine would probably be the first. "A thing of beauty is a joy forever." (Keats)

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  29. Sweet analogy!! Love it!!
    I think I'm building the Colosseum. It's filled with conflict and injustice while there's an element of romance when you walk the ruins (been there, love it!) and see the purity of the fresh grass growing through destruction. I want all those elements in my story line.

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  30. Oh, Wendy! I honestly don't know exactly which one! I think it's a combination of several of them. I'd like to think I'm writing for the King alone, but my selfishness often creeps in and I know I write for my own personal pleasure and joy too!

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  31. This is so wonderful, Wendy! If I'm honest, I'd have to say the Sistine Chaple, the Statue of Liberty and (yes) the Eiffle Tower (I think I'm the only person who mentioned that one.)I also hope what I write honors the One who has called me write. If I didn't have Him, I'd have no words.

    Jen

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  32. Thought-provoking post, Wendy! Definitely Windsor Castle for me! Just read a great book by Julie Ferwerda, One Million Arrows - it inspired me to a deeper level of commitment to the One I write for. God bless you!!

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  33. So, so, so good, Wendy.

    I think I'm building a simple house -- a place to dwell. I pray that my words bless another, but more times than not, they are a way that God draws me closer to His heart.

    The Lord and I dwell here in these words, building a place one 2-by-4 at a time. I write to find out what my heart feels.

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