Let’s face it, most writers write because we feel we have something of value to say. We have something we’re passionate about and want to share it with others. (Well, that…and a paycheck. But you need to know up front–if you’re counting on making gobs of money for your writing efforts, you’re probably in the wrong business!)
Most of us write because we hope that someone will learn from our mistakes or be encouraged by our successes; that our stories will entertain readers and perhaps even change lives for eternity.
I hope you’ll enjoy these words about words, taken from my book, Seeing Through the Lies.
Three Scripted Words
I’ve always loved drama. From the time I was a little girl, sitting in front of a black and white TV, I knew that movies and scripts could reach down inside and grab a part of the soul that few things could ever touch.
By the time I was a teenager, I knew the power of the stage, the power of scripted words. And nothing proved it better than Frank Zeffirelli’s movie, Romeo and Juliet. The story. The costumes. The music. The words. I was captivated! I must have watched it a hundred times, and yet every time, it was as if I were seeing it afresh, anew.
My heart danced the night Romeo and Juliet danced–their faces and their lives hidden behind the masks, falling into a forbidden love. A love of good and evil.
Two sides. Two families. The Capulets and the Montagues.
You know the story. Romeo and Juliet fall in love, secretly marry, and spend one night together. The next day, Romeo kills Juliet’s cousin in a battle between their families, and then must escape to save his own life. Unaware of his daughter’s marriage to Romeo, Juliet’s father decrees she will marry another man.
Juliet is afraid to reveal the truth, so she meets with the priest and together they devise a plan that will allow the couple to be together forever. It is a fail-proof plan. With the help of a sleeping potion, Juliet will feign death, and Romeo will return to the city and retrieve her from the tomb. They will escape to live their life of love together, and no one will ever know the truth. A messenger is sent to deliver the fail-proof, scripted plan to Romeo.
But before the messenger reaches him, Romeo hears the terrible news that his beloved wife has died. So he devises his own plan–to join her in death. He mounts his horse and takes off for the city. But Juliet’s messenger and Romeo pass each other in the night. The grieving husband continues toward death, unaware of the truth.
It is a fateful mistake.
Romeo arrives, locates the tomb and–thinking his true love is dead–drinks his own poison in an effort to join her. Death comes quickly and Romeo falls across his wife’s body. Moments later, Juliet awakens to find her Romeo dead. Unable to imagine life without her husband, she tries to drink from Romeo’s vial, but finds it empty. She eagerly kisses her still-warm lover, hoping to find poison on his lips. When she finds none, she grabs his sword and thrusts it into her own body.
Her blood drips to the ground.
I sat there in the theater, my eyes glued to the screen, my body jerking with the sobs of emotion–unable to see the images through the tears filling my eyes and streaming down my face. My heart was broken for the two lovers, the two innocents who were merely on opposite sides of a battle, a battle they hadn’t chosen.
Joint funerals unite the city. The music and visuals carry us through the pain and agony.
Two families. Two sides. Joined in grief. Good and evil, exposed in death.
A voice cries from the screen:
“All . . . are . . . punished!”
Three scripted words, spoken to bring the emotion of the story to one pivotal moment. It works. I grieve, along with the Capulets and the Montagues. I can hardly stand it.
And it’s only a movie.
But two thousand years ago, there was another script, another drama. Two families. Two sides. Good and evil. God and Satan.
Jesus knew the story by heart. Before time began, He sat down with the Father and the Holy Spirit, and the three of Them wrote the script . . . scene by scene, line by line, word by word.
Directed by the words of the prophets, the story unfolds. The cast–often without their knowledge–follows the plan and brings the story to its pre-ordained conclusion. No actors. No lines to learn, no songs to sing. Because this time, it’s real.
And the story–although a script–is true.
But this drama wasn’t written to generate emotion; it was written to bring freedom and new life for all mankind. The only way to unite a holy God and unholy man was through the sacrifice of a perfect, sinless lamb–Jesus. He would have to die.
No sleeping potion to feign death. No escape from the Father’s decree. Sin required a blood sacrifice . . . and Jesus willingly signed up for the part. After all, He was the only One Who qualified.
His blood fell to the ground.
But the story doesn’t end there. Because from the cross, at the height of His suffering, Jesus cried the three words scripted thousands of years before:
“It . . . is . . . finished!”
Three words, spoken to bring the sin of man to one pivotal moment. It works. I grieve, along with the sinners and the saved. I can hardly stand it.
Jesus, the sinless Grace-giver, received no grace that dark and mournful day. But because of His sacrifice, we–an unholy people–are united with a holy God.
We simply choose which script, which three little words, we want to follow: “All are punished” . . . or . . . “It is finished.”
Three powerful, little words that touch eternity for good or for evil.
Which ones will you choose to follow?
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Writing Opportunities, Contests, and Freebies…Just for YOU!!
Marilyn Shipe has done it again! Thank you, Marilyn, for collecting many of these writing opportunities for us! And readers, if you haven’t already, I hope you’ll check out Marilyn’s blog as she continues her countdown of 100 Ways to Reduce Stress. Stress? Us? How could that be? 
And remember, we don’t personally have experience with every post listed, so please do your research before submitting!
1. THE CONTENT AUTHORITY
“If you meet the following general criteria please respond at the bottom and we will start the process for you to potentially join our team.”
- Strong grasp of the English Language
- Can write well researched articles
- Able to follow detailed writing requests
- Comfortable with deadlines
- Willing to be paid weekly for approved articles
- Be paid with Paypal.
Again, if you meet all of the above general criteria please feel free to start our application process! The Content Authority application process.
2. THE CBI CLUBHOUSE
Free ebook: The Non-Celebrity’s Guide to Getting a Children’s Book Published
3. DEVOTIONAL Call-Out
Never Alone is a devotional for mothers underscoring God’s promise of His presence in her life – all the time. Scheduled for publication by Revell for a Summer release in 2012, Never Alone will be a companion to the 2012 theme book for Mothers of Preschoolers (MOPS) International.
Marilyn and I couldn’t find a link to this call out and we didn’t have permission to post it, so I’m posting a link to the Fayetteville MOPS website where they have posted the call out for Never Alone devotional to be published by Revell.
4. MARY WOLLSTONECRAFT SHELLEY PRIZE FOR IMAGINATIVE FICTION
Biennial (odd years) contest for any kind of unpublished imaginative fiction/short stories, 4,000 words or less. Entries are welcome any time. Acquires first rights. Open to any writer. Prize: Grand prize: $1,000. 4 runner-ups receive $100. All winners published in Rosebud Magazine.
Click here to submit your prizewinning short story to the Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley Prize for Imaginative Fiction. Website: Contact: J. Roderick Clark, editor. Biennial (odd years) contest for any kind of unpublished imaginative fiction/short stories, 4,000 words or less. Entries are welcome any time. Acquires first rights. Open to any writer. Prize: Grand prize: $1,000. 4 runner-ups receive $100. All winners published in Rosebud. Costs: $10/story
5. CHRISTIAN COMMUNICATOR
Covers: Monthly magazine covering Christian writing and speaking. American Christian Writers website.
No simultaneous submissions. Writer’s guidelines for SASE or by e-mail. Also online. Queries accepted by e-mail. 90% freelance written. Tips: “We primarily use ‘how to’ articles and personality features on experienced writers and editors. However, we’re willing to look at any other pieces geared to the writing life.”
6. UTMOST CHRISTIAN POETRY CONTEST
E-mail: Nathan Harms at: . Utmost Christian Writers Website
Prize: 1st Place: $1,000, 2nd Place: $600, ten prizes of $100 are offered for honorable mention. Costs: $20/poem (max. 5 poems). Poetry: The Novice Christian Poetry Contest opened for entries on April 1, 2011–For Christian poets only! $2,000 in cash prizes. Deadline: August 31, 2011. See rules and entry form online at website. Freelance Facts: Deadline: February 28. Prize: 1st Place: $1,000, 2nd Place: $600, ten prizes of $100 are offered for honorable mention. Tips: “Besides providing numerous resources for Christian writers and poets, Utmost also provides a market-a place where Christian writers and poets can sell their work. Please follow our guidelines. Please use the submission link on the appropriate web page (links). For example, if you are submitting a poem, please click the “for Poetry Galley” guidelines (link) and use the submission link. If you fail to follow these instructions it’s possible your submission will be lost.”
7. BABYBUG
50% freelance written. Submission guidelines A board-book magazine published monthly. The listening a looking magazine for infants and toddlers intended to be read aloud to young children ages 6 months-3 years. Your material must hold up under repetition. “Read it again” is often heard by the children we write for.
8. GO MAGAZINE – Inflight magazine
80% freelance written. Monthly magazine covering travel, general interest and light business. Guidelines by email at .
Needs: General interest, interview, photo feature, travel, light business. Does not want first-person travelogues. (Page 434 of the Writers Market Guide Deluxe Edition 2011).
9. QUILTER’S WORLD
100% freelance written. Willing to work with new/unpublished writers. A general quilting publication. Needs: How-to, interview, new product, photo feature, technical, quilters, quilt products. Guidelines for Quilter’s World submissions.
10. GOOD OLD DAYS/LOOKING BACK
75% freelance written. Writer’s Guidelines. Monthly magazine of first person nonfiction nostalgia for the years 1935-1965.
11. SENIOR LIVING
100% freelance written. Covering active 50+ people who lead interesting lives. Include articles on health, housing, sports, travel, recipes, etc. Needs: historical, how-to, humor, inspirational, interview, personal experience, travel, active living. Writer’s guidelines for Senior Living Magazine.
12. TWEETMAGS
The Internet has opened up many more avenues and created a plethora of opportunities for the industrious writer. One burgeoning area are tweetmags. 140 characters, or the maximum length of a tweet. That’s right, you can actually GET PAID for Tweeting! Guidelines for Tweetmags.
13. THAUMATROPE – ANOTHER GET-PAID TWEET MARKET
Tell us a Science Fiction, Fantasy, or Horror story in under 140 characters. Other than that, we’re just looking for good stories.
14. E-BOOK SHORT STORIES
We’re looking for short stories, flash fiction and pieces for a print / ebook anthology.
15. GUIDE
75% freelance written. A Christian journal for 10 to 14 year olds, presenting true stories relevant to their needs. Seventh-day Adventist. Special needs: Most open to true action/adventure, Christian humor, and true stories showing God at work in a 10 to 14 year old’s life. Use dialog and a spiritual slant. School life stories needed too. Guidelines:
16. FACES
90-100% freelance written. Introduces young readers
(ages 9-14) to different world cultures, religion, geography, government, and art. Guidelines for Faces.
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And the Winner is…
#11, Mary Ellis!! Congratulations, Mary! All you need to do is contact Eddie at his website and your new book will be on its way! Thanks for joining us. I’ll look forward to seeing you at Blue Ridge!
Thank you, Eddie, for sharing your good news and your new book with us!
And for those who haven’t gotten their copies yet, you can get I Called Him Dancer here.
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Parting Words from The Word…
This week, as we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord, let us remember these three words: Jesus is Lord.
…If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. Romans 10:9-10
I pray God’s blessing on the work of your hands and your hearts,
Vonda
