Pages

December 4, 2019

PACE Yourself



By Kim Williams


I have a doo-dad sitting on my writing desk that states, “Take Time to Pray.”  I am task-oriented and tend to not slow down when I work. Both plotters and pansters develop a pace when writing. 

Although the nature of writing can be fast-paced or slow-paced, I’ve come to learn that either way, I need to pause and reflect as I write.

My pastor recently shared one his daily praying practices of using the acronym PACE. I considered the practice from a writing standpoint, and was moved by seeing my writing from this perspective. I determined how I can PACE my writing with the acronym: Praise. Accept. Commit. Embrace. 

PRAISE
·         I praise God for a story or a word of truth placed in my heart that urges me to share it with others.
·         I praise God that He’s given me life that is filled with stories and truths of their own. Some are messy. Some are immaculate.
·         I praise God for the story of Jesus, my salvation, that is woven through every book in His Word.
·         I praise Him for advanced tools and the means for doing this craft.
·         I praise Him for the capacity to turn thoughts into words and paragraphs.
ACCEPT
·         I accept all the hard, often lonely, work that comes with this gift and calling.
·         I accept that many authors write many books and that my place in this writer’s world may not look like someone else’s place.
·         I accept that I have much to learn.
·         I accept the avenue laid out for me to share my work with others.
·         I accept that some writers will become famous and many will not.
·         I accept that it takes a team of people to produce a final work.
·         I accept that any praise is spread among that team, and foremost to God.
COMMIT
·         I commit my time and my efforts to Him.
·         I commit my insecurities and intimidations to Him.
·         I commit my pride to Him.
·         I commit the critiques of peers and readers to Him.
·         I commit my knowledge to Him.
·         I commit to not compare unless I choose to learn from the comparison.
EMBRACE
·         I embrace whatever God chooses to do with this work.
·         I embrace my need to always be learning my craft.
·         I embrace that I am part of a writing community.
·         I embrace the rejections and the acceptances that come my way.
·         I embrace the support around me.
·         I embrace the satisfaction of having put words onto paper.
·         I embrace my writer’s voice.

I encourage you to develop your own PACE, and as your writing freely flows or temporarily stalls, may your PACE not falter.
______________________________________________________________
A former school teacher, Kim Williams has spent the past twenty-five-plus years on staff at her local church, First Baptist Woodstock, overseeing ministry to young children. She had a desire to write for a long time. One day she met her story head on and began writing. The result is her Letters to Layton Christian Romance Series. The series is based on discovered love letters from her great grandfather. He pleads for forgiveness and restoration with his wife and child. Their true romance and tragedy remain sealed in their generation, leaving room for a fictional account. Kim resides in the Atlanta metro area with her family. Her book titles include: Among the Crepe Myrtles Book One, When the Butterflies Dance Book Two and While the Rain Whispered Book Three (set to released October 2019) Social Media Links are Website: https://kimwilliamsbook.wordpress.com  



No comments:

Post a Comment