Penny J. Johnson's Blog, page 18
August 14, 2020
Falling Flat: Blind Spots, Missteps, Rejections, and Other Reasons Writers Need an Extra Sets of Eyes
We all appreciate someone who catches us when we are about to fall. The same is true when a writer receives a word of constructive criticism from a trusted beta-reader, editor, or proofreader. We fool ourselves as writers when we think we are able to see all the gaps in our writing. There is a […]
August 12, 2020
Being a Writer: Question 7
In April, I was asked by a friend who teaches at a private school to answer her high school seniors’ questions about what it means to be a writer. While these answers were provided for a specific audience, I hope everyone viewing my video responses will learn more about the writing life.
August 11, 2020
Falling Flat: Facing the Moments When We Trip Up
Have you ever fallen flat on your face? I’m not talking about figurative times when you’ve faced a failure in life. I mean the question quite literally. As in, have you ever been waving goodbye to the hosts of a party and their friends only to catch the toe your shoe on the crack between […]
August 7, 2020
What’s Next?: Writing and The Most Important Question in Life
What assignment or calling remains unfulfilled in your life? What are your next steps? I find God’s timing amusing. He placed a question similar to the one I had been pondering in my post earlier this week within my devotional lesson on the same day. As I said, I had been procrastinating about answering that […]
August 5, 2020
Being a Writer: Question 6
In April, I was asked by a friend who teaches at a private school to answer her high school seniors’ questions about what it means to be a writer. While these answers were provided for a specific audience, I hope everyone viewing my video responses will learn more about the writing life.
August 4, 2020
“What’s Next?”: The Most Important Question in Life
What do you think is the most important question in life? I confess I’ve been procrastinating about answering this question. I haven’t been entirely sure what the question is. There are a lot of questions we ask or are asked that may or may not be the most important one. If and when we ask […]
August 1, 2020
Summer Reading Challenge: July 5-August 1
Here are the books I read last month. Many were audio books because I was working on projects or listening while walking or driving. I am also reading several Kindle books right now, which I hope to review next month. Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen: Four Stars. I had to get used to the dramatization, […]
July 31, 2020
Major To-Do: Sometimes There Are No Words
Confession: I don’t write every day. Sometimes there are no words. I mean, I can’t find them anywhere. Trust me, I’ve even looked under the couch. Maybe they are in the vacuum, and I threw them away with the dust bunnies. But, then sometimes, dust bunnies find their way into my poems, and the vacuum […]
July 29, 2020
Being a Writer: Question 5
In April, I was asked by a friend who teaches at a private school to answer her high school seniors’ questions about what it means to be a writer. While these answers were provided for a specific audience, I hope everyone viewing my video responses will learn more about the writing life.
July 28, 2020
Major To-Do: The First Thing on the To-Do List
“What do you do, even when you don’t feel like it?” I’m not sure why this question stumped me. It took talking with my mom to figure it out. It required remembering one of the hardest things I have to make my own kids do every day. It is the first thing to be done […]
