Short Story Prize & Regretting UK life

When Selah was born I had an opportunity to move to the UK to take some postgraduate courses at Sotheby's Institute of Art in London, while Selah's father attended culinary school. But I became sick after her delivery and never recovered. A dream deferred. A residency not taken. And for the past five years I've been too caught up with rehabilitation, divorce, moving back to Atlanta and Kindergarten to think about it. In fact, my disability brought me back to reading and reporting again. It brought me back to my first love-Christ. And a handsome frenchman that adores my daughter.:)

Well, today I got kicked in the ribs when I read in the Scotsman that yesterday the Edinburgh International Book Festival launched the world's largest award for a short story .

The winner of the National Short Story Prize will receive a windfall of £15,000 with the runner-up pocketing £3,000. In what organisers hope will one day grow to the size and prominence of the Booker Prize, the competition aims to honour the country's finest writers of short stories so is only open to authors with a previous record of publication who are either UK nationals or residents.

See what I mean?

Writing to see what the end's gon' be,
Dee

Deborah Raney's Prayer Gift for Writers

Deborah Raney,author of A Nest of Sparrows and Over the Waters, kindly gives us her personal writer's prayer to use, to accomplish our godly duties as christian writers.

"This prayer is personalized... I hope it might express the fears and desires of other writers who log on to Charis Connection today. As you adapt it for your own situation, I trust God will meet you with the same comfort and peace He gave me that morning. Without him directing our fingers on the keyboard, we are nothing more than noisy gongs and clanging cymbals."

Deborah Raney's Writer's Prayer written July 29, 2002

Father God, quiet my heart and clear my mind this morning, and help me focus on this story You’ve given me to write. Keep me from anything that would distract from the work I need to accomplish, but also let Your Spirit within me discern what is truly a needless distraction and what is important enough that it should distract me. In my striving, never let me put project above people or worldly gain above things that are eternal.

As I write, guard me from my tendency to laziness, Lord. Nudge me to dig as deep as necessary in researching my story; remind me to use all the tools at my disposal so that I handle the language in a correct, yet creative way. At the same time, don’t let me focus so harshly on one “tree” that I never make it through the “forest.”

Lord, I know that as I write this book––a book that won’t be published for many months––even now, You are preparing hearts that will one day read my words. So let every word I write accurately reflect Your truth and Your precepts. Supernaturally imbue my writing with that quality that, by Your Spirit, will woo souls to You. In Jesus’ precious name, amen.

Amen, Deborah. Thanks for today's gift. And thanks Charis Connection for what you are doing.

Writing to see what the end's gon' be,
Dee