Cass Wessel

Praying for Readers

/ donnalhsmith

wessel-HR-8by Cass Wessel

My Canadian friend, Rev. Katherine Burgess, writes the best prayers. Today’s prayer for readers spoke to my writer’s heart. The reason? Readers are among the reasons we do what we do.

Oh yes, we love writing. That flow of ink across parchment, the clicking of the keyboard as words appear magically on the screen in front of us. We simply love to put words down for others to read. The satisfaction that fills us when we complete a project. Even more, we love having our readers respond. Positive responses rock, but negative ones morph into rocks thrown. Not nice . . . besides, good boys and girls play nice, right?

My friend, Katherine, posts a new prayer on Facebook almost every day. I’m grateful for her posts. I pray her prayers, even if I omit stuff because I believe differently. Always, I ask the Lord to change the hearts and lives of those who live contrary to His Word as presented in the New Testament. After all, as another friend’s post read, “forever is a very long time.” So in my mind, I always add a line to her prayers for those who don’t yet know Jesus Christ. I pray they open their hearts to Him, because, eternity is forever. I really, really think withholding the way to heaven isn’t playing nice, so with permission, I’m sharing my friend’s prayer. And that’s my take on writing for today.

A Prayer for Readers
by Rev. Katherine Burgess

I pray, Lord, for readers
 For young readers
Who are still mostly
At the stage of picture books
Who tell stories
Instead of reading them
Who like bring cuddled
While they are listening
To a book being read to them
May they always find a thrill
In reading

I pray for those readers
 Who have just begun
Chapter books
Books with more
Words than pictures
Who now prefer reading
By themselves
May they still want
To share their books
To talk about what they have read

I pray for adults
 Who are often hard-pressed
To find the time to read
In the way they used to
Grant them space
In every day
To spend a few minutes
Or hours
Lost in the world of books

I pray for seniors
 Who may be finding it
Difficult to read
Due to failing eyesight
May there always be someone
To read to them
And to spend time with them

Most of all, Lord,
 I pray that all who read
Will read your word
So that they will find direction
In a world where
Many are lost
Amen

 

Bio: Cass Wessel is a member of ACFW and ACFW Pennsylvania State Chapter who spends her time reading, writing and critiquing stories to win the heart. A multi-published devotional author, she lives in Tionesta, PA. She’s a mother, grandmother and great-grandmother.

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An Unpublished Novel Writer’s Journey

/ donnalhsmith

by Cassandra Wessel

wessel-HR-8After answering a call to write a blog post, I wondered what I, an unpublished novel writer could share. A friend responded, “No one else had your experience. Theirs may be similar, but it’s not yours.”

Gulp. Here goes.

My writing journey began before retirement and included many published devotionals, followed by a few articles in our denominational magazine. After retirement, more devotionals were shared, and I joined a couple of online writers’ groups. An editor from one online group called for submissions and published a few pieces. Three anthologies later, I submitted another devotional to a different acquisitions editor. At this point, four books held my contributions.

Encouraged, I wondered, could I write a novel? I thought, “How hard can it be?” I’d written several term papers, some of them 35 pages long. I’d written, preached, and filed away some seven hundred sermons. I could do this, but I needed to learn more.

I devoured writing books and went to local writer’s conferences. I submitted several pieces to contests and won a couple ribbons. Next, I attended the ACFW Conferences held in Indiana and St. Louis. Both encouraged me. An agent asked for a full manuscript, and then . . . life and death happened. As the kids say, “bummer.”

What’s the take away?

  • Persist. Work at our craft and learn as much as we can. Keep on keeping on.
  • Get a second pair of eyes. Find a critique partner who can give us an objective opinion. Note the operative word, objective. We don’t want a pat on the back when our work stinks.
  • Network online, and join writers’ groups.

These days, my devotionals continue to be published, and my critique partner slashes what my eyeballs overlook…and that’s my take on being an unpublished novel writer, and published devotional author.

Bio:
Cass Wessel is a member of ACFW and ACFW Pennsylvania State Chapter who spends her time reading, writing and critiquing stories to win the heart. A multi-published devotional author, she lives in Tionesta, PA. She’s a mother, grandmother and great-grandmother.