Acceptable Words: Prayers for the Writer

by Gary D. Schmidt (Editor), Elizabeth Stickney (Editor)

Overview

Acceptable Words offers prayers that correspond with each stage of the writer's work — from finding inspiration to penning the first words to "offering it to God" at completion. Gary Schmidt and Elizabeth Stickney, experienced writers themselves, introduce each chapter of prayers with pithy pastoral reflections that will encourage writers in their craft.

This welcome spiritual resource for writers includes both ancient and contemporary poems and prayers — some of which were written especially for this volume. A thoughtful gift for any writer, Acceptable Words will accompany writers on their spiritual journey, lending words of praise and petition specifically crafted to suit their unique vocation.

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Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780802868794
Publisher:	Eerdmans, William B. Publishing Company
Publication date:	08/31/2012
Pages:	216
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.30(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Gary D. Schmidt is an English professor at Calvin College, Grand Rapids, Michigan, and a prolific author of children's literature and young adult fiction. His books Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy and The Wednesday Wars each received a John Newbery Honor Award, and his Okay for Now has won a Children's Choice Book Award.


Elizabeth Stickney (d. 2013) was the author of several children’s books, including The Loving Arms of God, Almost Time, One Smart Sheep, and A Long Road on a Short Day. With her husband, Gary Schmidt, she also co-edited a book for adults called Acceptable Words: Prayers for the Writer.

Table of Contents

General Introduction xi

1 The Writer Encounters the World 1

2 The Writer Studies the World 17

3 The Writer Begins 41

4 The Writer's Vision Expands 59

5 The Writer Attends to the Word 79

6 The Writer Finds Joy in the Work 97

7 The Writer Petitions 115

8 The Writer Offers the Work to God 139

The Writers' Biographies 163

Sources and Acknowledgments 180

Index 195

"A Reverie" 198

Editorial Reviews

Walter Wangerin Jr.
author of Letters from the Land of Cancer
"Most writers recognize that writing is more a job than a cry from Heaven. Writing requires a kind of nine-to-five discipline. If it were inspiration alone, writing itself would be its own prayer. . . . The prayers in this book, written by writers of various times and places, are sometimes beautiful, sometimes yearning, sometimes thanksgiving, and sometimes a beating on Heaven's doors. Yet they may be the prayers of all writers in all times."

Lillian Daniel
coauthor of This Odd and Wondrous Calling
"As if writers needed one more justifiable reason to procrastinate, now we have this delightfully compelling collection of prayers. A treasure for writers and those who love writing, this book honors the divine inspiration of writing as well as what laboriously hard work it is. . . . As a preacher, I can testify that this stimulating spirit-filled collection will do significantly more for my midweek writer's block than that fourth cup of coffee ever did."

Scott Cairns
author of Compass of Affection
"Offers an important and wise appreciation of the keenly relational, essentially dialogic practice that is the writer's life. With these matters in mind, writers of any genre will be better equipped for that discipline, and for entering into and participating in the long conversation we call literature."

John Wilson
editor of Books & Culture
"The anthologist's art is underappreciated nowadays, though 'curators' get better press. Whatever term is used to describe the work done in gathering this collection of prayers for writers, all of us who live by attending to words should be thankful to Gary Schmidt and Elizabeth Stickney. They've given us a book that effortlessly encompasses John Donne and John Berryman, Madeleine L'Engle and the Venerable Bede - a choir we're invited to join in praise, lament, and wonder."

Booklist
“Stickney and Schmidt have produced a book that will help creative readers and reflective believers alike find spiritual company in great literature.”
 
Literature and Belief
“This is essentially an anthology of prayers penned by poets, essayists, academics, religious leaders, and devotees from various times, places, and systems of belief. . . . This is not a book of instruction, nor of method, but rather of empathy and community. Ultimately, this book will prove interesting to those who struggle to write, who have cast around for something larger than their own experience and ability to help them create.”
 
Congregational Libraries Today
“The collected prayers, poems, scriptural passages along with the editors’ brief essays, are aimed at helping writers do the work they feel called to do. . . . Prayers and other selections are so varied that no matter what the need or the mood, the reader is likely to din help in these pages. Not only writers will appreciate Acceptable Words; it can be a useful source for prayers and meditations to support creative endeavors of any sort.”
 
Presbyterian Outlook
“Prayer is no substitute for the hard work of writing. But this hard work is now blessed with this splendid resource for those who write and those who pray.”
 
Christian Communicator
“Whether you’re a beginning or advanced Christian writer, prayer is as necessary to your craft as a computer, paper, and printer. If you ever feel at a loss for words when facing a blank screen or piece of paper, Acceptable Words will help you find a prayer to fit your immediate need. . . . And keep a pen or pencil at hand as you read. Underlined words and notes will be helpful when you reread this incredible book.”
 
 
 

From the Publisher