YOU SHALL NOT PASS

Author Seth Ring asked in a Facebook post, What book quote do you like and why (Okay, he said it better than that, but you get the idea.) I shared one, but then I remembered the scene from Fellowship of the Ring where Gandalf stands at the Bridge of Khazad-dûm. He stands there facing an opponent he doesn't know he can beat, but he stands firm and gives an ultimatum, "You shall not pass." Gandalf has great power but is facing something that could kill him, but because his friends need to be able to escape, he confronts it. 

I hope that I can have that strength. To do what Paul says in Ephesians, "after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then,..." I want to put on the armor of God, and then if I can't do anything else, stand there and tell the enemy, "You shall not pass." 

Yet, as I think this, perhaps there are days when I have that opportunity but miss it. It's because the monsters are huge or scary; they are just there, and I refuse to oppose them because I'm tired, I'm angry, or I just don't care today. Perhaps the little monsters in my life are the ones I need to be fighting so that I can have the courage to face the really important ones later. Maybe those little aggravations are training opportunities that I'm missing. Perhaps, because I'm not training, God isn't assigning me the missions to face and conquer the big monsters.   

Photo by Dalal on Unsplash

Recommendation for Writers

 The bane of my writing has always been my typing/keyboard speed. My thoughts and imagination run far faster than the words I could type.

I had heard about dictation and had tried it a couple of times with various levels of success, or maybe I should say failure. When I finally came across Seth Ring's YouTube videos and then his dictation course, things finally started to click. The first time I wrote over 10k words in a day, I was amazed. As a part-time author, every minute counts, and dictation is saving me a massive amount of that precious commodity, time, that I can never afford to squander.

I, now, have hope that all, or at least many, of the worlds I have imagined can finally be shared with others.

I do want to warn you. Seth's program isn't easy. This isn’t a quick-fix program; it’s more like a gym membership with a ruthless but caring coach. It requires deliberate practice, but if you're willing to put in the work, it will make a difference in the amount of work you can produce. It will help you. It is worth it.

--C. S. Areson, Christian author and fiction writer.

https://bookscribe.thrivecart.com/dictation-fiction-writing/

Photo by Florian Klauer on Unsplash