Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Will You Be My Tribe? (part 3)


So many good conversations today!  I'm a guest at Mama:Monk on Patheos for her series, This Sacred Everyday sharing my story of our 15 second ovation for Alex at his graduation a few weeks back.


If you're visiting from Mama:Monk , we're so delighted to welcome you here.  Please don't feel like you're eavesdropping on the conversations -- go ahead and make yourself at home.  Feeling extrovert-ish?  Jump in on the conversation on a comment page.  Feeling introvert-ish?  Find a lovely corner of the room and observe to your heart's content. Everyone's welcome, of course, to subscribe to our weekly conversations over on the sidebar.

Grace and peace of Christ (and a so-glad-to-meet-you hug),
Tamara



If you could write a book -- any book -- what would you write about?


That was one of the assignments I completed after listening to a training video for new writers.  Actually, she suggested we make a list of the Ten Books We'd Write.  To my surprise, I wrote all ten ideas in less than five minutes.  I never even realized I knew what I wanted to write, but there it was -- sitting right in the recesses of my timid mind.


Just for fun, want to make up the title of your imaginary book?  How about the cover art?  Who would you ask to write the book blurbs (or whatever those things are called)?


I've been walking a little bit taller after reading the thoughtful, life-giving words you've shared with me the past two weeks of these little tribe meetings.  Thank you.  I'm receiving your words as gifts, storing them up, pondering them in my heart, moving pieces of the puzzle around trying to figure out what getting serious about writing could look like in this season.  


I'm still uneasy about narrowing my focus down to writing about one thing only.  (some of you agreed so at least I'm not alone!)  Still, I know better than to reject outright the common wisdom of those who've worked longer and harder at this gig.  If nothing else, the sheer limitation of time narrows my focus, whether or not I'd give it permission.  


Also, I'm pretty sure the thought process of paring down words and ideas makes me a better writer.  Which probably makes me a better everything else, too.  In that spirit, gracious tribe, would you mind filling out a little survey?  You can vote for more than one answer, but it wouldn't end up being very helpful if you checked every one.


By the way, there's no rules on how you decide your answer. 


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Joining this tribe is super simple! All I'm asking is that when you see a blog post titled "Will You Be My Tribe" that you'll read it and answer one or more of the questions in the comment box or via email. No pinky promises, pledges or club dues required. 


 As a reminder, today's questions:


  •  If you could write a book -- any book -- what would you write about?
  •  Just for fun, want to make up the title of your imaginary book?  The cover art?
  •  Who would you ask to write the book blurbs?
  •  Complete the survey.  Thank you!

This tribe gathering is sponsored by this blog post from my friend and tribe mate, Dan Keohane:  Tribes and Birthday Presents

And also by a word from my beautiful cousin Robin:


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For those just tuning in, wondering what the word "tribe" has to do with anything: 

Checking off my "Learn to Be A Blogger and Writer" checklist, one of the first recommended books I read was Seth Godin's Tribe: We Need You to Lead Us.  You couldn't accuse the book of overflowing with practical nuts and bolts for people like me, but Godin deserves all the accolades he's got for being inspirational.
   "Human beings can't help it: we need to belong. One of the most powerful of our survival mechanisms is to be part of a tribe, to contribute to (and take from) a group of like-minded people. We are drawn to leaders and to their ideas, and we can't resist the rush of belonging and the thrill of the new."                                                          -- Seth Godin, Tribe: We Need You to Lead Us
So that's my ask:  Will you be my tribe?  I promise I won't hold you to it for life, but maybe for the next few months you could join me in this conversation.  To get some clarity for my own nagging dreams, yes, but we might just discover that the combined sheer genius of our discussion will surprise us.  We might just discover together the thrill of the new.


*Thank you to the passionate Grant and Deb of GrantandDeb Photographers for the sweet picture of Brian and me I used for this post.*

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