Pop-Up ~ Saturday Surprise

Ann Harrison (Part 2)

 

Note:

If you missed Part 1 of Ann’s Interview, you can go to the article and read it

 

I loved this post I found when working on this interview, Ann.

A Prayer for Clarity, spoke to me as a creative artist and writer.  How to find JOY in what you do. This is a powerful podcast.

Listen to Ann’s poem  Here.

In Part 2, we continue where we left off last week in our conversation after Ann read her poem and played her singing bowl on YouTube.

 

Q_Is there one defining moment or experience that brought you to where you are today?

A_Let’s stop and talk about how Music inspires me, especially how I came to find the singing bowl.

I read an article about how the vibrations of a singing bowl is used in music therapy and how the soothing vibrations can be a source of healing for a troubled soul.

Although the singing bowl comes from the Buddhist religion, I personally pray before I play mine, and use it as a source of worship and inspiration. I found several videos and audio recordings of singing bowls, and I have found the vibrations to be different than those of other types of music. I’ve always loved bells and chimes, and after my divorce from my first husband, God taught me how to feel the vibrations of sound and music, and how to determine which vibrations are soothing and healing, and which ones to avoid. I feel that God’s grace and His divine gift of music have brought me to where I am today.

 

Q_What is your favorite aspect about creating books?

A_My favorite thing about creating books is that I get to play! What I mean is, writing down story ideas that God has laid upon my heart is more like play than work, especially when it comes to writing children’s books. I tried to write a mystery novel, but the Lord laid it upon my heart to flip it around and turn it into a children’s supernatural mystery.

 

Q_How do you define success?

A_I used to think that selling tons of books was my meaning of success, but God showed me that it’s not all about how much money I make or how many fans I have, it’s about one simple thing.

If I can touch one life, I’ve done my job, because when you touch one life, you’ve touched thousands. If I get my poetry book in the right hands, that person will tell their friends and their friends will tell theirs etc. That’s the meaning of success for me.

 

Q_Can you describe God’s  calling for your life?

A_This was a tough question, for several years. I knew that I was called to write, but I didn’t realize until last November during National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) that I discovered my true love of writing children’s books. I feel that God has given me a message to share with Children and their parents around the world. I pray that my stories and poems can be used to win souls for Jesus. I’ve also been called more recently to connect with other Christian authors who aren’t necessarily blind, but who share the same passion for writing for the Lord as I do.

 

Q_Do you prioritize tasks when you are creating a book?

A_I’m glad you asked this question. I didn’t have a reliable means of prioritizing tasks that worked until last Saturday, during a Writing Warriors for Jesus boot camp meeting with a couple of my writing friends. During this Zoom call I learned how to create a to do list matrix journal, based off of the Eisenhower Matrix. This list is broken down into four basic categories: urgent tasks, which are time sensitive, important tasks, needs, and wants. You can learn more about this in a blog post  on my website.

Listen to Ann’s discovery of Four Key Components of a to do list Matrix Listen Now.

 

 

Q_How do you stay motivated?

A_Motivation comes through  taking walks around the yard, sitting out in my swing and listening to the wind chimes, reading, and writing alongside other Christian writers on Zoom or watching inspirational posts  on YouTube or Twitter.

Being a part of a Christian writing community is important  because writing can be such a lonely task.

visit inspirational writers with Ann –  Visit now.

 

 

Q_What advice would you give a new writer?

A_Listen to the experts and take the advice that resonates with you. At the end of the day, your writing process is between you and God. Do what works for you and trust your process. One more thing, pray before you write, and once God gives you the words, write from the heart, not the head, because writing from the head can lead to confusion and writers block, because we tend to overthink things when we get stuck in our heads. However, when the writing comes from the heart, that’s when you know that God is leading you down the right path to the story, He has laid on your heart.

 

Q_I recently read Rilke’s  Letters to a young Artist.  What is at the top of your list of advice to an aspiring poet?

A_At the top of my list is this. Never say you “can’t” write poetry.

I said that for years, because writing poetry used to be a struggle for me. When I started taking my poetry writing seriously back in April of 2019, I kept saying “I can’t write poetry, it’s rare for me to write poetry!” Every time I said I can’t, the Holy Spirit said “You can’t, but I can. Every time you say you can’t write poetry, you keep proving that with my help, you can.” When I got that word from the Holy Spirit, I wrote three poems on that day.

My number 1 piece of advice is to remember Philippians 4;13

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

You can’t, but God can!

 

Q_Is there a favorite poem you’ve created?

Why is this poem your favorite?

A_Yes, although it’s hard to pick favorites, like picking your favorite child, my favorite poem is The Flow of Words.

This is my favorite, because it describes how God gives me the words I need to write, to tell my story. This poem can be found in my poetry book entitled The Spirit of Creativity: Inspirational Poems for the Creative at Heart, which is available in paperback and Audiobook on Amazon, and as an eBook on Amazon and other fine retailers. The link above will give you a list of online stores where you can purchase the book.

 

Q_How do you continuously improve your writing skills and abilities?

A_I do this in two ways:

First I continue to improve my skills by simply writing what God has laid on my heart, and through the work that I’ve edited for others. Editing also helps me see me see the mistakes writers make, so I can learn from them.

Second, I improve my writing skills by attending virtual writers conferences, like the Writing Warriors for Jesus writing conference which was streamed on YouTube back in August.

 

Q_Can you describe why you created your most recent book?

A_I felt The Lord calling me to put some of the first poems I wrote together in a book. He gave me some spiritual poems, and some of them were inspired by writing prompts. I wrote this book, to inspire writers and creatives to pray for wisdom and inspiration, and to search their hearts for divine inspiration and let the Lord led them to write what He has laid on their hearts.

 

Q_ What are you working on now?

A_I’m in the middle of working on one of two Children’s books. I’m revising a fantasy chapter book, and I’m also rewriting my mystery and turning it into a Middle Grad supernatural mystery, using some of the same characters I initially created when I wrote the initial mystery/thriller.

 

Q+Where can people find you online?

 

Ann Harrison

Author/professional writer/podcast host

Read Part 1 of Ann’s Interview Here.

Email: Here.

Website: Here.

Podcast URL:  Here.

Social media links:

Facebook: Here.

twitter: Here.

YouTube:  Here.

Pinterest: Here.

Instagram:  Here

Ann’s YouTube channel: Here.

Ann’s Inspirational Journeys podcast:  Here.

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©Lynda McKinney Lambert, 2022. All rights reserved.

The 2-part interview with Ann Harrison was prepared and published at my River Road Studio, the Village of Wurtemburg, in Western Pennsylvania.

It is my pleasure to bring inspiring and educational articles about writers and artists to my readers at Walking by Inner Vision Blog.  I welcome your comments.

Contact Lynda

 

Read MORE about Ann Harrison:  Here.