3 Things a Country Music Singer Taught Me About Writing

by Sherma Webbe Clarke | @sdwc8181 

Life lessons are everywhere. Sometimes strangers teach them.

While attending my first ACFW conference in Nashville, Tennessee, my husband and I strolled along the Shelby Street Pedestrian Bridge. We observed a young singer and a cameraman filming a music video. With a guitar strapped against his body, the singer belted out a few lines of a song while performing a choreographed move. An acrobatic move involving taking a leap while he sang and played the guitar. He tried the move repeatedly until he achieved the desired result. Intrigued by the idea that I might be watching a country music star in the making, I lingered. I watched. I listened to him sing.

Two years later, I wonder what rung he has reached on the ladder of stardom. Is he performing at the Grand Ole Opry? Is he paying his dues at a Lower Broadway establishment? Or maybe he’s working in a hardware store and living in his parents’ basement surrounded by boxes of his broken dreams. I'll never know, but I thought he was bold and fearless, qualities he’d need to be successful in the music industry.

As writers, we are just as vulnerable when sending our words out for the scrutiny of readers as a musician performing in front of curious passersby on a bridge. I wondered—am I fearless? Am I persistent enough to pursue my dreams?

Persistence

This summer I had a vulnerable moment in my writing journey. I entered a local playwriting competition, which gave me the opportunity to explore a different kind of writing. The well-wishes of family, friends, and strangers bolstered my morale during an Andy Warhol-ish fifteen minutes of fame. On closing night, I watched the performance with tingly skin and sweaty palms. When another playwright accepted the award for her winning play, I felt defeat churn in my stomach.

At first, I comforted myself with the fact that I had participated. I had tried something new, and for a moment, I felt content. Then I overanalyzed my contribution. Why wasn’t my play good enough? Why didn’t I…? Should I have…? For the next two weeks, disappointment grew, and I wrote nothing. Not even a shopping list. My bubble had burst, and I felt more unsettled than I’d like to admit.

Why do we push aside all of the positive reinforcement we receive to focus on one negative comment or experience?

Then, a church member asked about the competition. “I didn’t win,” I answered. There had been only one winner and the rest of us had lost. Boo-hoo. “So you tied for second,” he said.

Perspective

From that statement, my perspective changed. The chains of failure fell away and suddenly the desire to write returned. Ideas filled my mind. New characters appeared. Second place became a launch pad for possibility. I thought of the singer on the bridge. Perhaps he writes songs late into the night after his shift at Home Depot.

Power

Ecclesiastes 9:10 urges us: Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might. Does that imply we try once and if it doesn’t work out, we surrender? Should we stop writing when an editor points out areas that need work in our stories or when a rejection letter arrives? Jeremiah 12:5 says:

If you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses?

In other words, pursue your goal with power. Every day. Every time. With all your might. 

Sometimes I wish I could talk to the singer on the bridge. And maybe thank him for that moment in time. He is a reminder to “do it with all your might” no matter who’s looking or what Discouragement might whisper into my ear. I needed the picture someone taking a step toward a dream to lock into my memory bank for the days I’m tempted to give up on mine.

Big or small, what step have you taken this week to bring you closer to a goal?

About Sherma . . . 

Sherma Webbe Clarke is a contemporary fiction writer and a 2017 ACFW First Impressions Finalist. Her inspirational writing has been included in Christian devotional books: Grace Notes and Blessed. She loves to take her husband by the hand to explore nearby and far-flung areas of the globe. This wanderlust has its perks. She credits many of her story ideas to these adventures. Quiet, early-morning walks along the railroad trails on her home island of Bermuda provide inspiration when she is homebound.

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DEVOTION: It’s Not Just About Cricket

by Sherma Webbe Clarke | @sdwc8181 

And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed him. Luke 5:11(KJV)

The momentum starts to build in July. A friendly rivalry heats up. Flags wave on cars, lawns, and from storefronts like political candidates. Red and dark blue flags for Somerset versus light blue and dark blue flags for St. George’s declare fan support.

“Hey, bye, you’re wearing the wrong colors.”

“My team’s taking the cup this year!”

Like any staunch St. George’s fan, I don’t wear red in the weeks before Cup Match (the name of the event and the colloquial name for the holiday) to avoid being accused of supporting the Somerset team. The entire community, from bus drivers to shopkeepers to CEOs, engages in good-natured teasing about the other person’s team. After all, a trophy and bragging rights are at stake.

Cup Match enthusiasm is infectious. It’s an excellent time for visitors to mingle with locals and receive first-hand information about Bermuda’s culture. Everyone should go to Cup Match at least once just for the experience. The perimeter of the field fills with spectators, and the pitch is dotted with players in cricket whites. With its bats, balls, and catchers, the game loosely resembles baseball, if I may make that comparison for the benefit of those who are unfamiliar with the sport. Colorful terms such as wicket, silly mid-on, and “Howzat?” (How’s that?) are exchanged for home runs, shortstop, and foul balls. Cricket might appear sedate to the unfamiliar onlooker, but the crowd is another story. Engaged, loud, and sun-kissed spectators share their knowledge of the game with those who wear curious or befuddled expressions.

Emancipation Day Plus Somers Day Equals Cup Match 

Cup Match officially began in 1902, and it falls on the Thursday and Friday before the first Monday in August. The history of Cup Match goes beyond the frenzy of a two-day cricket match. It is comprised of two significant historical events.

The first day of Cup Match is an observance of Emancipation Day, August 1, 1834, when slaves in Bermuda were freed according to the Slavery Abolition Act 1833. Thus began the practice by former slaves to take August 1 as a no-work day. Eventually, the day evolved into a community celebration and swelled into a national treasure.

The second day, Somers Day, commemorates the event when the Sea Venture, captained by Admiral George Somers, ran aground in Bermuda in 1609. Although the survivors of the wrecked ship remained on the Island for 10 months, Bermuda wasn’t settled as a colony by the British until 1612.

Therefore, over Cup Match we remember freedom and discovery.

Discovery and a New Name 

A Christian’s story has similar themes. Can you remember when you discovered or found Christ? Some people can recall the exact time and place. I remember being baptized, publically declaring my decision to follow Him. I rose from the water free in Jesus as he promised in John 8:36: “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed”. He gave me a new name, not Somers Isles or Bermuda, but Daughter of God. He wrote my new name in the Lamb’s Book of Life.

Each day men and women make emancipation proclamations in their hearts. Jesus came to this world in the flesh to set captives free from the bondage of sin. He sends us into the field to tell others about the good news of salvation. When He returns, the loud cry of joy will be raised by His people, not Howzat? but Hallelujah!

Then we will celebrate in our heavenly home for eternity.

Praise God!

Let's chat: What unique holiday do you observe where you live?

About Sherma...

Sherma is a contemporary fiction writer, amateur photographer, reading enthusiast, and wife who often takes her husband by the hand to explore nearby and far-flung areas of the globe. This wanderlust has its perks. She credits many of her story ideas to these adventures, which provide great opportunities for research for short stories and the novel series she is currently working on. Quiet, early-morning walks along the railroad trails on her home island of Bermuda provide inspiration when she is homebound. She has been awarded prizes for short stories written for local publications, and her inspirational writing has been included in Christian devotional books: Grace Notes and Blessed. Sherma is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers.

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