It Starts With An Inkling…

In Bruce Wilkinson’s wonderful 2003 book, ‘The Dream Giver’ he says that every dream starts somewhere. He believes that “when you have a dream it starts with an inkling, a cluster of interests, a longing that won’t go away.” And in the hints and whispers of faraway thoughts that beckon us to be brave and pursue the dream of writing for a living, we haven’t the faintest idea where to start. However, if you look hard enough, you’ll find that it starts with an inkling…

Years ago, when I first starting writing, I needed to find a quiet place to write. It wasn’t easy writing at home with my husband working shifts and my two kids needing my attention. I’m not the sort of writer who can write in the hustle and bustle of café settings. I need space to think, to breathe, to create. One day I decided my desk had to move so I could write in peace. So, I hauled my desk and swivel chair into our walk-in-wardrobe. Honest to God! We had a very small house, and every room was occupied so there was nowhere else I could find some uninterrupted quiet time. Surrounded by a thin layer of dog-haired, beige coloured carpet, rails of clothes, boxes of old schoolbooks, drawings, certificates, and baby memories of my kids, I wrote my first book. Now, this book may never see the light of day, but it was in those moments, months, years of writing in that cramped, hot cupboard, that the foundations of my writing developed. In amongst the clothes and boxes of family memories, I had an inkling, a cluster of interests, a longing that just wouldn’t go away. I didn’t know any writers. I didn’t know writing conferences existed, and I hadn’t discovered my own writing style yet.

Fast forward to today, where I live in a different house with a view of the ocean from my bedroom window as I write. My kids are now adults and my husband no longer works shifts. (Although the thin layer of dog hair remains. Now on floorboards, not beige coloured carpet!) No longer surrounded by boxes of old schoolbooks but the fellow writer’s who’ve become good friends, all through my attendance at the Omega Writer’s Conference. The weekly blogs that I started writing in my walk-in-wardrobe have now turned into podcasts and a YouTube channel, reaching out and inspiring more people all over the globe.

However, through the long journey of discovering my writing voice, I’ve had to battle with insecurities, self-doubts, and rejections. I sometimes had to force my backside down on my swivel chair and write until the words flowed out of my soul freely. I’ve needed to get serious about being a Christian writer and seek God more, read my bible more, and pray more so I’m in tune with what God wants me to write. And throughout those hidden years of putting one word in front of the other, I heard God whisper, “My grace is sufficient for you.” Writing isn’t an easy road to travel and if you think you can do it alone, you can’t. You’ll need fellow companions to help you along your journey toward your dream of being published.

In Annie F. Downs’ book, ‘100 days to brave’ she reminds the reader that, “It is scary to be who you’re meant to be”. She’s right. It is scary when you’ve spent your whole life pretending to be someone you’re not. Working a mirid of jobs or a chosen career that just doesn’t seem to cure that itch of wanting to write. That urge you’ve found buried under a pile of insecurities deep within your soul. Nevertheless, the inkling, the thought, the longing that helps you to believe that God has created you for something much bigger than yourself pulls you toward the unwritten words that are found in the whispers of the blank pages, the untold stories that beckon us to keep moving forward. However, if you don’t step out and chase this inkling, this thought, this longing that won’t go away, you’ll never discover the plan and purpose God has for you that could change your world, and in the process, change other people’s worlds. Because as Sarah Jakes Roberts preaches, “They’re waitin’ on you”.

I have always been cheered on by my incredible family, but I am also cheered on now by a little group of brave-hearted writers who meet in a local café. These people encourage and inspire each writer who joins the group as we pursue our collective dream of seeing our words in print. The writer’s group I now lead, which was birthed at the Omega Writers Conference in Sydney, Australia, is called, ‘The Inklings of the ‘Gong’. This group of fellow inklings gives me confidence and helps me to become braver in my pursuit of becoming a published author. Bruce Wilkinson was right, a dream does start with an inkling, and I do hope and pray as you pursue your passion of becoming a published author, that you find a fellow inkling, a cluster of writers who will lead you towards your God-given dream and purpose.

Your success as an author does not depend on whether you write in a walk-in-wardrobe with a view of two rails of clothes, or in a bedroom with a view of the ocean. Your success comes from within. It comes from God being Sovereign over every situation and every circumstance you find yourself in. It comes from determination, grit, and a belief that the inkling, the cluster of interests, the longing that just will not go away, is God leading you on the right path, and let His glory be shown to others through your words.

By God’s grace, you are an overcomer, and as Romans 8:27-28 reminds us, ‘God, the searcher of the heart, knows fully our longings, yet he also understands the desires of the Spirit, because the Holy Spirit passionately pleads before God for us, his holy ones, in perfect harmony with God’s plan and our destiny. So, we are convinced that every detail of our lives is continually woven together to fit into God’s perfect plan of bringing good into our lives, for we are his lovers who have been called to fulfill his designed purpose.’ [TPT]

Wherever you are on your writing journey, keep going. And remember, it starts with an inkling…

Wendy xo