Remember Why You Started…

Remember why you started to write? It’s been a few years now since you gave yourself permission to actually say to people, “I’m a writer” without wincing or having to explain or justify why you were gifted with this incredible ability.

You started to write because you knew that is what you needed to do. You knew you were a writer because when you’d had an extremely busy day and had done many things other than writing, you truly felt like you’d achieved nothing that day because you hadn’t put pen to paper.

You’ve typed out thousands upon thousands of words onto Word documents, Scrivener, Evernote, or whatever other writing tools are out there. You’ve got a pile of notebooks that are stuffed full of all your ramblings and scribblings, enough to fill a state library, and you’ve been down the stationary aisle more times than you dare to admit, secretly loving every moment of looking at all the pens, pencils, paperclips, pen holders and oh-so-cute things to put on your desk, (because you’re kinda weird like that).

Those are the good days. The days where all the words seem to flow from your imagination, down through your arms and into your fingertips like a magician performing their greatest trick. And as you sit back and marvel at all the rabbits you’ve pulled out of your writer’s hat and you’re taking a bow while waiting for the applause, you discover a hollow echo deep within your soul.

Then all the words seem to dry up and disappear in a puff of smoke, and no matter how many words you try to conjure up with your magic wand, nothing seems to be working. With all the demands and deadlines, it’s like your imagination has suddenly climbed into a box and your glamourous assistant has taken your magician’s sword and sawn the box in two, showing the audience that your head is hanging out of one box while your imagination is dangling out the other.

We write because we want to be seen, heard, and understood. We agonize over every word, syllable, and comma just to find the essence of what it is we are trying to say, to communicate, to tell the reader exactly what it is we want them to understand. So, why do we lose ourselves in the process? Why do we feel so disjointed at times when we’re creating something good?

C.S. Lewis once said, “The question is not whether we should bring God into our work or not. We certainly should and must. The question is whether we should simply (a) Bring Him in the dedication of our work to Him, in the integrity, diligence, and humility with which we do it also (b) Make His professed and explicit service our job.”

Do you remember why you started this journey of writing? Think back and remember why you started…

I believe it wasn’t because you found a talent that you were good at. I don’t even think it was because you wanted to make a lot of money from it (although, as Seth Godin stated, “Real artists don’t starve” and we do need to eat and pay our bills!)  No, I believe the real reason you find yourself sitting for hour upon hour writing stories, blog posts, poetry and such like, is because you want to show the world who Jesus is, and more importantly, who He is not. You write because someone needs to read a story, poem, blog post about redemption. That is why you started, and that is why you must keep going.

 So, why not write down the reason why you started and put it somewhere on your desk, so you never forget. Keep God at the centre of your work, in the integrity, diligence, and humility as you move all those cute stationery items that you really didn’t need out of the way and let Jesus show you a few things He’s been concealing up His sleeve. Not tricks, heavens no…He just performs miracles.

Wendy xo