Write the Story of Your Heart: Encouragement for Christian Writers
Only you can write the story on your heart.
Release the fear that tries to hold you back. The monster of anxiety that paralyzes your fingertips, whispers into your ears that you're no good, that the story will never see the light of day. The lies trying to convince you you're wasting your time, because writing isn't a profession to place faith in.
Instead, remind yourself of when you first fell in love with writing. Remind yourself of when the story on your heart first came to life in your imagination, the rush you experienced when you brainstormed and wrote that first chapter.
Remind yourself of why you believe God has given you this gift of writing. To weave sentences together in a way that evokes emotion, paints a picture, brings a film reel to a reader's mind. Remind yourself that, through this story, you could potentially minister God's love and offer healing to wounded souls.
Only you can write the story on your heart.
You have been given the gift of words. To glorify your Father. To partake in the act of creation you inherited from Him. To use this gift as a means of worship and ministry.
Only you can write the story on your heart.
Every writer knows their characters must go through turbulence before a smooth landing. But as we write their scenes of hardship and trial, we wish to reassure to them everything will turn out all right. That this isn't the final chapter of their story. If only they could see the ending, then maybe they would have the motivation to keep going through this chapter.
God is telling you: If only you could see the lives you will touch. The ways He can use your writing gift as a tool to spread His kingdom, or to shed a beam of light into a dark world.
If you could skip a few chapters in your story, you might be amazed what you'll find.
But the only way you will get there is by finishing your book. Taking that next step. Writing the next scene. Risking rejection by entering your manuscript into that contest, or sending it to that agent.
The only way you will get there is by faith and trust. Faith that God will not use this time in vain; trust that He has a plan and a purpose for this gift of yours. Even if that plan is simply to bring healing to your own wounds.
Only you can write the story on your heart.
But the only way it will come to completion is if you write with that goal in mind. If you write with the vision God has implanted within you at the forefront of your mind, knowing that, whether or not you become published, you are writing out of obedience, you are worshipping God through the paintings of your words.
Only you can write the story on your heart.
That's why this time is precious. Guard it. If you can't find the time, create it.
Then, look forward to this writing time with excitement rather than anxiety, because you know it's the bridge between having a book idea and seeing that book in print. It's only through these writing sessions that the story on your heart will eventually come to life through the hearts of your readers as well.
So make the most of it. Find your favorite writing spot. Light your favorite candle. Sip on your favorite coffee or tea. Listen to your favorite writing music.
Open your manuscript and pour your heart and soul into those words. Even if it's messy. Even if the words are nonsensical. And even when the lies and the fears creep into your mind, threaten to put an end to your writing session.
But you'll keep writing until they leave. Because you're reminded that the antagonist in your stories will always try to throw an obstacle into your protagonist's path when they feel threatened by their journey. When they see they're on to something great.
You'll keep going, because you know it's when the protagonist perseveres in spite of roadblocks that they develop endurance, strength, and eventually reach their goal.
Just like David against Goliath--it's only when we run toward the giant that he decreases in size and ultimately becomes defeated.
So keep going. Keep your fingers moving, writing until the fears and lies have vanished, until they've become drowned out by the clicking of your keyboard.
Because God has a plan for the story on your heart.
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Has anxiety/fear held you back from writing your book? If not, are there other obstacles that have prevented you from moving forward? Join the convo in the comments!
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Write the Story of Your Heart: Encouragement for Christian Writers @TessaEmily Hall #amwriting
Thank you for this! It's funny that my bible reading plan today was about David and Goliath. And what I got from it was David refused to allow Goliath to define him. David knew whose he was and he relied on that yo defeat the giant. He trusted God who got him this far.
ReplyDeleteAnd that's what I have to do. Trust that He will meet me when I come to the keyboard, when I step out of the fears and insecurities.
But like you say writing is our form of obedience otherwise we will never see our desire become fulfilled.
Thank you again!
Hey Tessa! You've been tagged for iheart writing!
ReplyDeletehttp://thedepthofmyfaith.blogspot.com/2016/05/iheart-writing.html
Wise words, which I will read again a few times and pray about what action to take.
ReplyDeleteI get paralysed by depression and anxiety quite regularly, and it impacts on my ability to write. Those episodes of weeks to months rob me of motivation and brain power, and when I recover it's hard to remember where I was up to and what the point was ... it's like I need to make myself a cheat sheet to remember how and what and why. Writing can be a blessing and energiser but sometimes it can be a trigger for a mood change. I write a bit through it, mostly in my journal and sometimes self-help articles (for my own benefit, and sometimes for sharing on my encouragement page).
There's a lot of excellent food for thought in what you wrote, so thank you!
For a while I have had numerous plots floating around my head. I'm currently struggling to pick between two stories I've invested a lot of time into. One is about a boy who loses his best friend and he loses value in life; then he realizes that life is a gift, and he's on earth for a purpose, he needs to fulfill. The other is about a girl who has just lost her entire family in a fire. Fueld with anger, she tries to find the man responsible for her pain and suffering. In the story she learns that God has a design for life, and she is obligated to love and forgive, not hate and retaliate.
ReplyDeleteThey're both modern-day stories, I know I can write, but something keeps holding me back. For the first, it's wondering, do I have what it takes to write about a boy's emotions? With the second, do I have what it takes to write about the depth of of human emotion. This second one is probably the most dramatic plot, I've ever drafted. I'd appreciate people's opinion.