Blogger: Rachelle Gardner
I was having lunch with a writer friend of mine, and she didn’t seem like she was in the best place emotionally. “I don’t know if I’m on the right path. I’m starting to question whether writing is really my calling,” she said.
“Why?” I asked.
“Because some days… it just isn’t fun.” (She said this with a straight face.)
“Hmm.” I had to think about that for a moment. “Is your marriage fun everyday?”
“Mostly, but…um, no.”
“So… every time it’s not fun, do you question the entire marriage? Do you consider divorce?” I asked.
“Of course not.”
“Well, maybe your path as a writer is similar,” I surmised. “When it’s hard, you try and solve the immediate problem, but you don’t question the whole thing.”
“But…” she wondered, “I thought God is supposed to give us passion for the things He calls us to?”
“Yes… are you passionate about your husband?” I asked.
“Sure.”
“Every day???”
She laughed. “No, not everyday. I get your point.”
I think your calling to be a writer is more than a feeling that shifts with the wind. Once you decide this is your path, avoid using every roadblock as a reason to question it. Instead, look at whether your calling is being confirmed.
What are some ways to know you’re on the right path?
- Writing fills you with an inexplicable sense of fulfillment and rightness, apart from the question of getting published.
- You know your writing’s improving.
- Someone who understands writing has given you encouragement.
- You’re taking small steps toward publication.
- Rejection letters are getting nicer and more complimentary.
- Your critique group is saying good things and they know what they’re talking about and you don’t think they’re blowing smoke.
- You’ve published something smaller like a magazine article or a contribution to a book.
- You’ve got an agent interested in your work.
Unless you have a total lack of anything resembling confirmation… stop questioning your calling and get back to work!
Have you questioned your calling as a writer? What led to the questioning? How did you resolve it?
Great post, Rachelle! I suspect you’ve stiffened a lot of backbones with this one.
* Ever since my life started going disastrously wrong a few years ago, what with illness, bankruptcy, and other assorted adventures, I’ve been thrown into questioning nearly everything I once thought was certain. And so much of looking back rated my life largely a waste. Good intentions, yes, but inept execution.
* And writing…it fills no ‘need’, comes hard to me (both physically and mentally), and I score a zero on the list you’ve given for signs of the right path.
* The stuff I write, however, is finding an audience. I don’t follow the stats for my blog, but I know the numbers keep going up. And recently I got a comment from a lady whose husband is a combat veteran, and who said that my short e-book “PTSD And The Holidays” helped her to understand. If she were the only one who ever read anything I wrote, it would have still been all worthwhile.
* It’s not about a following. It’s about the one reader who says, “You made a difference in my life.”
Andrew, I sense you have plenty of reasons for knowing you’re on the right path! And I love your acknowledgment that it’s about that ONE reader who finds what they need in your writing. I often talk to writers about that.
I understand the looking back and seeing “a waste” but, again, it’s about the others you’ve touched and encouraged. Those in whose life you made a difference. There are plenty of those, and hence, “waste” becomes “worth it.’
Andrew,
I have an idea you are helping more people than you know; it’s just they don’t take the time to let you know that. Your writings about PTSD and caregiving go into territory not usually covered, but people need to read what you have to say.
Yes.
Negative, by the bushel.
Haven’t yet.
Keep working!
God created me to write. I understand that. But every now and then, I throw a tantrum or pitch a pity party, “Don’t wanna do it!” God sits back, lets me blow off my head of steam, and then leans close. He gives me the slightest hint of a smile and whispers, “There now. Get back to work.”
*And I do.
Sounds just like God, Shirlee. 🙂
If I don’t write, I feel like I will explode. I constantly question my motives. Am I writing to make myself feel better or to meet a need of my reader and help them take a step further in their journey? As I’ve made a habit of asking this question, I seem to embrace the title of writer more easily.
Becky, I’m not sure but I suspect that even if your writing strictly served the purpose of “making you feel better,” it would still be a worthwhile, God-ordained endeavor.
But I’ve seen your writing, and I’m confident it will also eventually meet the needs of others.
Great post, Rachelle. And, I appreciated the analogy you made. It’s such a good reminder that writing (or anything worth doing) isn’t always easy, doesn’t always make me happy, and doesn’t always “feel good.”
*I have questioned my calling as a writer. Especially a few years ago. I was feeling discouraged about writing, and I had prayed that God would show me if I was supposed to keep with this or not. Shortly after that, I finaled in two contests. I was so encouraged by this confirmation from the Lord that I was on the right track. When I feel discouraged, I look at the things God has allowed me to do, learn, and accomplish. I don’t rest on these, but I remember them and keep moving forward.
I love that story of the confirmation you received! I’m impressed by your persistence. It’s amazing how much work a calling can be, isn’t it?
Yes, yes it is. 🙂
Indeed, it seems all I do is question my calling as a writer. It’s gotten so bad I don’t even mention it to my friends or writing mentors anymore. I have recently completed my third book and have been overwhelmed with everything I’m “supposed” to do to build a writer platform. It has frozen me to the point I haven’t done anything writing-wise in a couple of months. I confided in a writing friend (coincidentally, one of your clients) and she told me to take it easy on myself. Pick one thing and start with that. But I stopped everything. And I’m miserable. I work a full time job outside the home, though, and I realized that it gets this way every fall. Writing is nearly impossible during those times because of work demands. So I will re-evaluate and start anew. Thank you for this post. And that list you wrote? Every one of them applies to me (except for the one about the critique group because I don’t have one). Thanks again.
Toni, it’s smart to realize and accept that there are certain seasons in which we aren’t going to accomplish all we want. Sounds like New Year’s will always be a good time for you to re-evaluate and start anew, after a crazy autumn.
Are you writing fiction or non-fiction? Either way, I encourage you to work towards mastery in writing, and go ahead and start the process of entering contests and/or submitting your work to agents/publishers. Don’t wait for the platform to be built. That can end up to be a handy excuse that keeps you from moving forward. Start getting out there!
Thanks, Rachelle. I write fiction. I started sending a few query letters to some agents, but then I stopped when my full time job became even fuller, if you know what I mean. I do intend to start fresh in January. Thank you for your kind response.
Rachelle, thanks for the post, which I found encouraging right about now. Writing ceased to be fun “all the time” for me right after I got my second contract and discovered this was…(gasp)…a job, not a hobby. Thanks for sharing.
You’re welcome. 🙂
Sorry to be the bearer of the “bad” news that writing was actually your second entire career, not just a hobby like golf.
Probably easier than golf, though!
After playing off and on for more decades than I want to count, I’ve decided that golf was too hard for me in the first place–but I keep playing. So why not keep writing? Thanks.
I’ve certainly questioned my calling. And I love your analogy. I guess I’d compare questioning my writing to questioning my faith. In my late teens and early 20s, I continually questioned my faith. That led me to delve into Bible study. And I fell in love. Doing the thing, walking the walk changes everything. Doubts fall to the wayside. The same with writing … when you do the thing, walk the walk, fall in love with your characters or your story … the doubts seem to fall away. Because your focus is where it should be. Not questioning, just doing. I suppose I’ll always have trouble taking on a title, but no doubt, I’m writing. 🙂
Shelli, the “falling in love” approach is wonderful! What a great way to look at it. You delve in, keep going, and instead of questioning it, you’re falling more and more in love with it. Thanks!
I’ve published professionally for years in my research career, but I never thought of writing as a “calling.” It was just an essential part of the job. I started writing fiction the last Friday of September in 2013. The story materialized in my mind, and the words started to flow. They were in omniscient narrator style, but I’ve fixed that by pouring time and energy into learning the craft and totally rewriting to the contemporary style. Since I retired in April, 2014, I work at least 8 hours a day on my novels or on my websites that I’m building as platform. (Odd that we write platform with 8 letters when it really is a 4-letter word.)
*When I was in the hospital with a cracked pelvis and no laptop, the worst part was not being able to write. Good thing they only kept me in for two nights! I guess there’s an obsessive-compulsive strain in me, but I bet there is in most writers.
*What discourages me most is how slow it is to build platform and how to market the novel I’ve just published. I’m a wordsmith, not a business person. But if that’s what it takes to share my novels with readers who’ll enjoy them, I guess I’d better embrace platform and marketing as callings, too.
Carol, it seems your recent accident provided at least one tiny silver lining… the recognition that “the worst part was not being able to write.”
Praying for your continued healing!
Thanks for the encouragement Rachelle. I’ve been reading the blogs here for some time and find them helpful, but this one was especially timely, and I wanted to say thanks.
For me, I can’t question my calling. Writing is how I make a living. What I question sometimes is whether the novel that’s half in my head and half on paper is worth taking my precious non-paid writing time to complete … Past the fun, creative part of getting all the ideas down and into the pain-in-the-arse part of making it all work together and wondering: is it even doable? Then I think of my sweet, mixed-up hero Tommy and his brilliant no-nonsense foil Jack and I can’t leave them hanging!
I love that. Your characters need you! That’s as good a reason as any to keep writing. 🙂
I don’t think about quitting writing more often than once a day. Except on weekends, when I’m really writing. Then it’s twice a day.
Keepin’ it real, David. I like that. 😉
I haven’t questioned my calling at all, but I’ve questioned my current WIP. It has taken SO VERY LONG to even finish it — and the first draft STILL isn’t done. Rather than wondering about my calling, I think it’s more wondering “is it worth it” and “do I have what it takes” and the fear creeps in of “What if I write this and put it out there an no one reads it, or worse, they read it and hate it?”
I understand my calling enough to know that it doesn’t hinge on the reaction or opinions of others, but at the same time I feel like there’s a hint of truth in those question.
Jennifer, the fear is real, and it’s smart to acknowledge it. None of us wants to waste our time. Just keep being true to yourself, and true to the work. There is some kind of purpose to it all.
What a great post, Rachelle! Writing IS hard but other jobs I’ve had were hard too. I didn’t quit just because it was hard. Thank you for your encouraging words!
I’ve never made much money from my writer and probably never will, but several times I’ve found out something I wrote made a big difference in the life of someone who read it. That shows me I’m called to be a writer.
I can think of a lot of things to be doing that would be a lot less fun than writing on writing’s worst day. Fun is often a happy byproduct of the things we choose to do (or have to do) but it’s not the point. Of anything eternal. Heaven will be fun. Until then it’s about the things that deepen us and make us grow and draw us closer to Jesus. Sometimes hard things. Including writing.
What a fabulous post, Rachelle. I’ve never thought of it that way. Thankfully, I’ve never questioned my writing. It’s a true blessing because it’s what I escape to when I am questioning other aspects of my life.
This post was such an encouragement! Going down the list saying “yes, yes, that one too” was like a warm hug. It’s okay if it’s hard, I’m not alone, and off I go to get back to work!
Thanks for this. The marriage analogy is powerful. It’s not always fun or easy but I’m confident I’m where I need to be. So it is with writing. Great reminder, Rachelle.
thanks i need that !
Great piece!