Blogger: Wendy Lawton
Location: San Francisco Writer’s Conference
Weather: Rainy and 49º
This week I’ve touched on some of the subjects that make us cringe: money and the unfairness of compensation; success or the lack thereof; and those sales numbers that follow us like a piece of toilet paper stuck to a shoe. How’s that for a cheery week of subjects? But forewarned is forearmed. We need to be proactive and realistic if we are serious about a writing career. And among those of you reading this blog, there will be many whose careers will prosper despite the odds.
If a dabbler—someone who’s not all that serious about writing—were to read this, they’d turn tail and run. So why do we keep at it? I think the answer is, we have no choice. We’ve been called to write. The following paraphrase is my own mission statement: “To write what I have heard, and what I have seen with my own eyes; what I have watched and touched with my own hands: the Word who is life—this is my subject.” (Paraphrase of 1 John 1:1)
Now it’s your turn to share. I’d love to hear why you write. Use the comment section and tell us what it is that makes you keep telling stories or writing books.
Because telling me not to write would be like telling me not to sleep… trust me, I’d be crabby.
I wrote my non-fiction book after the death of my first wife because I truly felt God calling me to help make something good come of the event. As I struggled to learn how to write (something I thought I’d learned in high school–wrong!), several people encouraged me to try my hand at fiction. I found it both challenging and utterly fascinating. Now I can’t imagine not writing. If I never sell another novel or magazine piece, I’d still be at my computer on a daily basis.
The tagline on my business card is 1 John 1:4–“We write this to make our joy complete.” You’re right. We write because we can’t imagine not writing.
Great topic. I’ll be sure to check back and read the answers of others.
For now, I write because I love it and because God instilled in me the desire to write. And here I am today, six novels later.
Sure, none are published, but what God has taught me through the process can’t be measured.
So, that’s what keeps me going.
I’m writing a novel series because I want to create characters I love and others will love– characters who carry us along with them through their lives and whose thoughts and actions involve us so completely that we sigh with fulfillment and with sadness when the last page comes.
Because I HAVE to write. I’ve got things I want to express and stories I want to tell. Things to say and worlds to build. Situations to create. People to imagine. Information to impart. Thoughts to share.
I work a day job as an editor and sometimes writer. All day long, working with words and pages and copy and deadlines.
And yet I still come home and sit down and write for a few more hours.
Why do I do it? See above. If I don’t get this stuff inside me OUT, I’ll explode. That would make a terrible mess and would upset my wife. While I don’t mind making a mess, I DO mind upsetting my wife.
I have to too. Or else it just burns a hole in my brain, heart, body. I was even writing tax expenses in a notebook yesterday and thought, “Oh, it feels so good to write with my purple pen!”
Currently I am writing because God called me to write, not for myself, but for others. I would certainly choose to share something other than the story of our bankruptcy if it were up to me but He has made it clear that my experiences are not for me alone. They can shed new light on a Never-Changing God.
God give me the right words so I can boldly explain Your mysterious plan. (Ephesians 6:19 NLT)
I write for lots of reasons. In a nutshell:
Spiritual reason: God calls me to the computer and my hand-written journal to write for the people, whoever they are, who will read my stuff.
Practical reason: I get really, really cranky when I don’t. If I don’t write, I suffer from intellectual/emotional constipation.
Bottom line: I love it.
Why do I love to hear the reasons people write? I guess it’s because that’s when we realize we are kindred spirits.
And Eric, I’m so glad you avoid upsetting your wife. This is a good thing!
As someone posted earlier 1John 1:4 is a motto I live. God has given me a need to write. If you told me not to wirte it would be like telling me not to breathe. I count it a joy to follow God’s leading. However challenging it may be.
Because every time I try to quit, as in,”You know Lord, I’d be a lot happier if I didn’t have this burning desire,” I get confirmation without 24 hours I’m to continue.
I’ve seen the Lord do too many good things with words–but it works best if I remember I’m a scribe. 🙂
Wendy,
Your posts this week have been enormously helpful to me, an aspiring novelist. I had a light-bulb moment reading Monday’s post where you explained why a big advance could be detrimental to a long-term writing career (note to self: be careful what you pray for). Rest assured, the obvious time you invest in writing and posting this information makes a difference.
I want to believe I’m called by God to write, and I certainly feel drawn to the keyboard at all hours of the day and night, mentally nudged in front of a train of thought and then, sometimes, thrown from the train. What if no one reads my musings? What if there’s no advance, big or small? Okay, God. At this point in my life, that’s okay. Writing still serves a purpose. I think most of all I write because it forces me to think. It’s like working a jigsaw puzzle with all the remarkable pieces God has supplied along my journey.
I write because I love to read. I’ve shared great stories–understand my two books are based on real life heroes, so I’m not patting myself on the back. I have more great stories to share in the future. However, the desire to share great stories and the actual writing, revising, editing, selling, and promoting of great stories does not necessarily follow. But I also relish the challenge, and that spark is from God.
I write because I try…I’ve been trying to write well for years and have never really captured it yet. I love to read and the written word. I love the feel of books and magazines in my hands. I enjoy the challenge of finding the right imagery and words to convey the idea or feeling. I write because I was created by God to do so. I feel compelled, just as others feel compelled to make money! 🙂
Art, man.
I got art burning in my bones and writing sets the fire free.
The desire to write started in my teens. I kept a journal and wrote poetry about God and boys. But circumstances changed my focus, and I put writing aside. I didn’t realize I had buried a God-given gift. Eight years later, God spoke to my heart through the parable of the talents. I was that unfaithful servant who buried his talent in the ground. I felt a figurative tap on my shoulder and sensed God telling me, “Dig it up.” When I’m tempted to question the work God’s given me, I remember that gentle tap. I don’t ever want to bury the gift again.
I always had a desire to write from the time I learned to read. But God basically had to back me into a corner to get me to do it. I’ll start querying as soon as the synopsis is done.
I write because I like stories and because I enjoy words, the music they make and the subtle, powerful ways they work.
Mostly, though, I write because I believe it’s one of the things I’ve been given to do to the best of my ability to glorify God.
In the movie Chariots of Fire, Eric Liddell said, “I feel God’s pleasure when I run.”
That’s why I write.
I write out of obedience, because I believe that is one of the callings God has given me–which is why somedays are harder than others–I don’t always feel like being an obedient servant!
And I write because it’s the best method I know to figure out who I am, and how to solve problems and become a better person. Somehow, the words on a page, slow words that can be examined over and over, and altered and clarified, help me get my mind around a thought–even when it’s fiction–even when it’s a children’s book…
And then I write because of my love of language–just to see words bounce around on a page, to play with alliteration, to make music without using notes…
Why write? I’ve always told myself if there’s anything else in the world I’d rather do than write – fly the space shuttle, sing opera, become pregnant (I’m a guy) – for God’s sakes DO IT. Writing’s darned demanding, but I love it, especially if it helps someone. That’s what Gotta’ Eat, Can’t Cook: “Show Me How” Picture Book Cooking is all about.
I write because I can. I’m not good with numbers so accounting didn’t make much sense. I will never be a great chef. (My kids still remember the spinach lasagna roll-up fiasco.) A pilot with vertigo just creates uncomfortable situations for everyone. And being a wet-nurse is simply not the career choice it used to be.
But I’ve always been a writer. I’ve always loved the feel of a good book or the potential in a ream of blank paper. I love seeing the words fit together smoothly.
1 Peter 4:10-11 says “Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ.”
So that’s what I aim to do.