Perhaps you are a fellow writer, or blogger.
Perhaps you are a wanna-be writer or wanna-be blogger. If so this post is especially for you.
But let me clarify something I am all too aware of…
I am no seasoned writer. Not yet. Nor am I an editor. Or publisher. Therefore I still have MUCH to learn in this field of writing and blogging and being creative with words.
Yet, I do have a passion to express words through the literary world. (Or perhaps as this culture understands, to express words through the virtual literary world.)
But I need to be honest, this task of writing well and writing truthfully from my heart (which is what I believe makes me a better writer) is not for the faint of heart.
Especially when you are a busy mom. And work part-time at a “real” job. And work part-time at a “non-real” job. And work at doing about a zillion other things that doesn’t get the attention and credit it deserves.
Time for writing becomes slim-to-none. Squeezing ANY extra time to write is a difficulty I know entirely too well.
As I am writing this, I’m beat down from the day. I never got one break from 3 toddlers hanging on me from 5:34 am to 8:04 pm. I just cleaned up the house and am now sitting here at 9:22 pm writing. When I’d much rather be curling up in my bed falling asleep. (For those night owls out there, good for you! That is not a gift nor luxury I have with 3 kids that insist on being early risers. Every. Single. Morning.)
I don’t mean to complain. Don’t get me wrong I love being a mom and everything that goes with it. (Well maybe I would like to experience a shower every day in the oh-so-distant future).
But my soul desperately LONGS to write. Perhaps that’s odd to you… but if you have the heart of a writer, then you know this feeling all too well.
So getting back to the topic of writing (since this is not a blog post about motherhood), I want to share with you some tips I’ve learned in my writing adventure so far:
Rule #1) You need to love writing. If you are going to be a writer, or have any desire to be one, you really need to enjoy the process of writing! It may sound cliché but honestly writing should bring you joy. Pleasure. Excitement. Or enable some sort of passion to voice these jumbled up words in your head onto paper—at least it’s how my words often look before they get typed out.
Rule #2) You will ALWAYS have a critic—but it doesn’t mean you are a horrible writer. I tend to sway into the negatives about my writing. Yes I could be better at grammar. Or punctuation. Or the way I word ideas onto paper. Yes I could sit here all day editing my piece that I’m hammering out to you right now until it is perfect (which you all know I don’t have time for anyways)—and STILL I will find an error. Or find something I should have worded better. If I actually had the time to do all that (which I don’t) I would never post anything ever! So get over your fears of those badgering bullies out there and write what’s on your heart regardless of what others will think about your writing.
Rule #3) Be careful and honest with your words. Ok so I know I just said get over your fears and write to your hearts delight, yet I’ve realized there’s also a need for balance—which includes being careful to write things well enough to get your point across correctly. Yet be bold enough to still click “submit.” Be truthful with your words, and don’t write anything that you don’t believe to be true. Or if your not sure about an idea, admit that you don’t really know what to believe but you are opening up the post for discussion instead. Just remember, what you write about can stick with you. So be true to yourself. Of course your statements about certain things could very well change in the future with more knowledge over time or a new experience with something. You can always change your stance on things, yet I’ve found that the effects of the original stance may still stick with your readers over time.
Rule #4) Writing is not as easy as it looks. There are so many different types of writers out there. Each type of writing style has its challenges. For me the crafting of my words is so key capturing my audience and helping them understand the point I’m trying to make. There needs to be some raw talent to becoming a great writer (in my opinion). I can learn all the grammatical and punctuation mumbo jumbo I want, yet creatively writing words that grabs people’s attention and sparkles in their heart is a whole other category of writing that is difficult to teach. Writing is hard. Writing clearly (without becoming too wordy) is just as tough. Yet it can be done! Be patient with yourself, like I have been, and over time you will find the writing style that suits you and become more bold in your writing endeavors.
Rule #5) Read LOT’S of books. I’ve realized over the past 3 years since birthing 3 children, my time spent reading had become slim to none—well let me clarify, reading anything other than Dr. Suess children’s books or any book for 3 years old and up. Also this does not include reading time spent on a low crafted post such as “How to turn your dull office space into an eloquent writing retreat space!” Buy a few kindle books or paper bound one’s that actually have depth and well-crafted words in them to help hone in your writing abilities. My lack of reading good and challenging books over the past couple years has affected my ability to write with proper grammar, spelling, and punctuation. But you know what? All that is about to change for me (see my stash of new books for the year below?)
With all this said, don’t give up!
I’m telling you this just as much as I’m telling myself.
This writing stuff is no easy business… BUT! You have potential. You can do this. Even if everyone thinks you are crazy or weird to be pursuing something like writing a book, or creating curriculum content for a ministry, or (even crazier) public speaking about the words you’ve crafted in your writing content. Do what God has placed in your heart to do. Use the talents you’ve been given. If you have a passion and talent for something (like writing), go for it!
