04 May 2015

Writers Write

Wow, where to even begin? The past few days have been awesome (if tiring) and even more awesome stuff is coming up. My mind is in a bit of a whirl, really. :-)

First off, on Saturday, one of my favorite artists/writers, the esteemed Andrew Peterson, came to my church to do a talk on songwriting (which obviously related to storytelling as well) and then a concert that night.

Oh, what a day that was.

I could really go on about how amazing that was, but I am trying my best not to bore you. So I'll just let Andrew speak for himself through his music--one of my favorite songs of all time, and the one he finished the concert with, and then I shall move on to the point of my post.




In fact, if you listen to that while you read the remainder of the post, it'll probably make my words seem awesome. Either that or really lame. -_- ;-)
 
So.
 
Writing.
 
You know, I've found that the more that I write, the harder it is. Not to scare all you wannabe writers off, but, well, it's true. Writing is a bit of a step of faith, every single time you sit down to the computer.
 
Andrew Peterson compared it to gardening. It's a lot of work, a lot of dirty work. And most the time it's not fun.
 
But writing, like a garden, bears fruit.
 
As we sat down at the lunch table with a girl we didn't know (this creating community thing is sometimes super hard for us introverts, but yet, so worth it) we bungled through conversation until I realized that we had connected. We were writers. True, she was a historical fiction and time travel kinda gal while I've got myself buried in a Steampunk book, but that didn't matter one bit.
 
She laughed at our shared, current problem of writer's block and said, "My sister keeps sending me memes about how writers are supposed to WRITE, ya know? And I just say, 'I AM GOING TO!'" I chuckled over my glass of sparkly pink liquid (not sure what it was but it was tasty) and replied, "I feel ya."
 
But those memes have a deep truth in their rather irritating message. Writers write. Just as gardeners garden.
 
Andrew said (because he says things so much better than I do), "If you want to grow weeds, do nothing."
 
But I don't want to grow weeds with my writing. I don't want to wrangle through a mess of untrimmed plots and choked out characters when I occasionally do sit down to write because I've caught some sort of "Spring Garden Fever" as it were.
 
Writers write.
 
Every day.
 
Most of it will probably be rubbish. But gardens don't bear fruit overnight. They don't even sprout in one day. You tend that tender shoot day after day, through rain and hail and big boots and children's fingers digging where they shouldn't dig, through every voice in your head that causes this terrifying unbelief that someday something tasty or beautiful will grow.
 
It takes daily work to cultivate our stories.
 
Now, this is the part of the post where I pledge that I will write every day or challenge you to do the same.......
 
But I am suddenly overtaken by a strange beast and am swept off to an adventure beyond imagination!
 
(Eh, I'm stalling this because no matter how inspired I am to be a writer, it's still hard to write and I'm also a lazy bum ;-))
 
 
 
But yet...
 
Here's to writer's writing. I know there are going to be days where I don't write. But I'm going to give it my best shot. I am going to write Beyond the Burning Sky (my current WIP) and to the best of my ability, I am going to write every day, whether it be BtBS or poetry or random observations or whatever.
 
But more than that, I am going to constantly turn my work over to the best Gardener of them all--for God is my stronghold, my strength, and all my words and without His grace I wouldn't be a writer at all.
 
Soli Deo Gloria!
 

13 comments :

  1. THAT SONG MADE ME CRY IN THE CONCERT. Honestly, //any// song after Queen of Iowa made me cry. XD Things not to do when I'm crying:
    -give me hugs because they make me cry harder
    -mention tears or water
    -cry
    -take pcitreusres of me?????? *couldn't type pictures so gave up*

    XDD

    BUT OH MAN. Yes, yes, yes. Ugh. I need Luthar, by the way. *pretends as if we didn't make the agreement that I'd write my Sam & Cally book to get Luther*

    *cries*

    *doesn't write it*

    I LOVE YOU HANNAH JOY

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I knowwwwwwww. So good.

      Things I do anyway:

      -give Cally hugs. XDDDDD

      I haven't been writing in Luthar at the moment. BtBS has overtaken me. XD But at some point.

      And as long as you send me whatever you're writing I shall be happy. XD

      I LOVE YOU CANDENCE DECLAN.

      Delete
  2. OMG YOU GOT TO SEE ANDREW PETERSON THAT IS COOL. I bet you flipped. I can see you flipping. It would have been hilarious. XD

    mm that's a good analogy, comparing writing to gardening, I see you agree and concur.

    Get writing, girl. Just do it. Hahaha.

    *snort because Baymax*

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well, yeah, I pretty much flipped. Then I talked to him and I literally almost fainted or started bawling right then and there. XD IT WAS SO AMAZING.

      I know. I need to. I did yesterday. I shall try today. (don't go all Yoda on me. "Do or do not. There is no try." I know. XD)

      Haha yussss Baymax.

      Delete
  3. YOU NEED TO LET ME ONE DAY READ YOUR BOOK, HANNAH JOY!
    Otherwise, I shall just die of curiosity. *dramatically throws self onto the floor* <3

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. OKAY I WILL TRY. It's not terribly amazing right now, but I really do hope that after lots of revision it will be worth reading. :-)

      Haha, don't die. *throws chocolate and N.D. Wilson books at you to appease you*

      Delete
  4. I love posts like this but they always make feel slightly *uncomfortable* because what am I doing while I read these posts? NOT writing :) Thanks for the reminder! And that's so darn exciting that you got to hear Andrew Peterson! His Wingfeather saga is pretty incredible:)

    Chloe | Curious Ramblings

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. HAHA! So true...... Andrew Peterson is INCREDIBLE! I'm so glad you've read his books because, man. Yes. So good. I bawled so incredibly hard at the last one.

      Delete
  5. This is so true! I'm not the most lovely writer in the world-- in fact, I look at the first drafts of my novels and I cringe so so so so so so *insert this long montage of "so"s* hard and then squish my belly button like Baymax does. ^.^

    I don't garden, the analogy is very much true. Writing, unlike garden, doesn't have weed killer (ASDNFJDAFDOAFNDOA DARN YOU WEEDS!). Well, I must go. I forgot to go and follow your blog after I heard about it on Jess's. I shall go find the follow button in the downstairs office

    *bows*
    *leaves the room*
    *trips*
    *says "Water tribe," to make it alright*

    xoxo Morning
    http://theworldthroughmywindowsill.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey Morning! Yeah, I wish there was something I could just spray all over my "writer-weeds" and they would just....poof....disappear. As the Thompsons would say, "[Writing] is not all glamour and guns; there's an awful lot of paperwork to be done." ;-)

      And I don't think I've followed your blog yet! FAIL. I WILL GO DO THAT NOW.

      Delete
  6. This post is pure perfection.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. And for some reason my computer is being really weird and I can't follow your blog. I'll try again tomorrow though.

      Delete
    2. Nine! Thank you! And that is odd... perhaps try clicking the little blue squares next to the follow button?
      Anyway, yes, thank you so much for your kind words!

      Delete

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