Writing is a work
of the heart, isn't it? It's one of the most personal careers one can
have. I've met so many authors... when I read their novels, I can hear
their voices and see their personalities come through so completely.
So how about Christian versus Secular books? The Christian heart comes out in writing. Values and struggles make their way into our stories.
I was marveling over some of my early stories the other day - some of the stories I wrote in late Junior High and early High School. It struck me as I was reading that I could still see myself in those stories, the self I was in those days, anyway. I've changed so much. But as I took a close look at the characters in those stories, the struggled my characters were facing suddenly looked much more like what I worried over while I was writing the story.
There is something to be said for those English teachers who force you to take a closer look at the assigned readings and how they relate to the author who wrote them. Writing IS personal. We bare our souls as we work through the muddled state of our own hearts. As the character finds resolution, so do we.
God is SO involved in our work that it just looks nuts from the outside. How does He do it? I can't exactly explain it. He is wonderful, though. That I can say for certain. He does it on purpose, I think. He corrects and disciplines those He loves... so why not use the process of crafting a story to train up an author?
So the next time you sit down to write, close your eyes and talk to God.
Lord, Everything is from You.
In fact, I'm nothing without You.
Wonderful creator, thank you for loving me so completely
You work through me and change my heart
You inspire the way I craft stories to change the hearts of my characters
As I sit down to tell this story, work through me
Show me exactly what to say.
Even as I hope my readers will learn, please also help me to learn
Amen
So how about Christian versus Secular books? The Christian heart comes out in writing. Values and struggles make their way into our stories.
I was marveling over some of my early stories the other day - some of the stories I wrote in late Junior High and early High School. It struck me as I was reading that I could still see myself in those stories, the self I was in those days, anyway. I've changed so much. But as I took a close look at the characters in those stories, the struggled my characters were facing suddenly looked much more like what I worried over while I was writing the story.
There is something to be said for those English teachers who force you to take a closer look at the assigned readings and how they relate to the author who wrote them. Writing IS personal. We bare our souls as we work through the muddled state of our own hearts. As the character finds resolution, so do we.
God is SO involved in our work that it just looks nuts from the outside. How does He do it? I can't exactly explain it. He is wonderful, though. That I can say for certain. He does it on purpose, I think. He corrects and disciplines those He loves... so why not use the process of crafting a story to train up an author?
So the next time you sit down to write, close your eyes and talk to God.
Lord, Everything is from You.
In fact, I'm nothing without You.
Wonderful creator, thank you for loving me so completely
You work through me and change my heart
You inspire the way I craft stories to change the hearts of my characters
As I sit down to tell this story, work through me
Show me exactly what to say.
Even as I hope my readers will learn, please also help me to learn
Amen
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