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| dit: markus spiske neourban hipster office workstation via photopin (license) |
It’s funny as a writer how much we change without realizing. As the New Year moves along, I tend to look back over old notebooks and half way finished stories, plot lines and ideas and think about how I’ve changed as a writer. While I haven’t found “the one” book that I would finish that would lead to me getting published, I’ve always been writing. Like my favorite doll “Baby,” who would go with me everywhere as a child, that is the life of my notebooks these days. They are with me everywhere, whether it’s the tiny notebook for ideas or the tattered 8 1/2 by 11 spiral bound notebook for longer stories. However, so far, none of them have experienced the same troubles as my favorite doll Baby often ran into (such as being left in the library overnight, forgotten at restaurants, etc).
And as I go through these notebooks, along the way I have learned things about myself and my writing. I’ve uncovered the stories that are now too weird for me to return to, others that are partially done but show so much potential, and a few ideas that are shelved to the back of my mind so I can return to them later. My stories also reflect where I’m at in my life. I have been Christian all my life, but over the past two years I have really gotten more serious about my faith. In fact, my faith and relationship with God is so much closer for me now that I can’t believe I’ve never blogged about this before.
And to be honest, I also haven’t really introduced my faith in my fiction writing either. It’s like wearing new shoes as I weave my writing side with my faith. These two areas are no longer separate for me and it’s been an interesting journey to uncover what that means for my writing. Lately I have been keeping my eye out for examples of fiction writers who have used their faith in their creative writing. As I find them, I take these scraps and morsels with me on my journey to reflect on while I also let go and let God guide me through this journey.
As the New Year brings in change and promises of better habits, I’m realizing how important it is for me to be open to change and letting my writing change. Many stories I’ve written in the past no longer fit me just like attending my old high school doesn’t fit me now either. We grow, we change, and our stories do too. For me now, it’s also about giving my creative side to God, which isn’t something I expected to do nor is it entirely that easy all the time. Even blogging about it feels weird (I can’t help but think to myself, “Am I really writing this for people to read??”). With every brave step forward, though, it will get more and more comfortable for me to write about, talk about and introduce into my creativity. And I know God is with me, every step of the way.
We do change over time, and the ideas we might have at one point will, in ten years, sound like "what on earth was I thinking?"
Yes! Very true. I've had so many of those "Whaaa??" moments as I read back over some stories of mine!
"While I haven't found "the one" book that I would finish that would lead to me getting published, I've always been writing."
Yes you have. You just don't know it. Pick a story that has some legs and work on it until you're done telling it. Trust me. No one actually knows what will or will not hit.
So true! And thank you for the advice too. I feel like that's half the trouble right there – I just have to choose one and go with it. That's the hard part! Taking that first step!