Why you should use your God-given talent for writing.

Why writers need to write. 

"Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others,
faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms." (1 Peter 4:10 NIV)

I will be the first to admit that I have times when I don't feel like a writer.  I don't think I can find the time, I feel too stressed out, my house is dirty, I'm too tired... the list could go on forever.  I use them to justify the simple fact that I am not writing, but yet I call myself a writer.  So what's wrong with taking a break?  What's wrong with putting it off?  I can always pick it back up when the time is right.  Or when I feel like it. I used to think like that. Not anymore.

In my earlier years of writing, I joined RWA, ACFW, became very active in a few writer's groups, a critique group, and co-founded a writer's chapter.  I bought self-help books on point of view, characterization, dialogue, editing and lots of research books to help me write.  I studied the craft. I read books in my genre, always careful to study how other successful writers were doing it. I immersed myself in writing and I wasn't going to give up until I was published.  I thought once I was published, I wouldn't have to work so hard. 

Once a writer, always a writer

I published my first e-book in 2010 called Southern Comfort, with Pelican Book Group.  I had worked for many years to get a publisher's approval.  Once it finally happened, it validated that I AM a writer.  I now had an official writing credit to my name. I would forever be a writer. Even if I wasn't writing. Like many writers, I have a full-time job. I teach second grade. If you think that doesn't kill your creativity at the end of the day, I'm here to tell you it does! But add to that, the fact that I have a son in sports and an autoimmune disease, and I can rack up a million excuses why I don't have time to write or I don't feel like it.  I eased my mind by telling myself I wasn't going to stress over it.  I thought the talent would be there when I was ready to use it so I would just wait until the time was right.  Boy, was I wrong. 

Use it or lose it

In 2014, after taking a break from rough drafts, edits and rejections, I decided to submit again.  I was ultimately rejected.  I realized that I had been out of the game way too long and had jumped back in without so much as a warmup.  I had lost it. I was back to square one. I hadn't read a self-help book in ages and I had dropped my memberships to my writer's groups. I had stopped promoting my book and the royalty checks had stopped coming in.  I will admit, life threw a few obstacles in my way and my family always comes first, but looking back, I know I could've kept writing.  I should've kept writing. I didn't have to quit.  I was under the impression the talent would always be there and now I couldn't figure out what I was doing wrong.  I began to pray and that's when I realized how  totally backwards my thinking had been. 

I found a blog written by Rick Warren and it really spoke to me. He wrote about how risky it is for us to not use our God-given talents.  This doesn't only pertain to writers, but to every single person no matter what your job is.  We each have a talent.  It is up to us to use it and perfect it.  We are to use that talent to serve others.  If we don't, God can and will take that talent away from us to give to someone who will use it. I had never thought about it like that before, and it made me realize how close I had come to losing mine.  

I am not implying that writers should never take a break.  We all need mental breaks from anything we do.  It's healthy and it's a good way to stay focused.  What I am saying is that staying away too long can be harmful to our talents.  I'm now trying to do something related to my writing every single day.  Whether that's posting to this blog (which I still think I'm a terrible blogger!) or working on research for a new book, I'm going to do something to hone my writing skills daily.  I thank God for blessing me with the desire and talent for writing. I don't want to take one day of it for granted.  

Sites:
Warren, Rick. "Making the Most of your Talents." RickWarren.com. 21, May 2014. Web. 20 July, 2015.