Looking for a place to feel inspired and challenged? Like to share a smile or a laugh? Interested in becoming more familiar with Canadian writers who have a Christian worldview? We are writers who live in different parts of Canada, see life from a variety of perspectives, and write in a number of genres. We share the goal of wanting to entertain and inspire you to be all you can be with God's help.
Friday, January 26, 2007
Ora et Labora and leave the house
As a writer I've held to two credos. Writing begets writing which means keep yourself glued to your computer and apply yourself - and Ora et Labora, work and pray - and as a Calvinist, a little heavy on the work, thank you very much. Writing is hard. It is solitary. It requires sacrifices both socially and physically. Then, six months ago, I sat at my computer to brainstorm some new book ideas . . . and froze.
This is a novel concept for me because until I switched to my Mac computer, the situation was usually reversed. But I couldn't re-boot out of this freeze. I scribbled, I read, I watched movies but nothing. No inspiration. No new ideas. For the past ten years I had spilled out stories and now the well was empty. My career was over. Time to fill out that IGA application form.This is a lousy situation for a writer to find herself.
I knew I should be praying about this - I am, after all, a writer who professes faith in God and salvation through Christ. I trust that if not a hair can fall from my head without his will, surely an idea can fall into that same head? Yet in spite of my fears of the end of a career, I struggled with the concept that God should be intrested in my lack of ideas when Somalia, Iraq and persecution in China are, I am sure, taking up a lot of His attention. At the same time I felt that writing was still my place in the Kingdom, so I caved and in my daily devotions, asked God for some ideas. And I applied myself even harder to my craft. I stayed home and concentrated on the writing. I pushed away all distractions. I kept myself isolated so I could focus. I finished up my current contract trying not to panic because I had no new ideas hence, no new work. And I prayed.
In an inferior novel my prayers would have borne fruit and I would have been inspired and come up with some whopper novel treatments. But the brain freeze continued. So I surrendered. I put aside the hunt for new ideas. I turned my focus outward.I stepped out of my construction zone and out of my house. I got involved in a few other people's lives. Really listened (and not with the intention of 'borrowing' what I heard).
And my world opened up. My mind expanded. My prayers became ones of obedience and moving away from my concern for myself. And, to my pleased surprise, a germ of an idea formed as I sat in a meeting. The another one while listening to a sermon. (Sorry Pastor Randy) and as the ideas gently grew, I realized that in order to write about life, life must be lived. Writing may beget writing, but truly living life begets better writing.
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2 comments:
Beautifully said!
N. J.
Wonderful post.
Thanks!
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