{"id":5580,"date":"2023-02-21T10:45:26","date_gmt":"2023-02-21T15:45:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sawpublishing.com\/?p=5580"},"modified":"2023-02-21T10:45:26","modified_gmt":"2023-02-21T15:45:26","slug":"dear-reader-i-think-i-want-to-write","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sawpublishing.com\/dear-reader-i-think-i-want-to-write\/","title":{"rendered":"Dear Reader: I Think I Want to Write"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"You\u2019veDear Reader,<\/p>\n

Yes, I know. This was meant to be Dear READER. And today, the reader somehow turned into a writer!<\/p>\n

It happens in real life, as well as in a blog series.<\/p>\n

It happens\u2014lots of times\u2014at just the stage of life you\u2019re in now. You\u2019ve always loved books. You\u2019ve been a reader all your life. And now, a question starts to peek around the corners of your mind.<\/p>\n

What if I thought about writing?<\/p>\n

Writing: Craft, Career, or Call?<\/strong><\/h5>\n

This is a good question to answer\u2014or at least to keep in the back of your mind\u2014as you approach your writing journey.<\/p>\n

\"You\u2019veFor some authors, writing is a craft or hobby. It\u2019s something they love, and do part time, or on a recreational basis. Other authors approach writing as a career. It is their primary day-to-day work\u2014the way they make their living. Still other authors see writing as a calling. They have felt God summon them to this work as His specific will for them\u2014perhaps even as the primary way they will serve Him in their generation.<\/p>\n

Which is the right answer? IS there a right answer?<\/p>\n

Personally, I don\u2019t believe there is. Whether writing is going to be a craft, a career, or a call in your life, doesn\u2019t change the fact God wants you to use your talents for His glory. At the same time, articulating the way you see writing, can help you make choices that will be helpful to your individual vision along the journey.<\/p>\n

What Comes First?<\/strong><\/h5>\n

I get asked this question, on occasion. Usually by the mothers of young writers, rather than the writers themselves! (For whatever reason, young writers can be shy.)<\/p>\n

Anyhow, here are a few \u201cfirst steps\u201d for pursuing an interest in writing:<\/p>\n

1) Read Great Books.<\/strong><\/h5>\n

This one\u2019s more important than it sounds! Authors, like preschoolers, learn by imitation.<\/p>\n

The books you read will, to a certain extent, define the books you write. So read books you\u2019d find worth writing!<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not a waste of time. It\u2019s not just relaxation. I have yet to meet a writer who was not also an avid reader.<\/p>\n

2) Write Lots.<\/strong><\/h5>\n

Don\u2019t be afraid to experiment. Don\u2019t be afraid to write.<\/em><\/p>\n

Start typing out a new story every time an idea hits you. Maybe you\u2019ll never get past a first chapter. That\u2019s actually pretty normal. The time will come when you\u2019re ready for more structure\u2014and when you\u2019ll find yourself persevering through thousands, and then tens of thousands, of words. But the very beginning of your writing career is not the time to preach discipline. The very beginning of your writing career is about getting words onto paper.<\/p>\n

Even if it means starting three hundred docs that get relegated to the \u201cincomplete\u201d folder, before you\u2019ve started writing a second chapter. Who cares? You\u2019re getting practice writing first chapters. And first chapters are essential to good books.<\/p>\n

3) Read About Writing.<\/strong><\/h5>\n

This one comes with a disclaimer.<\/p>\n

Reading books\/articles\/blog posts about writing will introduce you to a ton of valuable info. It will get you familiar with a bunch of jargon terms, open your eyes to some foundational techniques, and cause you to notice all kinds of things you never saw before when you read books.<\/p>\n

The disclaimer is simply that writers find in extremely tempting to be arbitrary when it comes to discussing writing methods. Learn as much as you can from everyone who\u2019s willing to teach you\u2014but remember that even a writing \u201crule\u201d is never an inflexible law.<\/p>\n

You are unique. Your writing will be, too. So, yes, learn from the methods of others. Yes, accept constructive criticism, when it comes from authors\/editors you respect, and who understand and empathise with your target readership. But while welcoming helpful advice, hold it very loosely. Be helped by what is helpful, but give yourself 100% permission to set aside what is not.<\/p>\n

4) Find Some Writing Support.<\/strong><\/h5>\n

Have you ever felt as if being a writer would make you seem just a little bit crazy? After all, who spends hours meticulously documenting the conversations of people who never even existed? Who jumps up and down because they\u2019ve finally found the one word in the whole thesaurus that actually captures the idea they wanted to express? Writing may make you crazy\u2014but it definitely doesn\u2019t make you alone. And the support of other crazy writers can be valuable.<\/p>\n

This is where I am inserting a totally biased, shamelessly obvious PLUG!!!<\/p>\n

If you are a Christian young lady, looking for writing support in an unbuilding, mutually-encouraging community, may I recommend the King\u2019s Daughters\u2019 Writing Camp<\/a>. KDWC is completely online. (No, you don\u2019t have to travel to a physical camp!) I have had the privilege to be first a camper, and then a councillor (or \u201cauntie\u201d) at the King\u2019s Daughters\u2019 Writing Camp, and it has been quite simply one of the most amazing parts of my writing journey.<\/p>\n

If you haven\u2019t checked it out before, do so today! Registration for March camp is already open.<\/p>\n

Dear Reader: Do You Think You Want to Write?<\/strong><\/h5>\n

The journey of learning to write isn\u2019t something that happens overnight. If God is placing in your hands a talent for words, or a talent fir imagination, or any other talent that turns itself mysteriously into sheets of manuscript\u2014then He\u2019s going to walk with you along the path.<\/p>\n

Dear reader, don\u2019t hesitate to step out in faith.<\/p>\n

He will be beside you every step of the way.<\/p>\n

\"Among<\/a><\/strong>You might also enjoy:<\/p>\n

\"American<\/a>

American reading may be on the decline, but does that mean you\u2019re old-fashioned, irrelevant, or just plain weird, if you still love a good book?<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Do<\/a>

Do you ever wonder what goes on before the first words of the first draft of an outline are even penned? Today I\u2019d like to take you behind the scenes of By This Shall They Know\u2014at the journey to Maple Creek.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Ever<\/a>

Ever wished you could take a peek behind the scenes at the process of planning and drafting a novel? Christine Smith\u2019s Know the Novel linkup offers the chance to do just that!<\/p><\/div>\n

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