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Hey guys!

If you hadn’t noticed, we’re three weeks behind! *hides face in shame* However, I’m just going to catch it all up tonight so that we’re back on track!

This particular post was written by yours truly on why we should even write in the first place.

 

If you’re reading this, the chances are pretty high that you’re a writer. But how often do you tend to stop and think about what it means for you to say that? Being a writer often throws some interesting images out there, and not all of them are clear. This lesson’s goal? Stop, Think, Reflect, Do.

 

Stop

As with all words and decisions, you need to be sure to stop and get yourself into a decent mindset before doing this. You’re wanting to find out why you’re writing, and although you may have an answer immediately, that doesn’t mean it isn’t the reflex response answer. So just stop whatever is going on and take a few moments to solely focus on your purpose.

 

Think

Once you’ve stopped the chaos and looked away from your story-boarding mania, you can maybe find a scrap of paper (or type it up in the comments here) and list a few of the reasons that you write. If you’re struggling to think beyond the instant responses, here are a few.

1. Recognition
2. Money
3. Ministry
4. Love of words
5. Responding to what you’ve read
6. To change other people
7. To prove something

Reflect

Look over that list, and reflect on how those motivations show themselves in your life. Did you once have things on the list that aren’t there anymore? Were you once writing as a leisurely hobby but now are stressed by needing to try and scrape by a living from your books that are causing you more agony than joy? Were you once only trying to beat someone else in writing, but God has shifted your views and you’re now passionate about helping others through your words? (Jane: Hehe, what a crack up; this is almost definitely a reference to me and how I started writing. xD) Take this moment to reflect over these things.

 

Do

Once you’ve spent some time thinking, you should actually work out what this means, and what you’re doing about it. If you aren’t so happy with your goals based off your evaluation, then are you going to work on shifting them? How? Has something turned up at some point that has moved you off-track from where you were? How are you going to get back? If you’re in a good place, then think about what steps you can take to keep on moving forward.

 

Comment in the discussion space about what your purposes have been, and action plans you’re planning on putting in place to progress further. Your fellow guild-members are here to encourage you along with all of these awesome parts of your writing lives, so don’t accidentally forget about them!

This hasn’t been so much a lesson on the actual purpose of writing so much as taking practical steps to progress with your personal purpose in your writing. We each are at different stages with your writing, and although we all likely believe in the same overall reasons to write, we will not always agree fully. Story Embers put together the Christian Storytellers Manifesto a while back, and I’d encourage you to look over that at some point, just to be able to think more about writing and accepting that responsibility. We have been given words, so let us use them wisely.

 

What about you? Why do you write? Do share!

 

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