A good friend once asked me about my writing process. I was quick to answer that I didn’t have one, yet after a moment’s thought, I realized I did. I appreciated the question, as it forced me to give thought to something I hadn’t before considered. There are two particulars to my process. First, when I set out to write something, I almost always know the first and last line. Or, I at least know the thought I want to capture the reader’s attention with and the thought I want to leave him/her with. The middle then becomes my creative challenge; one that I personally love. I also never start at the computer. I grab a pen and my notebook and scribble my way through. It’s messy and unintelligible to any other human, with huge sections crossed out, line’s connecting one paragraph to another and the tiniest of notes in every last space available.
I guess, in many ways, this is no different than how most “creatives” work. Painters, producers, architects; artists often have the vision before picking up the paintbrush, the movie camera or the pencil and straight edge. For me, our vast vocabulary is the medium with which I love to create – to evoke emotion – to challenge the reader’s understanding. Much like a painter adds new color and layers, I am always reworking a sentence or reorganizing the flow of paragraphs to create just the right path to the conclusion.
Regardless of how extensive my choice of words however, I sometimes really struggle to string them together or order them in a way that makes any sense. When I find myself at a crossroads like this, I’ll put my notebook down and walk away from it for a while. It’s usually about this time that I undoubtedly second guess everything I’ve written thus far and then question why anyone would care about what I have to say anyway. And then I remember. The value in my writing has nothing to do with me and everything to do with giving words to His message. It is in this truth that I am able to escape my ego, submit to prayer and ask, “Ok. Where are you going with this? What is your message here?” I’ve never once been left without an answer.
The best compliment I receive is when someone says “this is exactly what I needed to hear today.” This happens often and always makes me smile. I do a double-tap on my chest and the double index finger point to the sky. Just kidding. I don’t do that. If I was cooler, I might, but I stick to a quiet thank you to the one who gave me the words.
True to form, I’ve been giving thought to this post for a few days now and have been struggling to find my way to the end. I used to let this get to me and might even start sweating a bit as my deadline approached. But I’ve been doing this long enough now that I know it will come. That’s how it happens – the message just begins to take shape and I understand how to tie the beginning to the end.
After thinking on this for a bit, I realized that my writing process is the perfect metaphor for life. When we are struggling to find our way, it never hurts to press pause, step outside of ourselves for a while and pray for guidance. So, I’ll leave you with this… “Who’s writing your story?”
